Dick Oatts
Richard Dennis Oatts (born April 2, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator.
Dick Oatts
Richard Dennis Oatts
April 2, 1953
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Musician, composer, educator
Saxophone, flute, clarinet, piano
1972–present
Biography[edit]
While growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, Oatts gained an interest in music from his father, Jack Oatts, who was a saxophonist himself and a respected music educator in the Midwest. After high school, Oatts attended Drake University[1] for one year before dropping out and moving to Minneapolis to begin a career in music in 1972. In 1977, he was called by Thad Jones to join The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra,[2] which later became the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.[3] Oatts moved to New York City to join the band, first playing tenor saxophone, and began playing Monday nights with Jones and Lewis at the Village Vanguard, as well as touring in Europe with them. Eventually Oatts switched to playing alto saxophone in the band, and he continues to play with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at the Village Vanguard every Monday night.
Oatts' work on woodwind instruments (saxophone, clarinet, flute) became more widely known when he led the crossover jazz group Flim & the BB's in the 1980s and '90s[4] with bassist Jimmy "Flim" Johnson, drummer Bill Berg, and keyboardist Billy Barber.
Since the 1970s, Oatts has released more than a dozen albums as a leader and co-leader, and he has appeared on over 100 albums as a sideman with Joe Henderson, Jerry Bergonzi, Eddie Gómez, Bob Brookmeyer, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Joe Lovano and others, working extensively with Steeplechase Records.[5] He has also accompanied Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Tormé, and Ella Fitzgerald.[1]
Oatts has taught at the Manhattan School of Music and has been artist-in-residence at the Amsterdam Conservatory. In 2006, he became a professor and artistic director of the jazz studies department at Temple University in Philadelphia.[2]