Sunday, February 28, 2010

GRACE CHUNG


Jazz singer Grace Chung, was born on February 28, 1971 in Hong Kong. She first began singing jazz more than ten years ago in Sydney Australia, where she grew up. Since then, she has led her own trios and performed with big bands in Sydney, Hong Kong, New York, Boston and Washington DC.



After some years with her trio on the Sydney jazz scene, she started a residency at the Swing Jazz Club in Hong Kong, summer of 1997. This led to a series of shows at the Conrad Hotel, Hong Kong, winter 1997. Meanwhile, Grace started graduate school at MIT, and along with Tien-yi Lee, co-founded WhoSheBe, an all female jazz combo. WhoSheBe featured New England bassist Jane Wang and the now Tokyo sensation Akiko Iwase.


During the years, WhoSheBe appeared frequently at venues in New England and New York including the Metronome, and the Living Room in NYC, Jazzmasters in Rhode Island, and Les Zygomates, Bob the Chef's, the Good Life, The Improv Asylum and the Elephant Walk in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1999, they recorded a live CD on Jazz with Eric in the Evening, New England's best-known jazz radio show. This was followed by a second CD "Bygones", released in 2001.


After Grace graduated with her PhD in Computer Science (MIT), she moved to the Baltimore/Washington area and made her debut under Owlsong Productions with the Lewine-Kamman Xtet at Mr. Henry's, the venue where Roberta Flack once launched her career. This blossomed into a close collaboration with Washington's most talented jazz guitarist and composer, John Kamman. Grace and Armand Ntep, a rising jazz star from Camaroon, were lead vocalists in John Kamman's Evoluations series, a ground breaking contemporary piece melting jazz, African and classical influences.


John and Grace's work culminated in the release of "Liking You Liking Me", released in 2005. The album features the performances of some of Washington's most gifted classical, and jazz cats: Flaco Woods (percussion), Alan Levine (bass), Marty Knepp (marimba and vibraphone), Phillipe Depontet (percussion), Jodi Beder (cello), and Blair Goins (tuba).


Grace sings "Women Be Wise"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6f6POVrH2s

Recommended CDs

Liking You Liking Me, 2005.

Bygones, WhoSheBe, 2001

Live on Boston Radio WGBH:

Eric In the Evening, WhoSheBe, 1999
Reference - Grace's Web Page

RONNIE WELLS-ELLISTON

Jazz singer Ronnie Wells-Elliston, was born on February 28, 1943, in Washington D.C. and was a versatile jazz balladeer and educator in the Washington area for more than three decades who co-founded the East Coast Jazz Festival in Montgomery County in 1992. Wells-Elliston formed the East Coast Jazz Festival with her husband, pianist Ron Elliston, in response to area schools' reducing or eliminating their music programs.


The nonprofit festival supported the Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund Inc. for young jazz musicians. She named the scholarship in memory of Elmore "Fish" Middleton, a programmer for WPFW-FM. The festival took place each February and has been attended by high school bands as well as professional musicians, including the late bassist Keter Betts and guitarist Charlie Byrd.


In the 1960s, she began singing at clubs, including Top O'Foolery, Blues Alley and One Step Down. She also performed at the Kennedy Center, the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel and at jazz festivals worldwide.

She and her husband formed their own record label, Jazz Karma, and released several albums together. She was known for embracing the jazz standards of the Great American Songbook -- the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart, among others. She had a whispery, slightly husky voice and preferred slow ballads, although she could render convincing up-tempo works as well, critics wrote.


Over the years, she sang with a variety of orchestras, including the Fairfax Symphony; the Commodores; the U.S. Navy Band's jazz ensemble; and the Widespread Jazz Orchestra, which specialized in music played by the black big bands of the 1920s and 1930s.


She also taught jazz vocal technique at the University of Maryland's music department in the 1980s and 1990s.


Ronnie died on March, 2007.


Reference - The Washington Post

SVEND ASMUSSEN, THE FIDDLING VIKING


Jazz violinist Svend Asmussen, was born on February 28 , 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is known as "The Fiddling Viking". Asmussen grew up in a musical family, starting violin lessons at age 7. At age 16 he first heard recordings by jazz violin great Joe Venuti and began to emulate his style. He started working professionally as a violinist,vibraphonist, and singer at age 17, leaving his formal training behind for good.


Early in his career he worked in Denmark and on cruise ships with artists such as Josephine Baker and Fats Waller. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by Stuff Smith, whom he met in Denmark. Asmussen played with Valdemar Eiberg and Kjeld Bonfils during World War II, during which time jazz had moved to the underground and served as a form of political protest.


In the late 1950s, Asmussen formed the trio Swe-Danes with singer Alice Babs and guitarist Ulrik Neumann. The group became very popular in Scabdinavia for their music hall style entertainment and also toured the United States.


Asmussen also worked with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington. Asmussen was invited by Ellington to play on the Jazz Violin Session recording in 1963 with Stéphane Grapelli and Ray Nance.


In 1966, Asmussen appeared alongside Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and Jean-Luc Ponty in a jazz Violin Summit in Switzerland that was issued as a live recording. He made an appearance at the 1967 Monterey jazz festival, which included a celebrated violin summit with him, Ray Nance and Jean-Luc Ponty.


Asmussen's collection of jazz music, photographs, posters and other material is held in the jazz collections at the Unhiversity Library of Southern Denmark. Asmussen's son, Claus Asmussen, is a well-known guitar player in Denmark, and a former member of the band Shu-Bi.Dua.

Benny Goodman invites Sven Asmussen to join him on stage during his last performance, in Copenhagen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2iWLnp-5F0




References - Brooks, Richard. "Svend Asmussen: Phenomenal Jazz Fiddler". http://www.fiddlermagazine.com/Articles.page?ArticleID=18552.






Lowe, James. "The Phenomenal Danish Fiddler". http://www.yodaslair.com/dumboozle/svend/svendex.html.

PAUL RUTHERFORD


The English free improvising trombonist Paul William Rutherford, was born on February 29, 1940 in Greenwich, South East London. Rutherford initially played saxophone but switched to trombone. During the 1960s, he taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama..


In 1970, Rutherford, guitarist Derek Bailey and bassist Barry Guy formed the improvising group Iskra 1903, which lasted until 1973. (This formation was documented on a double-LP from Incus, later reissued with much bonus material on the 3-CD set Chapter One (Emanem, 2000). A film soundtrack was separately released as Buzz Soundtrack. Iskra 1903 was one of the earliest free improvising groups to omit a drummer/percussionist, permitting the players to explore a range of textures and dynamics which set it apart from other contemporary improvising ensembles like SME and AMM.


The group's unusual name means "spark" in Russian; it was the title of a revolutionary newspaper edited by Lenin. The "1903" designation means "20th century music for trio"; occasionally Evan Parker played with the group (Iskra 1904) and Rutherford also at one point assembled a 12-piece ensemble called, inevitably, Iskra 1912.


The group was later revived with Philip Wachsmann replacing Bailey, a phase of the group's life that lasted from roughly 1977 to 1995; its earlier work is documented on Chapter Two (Emanem, 2006) and its final recordings were issued on Maya (Iskra 1903) and Emanem (Frankfurt 1991).


Rutherford also played with Globe Unity Orchestra, London Jazz Composer's Orchestra, Centipede, and the Mike Westbrook Orchestra. He also played a very small number of gigs with Soft Machine. He is perhaps most famous for solo trombone improvisations. His album "The Gentle harm of burgeoisie" is a landmark recording in solo trombone and his 1983 Trio album Gheim, recorded at the Bracknell Jazz Festivel is another acclaimed work.

Rutherford was a major player in the British free improvisation scene and part of the European

free jazz c scene. He was one of the first to use unorthodox playing techniques for improvisation. Rutherford was also one of the first to use trombone multiphonics, i.e. he sang into the trombone and blew at the same time.


Rutherford died on 5 August 2007, aged 67.
Paul Rutherford and his group Iskra 1903, does, "Die Strasse"'
Reference - Wikipédia

MANAUS,DOMINGO, MEIO DIA, JAZZ, GAIL PATTIS, SUSANNAH McCORKLE

No nosso programa dominical de jazz "Momentos de Jazz' que vai ao ar, daqui a pouco pontualmente ao meio dia, pelas ondas da Radio Amazonas 101.5 (www.amazonasfm.com.br) vamos iniciar com o talento de Susannah McCorkle registrado no CD "From Bessie to Brazil" no qual ela faz uma leitura de "Águas de Março" de Tom Jobim que se tornou referência para a nova geração de cantoras. Neste album Susannah nos trasporta de volta, através das canções de Bessie Smith, Tom e Johnny Mercer, entre outros, para uma época dourada, embalada por grandes composições.

