Born in Dallas in 1921, Roland was the master of the riff. Often referred to in 
the black-oriented bands as the 'lick.' Although simple in format and easy to 
follow he engendered his creations with an extraordinary grasp of how and
when to open-up the ensemble work. 

Educated at North Texas State Teachers' College, where he majored in
music from 1940-42 and roomed with Jimmy Giuffre, he first joined the 
Kenton Orchestra in 1945 where he played 5th trumpet and contributed
dozens of arrangements.  He worked briefly with Lionel Hampton and
Lucky Millinder and then rejoined Kenton in 1945, this time as a trombonist
and writer (he arranged the hit "Tampico").

An accomplished jazz pianist he wrote for a group in 1946 that included
Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Guiffre and Herbie Steward that eventually
led to Woody Herman's famous 'Four Brothers' Second Herd in 1946.  
Interestingly Guiffre credits Roland with the basic structure of Woody's hit,
'Four Brothers,' which Jimmy emulated and elaborated upon.

During the late 1940s, Roland played 
trombone with George Auld, trumpet
with Count Basie, Charlie Barnet, Lucky
Millinder and contributed charts for
the big bands of Claude Thornhill 
and Artie Shaw. After leading a giant
rehearsal band in 1950 that included  
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker
he once again joined Kenton in 1951.

In 1956-58 he contributed more than 
65 arrangements to the Woody
Herman Orchestra, along with being
very active with the Count Basie 
Orchestra.

Roland was a major force in Kenton's 
Mellophonium Orchestra of the early 
1960s;  not only writing for the 
ensemble but performing as one of the 
solo mellophonists; he also occasionally doubled on soprano sax with the Orchestra, 
which led to one of Stan's most successful albums, 'Adventures In Blues' (1961).

Like Willis (Bill Holman) he delighted in taking huge megaton blocks of sound 
and cleaving them in all the right places so they had a precise amount of
buoyancy and appeared to float to along the time line. Roland, often
to Stan's dismay was also hell bent on swinging the Band. In fact, 
there is a trunk somewhere that contains all the rejected charts Gene 
wrote which Stan felt sounded much too much like material done for the 
Herman, Rich & Basie Bands. All of whom the very eclectic Roland 
contributed to while whipping off charts for Stan.

Capable of playing any & all of the instruments he worked closely with 
Stan to continually change the instrumentation of the Orchestra. It was he 
who was responsible for adding a fifth trumpet (two of which would 
share the lead & high work) & a fifth trombone. Later he suggested using
three tenor trombones which valiantly drove above two bass trombones,
ultimately leading to one of the basses doubling on tuba. 

Stan & Johnny Richards may have hit upon using the mellophonium and
handling all the grunt work to make them work, but it was Roland who 
gave the mellophonium great buoyancy and range and proved what a 
lyrical instrument it could be in the hands of someone who knew exactly 
what they were doing. 

Unfortunately, only Gene & later, Ray Starling, were to the instrument
born. The rest of the horn players were frustrated journeyman trumpet
players biding their time for an opportunity to slip into one of the
Samurai warrior trumpet chairs.

Blessed with perfect pitch he could (and did) write without the aid of a 
piano whenever the mood struck him. On and off the bus. 

Completely & totally irresponsible he constantly lived on the edge and
was forever being chastised for leaving his instrument behind on the
stand, never having any money, sneaking women aboard the bus and
fueling his system with a smorgasbord of pharmaceuticals. Roland was
the only member of the Orchestra that Stan turned a blind eye to when
it came to inhaling & injection. Don't forget he & Gene went way back to 
the earliest days of the Kenton Era. Although they were never terribly 
close Stan had an affinity for Roland which transcended his many
transgressions.

Roland lived for jazz. Night & day. It was his passion. It was the
guiding force which kept him going. Unquestionably a genius, he had
a difficult time handling such mundane things as tying his shoelaces,
feeding himself, balancing his checkbook, paying his bills. Next to
music the only thing he was proficient at was bedding down an
array of women who were drawn to him like Jesus freaks to a new
religion. Yet, it was his over-the-top lifestyle which enabled him to
write with such broad strokes and flowing colors.

Long underrated, he would get quite a giggle out of the fact an entirely 
new generation has gloomed onto his 'Adventures in Blues' charts. It 
would also amuse him that so many of his manuscripts are used as
teaching aids in the major universities. Then again, like Willis, being able
to write as well as he did he considered no big deal. He long labored 
under the delusion that everyone was capable of doing what he did. 

It was this self imposed modesty, coupled with his one of a kind talent that
made him so special and such an intregal part of the Kenton Orchestra.

He died in New York City in 1982.