Harrison Ridley, Jr., a jazz DJ, historian and teacher, died last week due to complications from a stroke. Though most MAGNET readers probably don’t recognize the name, Ridley was a vital part of Philadelphia’s jazz scene and a consultant to the Library of Congress. For 32 years, he was a DJ on WRTI, the jazz station run by Temple University (alma mater to more than a few of us) and in recent years lectured weekly at the Borders bookstore across the street from our offices. When we told Brother Ridley (as most called him) that we were working on an article on avant-garde saxophonist Albert Ayler back in 2004, he just shook his head and said, “That’s the kind of music I have to go in the basement to play.”
Philadelphia Daily News obituary here.
Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me”:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