Rennee Olstead é sem dúvida alguma uma das mais gratas revelações musicais da década passada. Jovem, linda de doer, com um voz cativante, esta menina do Tennesse, neste disco "Renee Olstead", produzido por Humberto Gatica no qual não existe uma faixa sequer que não capture o ouvinte do começo ao fim, desenvolve repertório de primeira qualidade, para os amantes da boa música.

Patti Austin se firma definitivamente na constelação jazzistica com o CD "Ella" , tributo à Primeira Dama da Canção de forma soberba, lendo as canções como "Our Love is Here to Stay", Too Close for Comfort e The Man I Love, entre tantos outros standards do jazz eternizadas na voz de Ella. Audição imperdível.


Fecharemos nosso programa jazzistico de hoje ( são quinze anos de audição!!!) com Gail Pattis. No CD "Here in the Moment", apoiada por uma incrível e sensacional banda de jazz, ela explora o Great American Songbook com a alegria e descontração de viver.


O melhor ainda está por vir. Em 2010, quinze anos de jazz.



Obrigado pela tua audiência,



Humberto Amorim
Locutor/Produtor

Saturday, February 27, 2010

DEXTER GORDON, O UNICO JAZZISTA E ATOR INDICADO PARA O OSCAR


O saxofonista de jazz, Dexter Gordon, considerado um dos pioneiros do bebop, nasceu no 27 de fevereiro de 1923. Entre 1940 e 1980 tocou com grandes nomes, tais como Lionel Hamptom, Tadd Cameron, Charles Mingus, Louis Armstrong e Billy Eckstine. Também tocou, durante alguns meses de 1947, com a banda de Fletcher Henderson.



Gordon era considerado um virtuose, particularmente por seus duetos de saxofone com Wardell Gray, com o qual gravou vários álbuns entre 1947 e 1952.


Fez diversas aparições em filmes durante a vida, dentre elas, a do filme "The Connection", de 1960, do qual também compôs a trilha sonora. Depois disto, passou 15 anos residindo na Europa, principalmente em Paris e Copenhagen. Neste período, retornou algumas vezes aos Estados Unidos para gravar. Os sete álbuns que lançou pela gravadora Blue Note Records neste período (Doin' Allright, Dexter Calling…, Go, A Swingin' Affair, Our Man in Paris, One Flight Up, e Gettin' Around) são considerados seus melhores trabalhos.


Em 1976 retornou aos EUA, se apresentando no clube de jazz Village Vanguard, com grande sucesso. Depois disto, lançou vários álbuns pela Columbia Records. Em 1986, no filme Round Midnightt fez o papel de um músico de jazz, pelo qual recebeu uma indicação para o Oscar de Mlehor Ator. Em toda história do jazz foi o único indicado, para esta categoria, até os dias de hoje.


Dexter toca "More Than You Know"





Reference - Jazz Music

MILDRED BAILEY


Plump singer known for her small, high-pitched voice, Mildred Bailey was born on february 27,1907 aqnd was one of the most popular female vocalists of the 1930s. She began her career in Los Angeles during the 1920s singing on radio and in nightclubs. With the help of her brother,Thythma Boy Al Rinker, she was hired by Paul Whiteman in 1929, becoming the first featured female vocalist with a major national dance band. Her sweet and flexible voice, equally capable of singing both jazz and ballads, made her Whiteman's star attraction after Bing Crosby left for Hollywood in 1930.


In the early 1930s Bailey married Whiteman xylophonist Red Norvo. They eventually left the King of Jazz and formed their own band in 1936. Billed as ''Mr. and Mrs. Swing,'' the couple was featured on CBS radio and made many recordings together. Their group broke up in 1939, and they eventually divorced,* though they continued to work together on and off in the early 1940s. Bailey also recorded independently from time to time during their partnership.


Despite all of her success, superstardom eluded Bailey. She blamed her plumpness, but others claimed it was her temper and sharp tongue as well as the bitterness she carried with her towards better-looking female vocalists whom she thought less talented. She claimed her obesity was glandular, but many of her friends felt it had more to do with her great love of eating.
Bailey continued recording until the mid-1940s, when health problems forced her to retire.


Plagued by a combination of diabetes, heart trouble and hardening of the arteries, she was near death and broke until she was rescued by composer Jimmy Van Heusen, who arranged to split her medical bills with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. She recovered well-enough to begin performing again, but her health problems eventually took their toll, and she died, penniless, on December 12, 1951, at age 44.
Mildred sings "He is not Worth your Tears"

Reference - Britannica Onlile

FREDDIE KEPPARD


O cornetista de jazz Freddie Keppard, nasceu em 27 de fevereiro de 1889, em Nova Orleans, Louisiana. Praticou desde criança vários instrumentos, como o violino e o bandolim, até se dedicar à corneta com a orientação de Adolphe Alexander.


Keppard atuou com várias formações nos mais famosos cabarés de New Orleans, e em 1912 uniu-se a Bill Johnson, que havia conseguido um excelente contrato em Los Angeles, e juntos formaram a “Original Creole Orchestra”, que efetuou uma grande excursão pelos Estados Unidos, com etapas em Los Angeles, Chicago e New York.



Segundo Jelly Roll Morton, Keppard, era para ele o melhor cornetista de New Orleans e o único herdeiro legitimo de Buddy Bolden. Segundo uma lenda, a “Creole” deveria ter gravado alguns discos para a Victor em 1918, em Nova York, mas Keppard recusou para não dar a seus rivais a chance de copiá-lo. Em 1922 passou para o “Dreamland” com a orquestra de Doc Cook, trabalhando no ano seguinte com Erskine Tate, com quem gravou seus primeiros discos.


Tanto estas gravações como as realizadas no ano seguinte com Doc Cook não fazem justiça a Keppard. que se encontrava em uma fase de declínio, por causa do alcoolismo que minaria de forma prematura e irreparável seu forte físico.No entanto, em aIgumas das suas posteriores sessões de 1926-27, realizadas com uma técnica de gravação superior às anteriores, Keppard demonstrou possuir ainda um ataque potentíssimo.



Mas suas precárias condições de saúde culminaram em uma tuberculose, que o levaria à morte quando contava apenas quarenta e quatro anos, no seu leito do Cook County Hospital.



Freddie faleceu em julho de 1933 em Chicago.

Freddie plays with his band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE5cq6tq83k

Fonte - CDJ

CHUCK WAYNE



Jazz guitarist Chuck Wayne, was born on February 27, 1923 - 1997 and began his jazz guitar career in the 1940's playing with such groups as Sonny Berman's Big Eight, Woody Herman's Herd and the Dizzy Gillespie bands. He came to prominence while playing with the George Shearing Quintet.
Wayne's distinctive single string style stood out on these early bebop recordings -- a style marked by clear articulation, blazing speed and wonderful melodic structures. In Wayne's later playing he mastered a method of playing chord melody with a pick and three fingers on this right hand. This style dominates his later recordings, but can also be a heard on his early 1957 album String Fever.
Like all the great guitarists, Wayne was also an accomplished accompanist and he can be heard providing great backing to Tony Bennett on Bennett's Cloud 7. He has also played for the major TV networks and wrote and performed the music to Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending.
He also taught guitar and produced guitar teaching materials.
Wayne continued playing and recording right into the 1990's. In the 70's he teamed up with Joe Puma for some duet playing in the tradition of Barnes/Kress and Ellis/Pass. His CD Alberta Clipper was released in 1990's.
Wayne was also an accomplished banjo player and he included a banjo piece on his recording Tapestry.
Chuck passed away in 1997.
Chuck plays "Round Midnight" at his 70th birthday cel;ebration.
Reference - Classic Jazz Guitar

Friday, February 26, 2010

YOSUKE YAMASHITA, PIANISTA GENIO


O pianista de jazz Yosuke Yamashita nasceu no 26 de fevereiro de 1942 em Tokyo, Japão, e é considerado pela critica especializaza um dos pianistas mais geniais do genero jazz produzido no Japão.


A critica especializada não mede os elogios ao seu excepcional estilo e virtuosismo ao tocar. Em 2003 recebeu a Medalha de Honra Mérito Imperial Purple outorgada pelo Governo Japonês pelas suas contribuições as artes e a Academia.



