Ralph Sutton, 79; Jazz Performer Known for ‘Stride’ Piano Styling

Ralph Sutton, a master of the “stride” piano best known for his longtime gig at Eddie Condon’s jazz club in New York City in the late 1940s and early 1950s, has died. He was 79.

Sutton died Saturday evening in his car outside a restaurant in Evergreen, Colo., after dining with his wife and friends. The cause of death was not immediately known. Sutton suffered a stroke in the early 1990s.

Stride, a piano styling that grew out of ragtime, became popular in America in the 1920s and ‘30s. It was characterized by a robust but tastefully controlled technique, an impeccably precise sense of rhythm, and an ebullient dancing quality. It was made popular by James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Willie “the Lion” Smith.

The Missouri-born Sutton learned it as a boy after hearing Waller on the radio. He was one of the founders of the World’s Greatest Jazz Band in 1968 and played regularly with the group, which also included Bob Haggart and Yank Lawson, until the mid-1970s.

Sutton made his professional debut at age 11 in his father’s band. Studying to be an osteopath, Sutton switched direction in 1941, at 19, and joined the band of the trombone great Jack Teagarden. But that job was interrupted when Sutton was drafted into the Army during World War II.

After the war, Sutton returned to play for Teagarden until the band broke up. He worked in and around New York, and began making a name for himself in 1947 on the weekly radio show “This Is Jazz.” A year later, he started working at Condon’s club.

Over the years, he made a number of fine recordings, working in the duo format with players such as Jay McShann, Ruby Braff and Kenny Davern.

Through the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sutton played jazz dates both nationally and internationally and was a fixture at traditional jazz festivals.

He is survived by his wife, Sunnie; three sons, Jeffrey, Peter and Nick, all of Petaluma, Calif.; and seven grandchildren.