Royal, Marshal (Walton)

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Royal, Marshal (Walton)

Royal, Marshal (Walton) , alto saxophonist, clarinetist, brother of Ernie Royal; b. Sapulpa, Okla., Dec. 5, 1912. He was raised in Los Angeles; his father was a music teacher and bandleader and his mother played piano. Royal started on violin, then guitar and clarinet before taking up alto sax. He played in local bands from the age of 13, with Curtis Mosby from 1929–31, then joined Les Hite, working in Hite’s band until 1939. After a brief stint with Cee Pee Johnson’s Band, he joined Lionel Hampton’s Band from October 1940 until September 1942 (occasionally doubling on violin). Then he joined the U.S. Navy and led his own service band. After the war, he was briefly with Eddie Heywood in N.Y. (spring 1946), but then returned to Calif. He did studio work for five years and gigged with various bands in Los Angeles. In spring of 1951, he joined Count Basie’s Septet on clarinet (replacing Buddy De Franco); Royal remained with Basie when he reformed his big band (playing lead alto), until early 1970. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was an active freelancer, touring Europe and the U.S. During the 1980s, he played in the Concord Superband and also cut his own albums with Jake Hanna and Monty Alexander.

Discography

First Chair (1978); Royal Blue (1980).

—John Chilton, Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter

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Royal, Marshal (Walton)

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