John Klemmer

John Klemmer (born July 6, 1946) is an American saxophonist and composer from Chicago who emerged on Cadet with the 1967 album Involvement and its 1968 followup And We Were Lovers, then recorded a run of Impulse! and ABC albums that included Waterfalls, Touch, Barefoot Ballet, and Cry.

Background

John T. Klemmer was born July 3, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois. He began guitar at age five and took up alto saxophone at eleven, then changed to tenor saxophone in high school. Klemmer studied saxophone and jazz improvisation with Chicago saxophonist Joe Daley. He attended Interlochen National Music Camp and Stan Kenton clinics, while private study covered piano, clarinet, flute, harmony, theory, composition, and arrangement. Klemmer also pursued visual art at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Klemmer entered professional big-band work around age fifteen on the Chicago circuit. He played Midwestern ghost-band dates under the names of Billy May, Les Elgart, and Ralph Marterie and also worked with student bands, dance orchestras, small jazz groups, and local rock groups. Klemmer soon led groups of his own around Chicago.

Cadet A&R man and producer Esmond Edwards heard Klemmer perform and brought him to the Chess jazz subsidiary for a recording contract. Klemmer entered Ter Mar Studios in May 1967 with bassist Melvin Jackson, drummer Wilbur Campbell, guitarist Sam Thomas, and pianist Jodie Christian for the sessions that became Involvement: The John Klemmer Quartets.

Discography:

• Involvement (1967 • The John Klemmer Quartets)
• And We Were Lovers (1968)
• All the Children Cried (1969)
• Blowin’ Gold (1969)
• Eruptions (1970)
• Constant Throb (1971)
• Waterfalls (1972)
• Intensity (1973)
• Magic and Movement (1974)
• Fresh Feathers (1974)
• Touch (1975)
• Barefoot Ballet (1976)
• Lifestyle (Living and Loving) (1977)
• Arabesque (1978)
• Solo Saxophone: Cry (1978)
• Brazilia (1979)
• Nexus for Duo and Trio (1979)
• Straight From the Heart (1979)
• Magnificent Madness (1980)
• Finesse (1981)
• Hush (1981)
• Solo Saxophone II- Life (1981)
• Two Tone (1982 • John Klemmer / Eddie Harris)