Yosuke começou a tocar profissionalmente quando tinha 17 anos e frequentou a Kunitachi College of Music de 62/67. Nos anos 70 ficou conhecido pelo estilo Free Jazz e nos anos 80 formou o Trio New York com o contra-baixista Cecil McBee e o baterista Pheeroan akLaff.


Em 1994 foi um dos convidados para se apresentar na celebração dos 50 anos da gravadora especializada em jazz Verve, no palco do Carnegie Hall em Nova York.



Yosuke se dedicou a composição para o cinema em 1998 para o filme de Shohei Imamura "Kanzo Sensei". Por este trabalho recebeu o Prêmio do Ministério da Educação, que passou a figurar entre tantos outros. Ele também compôs a trilha musical para o filme de Kihachi Okamoto "Vengeance is Such a Good Business".


Desde 1994, Yosuke, atua como professor visitante na Kunitachi School of Music.




Aclaimed jazz pianist Yōsuke Yamashita (山下 洋輔 Yamashita Yōsuke, was born on February 26, 1942 in Tokyo, Japan.


He is praised by critics for his unique piano style. In 2003 he was conferred the Imperial Purple Medal of Honor by the Japanese government for his contributions to the arts and academia.
Yosuke first began to play professionally at the age of 17, and attended the Kunitachi College of Music from 1962 to 1967.


In the 1970s he became known for Free Jazz, and in the 1980s formed the "New York Trio" with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Pheeroan akLaff. In 1994 he was invited to perform at the 50th anniversary concert of jazz label Verve, held at Carnegie Hall.



Yosuke moved into film scoring in 1998, scoring the Shohei Imamura film Kanzo Sensei, and his work in this earned him the "Education Minister's Education Award," amongst others. This was followed by his score for Kihachi Okamoto's "Vengeance Is Such A Great Business".


Since 2004, Yosuke has been serving as a visiting professor at Kunitachi College of Music.

Yosuke does "Rhapsody in Blue"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM49VdHBXR4




Recommended CDs



Clay (Enia, 1976) solo
Banslikana (Enja, 1976) solo
It Don't Mean A Thing (DIW, 1984) solo
Kurdish Dance (Verve 1993) with Joe Lovano e Cecil McBee und Pheeroa akLaff
Dazzling Days (Verve, 1993)
Resonant Memories (Verve, 2000) solo


Referencia - Wikipédia
Tradução de Humberto Amorim

JAMES MOODY, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE



Jazz saxophonist James Moody, was born on February 26, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia, but raised in Newark, New Jersey, he was named after his absent trumpet-playing father, discovered his love for music at a young age. He is famed for his 1949 version of "I'm in the Mood for Love," he is also an original master of bebop--the first style of modern jazz developed in the late 1940s.

Early in his outstanding musical career, Moody worked with bebop founders and legends such as saxophonist Charlie Parker, pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Kenny Clarke, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie to forge a radical style of music marked by complicated improvisation and vast harmonic territory for jazz soloists. Moody himself has proven to be a fluent soloist on the tenor and alto saxophone, as well as the flute.
Decades after the creation of bebop, Moody's musical style and vision continue to evolve. "Over the years, Moody has become so free--not in a random fashion, but a scientific freedom--that he can do anything he wants with the saxophone.... He has true knowledge. He is in complete control," saxophonist Jimmy Heath told Down Beat's Ted Panken.
Moody has been honored by receiving induction into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, and he was presented with the Jazz Masters Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1998.
Although he was born partially deaf, at the age of 16, Moody began playing an old, silver alto saxophone given to him by an uncle. A few years later, he heard tenor saxophonists Don Byas and Buddy Tate perform with the Count Basie Band at the Adams Theater in Newark where he became enchanted by the more full-bodied sound of the tenor. The music of two other great tenor saxophonists, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins, electrified Moody and helped convince him to dedicate his life to playing the saxophone.

While serving in an African American unit of the United States Air Force from 1943-46, Moody met Gillespie, the influential trumpeter in whom he would find a lifelong friend and mentor. At the time, Moody was playing in the unauthorized 'Negro Air Force Band,' led by trumpeter Dave Burns, whom Moody would soon play with in Gillespie's big band and later in Moody's own band of the mid-1950s. Moody and Burns were blown away when they heard Gillespie perform at a military base in Greensboro, North Carolina. The two young men talked to the trumpeter and told him of their upcoming discharge from the Air Force. Gillespie invited them to audition for his band in New York. A few months after failing his first audition, Moody joined Gillespie's all-star bebop big band in 1946. By joining Gillespie's group, Moody established an association that would offer him international exposure and the chance to create his own brilliant improvisational style.
The 21-year-old Moody was overwhelmed and impressed by the orchestra's awe-inspiring range of talent, which included the supreme vibraphonist Milt Jackson, Kenny Clarke on drums, bassist Ray Brown, Monk on piano, Dave Burns on trumpet, and arguably one of the twentieth century's greatest creative artists, trumpeter Miles Davis. It was during his first recording with the band that Moody established himself as a superb soloist. He made a startling impact on Gillespie's 1946 version of "Emanon," in which he opened his now-famous 16-bar solo with a surprising, trumpet-like burst of notes. "Moody's 'Emanon' solo was very exciting to all the saxophone players around Philadelphia. It was very different than any blues solo that you had heard. He had the bebop sound," Heath told Panken. One year later, Moody recorded with Jackson for Dial Records, and in 1948, he made his recording debut as a leader using players from Gillespie's band on James Moody and His Bebop Men for Blue Note.

In 1949, Moody moved to Paris, where he lived with his uncle, to recover from a bout with alcoholism. He frequently played at the Club St. Germain and toured France, Scandinavia, and Switzerland, recording with both European and visiting American stars such as Davis and Clarke. He also got married and had a daughter, all the while recording over 90 sides for a variety of labels, melodically reinventing ballads, blues and bop tunes.
On October 12, 1949, while in Sweden on a two-week nightclub engagement, Moody recorded "I'm in the Mood for Love," the risky, improvisational masterpiece for which he is now renowned. A group called James Moody and His Swedish Crowns recorded Moody's adventurous interpretation of this pop song by Jimmy McHugh for Metronome in Stockholm. As fate would have it, legendary Swedish saxophonist Lars Gullin came by the studio to hear Moody in action. On a whim, Moody asked Gullin if he could borrow the beat up alto saxophone that he had brought along with him. It was the first time Moody played the alto professionally. Pianist Gosta Theselius, who arranged the music, jotted down the harmonies to "I'm in the Mood for Love" while in the bathroom. When he came out, the song was done in one fantastic take. The beginning of Moody's solo has become classic, but in fact, the musician, accustomed to playing the tenor, hesitated while he tried to find the right notes on his new instrument.
The song changed Moody's life and launched a fresh career for him back in the United States where the song unexpectedly became a huge juke box hit when it was initially released by Prestige Records. In 1954, the tune had a resurgence in popularity when the singer King Pleasure released a new version called "Moody's Mood For Love" using lyrics by vocalist Eddie Jefferson, which referred to Moody by name. The song has since become a standard, with famous singers like Aretha Franklin covering it.
Due to the racism he had experienced during his service in the Air Force, Moody had not considered returning from Europe to the United States. In 1951, however, he did so in order to capitalize on his record's success as a professionally established alto and tenor player. Shortly after his arrival, he formed a septet that integrated R&B with jazz and employed bop vocalist Eddie Jefferson as the band's singer.
In 1956, Moody's septet recorded Flute 'n the Blues, the band's label debut with Argo Records and Moody's first as a flutist. "I never really studied the flute, although I had help from many beautiful people. So I just got a flute and started 'spittin' into it not knowing what I was doing. The fingerings, some of them, seemed similar to saxophone, and I just blew like that and that's how I started," Moody told Saxophone Journal. Flute 'n the Blues is an album on which Moody plays all three of his instruments, conveying the same deep feeling with his flute that he does on the saxophone. The record features "Boo's Tune," one of two pieces recorded by Moody to be covered by the Ray Charles band.

