Mickey Tucker born 28 April 1941

Mickey Tucker (born April 28, 1941 is one of many to suffer from a lack of name recognition and critical acclaim, this jazz pianist is a supremely talented mainstream player who also happens to be an accomplished composer and organ player. 

Michael Boyd Tucker was born in Durham, North Carolina in 1941.He grew up in Rankin, Pennsylvania before moving back to North Carolina aged 12. When he was six, he started learning piano, eventually playing in church. While at high school, Tucker played in the school band as well as in a trio that included Grady Tate. Aged 15, Tucker received an early admission scholarship to attend Morehouse College. He became a teacher and taught at a high school in Lake Wales, Florida and Mississippi Valley State College while also performing music. 

Tucker left Mississippi in 1964 and moved to New York City where he backed nonn-jazz acts Little Anthony & the Imperials, comedian Timmy Rogers and R&B vocalist Damita Jo, with whom he toured London. He also backed James Moody as an organist. From 1969 to 1975 he recorded and/or toured with the saxophonists Moody, Kirk, and Eric Kloss; the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, drummer Roy Brooks, vocalist Eddie Jefferson, and the group Final Edition. Tucker was also present on several George Benson recordings dating from the early '70s before the guitarist abandoned straight-ahead jazz. 

                              

In 1976 Tucker played with Kloss and Jefferson. He also toured Europe with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, serving as the group's musical director. In the late '70s he recorded with Cook, Philly Joe Jones, and Billy Harper, among others. In the '80s Tucker recorded with flügelhornist Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson's Jazztet, alto saxophonists Richie Cole and Phil Woods, and drummer Louis Hayes, among others. 

In 1989, Tucker move to Melbourne, Australia. In an interview with Cadence magazine, Tucker explained that he moved to Australia following the murder of two women in his apartment complex in 1987. Tucker's friend, who Tucker says was with him at the time of crime, was accused of the murders. The stress caused by trying to help his friend led him to decide to move to Australia - where his wife was from. 

In Melbourne, Tucker worked at the Victorian College of the Arts' School of Music. He remained active in the '90s, playing with Cook, the Jazztet, and saxophonist Bob Ackerman, and others. Although most of his recorded work has been as a sideman, he has occasionally recorded as a leader, beginning with the 1975 album Triplicity on the Xanadu label. He has lately been leading sessions for SteepleChase Records that rank among the finest work of his career. 

In 1978 Tucker received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1978 to compose what he calls his magnum opus. Inspired by the Negro spiritual, “I’ve Just Come from the Fountain,” the work was originally written for a 70-piece orchestra that would fuse classical and jazz musical traditions. But the NEA funding only covered composition and printing, so Tucker hid away his great life’s work for more than 40 years. 

In 2021, Tucker and his wife, Sheila, donated the only handwritten copy of “Spiritual Collage” in existence—along with numerous original musical scores, manuscripts, photos, letters, and audio and video recordings—to Indiana University’s Archives of African American Music and Culture, establishing the Mickey Tucker collection. Spiritual Collage - A Suite for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra was eventually performed by Bloomington Symphony Orchestra who premiered the piece on Oct. 23, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic & Indiana University Bloomington)