Akilah!
''Akilah!'' is the third album by soul jazz guitarist Melvin Sparks recorded for the Prestige Records, Prestige label in 1972. accessed May 22, 2013 Reception Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars.Allmusic listingaccessed May 22, 2013. Track listing All compositions by Melvin Sparks except where noted. # "Love the Life You Live" (Gene Redd, Kool & the Gang) – 5:39 # "On the Up" – 6:00 # "All Wrapped Up" – 4:45 # "Akilah" – 4:42 # "Blues for J.B." – 7:09 # "The Image of Love" (Leon Spencer) – 6:49Personnel * Melvin Sparks – guitar * Virgil Jones (tracks ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Melvin Sparks
Melvin Sparks (March 22, 1946 – March 15, 2011) was an American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist. He recorded a number of albums for Prestige Records, later recording for Savant Records. He appeared on several recordings with musicians including Lou Donaldson, Sonny Stitt, Leon Spencer and Johnny Hammond Smith. Career Sparks was born in Houston, Texas, United States, and raised in a musical family. He received his first guitar at age 11. Sparks began working in the rhythm and blues genre as a high school student, first with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and then with the Upsetters, a touring band formed by Little Richard, which also backed Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. Sparks moved to New York City and worked as a session musician for Blue Note and Prestige Records. As part of the burgeoning soul-jazz scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sparks often backed organists like Jack McDuff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland and Leo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ernie Royal
Ernest Andrew Royal (June 2, 1921 in Los Angeles, California – March 16, 1983 in New York City) was a jazz trumpeter. His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording '' The Genius of Ray Charles'' (1959). Career He began in Los Angeles as a member of Les Hite's Orchestra in 1937. In the following 20 years he would work with Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Wardell Gray, Stan Kenton and recording as a member of the Charles Mingus Octet, with Teo Macero, John Lewis and Kenny Clarke, among others, in 1953. He led ten albums, most of them recorded in Paris. In 1957 he became a staff musician for the American Broadcasting Company. He went on to play in The Tonight Show Band and can be heard on the Miles Davis albums '' Miles Ahead'' (1957), ''Porgy and Bess'' (1958), and '' Sketches of Spain'' (1960). Death A resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, Royal died of cancer at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians such as Ahmad Jamal, Lou Donaldson, Pharoah Sanders, Bob James (musician), Bob James, and Tete Montoliu. Biography Born in New Orleans, Idris Muhammad grew up in the city's 13th Ward of New Orleans, 13th Ward in a home next door to a Dry cleaning, dry cleaner's shop. He later would claim the sound of the shop's steam presser influenced his hi-hat technique. Growing up, he spent time with fellow New Orleanians The Neville Brothers. Also interested in other instruments, he showed early talent as a percussionist, playing in a Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Mardi Gras parade at age 9. Muhammad asked Paul Barbarin to teach him to read music but Barbarin, who thought he was already so talented, declined. At the age of 14, Muhammad began his profes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leon Spencer
Leon Spencer (November 1, 1945 – March 11, 2012) was an American jazz organist from Houston, Texas. He played piano with David Newman and organ with Melvin Sparks. Spencer recorded for Prestige in the early 1970s with Buddy Caldwell, Idris Muhammad, Melvin Sparks, and Grover Washington Jr. Discography As leader * '' Sneak Preview!'' (Prestige, 1970; reissued as ''Legends Of Acid Jazz: Leon Spencer'', 1997) * '' Louisiana Slim'' (Prestige, 1971; reissued as ''Legends Of Acid Jazz: Leon Spencer'', 1997) * '' Bad Walking Woman'' (Prestige, 1972) * '' Where I'm Coming From'' (Prestige, 1973) As sideman With Rusty Bryant * ''Fire Eater'' (Prestige, 1971; reissued as ''Legends Of Acid Jazz: Rusty Bryant, Vol. 2'', 1999) With Karl Denson * ''Dance Lesson #2'' (Blue Note, 2001) With Lou Donaldson * ''Pretty Things'' (Blue Note, 1970) * '' The Scorpion: Live at The Cadillac Club'' (Blue Note, 1970 el. 1995 * ''Cosmos'' (Blue Note, 1971) With Wilbert Longmire * ''Revolution'' ( World ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Van Gelder Studio
The Van Gelder Studio is a recording studio at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States. Following the use of his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, for the original studio, Rudy Van Gelder (1924–2016) moved to the new location for his recording studio in July 1959. It has been used to record many albums released by jazz labels such as Blue Note, Prestige, Impulse!, Verve and CTI. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 2022, for its significance in performing arts and engineering. With accompanying 24 photos. Background From around 1952, beginning with a session led by Gil Melle that was sold to Blue Note, recordings were made by Van Gelder for commercial release in the living room of his parents' house at 25 Prospect Avenue in Hackensack, a house that had been built with the intention of doubling as a recording studio. The area was later subsumed by the Hackensack University Medical Center. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Coleman