The 1950s saw Moody play a series of three-tenor shows with saxophonists Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, as well as work with R&B and soul singers Dinah Washington and Brook Benton. Despite producing a number of exceptional recordings for Argo, Moody grew dissatisfied with the incessant touring and constant pressures of road life.
In 1958, Moody's career took a bad turn when a fire destroyed his band's instruments, uniforms, and arrangements. A series of events led Moody to seek treatment for alcoholism at a mental institution called Overbrook Hospital in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. He was determined not to allow his addiction to mean the end of his life and career. After a six-month recovery period, his mother picked him up from Overbrook and saw him off at the Newark train station. He was on his way to Chicago, embarking on a journey that symbolized rebirth after months of suffering. In Chicago, he recorded the inspirational, bluesy album entitled "Last Train from Overbrook" on which he demonstrates his growth and agility as a flutist.
In 1963, after more than a decade, Moody rejoined Gillespie, replacing Leo Wright as reedman-flutist in Gillespie's quintet until 1970. According to Panken, Moody's thorough study of Coltrane's harmonic system "brought his playing to new levels of complexity and abstraction." Wanting a steady job that would afford him time with his new wife and young daughter, Moody left the one-nighters behind and moved to Las Vegas in 1973. He had a seven-year stint in the Las Vegas Hilton Orchestra performing shows for rock 'n' roll mega-star Elvis Presley, popular television personality Bill Cosby, and glitzy pianist Liberace.
Moody got divorced and moved back to the East Coast in the 1980s. His career received a boost during this decade when he put together his own band again and received a 1985 Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance for his playing on the Manhattan Transfer's Vocalese album.

The record launched Moody back into the jazz scene as a recording artist, and the next year, he released his RCA/Novus debut titled Something Special. This recording was followed by Moving Forward, which features Moody's energetic vocals on the tune "What Do You Do" and showcases his creative flute playing on the song "Giant Steps." His 1989 album, Sweet and Lovely, is dedicated to his wife Linda, whom he married in April of the same year. Gillespie was the best man, and he performed the solo on "Con Alma" to which the bride and groom walked down the aisle.
Moody teamed with Gillespie again during the 1990s. They received a Grammy Award nomination for their version of Gillespie's "Get the Booty," which showcases outstanding scatting. The two men also toured Europe and the United States with the United Nations Orchestra. The 1995 Telarc release Moody's Party is a live recording of his historic seventieth birthday celebration at New York's Blue Note.
In April of 1996, the prolific artist released his first Warner Bros. album called "Young at Heart", a recording that pays tribute to songs associated with Frank Sinatra. While touring extensively, Moody managed to find the time to appear as Mr. Glover in the 1997 film "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".
During the latter part of the decade, he received a variety of honors, including his first honorary degree from Florida Memorial College, his induction into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, the 1998 Jazz Masters Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the release of his Warner Bros. album Moody Plays Mancini.
In the spring of 2000, Moody celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday with another remarkable party, this time at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City with the help of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and notable Gillespie disciples. The audience was packed, and guests Slide Hampton, Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Jon Faddis, Kenny Barron, Janis Siegel, and Bill Cosby honored Moody. In conjunction with his birthday, Moody received proclamations from the cities of New York and Newark and was honored by the Congressional Black Caucus. On July 22, 2000, Moody received an honorary doctorate from Boston's Berklee College of Music, awarded in Perugia, Italy.
Despite all of his accomplishments, Moody is humble, always seeking new knowledge about chords and scales, forever pushing the limits of jazz music. As he told Saxophone Journal, "I've had a saxophone for over 50 years, and still can't play it."

Video tribute to James Moody

Reference - Musicians Guide (Valerie Linet)

FATS DOMINO, A LIVING LEGEND


American R&B and rock and roll pianist, singer and sonwriter Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino was born on February 26, 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He first attracted national attention with "The Fat Man" in 1949 on Imperial Records. This song is an early rock and roll record, featuring a rolling piano and Domino doing "wah-wha" vocalizing over a fat back beat. It sold over a million copies and is widely regarded as the first rock and roll record to do so.


Fats Domino released a series of hit songs with producer and co-writer Dave Bartholomew, saxophonist Herbert Hardesty and Alvin "Red" Tyler and drummer Earl Palmer. Other notable and long-standing musicians in Domino's band were saxophonists Reggie Houston, Lee Allen and Fred Kemp, who was also Domino's trusted bandleader. Domino finally crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955), which hit the Top Ten, though Pat Boone characteristically hit #1 with a milder cover of the song that received wider radio airplay in a racially-segregated era. Domino would eventually release 37 Top 40 singles, "Whole Lotta Loving" and "Blue Monday" among them.


Domino's first album, "Carry on Rockin'", was released under the Imperial imprint, #9009, in November 1955 and subsequently reissued as Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino in 1956. Combining a number of his hits along with some tracks which had not yet been released as singles, the album went on under its alternate title to reach #17 on the "PopAlbums" chart.
His 1956 up-tempo version of the 1940 Vincent Rose, Al Lewis & Larry Stock song, "Blueberry Hill" reached #2 in the Top 40, was #1 on the R&B charts for 11 weeks, and was his biggest hit. "Blueberry Hill" sold more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956-57. The song had earlier been recorded by Gene Autry, and Louis Armstrong among many others. On December 18, 1957, Domino's hit "The Big Beat" was featured on Dick Clark's American bandstand.


Domino continued to have a steady series of hits for Imperial through early 1962, including "Walkin' to New Orleans" (1960) (Pop #6), co-written by Bobby Charles, and "My Girl Josephine" (Pop #14) from the same year. In all, Domino recorded over 60 singles for the label, placing 40 songs in the top 10 on the R&B charts, and scoring 11 top 10 singles on the pop charts. Twenty-two of Domino's Imperial singles were double-sided hits.


By the end of 1964 the British Invasion had changed the tastes of the record-buying public, and Domino's chart run was over. In the 1980s, Domino decided he would no longer leave New Orleans, having a comfortable income from royalties and a dislike for touring, and claiming he could not get any food that he liked any place else. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and an invitation to perform at the White House failed to persuade Domino to make an exception to this policy.


On October 12, 1983 USA Today reported that Domino was included in Chenevert's Southern Satrs" promotional poster for the agency (along with historically preserving childhood photographs of other famous living musicians from New Orleans and Louisiana on it). Fats provided a photograph of his first recording session, which was the only one he had left from his childhood. Domino autographed these posters, whose recipients included USA Today's Gannett president Al NewHarth, and Peter Morton founder of the Hard Rock Cafe. Times-Picayune columnist Betty Guillaud noted on September 30, 1987 that Domino also provided Chenevert with an autographed pair of his shoes (and signed a black grand piano lid) for the Hard Rock location in New Orleans.

Domino lived in a mansion in a predominantly working-class Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, where he was a familiar sight in his bright pink cadillac automobile. He made yearly appearances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and other local events. Domino was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #25 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

When Hurricane Katrina was approaching New Orleans in August 2005, Dianna Chenevert encouraged Fats to evacuate, but he chose to stay at home with his family, partly because of his wife's poor health. Unfortunately his house was in an area that was heavily flooded. Chenevert e-mailed writers at the Times Picayune newspaper and the Coast Guard with the Dominos' location.
Someone thought Fats was dead, and spray-painted a message on his home, "RIP Fats. You will be missed", which was shown in news photos. On September 1, Domino's agent, Al Embry, announced that he had not heard from the musician since before the hurricane had struck.


Later that day, CNN reported that Domino was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. Fats Domino returned to stage on May 19, 2007, at Tipitina's at New Orleans, performing to a full house.
In September 2007, Domino was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the Delta Music Museam Hall of Fame in Ferriday. In December 2007, Fats Domino was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. In May 2009, Domino made an unexpected appearance for The Domino Effect, a namesake concert aimed at raising funds to help rebuild schools and playgrounds damaged by Hurricane Katrina.


Paul McCarthy reportedly wrote the Beatles song "Lady Madonna" in an emulation of Domino's style, combining it with a nod to Humphrey Lyttleton's 1956 hit "Bad Penny Blues", a record which Joe Meek had engineered.

