James Ralph Spaulding Jr. (born July 30, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Spaulding attended the Chicago Cosmopolitan School of Music.Between 1957 and 1961, he was a member of Sun Ra's band.In the 1960s, he worked as a studio musician at Blue Note Records, recording with Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, and Stanley Turrentine.He was also a member of Freddie Hubbard's quintet and the World Saxophone Quartet.