John Von Ohlen (May 13, 1941, Indianapolis, Indiana – October 3, 2018) was an American jazz drummer who worked for Woody Herman in 1967 and 1969 as well as with Stan Kenton from 1970 to 1972.[1] He began playing trombone in middle school and played in band through high school.[2] He graduated from North Central High School in Indianapolis in 1960.[3] He briefly attended North Texas State University in Denton, Texas and returned to Indianapolis.[2]
Von Ohlen led the Blue Wisp Big Band in Cincinnati from 1980 to 2018[4] and his own groups under his name; they ranged from quartets to big band. From 1967 to 1968, he toured with Billy Maxted’s Manhattan Jazz Band. In the 1980s and 1990s, Von Ohlen was a member of a big band led by the pianist Steve Allee.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Von Ohlen died on October 3, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 77.[1][11]
Discography
- John Von Ohlen – The Baron
- John Von Ohlen & Steve Allee Big Band – Live
With Blue Wisp Big Band
- The Blue Wisp Band of Cincinnati
- Butterfly
- The Smooth One
- Live at Carmelo's
- Rollin' with Von Ohlen
- Tribute
- 20th Anniversary
With Stan Kenton
- Live at Redlands University
- Today
- Live at Brigham Young University
- The Ballad Style of Stan Kenton
With others
- Chuck Carter/Steve Allee Big Band – Downtown Blues
- Woody Herman – Concerto for Herd
- Cal Collins – Crack'd Rib
References
- ^ a b "John Von Ohlen". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ a b "John Von Ohlen". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- ^ "John Von Ohlen - North Central High School - Indianapolis, IN". northcentralhighschool.net. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- ^ "The Blue Wisp Big Band - Cincinnati's premier big band". Bluewispbigband.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Leonard Feather & Ira Gitler, The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies (1976) ISBN 0-8180-1215-3
- ^ Biographical Dictionary of Jazz, by Charles Eugene Claghorn (1911–2005), Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1982)
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Third edition, Eight volumes, edited by Colin Larkin, Muze, London (1998) ISBN 1-56159-237-4
- ^ The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, First edition, Two volumes, edited by Barry Kernfeld Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, Macmillan Press, London (1988)
- ^ The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Edited by Barry Kernfeld Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, St. Martin's Press, New York (1994)
- ^ The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second edition, Three volumes, edited by Barry Kernfeld Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, Macmillan Publishers, London (2002)
- ^ "John Von Ohlen, acclaimed jazz drummer, dies at 77". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.