Fats Domino does "Blueberry Hill", live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mix3gmzPa0


Reference - Wikipédia

TREVOR CHARLES WATTS, THE ENGLISH JAZZ


English jazz and free-improvising alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Charles Watts born on February 26, 1939, is largely self-taught, having taken up the cornet at age 12 then switched to saxophone at 18. While stationed in Germany with the RAF (1958-63), he encountered the drummer John Stevens and trombonist Paul Rutherford.
After being demobbed he returned to London. In 1965 he and Stevens formed the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, which became one of the crucibles of British free improvisation. Watts left the band to form his own group Amalgam in 1967, then returned to SME for another stretch that lasted till the mid-1970s. Another key association was with the bassist Barry Guy and his London Jazz Composer' Orchestra, an association that lasted from the band's inception in the 1970s up to its (permanent?) disbandment in the mid-1990s.
Though he was initially strongly identified with the avant-garde, Watts is a versatile musician who has worked in everything from straight jazz contexts to rock and blues. His own projects have come increasingly to focus on blending jazz and African music, notably the Moiré Music ensemble which he has led since 1982 in configurations ranging from large ensembles featuring multiple drummers to more intimate trios.
He has only occasionally recorded in freer modes in recent years, notably the CD "6 Dialogues", a duet album with Veryan Weston (the pianist in earlier editions of Moiré Music). A solo album, World Sonic, appeared on Hi4Head Records in 2005.
Completely free improvisation by Trevor Watts and Veryon Weston
Recommended CDs
Challenge
Prayer for Peace
With One Voice
Trevor Watts and the Celebration Band
A Wider Embrace
Live in Latin America
Reference - Wikipédia

DAVE PELL

Jazz saxophonist and bandleader Dave Pell, was born on February 26, 1925 in New York City.
Pell first played in his teens with the big bands of Tony Pastor,Bob Astor e Bobby Sherwood, and then moved to California in the middle of the 1940s. There he played on Bob Crosby's radio show in 1946, and was a member of Les Brown's band from 1947 to 1955.

In 1953 he began working with his own ensembles, mostly as an octet; among the players were Pepper Adams,Benny Carter,Mel Lewis,Red Mitchell,Marty Paich and Art Pepper. These ensembles recorded in the 1950s for Atlantic Kapp,Coral, Capitol, and RCA Victor; alongside this, he played as a sideman for Shorty Rogers,Pete Rugolo, Benny Goodman, and Gene Krupa.



He also produced in the 1950s and 1960s for Tops,Uni, and Liberty; among his credits in production were some singles by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. In the 1970s he assembled the group Prez Conference, a Lester Young tribute ensemble. In the 1980s he returned to the octet format, and played on and off into the 1990s.


While living in North Hollywood, Dave Pell was married to Babette and had 2 daughters, Sandra and Suzanne.
Dave Pell plays.
Reference - Wikipédia

IDA COX, THE UNCROWNED QUEEN OF THE BLUES


African american singer and vaudeville performer Ida Cox, best known for her blues performances and recordings, was born on February 25, 1896 in Toccoa, Habersham County, Georgia, the daughter of Lamax and Susie (Knight) Prather, and grew up in Cedartown, Georgia, singing in the local African Methodist Church choir. She was billed as "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues"


She left home to tour with traveling minstrel shows, often appearing in blackface into the 1910s; she married fellow minstrel performer Adler Cox. By 1920, she was appearing as a headline act at the 81 Theatre in Atlanta,Georgia; another headliner at that time was Jelly Roll Morton.


After the success of Mamie Smith's pioneering 1920 recording of "Crazy Blues", record labels realized there was a demand for recordings of race music. The classic female blues era had begun, and would extend through the 1920s. From 1923 through to 1929, Cox made numerous recordings for Paramount Records, and headlined touring companies, sometimes billed as the "Sepia Mae West", continuing into the 1930s.


During the 1920s, she also managed Ida Cox and Her Raisin' Cain Company, her own vaudeville troupe. At some point in her career, she played alongside Ibrahim Khalil, a Native American and one of the several jazz musicians of that era who belonged from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.


In the early 1930s "Baby Earl Palmer' entered show business as a tap dancer in Cox's Darktown Scandals Review. In 1939 she appeared at Café Society Downtown, in New York's Greenwich Village, and participated in the historic Carnegie Hall concert, From Spirituals to Swing. That year, she also resumed her recording career with a series of sessions for Vocalion Records and, in 1940, Oked Records, with groups that at various times included guitarist Charlie Christian, trumpeters Hot Lips Page and Henry "Red"Allen, trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, and Lionel Hampton.


She had spent several years in retirement by 1960, when record producer Chris Albertson persuaded her to make one final recording, an album for Riverside. Her accompanying group comprised Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, pianist Sammy Price, bassist Milt Hinton, and Jo Jones. The album featured her revisiting songs from her old repertoire, including "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues", which found a new audience, including such singers as Nancy Harrow and Barbara Dane, who recorded their own versions. Cox referred to the album as her "final statement," and, indeed, it was.


She returned to live with her daughter in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she died of cancer in 1967.
Ida Cox sings "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues"
Reference - Wikipédia

Thursday, February 25, 2010

FRED KATZ, THE JAZZ CELLIST

Composer, songwriter,conductor, cellist, and professor Fred Katz, was born on February 25, 1919. Katz was classically trained at the cello and piano and began his career in a number of classical and swing orchestras. In the early 1950s, Katz accompanied singers such as Lena Horne, Tony Bennett and Frankie Laine. From 1955 through 1958, he was a member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. He also recorded several solo albums for Pacific Jazz, Warner Bros., and Decca Records. At Decca, he also served as A&R director.

Before he became Dr. Katz, musicologist and academician, Fred Katz contributed some priceless items to the space age pop archives. Let me review his c.v.:

Arrangements for Harpo Marx's "Harpo in Hi-Fi" album
Jazz cellist in Chico Hamilton's innovative combo with the young Eric Dolphy
The score for the Roger Corman cult black comedy, "The Little Shop of Horrors"
Backing soundtrack for Ken Nordine's "Word Jazz" albums
Original compositions for the early Tzadik/rad Jewish music album, Folk Songs for Far Out Folks
Original compositions to back Sidney Poitier's reading of excerpts from Plato Obviously, his tenure in the pantheon of this site is assured.


Katz spent World War Two leading the 6th Army Band based at the Presidio, then joined the studio system in Hollywood, where he worked with vocalists such as Lena Horne and Vic Damone. He also performed on the side as a jazz pianist in local clubs, and through those gigs came in contact with many of the leading figures in the West Coast jazz scene.


Having studied the cello in school, Katz was encouraged to explore its possibilities as a jazz instrument through his work with Chico Hamilton. Hamilton was attempting to expand his repertoire beyond cool jazz and bebop, and Katz' classical training and interest in ethnic music provided the means to explore new areas. Together, they wove classical, Middle Eastern, and Asian themes into their performances, helping to pioneer "exotic jazz," a small but fun subgenre shared by Duke Ellington's "Far East Suite" and Cal Tjader's "Shades of Jade" album.


Katz can also be seen and heard in the great Tony Curtis/Burt Lancaster film, "The Sweet Smell of Success," again as part of a Chico Hamilton combo. Katz and Hamilton wrote and perform the four numbers the group performs in the film along with Martin Milner (dubbed by Jim Hall) as the "disreputable" jazz musician Lancaster (as Walter Winchell-like gossip columnist and holy moral force J. J. Hunsecker). As befits lazy good-for-nothing hop-head jazz musicians, Katz and Hamilton can also be spotted hanging around backstage.


While playing with Hamilton, Katz continued to work in the studio system. He worked briefly for Roger Corman, cranking out three scores--"The Little Shop of Horrors," "Bucket of Blood," and "The Wasp Woman"--in under 18 months. Given the similarity of musical cues among the films, however, it may be more accurate to say that Corman used Katz's one score three times.



He served a number of years as an A&R director for Decca Records and recorded occasionally under his own name--a diverse array of projects in their own right as you can see from the list of titles below. Sometime in the mid-to-late 1960s, Katz moved up the road from Hollywood and settled in as a member of the music faculty at the California State University at Northridge.


Chico Hamilton Quintet (Fred Katz on cello), plays "Blue Sands"
Reference - AAJ/American Musicians

DEU NA DOWNBEAT


A revista Downbeat considerada pelos seus leitores como a "Bíblia do Jazz", publicou na sua edição deste mês de fevereiro, para alegria dos apreciadores da musica jazz pelo mundo, que o Grupo Concord Music vai realizar lançamentos, no próximo 30 de março, de uma nova série de reedições remasterizadas dentro do projeto Original Jazz Classics Remasters, de vários discos considerados como cássicos mas que estão fora de publicação ha vários anos.



O lançamento inicial vai envolver cinco títulos do catalago da Concord Music. Eles serão remasterizados em 24-bit, e incluem "Jazz At Oberlin" de Dave Brubeck, "Way Out West"de Sonny Rollins, "Virtuoso" de Joe Pass, "Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section" de Art Pepper e "Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane".



A Downbeat informa que esta série é uma extensão das recentes reedições da Rudy Van Gelder Remasters, que utilizam a tecnologia de remasterização em 24-bit. O vice-presidente de jazz da Concord, Nick Phillips disse que estas reedições voltam o foco renovador e cria uma nova perspectiva para estes artistas e suas mais importantes gravações.

