Photo: Dmitry Scherbie New York / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
James Spaulding is exactly the kind of player jazz heads cherish and casual listeners overlook. A saxophonist and flutist out of Indianapolis who spent time in Sun Ra's orbit and then logged serious hours as a Blue Note studio musician alongside Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver and Stanley Turrentine, he is woven into the fabric of the music's golden era. He never became a household name, but that almost makes me admire him more. The sidemen who color those classic sessions are the unsung architects of the sound, and Spaulding's reedwork is a quiet thread running through some genuinely sacred records.
Overview
James Ralph Spaulding Jr. (was born July 30, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United states, Spaulding attended the Chicago Cosmopolitan School of Music. Between 1957 and 1961, he was a member of Sun Ra's band. In the 1960s, he worked as a studio musician at Blue Note Records, recording with Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, and Stanley Turrentine.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- James Spaulding
- Name (Japanese)
- ジェームス・スポールディング
- Reading
- じぇーむす・すぽーるでぃんぐ
- Born
- July 30, 1937 (age 88)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Ox
- Origin
- Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- jazz musician / saxophonist / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Crispus Attucks High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Jazz musician — see all → · Saxophonist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.