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Joe Mondragon
Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career Mondragon was an autodidact on bass, and began working professionally in Los Angeles. He served in the United States Army during World War II, and then joined Woody Herman's First Herd in 1946. Over the next two decades, he became one of the more popular studio bassists for jazz recording on the West Coast, appearing on albums by June Christy, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Buddy Rich, Buddy DeFranco, Marty Paich, Claude Williamson, Georgie Auld, Chet Baker, Bob Cooper, Harry Sweets Edison, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, Bud Shank and Ella Fitzgerald. Mondragon can also be heard on soundtracks for films such as ''The Wild One'' and '' Pete Kelly's Blues''. Mondragon never recorded as a leader. Personal life and death Mondragon died in San Ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonito, Colorado
Antonito (in Spanish Antoñito) is a statutory town located in Conejos County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 647 at the 2020 United States census. History Antonito began life as a sheep herding camp known as San Antonio Junction, referring to its proximity to the Conejos and San Antonio rivers. When the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad built its line south from Alamosa, the town was renamed Antonito and became an important town on the railroad line. The San Antonio, Colorado, post office moved north to Antonito on January 24, 1881, and the Town of Antonito was incorporated on December 29, 1889. There are currently no major industries located in Antonito, but the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has one terminus in Antonito and the other in Chama, New Mexico. The C&TS also has maintenance facilities and rail yard in the town. The Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad continues to operate the rail line from Antonito to Alamosa. In 2015, a Colorado St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy DeFranco
Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Born in Camden, New Jersey, United States, DeFranco was raised in South Philadelphia. He was playing the clarinet by the time he was nine years old and within five years had won a national Tommy Dorsey swing contest. He began his professional career just as swing music and big bands—many of which were led by clarinetists like Artie Shaw, and Benny Goodman—were in decline. While most jazz clarinet players did not adapt to this change, DeFranco successfully continued to play clarinet exclusively, and was one of the few bebop clarinetists. In 1950, DeFranco spent a year with Count Basie's septet. He then led a small combo in the early 1950s which included pianist Sonny Clark and guitarist Tal Farlow. In this period, D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In The Land Of Hi-Fi With Georgie Auld And His Orchestra
''In the Land of Hi-Fi with Georgie Auld and His Orchestra'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist and bandleader Georgie Auld featuring tracks recorded in 1955 and released on the EmArcy label. accessed October 3, 2012 Reception awarded the album 4 stars stating "The music mixes together swing, bop, and cool jazz in winning fashion".Yanow, SAllmusic Review accessed October 3, 2012 Track listing # "In the Land of Hi-Fi" (Auld - May) - 4:15 # ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Kelly's Blues (film)
''Pete Kelly's Blues'' is a 1955 musical crime film based on the 1951 radio series of the same name. It was directed by and starred Jack Webb in the title role of a bandleader and musician. Janet Leigh is featured as party girl Ivy Conrad, and Edmond O'Brien as a gangster who applies pressure to Kelly. Peggy Lee portrays alcoholic jazz singer Rose Hopkins (a performance for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role). Ella Fitzgerald makes a cameo as singer Maggie Jackson. Lee Marvin, Martin Milner, and Jayne Mansfield also make early career appearances. Much of the dialogue was written by writers who wrote the radio series '' Pat Novak for Hire'' (1946–1949), and the radio version of ''Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1951), both of which Webb starred in for a time before creating '' Dragnet''. Plot Jazz cornetist Pete Kelly (Jack Webb) and his Big Seven are the house band at the 17 Club, a speakeasy in Kansas City in 1927 during Prohibitio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wild One