Joe Pass sola "All the Things You Are" de Jerome Kern.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWa6aChSf1w

Fonte : Revista Downbeat

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

MICHEL LEGRAND

O pianista, arranjador e compositor Michel Legrand, nasceu no 24 de fevereiro de 1932, em Paris e construiu sua carreira de sucesso compondo para o cinema, tendo sido premiado com 3 Oscars.


São dele as trilhas sonoras de Lola, Les Misérables, Prêt-à-Porter, Duas Garotas Românticas, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (I Will Wait for You), Windmills of your Mind, Summer of 42, Une Femme est une Femme (Uma mulher é uma Mulher),entre outras.


O jazz também é marcante em sua carreira. Desde 1958, liderou bandas que contavam com alguns dos maiores nomes do segmento, como Miles Davis,John Coltrane,Bill Evans, Herbie Mann. Compôs para álbuns de Stan Getz (1971), Sarah Vaughan (1972) e Phil Woods - em várias ocasiões. Vários músicos de jazz regravaram canções de Legrand, como What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life, Watch What Happens e The Summer Knows.


Em 2004, a gravadora Biscoito Fino lançou o CD "Homenagem a Luiz Eça", em que o pianista francês presta um tributo ao músico brasileiro.


Michel Legrand e Oscar Peterson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLtpeaFh-YY

Fonte - Wikipédia

PATTI WICKS


Jazz pianist Patti Wicks, was born on February 24,1945 in Islip, NY and is also a sensitive ballad singer. She has had a long career and is finally receiving recognition. Patti is a highly regarded international recording artist. She was born two month premature, leaving her visually impaired. At the age of three she heard he mother play a song on the piano and then, without any encouragement she walked over to the piano and played it back note-for-note.
Patti currently resides in Florida but visits New York frequently and has toured Europe several times, particularly Italy. She made her recording debut on 1997's "Root at the Top" and has thus far recorded five CDs that featured both her heartfelt singing and fluent piano. Over the years she has also accompanied many singers, like Anita O’Day, Rebecca Parris, Sheila Jordon, Carol Sloane.

Her biggest influence, was Bill Evans and she likes to listen to mainly instrumentalists jazz greats: Wayne Shorter, Miles, Cannonball Adderley, . That’s how she learned most of her musical repertoire, listening to them.

Her CD “Dedicated To” was recorded in Italy with an Italian trio: Giovanni Sanguineti on bass and Giovanni Gullino on drums. Special guest was tenor player Scott Hamilton.
For more information about Patti, visit her website: http://www.pattiwicks.com/
Patti sings "I Have the Feeling I've Been Here Before"
Recommended CDs
Love Locked Out
Basic Feeling
It's a Good Day (Received an Italian jazz award for the best jazz album in 2008)

DAVID "FATHEAD" NEWMAN


Jazz saxophonist David 'Fathead' Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24, 1933. His family soon moved to Dallas, where they settled and David stayed through graduating Lincoln High School. After school, David found gigs in local bands. He received a scholarship to Jarvis Christian College where he studied theology and music.
After two years of college, David decided to go on the road full time with Buster Smith (Charlie Parker's mentor). The band played lots of one-nighters and dance halls, touring Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and sometimes California. On one of those tours, David met Ray Charles.
Ray was working as a sideman with another group on the night's roster. They immediately bonded, both musically and as friends. When Ray started his own band, he called on David to be part of his group.
In 1954, David began a twelve year association with the Ray Charles Band. David began as the baritone player and soon became the star tenor soloist. In 1959, David recorded his first album as a leader titled, "Fathead: Ray Charles Presents 'Fathead'" on Atlantic records. It included Newman's dramatic and now famous rendition of Hard Times.
Newman settled down in New York City and recorded many albums for Atlantic records, as well as Warner Brothers and Prestige. During this time in NYC, he also gigged with Lee Morgan, Kenny Drew Sr., Billy Higgins, Kenny Dorham and so many other of the great jazz musicians hanging out on the New York scene. He gigged around the East Coast with his own quartet and soon began touring Europe and Japan as a leader.
As a studio musician he was very busy working on lots of recording projects with the likes of Herbie Mann, Aretha Franklin, Hank Crawford, Aaron Neville, to name a few. After meeting at a studio session, David joined forces with Herbie Mann during "The Family of Mann" era. Cal Tjader (later Roy Ayres) were part of this outstanding group.
It was now time for David Newman to focus on his personal choices and let the public know more about the music that he chose to play. In 1980, Newman, determined to pursue his own musical identity, recorded several mainstream jazz albums for the Muse label. Artists such as Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, Louis Hayes, and other fine NY musicians, helped round out the rhythm sections.
David returned to Atlantic Records in the late eighties to record several albums. One of he recordings was done live at the Village Vanguard in NYC, featuring Stanley Turrentine and Hank Crawford.
Newman's next recordings were on the Kokopelli label. This was a new label owned by Herbie Mann. David recorded a beautiful CD in tribute to Duke Ellington, titled Mr. Gentle, Mr. Cool. David produced the next one on Kokopelli, titled Under A Woodstock Moon. The late nineties brought David to the High Note label where he has recorded six successful CDs. The CD "I Remember Brother Ray", was released in January 2005 and became the #1 Most Played Jazz Album nationwide.
David Newman has appeared on many television shows including Saturday Night Live, David Sanborn's Night Music, David Letterman, and various featured news segments. David appeared in Robert Altman's film Kansas City and did a national tour with the Kansas City Orchestra, for Verve Records.
David Newman was a musician's musician. Whenever someone wanted to add something special to their own recording, they called ‘Fathead.’ His horn graced the recordings of such diverse artists as Ray Charles, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, Jane Monheit, the Average White Band, Queen Latifah and others.
Sadly, the album "The Blessing" was to be David's last recording but it finds no decline in his creativity or his formidable chops. Ever the master, David leads a band of his friends and preferred sidemen in a fine session caught at the famed Rudy Van Gelder Studio. David's authoritative playing sums up a lifetime of experience and grants us a look at his final intensely personal thoughts on music and, by extension, life itself.
David "Fathead"Newman, passed away on January, 2009
David's final recording "The Blessing", was released on April, 2009, featuring :

David "Fathead" Newman—Tenor Saxophone & Flute
David Leonhardt—Piano
Steve Nelson—Vibes
Peter Bernstein—Guitar
John Menegon—Bass
Yoron Israel—Drums
Track Listing:
SKJ * Someone to Watch Over Me *As Time Goes By *Manha de Carnaval * Smile * Romantic Night * Chelsea Bridge * Whispers of Contentment *
David plays "Cristo Redentor"
Reference - DFN Homepage

EDDIE "LONG GONE" CHAMBLEE


Saxophonist Eddie “Long Gone” Chamblee, was born on February 24, 1920 in Atlanta, Georgia, was raised in Chicago and was one of the stalwarts of the solid Rhythm & Blues scene to come out of the Windy City in the post war years, and made quite a name for himself on the record charts while gaining a reputation as a dynamic performer on the club circuit as well. He started on sax by age of twelve though music was Chamblee's second career choice, later deciding to study law at Roosevelt University and playing local gigs at night.


In the early 40s, during his army service, he became deeply involved in music, playing the tenor saxophone, and performing in, and sometimes directing, army bands. Upon his discharge he joined in with the Miracle Records label. This led to a big local hit of “Long Gone” (’48) which was a two part instrumental featuring his blasting tenor. The song went on to # 1 followed by “Late Freight,” which was also a big hit for him.


He became a mainstay on the Chicago scene moving on to record for the Premium, Coral and United labels, while performing continuously at nightclubs. He had another hit on the record by the Four Blazes “Mary Jo,” for United in 1952.


Chamblee joined Lionel Hampton in 1955, his tenure with Hampton lasted two years but it was long enough for him to build a reputation in Europe. Married briefly to Dinah Washington, he recorded with her, sometimes singing duets in a style similar to that which Washington adopted for her later successes with Brook Benton. He went on to record two fine sides for Emarcy circa ’58, then by the early ‘60’s he started working and recording with organ based groups, doing some recording for Roulette and Prestige.


Chamblee continued to lead small groups into the mid-70s, when he again visited Europe with both Milt Buckner and Hampton. During this same time frame he was recorded for the French Black & Blue label.


