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Biography
J. R. Monterose (Frank Anthony Peter Vincent Monterose, Jr., Detroit, Michigan, January 19, 1927 – September 16, 1993), , was an American jazz tenor (and occasional soprano) saxophonist.
J.R. or JR (derived from Jr.) Monterose grew up in Utica, New York, where his family moved a few months after his birth. He began formal clarinet studies at thirteen, but was largely self taught as a tenor saxophonist, which he took up at fifteen after hearing Glenn Miller band soloist Tex Beneke. His earliest stylistic influences were Coleman Hawkins and Chu Berry, but, as he told critic Leonard Feather, he also found harmonic inspiration in pianists, citing particularly the example of Bud Powell and the instruction of Utica-based guitarist and pianist Sam Mancuso in helping him learn how to use chord changes.
