TromboneChat

Hi all,

Running through the list of things I’ve been meaning to ask “someone” for years. Is anyone by any chance familiar with the trombonist Richard Nelson? Like I assume all of us here, it’s about the music first and foremost and listen to a lot of it. For many moons now, my favorite trombone solo of all time has stayed steady as RIchard Nelson’s Basin Street Blues performance on Al Hirt’s album “Live at the Madri Gras”

https://music.apple.com/us/album/basin- ... =298411247

However, I have not run across him on any other recordings. I few years back I did a fairly exhausting digging for info on him, but didn’t turn anything up definiteiely. Does anyone here know anything about him?

Cheers

Glad to hear a query for Richard Nelson. I listened to that Basin Street Solo a lot in the 1980's and years later I found out a little more about him.
I know that in the music world, he was referred to as "Cougar Nelson."
Using the name "Cougar Nelson" you will find a lot more information. What I recall is that he played on some recordings with Bob Scoby. Later, he ended up in Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, it seems that in Las Vegas Cougar Nelson got heavy into alcohol and became unreliable as a working musician.
In the end, he was living in Arizona where he passed away in 1998 at the age of 60.

I hope this information helps you, there is certainly much more out there that I have not yet found.

I think mojo is right, Rick "Cougar" Nelson was a fine innovative trad jazz trombonist, pretty well-known until he succumbed to his demons (alcohol, I think). I heard a recording of one of his groups where almost all his solos were interspersed with (tasteful!) pedal notes - just as in the Basin Street solo. A sad story, and a great loss.

I've never been comfortable slipping pedal notes into my Dixieland solos (though I've tried a few times, as a tribute to "Cougar").

Wow! What a surprise to start the day. Thank you so very much for the information. Will definitely look into him.

Sad to hear about his battles. Definitely a circumstance/disease that affects all walks of life.

Thank you again. That album (and that cut in particular) has been a mainstay and a heavy influence on me. It’s actually the only album I own in four formats (CD, actually purchased digital, stereo LP, and mono LP).

Cheers!

As a follow up. Thank you!!

BTW, it’s Scobey with an e. It took me a bit to figure that out. But once I did, you made my year as Nelson recorded a different rendition of Basin Street with Scobey. I could not be more excited.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/basin- ... =889176984


And I tracked down and ordered a somehow surviving factory sealed LP of Nelson’s own headlining album.

For me personally this was like hearing about discovering some new master tapes by the Beatles.

Again. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

I wanted to add that I did uncover information somewhere in some internet search years back that the nickname "Cougar" came from the fact that he drove a Mercury Cougar while he lived in Vegas....
Enjoy your LP and good luck with your searches !

I found the LP titled "Steppin' Out with Cougar Nelson" on ebay and I am loving it. All of the musicians on the album are awesome.