In the early 80s he switched to alto saxophone for a short stint with Count Basie, also began a lengthy association with the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band. He became at regular at Sweet Basil in the Village in New York for many years.


Eddie “Long Gone” Chamblee, one of the great Chicago sax legends, died on May, 1, 1999.

Eddie "Doodling"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy08tkw1lOA

Reference - AAJ

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

JOHNNY WINTER


O guitarrista e cantor de blues John Dawson Winter III, mais conhecido como Johnny Winter, nasceu no 23 de fevereiro de 1944 em Beaumont, Texas. Johnny começou a se apresentar ainda jovem com seu irmão Edgar Winter, que, assim como ele, é albino.



Seu primeiro disco (School Day Blues) foi lançado quando Winter tinha 15 anos de idade. Em 1968 ele começou a tocar em um trio com o baixista Tommy Shannon e o baterista Uncle John Turner. Um artigo na revista Rolling Stone ajudou a gerar interesse no grupo. O álbum Johnny Winter foi lançado no final do ano. Em 1969 o trio se apresentou em vários festivais, incluindo o famosos Festival de Woodstock.


Em 1973, depois de se livrar das drogas, Winter retornou em forma com Still Alive and Well. Em 1977 ele produziu o álbum Hard Again de Muddy Waters. A parceria resultaria em várias indicações ao Grammy e Johhny gravou o álbum Nothing But Blues com os integrantes da banda de Muddy.
Em 1988 ele foi incluído no "Hall da Fama do Blues".

Johnny toca ""Be Careful with a Fool". Magnifico solo de guitarra!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tyg5SJDpiQ
Referencia - Wikipédia

JOHN PIZZARELLI, PRESTA TRIBUTO AO DUKE.


O cantor/guitarrista de jazz John Pizzarelli, mestre na arte de reinventar os clássicos do jazz, desta vez celebra em seu novo CD o bandleader e compositor Duke Ellington, indubitavelmente o mais importante ícone musical do século XX.



O CD "'Rocking' in Rhythm: A tribute to Duke Ellington" é o primeiro em homenagem ao grande jazz master e o nono da profícua carreira do músico ( que já esteve em Manaus duas vezes), pela Gravadora Telarc Internacional. Na época da morte de Duke Ellington, em maio de 1974, John ainda era muito jovem, entretanto, graças ao seu pai o veterano guitarrista de jazz Bucky Pizzarelli, ele acabou aprendendo tudo sobre o mais importante compositor do jazz.

"A musica de Duke era fundamental nas apresentações de meu pai, Bucky, e foi ouvindo as músicas do incomparável pianista e compositor de jazz, através de meu pai, e depois na sua companhia no palco, durante os shows que realizamos juntos, que me encantei. Existem canções maravilhosas e muitas descobertas inesperadas podem ocorrer a qualquer momento"



Uma versão cativante de "Satin Doll" inclui um solo do pai de John, Bucky. "Em um dos primeiors discos de meu pai ele gravou "Satin Doll" e eu sempre a curti bastante", diz John, "Ele desenvolve a canção como se tocasse pela primeira vez, e estou feliz que voltou a repetir a dose no meu disco".


Foi logo após uma conversa informal com Tony Benett, numa festa, que John lembrou-se de uma leitura magnifica que Tony havia feito da canção "Love Scene" de Ellington, em 1986, no Radio City Music Hall, e então, resolveu dar a esta mesma canção a sua interpretação. Benett havia incluido a canção "Love Scene" em seu disco de 1965 "If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set". Em suas apreentações ao vivo Tony Bennett sempre meciona Duke Ellington, meu pai também."Por tudo isso, estou feliz pela lembrança e por ter incluido no meu CD, esta grande canção tão pouco gravada", diz John.



O CD "Rockin' in Rhythm" é o primeiro depois do lançamento, em 2008, do CD "With a Song in My Heart - John Pizzarelli sings the Music of Richard Rogers" que foi sucesso de publico e crítica e também contemplado com a indicação para o Grammy, pelo arranjo de Sebesky na canção "Johnny One Note". Em 2009 John Pizzarelli faturou o prestigioso prêmio Ella Fitzgerald durante o Montreal Jazz Festival, conferido à sua versatilidade, originalidade de improvisação e qualidade de repertorio, como cantor de jazz renomado no cenário musical internacional.


O disco "Rockin' in Rhythm" é a combinação da perenidade do trabalho de Duke Ellington com a incrível habilidade de John Pizzarelli em interpretar as canções do Great American Songbook.


"O arranjador Don Sebesky declarou, durante a gravação do CD, que todos deveriam me agradecer pelo privilégio de estarmos juntos tocando Duke Ellington". "Eu é quem deve agradecer pela participação no tributo a um ícone da musica americana como Duke Ellington, a companhia de excelentes profissionais da musica e amigos que contribuiram para eu tornar meu sonho em realidade", finalizou, John Pizzarelli..


Clique para curtir John e seu pai Bucky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36SODD17-Cs

Singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli, a master in the art of reinventing jazz classics, celebrates the music of Duke Ellington, undeniably one of the most prominent musical icons of the 20th century. Rockin’ In Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington is Pizzarelli’s first ever Ellington recording and his ninth release with Telarc International, a Division of Concord Music Group.
Pizzarelli was still a very young musician when Ellington died in May 1974, but thanks to his father – veteran guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli – he would eventually learn much about jazz’s most important composer.


“Duke’s music was an integral part of any set my father played,” says Pizzarelli. “I heard a tremendous amount of his music listening to my Dad and then through performing with him. There are some many beautiful melodies and so many discoveries to be made on any given night."


An elegant version of “Satin Doll” includes a guitar solo by Pizzarelli’s father, Bucky. “On one of Dad’s first LPs there was a version of ‘Satin Doll’ I always loved,” Pizzarelli says. “He always plays the song like it’s the first time for him, and I’m so glad he played the solo here.”


After a recent chat with Tony Bennett at a party, Pizzarelli recalled the legendary singer’s moving performance of Ellington’s “Love Scene” at a 1986 Radio City Music Hall concert, and decided to record his own interpretation. Bennett included “Love Scene” on his 1965 recording If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set. “If you see Tony live, he always mentions Duke, much like my father does,” says Pizzarelli. “This tune is a rare one that I’m glad I remembered to include.”


Rockin’ In Rhythm is the follow up to Pizzarelli’s critically-acclaimed 2008 release, With A Song In My Heart – John Pizzarelli Sings the Music of Richard Rodgers, which featured Sebesky’s GRAMMY® nominated arrangement of “Johnny One Note.”
In 2009, Pizzarelli won the Montreal Jazz Festival’s prestigious Ella Fitzgerald Award, conferred in recognition of the versatility, improvisational originality and quality of repertoire of a jazz singer renowned on the international scene.


Rockin’ In Rhythm combines the enduring work of Duke Ellington with John Pizzarelli’s incredible ability to reinterpret the Great American Songbook. Pizzarelli says, “Don Sebesky surprised us all at the session when, after the ‘keeper’ take of ‘C Jam,’ he said that we should ‘thank Pizzarelli for getting us all together to play Duke Ellington.’ Well, I am grateful that when I chose to salute such an American icon as Duke Ellington, I had such tremendous friends and associates to help realize my dream.”



Reference - Concord Music Group

Tradução de Humberto Amorim

Monday, February 22, 2010

BUDDY TATE, SWINGING TEXAS TENOR MAN


O saxofonista de jazz e bandleader George Holmes Tate, mais conhecido no mundo do jazz como Buddy Tate, nasceu no 22 de fevereiro de 1913 . Seu fraseado era simples porem, com o mais completo senso dinamico do swing.


No começo dos anos 30 juntou-se a banda de Count Basie em Kansas City. Ausentou-se por uns tempos, mas anos depois, com a saida do saxofonista Hershel Evans, retornou e permaneceu com Basie por mais de dez anos.


Buddy passou alguns anos na obscuridade e fez retorno triunfal na noite do Harlem, aproveitando a 'New Wave" nos anos 50 e 60, que trouxe a onda do swing de volta.


Entre as suas mais famosas e significativas composições destaque para "Rock-a - bye Basie, "Stay Cool", "Boogie Woogie"e "Leave Me".


Buddy Tate foi um dos poucos músicos de sua época que atravessou triunfalmente, com sua musicalidade ímpar, os anos 80 e 90.


Buddy Tate faleceu em Chandler, Arizona em 2001 aos 87 anos de idade.

