Jimmy Rowles
For most of his career Jimmy Rowles was the pianist you heard without noticing — the man behind the singer, the hands on a Hollywood soundtrack, the quiet professional who made everyone around him sound better. He ranks 40th in jazz journalist Gene Rizzo's list of the greatest jazz pianists, and the ranking is a kind of overdue credit for a musician whose own voice was so personal that Rizzo calls it "refreshing, unclassifiable playing." Late in life, that voice finally stepped into the spotlight.
This profile covers who Jimmy Rowles was, how a studio and vocal accompanist became a distinctive soloist, what made his style so hard to pin down, and the recordings and scores to start with today.
The short answer: Jimmy Rowles (1918–1996) was an American pianist and composer, one of the great accompanists to jazz singers — Billie Holiday above all — whose witty, harmonically singular style and the ballad "The Peacocks" secured his late reputation as a soloist.
Life and career
Rowles was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1918. He first copied his mother's play-by-ear style and was a lukewarm student — more interested in tennis — until hearing Teddy Wilson changed his direction. Modeling himself on Wilson, he took the piano chair in the big bands of Bob Crosby, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.
After the war he settled into Los Angeles small-group work with Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Ben Webster and Zoot Sims, and became the favored accompanist of nearly every major singer, above all Billie Holiday. He also ran a quietly profitable studio career — he played the boogie-woogie calliope on Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" and coached Marilyn Monroe's singing for a film. When synthesizers began displacing studio players he moved to New York, and the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival rescued him from obscurity. He returned to California in the mid-1980s and occasionally performed with his daughter Stacy, a trumpeter, before his death in 1996.
Style and influence
Rowles's playing resists categories. He had a percussive, almost Ellingtonian attack, an Erroll Garner-like habit of hanging just behind the beat, and a relaxed wit that let him drop a quotation from Elgar or Ellington into the middle of a ballad. Then, without warning, he would unleash a burst of dense, close-voiced chords that reminded you how much harmony he was hiding.
His temperament was gentle rather than aggressive — "not a scorched-earth swinger," as Rizzo puts it — which is exactly why singers trusted him. His crowning statement as a writer, "The Peacocks," is a small masterpiece of mood and harmonic color, the kind of piece that rewards a listener willing to lean in close.
Essential recordings
| Recording | Label / year | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The Peacocks (Stan Getz Presents Jimmy Rowles) | Columbia, 1975 | The album that introduced his masterpiece and finally framed Rowles as a leader, not a sideman |
| We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together | Xanadu, 1978 | Prime trio-era Rowles, showcasing his wit, harmonic surprise and behind-the-beat feel |
| Jimmy Rowles Plays Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn | Columbia, 1981 | His Ellingtonian side made explicit — a natural interpreter of the composers he loved |
Play Jimmy Rowles's music
The best doorway into Rowles is his own masterpiece and the pieces he made his own as an accompanist. Start with "The Peacocks," his singular ballad, then try the playful "Baby Elephant Walk," the Mancini tune he brought to life. Both are open on MuseScore below, in arrangements from approachable to advanced.
Where Jimmy Rowles ranks among jazz pianists
Rizzo places Rowles at number 40, among the harmonically sophisticated accompanists who deserve wider recognition as soloists. See the full list in our guide to the best jazz pianists of all time, and compare Rowles with the model who first inspired him, Teddy Wilson, and the two players whose fingerprints are on his style, Duke Ellington and Erroll Garner. To explore the rich harmony he was famous for, our guide to jazz chord progressions is a good starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Who did Jimmy Rowles accompany?
He was a favored accompanist to nearly every major jazz singer, most famously Billie Holiday, and worked in small groups with Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Ben Webster and Zoot Sims.
What is "The Peacocks"?
"The Peacocks" is Rowles's best-known composition, a harmonically rich ballad that appeared on the 1975 album Stan Getz Presents Jimmy Rowles: The Peacocks. It is widely regarded as his small masterpiece.
What made Jimmy Rowles's style distinctive?
A blend of percussive attack, a behind-the-beat feel, sudden dense chords and a wit that slipped musical quotations into his solos — a personal, hard-to-classify voice that set him apart from more conventional swing pianists.