King Perry
American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (1914–1990)
title: "King Perry" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1914-births", "1990-deaths", "american-jazz-bandleaders", "american-jazz-saxophonists", "american-male-saxophonists", "rpm-records-(united-states)-artists", "specialty-records-artists", "20th-century-american-saxophonists", "jazz-musicians-from-arkansas", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "american-male-jazz-musicians"] description: "American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (1914–1990)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Perry" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (1914–1990) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | King Perry |
| birth_name | Oliver Hazart |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Forrest City, Arkansas, United States |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Bakersfield, California, United States |
| image | File:King Perry.jpg |
| :: |
| name = King Perry | birth_name = Oliver Hazart | birth_date = | birth_place = Forrest City, Arkansas, United States | death_date = | death_place = Bakersfield, California, United States | image = File:King Perry.jpg
Oliver Hazart "King" Perry (October 10, 1914 – February 5, 1990) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, and bandleader.
Biography
Perry was born in Forrest City, Arkansas, United States. He played violin as a child, but switched to alto saxophone, after witnessing Johnny Hodges playing with Duke Ellington's Orchestra, and then wishing to join a local band. He attended Starr College in West Virginia, studying piano there, and had his own band in Gary, Indiana, by 1940. In 1945, he relocated to Los Angeles, appearing in a show with Dorothy Donegan and Nat King Cole; while there he made his first recordings in July that year as a leader. He led a band called the Pied Pipers through the middle of the 1950s, making many records and touring across the United States multiple times (as well as Canada in 1951). He recorded for Melodisc, United Artists, Excelsior, De Luxe, Specialty, Dot, RPM, Lucky, Unique, Look, and Hollywood during this period. After ca. 1954 Perry went into a hiatus from music, but returned to play after moving to Bakersfield in 1967. In the 1970s, he played as a one-man band with organ, saxophone, and percussion. Around this time he also released a number of comedy albums for his own label, Octive.
He later moved into selling real estate. He died in Bakersfield, California, aged 75.
References
;Footnotes
;General references
- Howard Rye, "King Perry". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz online
- King Perry at AllMusic
References
- "King Perry".
- "78 Record: King Perry Quintet - King Perry Blues (1945)".
- (1992). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
- "The King Fleming Discography".
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