Roger " Ram" Ramirez (September 15, 1913 – 11 January 1994) was a Puerto Rican jazz pianist and composer. He was a co-composer of the song "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)"
Early life
Ramirez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 15, 1913.
He grew up in New York and started playing the piano at a young age.
Later life and career
Ramirez's first professional performances were in the early 1930s.
In 1933 he played with
Monette Moore, then with
Rex Stewart and
Sid Catlett in New York.
He joined
Willie Bryant in 1935, and toured Europe with Bobby Martin in 1937.
During the first half of the 1940s Ramirez played with
Ella Fitzgerald,
Frankie Newton,
Charlie Barnet, John Kirby, and Catlett, in addition to leading his own band.
Ramirez wrote "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" in 1942,
Ramirez again toured Europe in 1968, this time with T-Bone Walker.
Discography (selection)
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Ram Ramirez: Live in Harlem (Black & Blue)
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Ram Ramirez: "Fine and Mellow" (RCA) (as "Roger Ram")
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Ram Ramirez: "I'll Remember April" (RCA) (as "Roger Ram")
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Putney Dandridge: 1935–1936 (Classics)
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The Duke's Men – Small Groups, Vol. 1 (Columbia, 1934–38)
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Ella Fitzgerald: 1939–1940 (Classics)
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Helen Humes: 1945–1946 (Classics)
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John Kirby: 1945–1946 (Classics)
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Ike Quebec: 1944–1946 (Classics), The Blue Note Swingtets (Blue Note, 1944)
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Rex Stewart: 1934–1946 (Classics)
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Annie Ross & King Pleasure: Sings (OJC, 1952, 1953)
