Johnny Coles; Trumpeter Played With Jazz Legends

Jazz trumpeter Johnny Coles, who played with many of the genre’s biggest names and for royalty, has died of cancer. He was 71.

The Trenton, N.J., native was equally comfortable on trumpet and the larger-bore, softer-toned fluegelhorn.

Born in 1926, the same year as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, the 5-foot-3 trumpeter had a soft, warm tone and spare style that invited comparison to Davis. He recorded fewer than a dozen records as a band leader--”The Warm Sound of Johnny Coles” and “Little Johnny C” were showcases--but played on scores of albums for many jazz legends, including Duke Ellington and Herbie Hancock.

“He walked with giants, so I consider him a giant,” said bassist Jimmy Heath, a Philadelphia native who had known Coles since childhood.

Said Michael Ray, a trumpeter who studied Coles’ work: “He was hip before hip was hip, a real smooth cat. He was a real solo stylist. When you talk about ‘The Warm Sound,’ that title was so appropriate. It was the perfect title for the way he approached life.”

Coles started playing at about 10 after begging his mother for a trumpet. He tried to quit when practice interfered with the time he spent outdoors with friends, Coles once recalled, but a whipping from his mother kept a horn in his hands.

The trumpeter was mostly self-taught, although he attended the Mastbaum Vocational School of Music here.

He played in Army bands during and after World War II, and later worked with rock ‘n’ roll and blues bands. After his most prolific periods in the 1960s, he played with Ellington and Count Basie and with many groups as a contract musician.

He also played with Ray Charles and Quincy Jones, and performed for the royal families of Britain, Ethiopia and Thailand.

And, according to his World Wide Web page, Coles was the original Mushmouth on Bill Cosby’s “Fat Albert” cartoon and recorded the soundtracks for Cosby’s television shows. He returned to Philadelphia in 1989 after stints in Newark, N.J.; Richmond, Va.; and the San Francisco area.

Several local musicians plan to perform at Coles’ funeral, said James Hicks, a jazz bassist who lived a couple of doors from him. Arrangements were incomplete.

Coles, who was divorced, is survived by several nieces, nephews and cousins.