Buddy Tate "Born to Swing"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quQHeQ4wH6M

Swingin Texas tenorman George Holmes Tate, aka, Buddy Tate, was born on February 22,1913 in Sherman, Texas and was one of the great tenor saxophonists of the swing era.Tate was a Basie Star. His playing drew on both of the great models of the day, combining elements of Lester Young’s understated, liquid economy with the robust, hard blowing attack of Coleman Hawkins. Tate had the big, mightily swinging sound of the “Texas tenor” school, exemplified by players like Illinois Jacquet and Arnett Cobb, but was equally adept at building an emotionally weighted solo out of the most minimal elaborations.


He adhered to the dictum that a jazz solo should tell a story, and had no time for bravura displays of empty blowing. At the same time, he was ready to experiment across the whole range of his horn, pushing into areas of sound and timbre which would later be explored by more modern movements in jazz. Even in his most abandoned, flat out playing, his control of both the horn and the music remained total, and was always purposefully directed.


He began his professional career playing in “territory” bands which toured the southwest in the late 1920s, led by the likes of Terrence Holder and the better-known Andy Kirk. That was a common apprenticeship in the pre-war era, and brought him into contact with his most famous employer, Count Basie. At the time of their first association, Basie was still a relative unknown, and the band Tate joined in 1934 lasted only a short time. In 1939, however, the death of saxophonist Herschel Evans, a good friend of Tate’s, created an opportunity to renew the partnership.



Tate later told writer Stanley Dance that he had an eerie premonition of the event: “I dreamed he had died,” Tate said, “and that Basie was going to call me. It happened within a week or two: I still have the telegram.” Tate brought his own sound to the band, forming a partnership with Lester Young which was every bit the equal of the earlier Young-Evans team.



He remained with Basie for almost ten years, and made his reputation as a powerful and inventive improviser. The post-war economic pressures which quickly eroded the big bands in the late-1940s saw Basie drop his group to a sextet, and Tate decided to leave and look for opportunities which would keep him closer to home in New York, rather than maintain the constant touring schedules which had been the lot of the big bands.



He worked with band leader Lucky Millinder, trumpeter Hot Lips Page and ex-Basie singer Jimmy Rushing in the early 1950s, then secured a residency for his own band at The Celebrity Club, on 125th Street in Harlem. Tate held that residency at the club for 21 years, until his brand of hard swinging jazz was eventually ousted by the demand for rock acts in 1974. Tate made many recordings during those years, and occasionally went on the road with trumpeter Buck Clayton. When he left The Celebrity Club, he found himself in demand as a guest soloist in both the USA and on the burgeoning festival circuit in Europe, often in the company of another ex-Basie star, trombonist Al Grey. Tate always delivered good value, whether working with an all-star package or a local rhythm section.



In the mid-1970s he co-led a band with saxophonist Paul Quinichette at New York’s West End Cafe, and led another group with drummer Bobby Rosengarden at the Rainbow Room. He worked with Benny Goodman, and continued to record regularly throughout the 1970s and 1980s, releasing albums on labels like Muse, Sackville, Concord Jazz and Reservoir. He was badly scalded in a hotel shower in 1981, but soon recovered. He worked with saxophonist Jim Galloway, pianist Jay McShann, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, a band with Illinois Jacquet billed as The Texas Tenors, and the Statesman of Jazz, among others, and remained active well into the 1990s.



His final appearance on disc came at the invitation of the rising saxophone star James Carter, who duetted with Tate on two tunes on his CD "Conversin’ With The Elders" in 1996, including a version of ‘Blue Creek’ which featured Tate on clarinet.



Buddy Tate passed away in 2001 in Chandler, Arizona. He was 87.

JOE WILDER, JAZZ MASTER


Jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer Joe Wilder, was born on February 22, 1922 in Colwyn, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his beautiful tone and lyrical style.


Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master's Hall of Fame Award in 2006. The national Endowment for the Arts honored Joe Wilder with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award for 2008. Wilder was born into a musical family led by his father Curtis, a bassist and bandleader in Philadelphia. Wilder's first performances took place on the radio program, "Parisian Tailor's Colored Kiddies of the Air." He and the other young musicians were backed up by such illustrious bands as Duke Ellington's and Louis Armstrong's that were also then playing at the Lincoln Theater.



Wilder studied at the Mastbaum School of Music in Philadelphia, but turned to jazz when he felt that there was little future for an African American classical musician. At age 19, Wilder joined his first touring big band, Les Hite's band.


Wilder was one of the first thousand African Americans to serve in the Marines during World War II. He worked first in Special Weapons and eventually became Assistant Bandmaster at the headquarters' band. Following the war during the 1940 and early 1950s, he played in the orchestras of Jimmie Lunceford, Herbie Fields, Sam Donahue,Lucky Millinder, Noble Sissle,Dizzy Gillespie, and finally with the Count Basie Orchestra. From 1957 to 1974, Wilder did studio work for ABC-TV, New York, and in the pit orchestras for Broadway musicals, while building his reputation as a soloist with his albums for Savoy (1956) and Columbia (1959).



His Jazz from Peter Gunn (1959), features ten song from Henry Mancini ("Peter Gunn") television score in melodic and swinging fashion with a quartet. He was also a regular sideman with such musicians as NEA Jazz Masters Hank Jones, Gil Evans, and Benny Goodman. He became a favorite with vocalists and played for Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Johnny Mathis, Harry Belafonte, Eilleen Farrell, Tony Bennett and many others.



Wilder earned a bachelor of music degree in 1953, studying classical trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music where he was also principal trumpet with the school's symphony orchestra under conductor Jonel Perlea. In the 1960s, he performed on several occasions with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz and Pierre Boulez and played lead for the Symphony Of The New World from 1965 to 1971.



He appeared on The Cosby Show 1986, episode "Play It Again, Russell", is a reference to "Play it again, Sam", a quote from Casablanca (1942)."Joe also played the trumpet in the Malcolm X Orchestra in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" (1992).



Since 1991 he returned as a leader and recorded three albums for Evening Star.
The Sound of Jazz - Open All Night
Reference - Wikipédia

ENDURANCE, NOVO CD DOS HEATH BROTHERS


O novo CD "Endurance" dos Heath Brothers demonstra a excelente forma em que se encontram os irmãos Heath, apesar da ausência do contra-baixista Percy Heath que faleceu em 2005. É o primeiro album do grupo, desde então, tendo no lugar de Percy, o contra-baixista David Wong, que o substitui com competência.


O saxofonista tenor Jimmy Heath inclui algumas de suas composições, exibindo solos pontificados pela sutileza, lirismo e swing. O baterista Albert "Tootie" Heath esbanja extrema sensibilidade, pulso e inspiração. Jeb Patton, pianista veterano do grupo, emprega um fraseado exuberante, com solos moldados para apoiar o acompanhamento das leituras. O tributo a Percy está configurado na canção "From a Lonely Bass" na qual Wong utiliza o arco com suavidade e sentimento.
Ainda que o titulo do disco seja uma alusão a longevidade dos Heath, existe muito mais neste trabalho do que uma simples referência a existência prolongada. Este grupo continua, ao longo dos anos, a exercitar a criatividade sem limites, de forma ímpar e com inegável capacidade. Um clássico, de ponta a ponta.

Filmagem da gravação do CD "Endurance" pelos irmãos Heath.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnT5aHcuVPE

The Heath Brothers latest album "Endurance", finds the Heath Brothers quartet in excellent form despite the absence of bassist Percy Heath. It’s the group’s first album since Percy’s death in 2005, and David Wong is a hard-swinging, well-rounded replacement. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Jimmy Heath offers several distinctive compositions as well as solos that are models of succinctness, lyricism and swing. Drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath is ever tasteful, grooving and inspirational. Jeb Patton, the group’s longtime pianist, offers lively, tailor-made support and compatible solos.
The only tribute to Percy per se is Jimmy’s “From a Lonely Bass,” which Wong plays arco with a lovely, rich tone and appropriate feeling. Six other tunes by Jimmy appear, each vested with inviting melodic and harmonic turns. “Two Tees,” written for “Tootie,” is a boppish piece with drum breaks as graceful and rhythmic as a tap dancer’s steps. Patton’s “Dusk in the City,” one of two features for Jimmy’s soprano, and Vernon Duke’s “Autumn in New York” complete the program.
While the album title is a comment on the Heaths’ longevity, there is more than just prolonged existence represented here. This group continues to exercise a broad range of creativity throughout, with superb self-editing skills. A class act all the way.


Reference - JazzTimes - Owen Cordle


Tradução de Humberto Amorim