''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the 1950s. ''The Wild One'' is considered to be the original outlaw biker film, and the first to examine American outlaw motorcycle gang violence. The supporting cast features Lee Marvin as Chino, truculent leader of the motorcycle gang "The Beetles". The film's screenplay was based on Frank Rooney's short story "Cyclists' Raid", published in the January 1951 ''Harper's Magazine'' and anthologized in '' The Best American Short Stories 1952''. Rooney's story was inspired by sensationalistic media coverage of an American Motorcyclist Association motorcycle rally that got out of hand on the Fourth of July weekend in 1947 in Hollister, California. The overcrowding, drinking and street stunting were given national attention in the July 21, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, Intonation (music), intonation, absolute pitch, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Her manager was Moe Gale, co-founder of the Savoy, until she turned the rest of her career over to Norman Granz, who founded Verve Records to produce new records by Fitzgerald. With Verve, she recorded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first-call studio musician in Hollywood. In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed regularly with the L. A. Four. Shank ultimately abandoned the flute to focus exclusively on playing jazz on the alto saxophone. He also recorded on tenor and baritone sax. His most famous recording is probably the version of " Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme song in ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer''. He is also known for the soundtrack recordings with his group to the surfing films of Bruce Brown in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and for the alto flute solo on the song " California Dreamin" recorded by the Mamas & the Papas in 1965. Biography Bud Shank was born in Dayton, Ohio, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Pepper
Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active primarily in West Coast jazz, Pepper first came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known for his emotionally charged performances and several stylistic shifts throughout his career, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as having "attained his goal of becoming the world's greatest altoist" at the time of his death in 1982. Early life Art Pepper was born in Gardena, California, United States.Dupuis, Robert. "Art Pepper." ''Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music.'' Vol. 18. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1997. 164-67. Print. His mother was a 14-year-old runaway; his father, a merchant seaman. Both were violent alcoholics, and when Pepper was still quite young, he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions including " Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards. Biography Early life and career Gerry Mulligan was born in Queens Village, Queens, New York, the son of George and Louise Mulligan. His father was a Wilmington, Delaware, native of Irish descent; his mother a Philadelphia native of half-Irish and half-German des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Sweets Edison
Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz Trumpet, trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backing singers, most notably Frank Sinatra. Biography Edison was born in Columbus, Ohio, United States. He spent his early childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, being introduced to music by an uncle. After moving back to Columbus at the age of twelve, the young Edison began playing the trumpet with local bands. In 1933, he became a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in Cleveland. Afterwards, he played with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and Lucky Millinder. In 1937, he moved to New York and joined the Count Basie Orchestra. His colleagues included Buck Clayton, Lester Young (who named him "Sweets"), Buddy Tate, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, and other original members of that famous band. Spea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Cooper (musician)
Bob Cooper (December 6, 1925 – August 5, 1993) was a West Coast jazz musician known primarily for playing tenor saxophone, but also for being one of the first to play jazz solos on oboe. Career Cooper worked in Stan Kenton's band starting in 1945 and married the band's singer, June Christy, two years later. The union produced a daughter, Shay Christy Cooper (September 1, 1954 – February 21, 2014), with the marriage lasting 44 years, until Christy's death in 1990. His last studio recording was on Karrin Allyson's album '' Sweet Home Cookin''' (1994) on which he played tenor saxophone. Cooper died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 67. He was found in his car, which had pulled over to the side of the road. Selected discography As leader * ''The Bob Cooper Sextet'' ( Capitol, 1954) * ''Shifting Winds'' (Capitol, 1955) * '' Flute 'n Oboe'' ( Pacific Jazz, 1957) with Bud Shank * ''Milano Blues'' (Music, 1957) * '' Coop! The Music of Bob Cooper'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals: '' Chet Baker Sings'' (1954) and '' It Could Happen to You'' (1958). Jazz historian Dave Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as " James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one". His well-publicized drug habit also drove his notoriety and fame. Baker was in and out of jail frequently before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and 1980s. Biography Early years Baker was born December 23, 1929, in Yale, Oklahoma, and raised in a musical household. His father, Chesney Baker Sr., was a professional Western swing guitarist, and his mother, Vera Moser, was a pianist who worked in a perfume factory. His maternal grandmother was Norwegi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