George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was taught how to play the alto saxophone in his teens by his older brother Lucian Adams, inspired (like many jazz musicians of his generation) by Charlie Parker. Among his schoolmates were Harold Mabern, Booker Little, Frank Strozier, Hank Crawford, and Charles Lloyd. Later life and career After working with Ray Charles, Coleman started working with B.B. King in 1953, at which point he switched to tenor saxophone. In 1956 Coleman moved to Chicago, along with Booker Little, where he worked with Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin before joining Max Roach's quintet (1958–1959). Coleman recorded with organist Jimmy Smith on his album '' House Party'' (1957), along with Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Burrell, and Donald Bailey. Moving to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sonny Fortune
Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939 – October 25, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist. He played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute. Biography He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After moving to New York City in 1967, Fortune recorded and appeared live with drummer Elvin Jones's group. In 1968, he was a member of Mongo Santamaría's band. He performed with singer Leon Thomas, and with pianist McCoy Tyner (1971–73). In 1974, Fortune replaced Dave Liebman in Miles Davis's ensemble, remaining until spring 1975, when he was succeeded by Sam Morrison. Fortune can be heard on the albums ''Big Fun (Miles Davis album), Big Fun'', ''Get Up With It'', ''Agharta (album), Agharta'', and ''Pangaea (album), Pangaea'', the last two recorded live in Japan. Fortune joined Nat Adderley after his brief tenure with Davis, then formed his own group in June 1975, recording two albums for the Horizon Records. During the 1990s, he recorde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frank Wess
Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band during the early 1950s into the early 1960s. Critic Scott Yanow described him as one of the premier proteges of Lester Young, and a leading jazz flutist of his era—using the latter instrument to bring new colors to Basie's music. Early life Wess was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Since he was young, Wess grew up listening to music. His mother was one of his major influences as she would take him to watch performers like Roland Hayes and Ida Cox. While speaking to his father, who was a school principal in Oklahoma, on a separate occasion, he discovered that his mother had wanted him to become a musician for a long time. Up until that pivotal moment, Wess had viewed his interactions with his mother as bonding where she emphasized the importa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spark Plug (album)
''Spark Plug'' is the second album by soul jazz guitarist Melvin Sparks which was recorded for the Prestige label in 1971. accessed May 22, 2013 Reception awarded the album 3 stars stating "It's more relaxed, y, occasionally bluesy jazz with guitar and organ to the fore, very much of a piece with the Prestige soul-jazz "house" sound circa 1970".Unterberger, R[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All-Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LP record, LPs and cassette (format), cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he res ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Electronic Organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed into several types of instruments: * #Tonewheel organs, Hammond-style organs used in pop music, pop, Rock music, rock and jazz; * #Digital church organs, digital church organs, which imitate pipe organs and are used primarily in churches; * other types including #Combo organs, combo organs, #Home organs, home organs, and #Software organs, software organs. History Predecessors ;Harmonium The immediate predecessor of the electronic organ was the pump organ, harmonium, or reed organ, an instrument that was common in homes and small churches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In a fashion not totally unlike that of pipe organs, reed organs generate sound by forcing air over a set of reeds by means of a bellows, usually ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Melvin Sparks Albums
Melvin is a masculine given name and surname, likely a variant of Melville (name), Melville and a descendant of the French surname de Maleuin and the later Melwin. It may alternatively be spelled as Melvyn or, in Welsh, Melfyn and the name Melivinia or Melva may be used a feminine form. Of Norman French origin, originally Malleville, which translates to "bad town," it likely made its way into usage in Scotland as a result of the Norman conquest of England. It came into use as a given name as early as the 19th century, in English-speaking populations. As a name Given name Academics *Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), American chemist who discovered the Calvin cycle *Melvin Day (1923–2016), New Zealand artist and art historian *Melvin Hochster (born 1943), American mathematician *Melvin Konner (born 1946), Professor of Anthropology *Melvin Schwartz (1932–2006), American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 *Melvin Alvah Traylor, Jr. (1915–2008), American ornitho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |