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Crystals (Sam Rivers Album)
''Crystals'' is an album by Sam Rivers released by Impulse! Records in 1974 in a stereo/quadraphonic format. Background It had been over a decade since Ornette Coleman had worked with his Free Jazz Double Quartet, nine years since John Coltrane assembled his Ascension band, and six since the first Jazz Composers' Orchestra Association was formed and whose first records were issued (a couple of members of that band also performing with Rivers on this record) and the compositions for what eventually became Crystals were written between 1959 and 1972. They were finished as new elements came to him to fit them together conceptually. The album was released by Impulse! in September 1974, and was out of print after a few years. It was re-released in CD form in 2002 (with Rivers' original liner notes), and available for three years through Universal Distribution. The compositions were recorded over a period of five or six hours by an ensemble sometimes reported as 14 musicians: 3 tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Rivers (jazz Musician)
Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica, piano and viola. Active in jazz since the early 1950s, he earned wider attention during the mid-1960s spread of free jazz. With a thorough command of music theory, orchestration and composition, Rivers was an influential and prominent artist in jazz music. Early life Rivers was born in El Reno, Oklahoma, United States. His father was a gospel music, gospel musician who had sung with the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Silverstone Quartet, exposing Rivers to music from an early age. His grandfather was Marshall W. Taylor (minister), Marshall W. Taylor, a religious leader from Kentucky. Rivers was stationed in California in the 1940s during a stint in the U.S.Navy, Navy. Here he performed semi-regularly with blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon. Rivers moved to Bosto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland Alexander
Roland Alexander (September 25, 1935 – June 14, 2006) was an American post-bop jazz musician. Early life Born in Boston, Alexander grew up with his parents and sister, Gloria, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree in music composition from the Boston Conservatory in 1958. Career Alexander played tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, and piano. He was a prolific composer and arranger who wrote and played for many of the better known bands in Boston during the 1950s, i.e. Sabby Lewis, Preston 'Sandy' Sandiford, Richie Lowery, Jaki Byard and many more. He co-led a group called the Boston All Stars that featured Trumpeter Joe Gordon, and after Joe Gordon left to play with Dizzy Gillespie's band Joe was replaced by a few of the more innovative trumpet soloists in the area, like Wajid Lateef (Crazy Wilbur Lucaw), and Gordon Wooly. He then moved to New York City in 1958. In addition to two solo releases, he played and recorded with John Coltrane, Howard Mc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dunbar
Richard Dunbar was a player of the French horn, playing in the free jazz scene. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 22, 1944. He began studying the French horn in high school and never put it down. He also was known to play the bass guitar and shakeray, an African percussion instrument. His first known appearance on record was on a 1968 recording by Bill Dixon, University of the Streets. He appeared as a sideman with players such as Sam Rivers, Earl Freeman and Ted Daniel. In the 1980s, he started a small label, Jahari Records, where he released five records under his own name: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dunbar also had associations with Sun Ra. Around 1993, Dunbar moved to Paris, where he lived, continuing to play and teach music, until February 8, 2006, when he died suddenly at the age of 61, apparently of a heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Watkins
Julius Watkins (October 10, 1921 – April 4, 1977) was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the ''Down Beat'' critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Miscellaneous Instrument. Life and career Watkins was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He began playing the French horn when he was nine years old. Watkins began his career in jazz playing the trumpet in the Ernie Fields Orchestra from 1943 to 1946. By the late 1940s, he had played some French horn solos on recording sessions led by Kenny Clarke and Babs Gonzales. After moving to New York City, Watkins studied for three years at the Manhattan School of Music. He started appearing in small-group jazz sessions, including two led by Thelonious Monk, featuring on "Friday the 13th" on the album '' Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins'' (1954). Watkins recorded with many other jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Johnson (jazz Musician)
Howard Lewis Johnson (August 7, 1941 – January 11, 2021) was an American jazz musician, known mainly for his work on tuba and baritone saxophone, although he also played the bass clarinet, trumpet, and other reed instruments. He is known to have expanded the tuba’s known capacities in jazz. Johnson was known for his extensive work as a sideman, notably with George Gruntz, Hank Crawford, and Gil Evans. As a leader, he fronted the tuba ensemble Gravity and released three albums during the 1990s for Verve Records; the first ''Arrival'', was a tribute to Pharoah Sanders. Biography Howard Lewis Johnson was born on August 7, 1941 in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, but from the age of two was raised in Massillon, Ohio. A self-taught musician, he began playing baritone saxophone and tuba while still in high school. After graduating in 1958, he served in the U.S. Navy before moving to Boston, where he lived with the family of the drummer Tony Williams. He then spent time in C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Stewart (musician)
Bob Stewart (born February 3, 1945) is an American jazz tuba player and music teacher. Early life and education Stewart was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and a Master of Education from Lehman College. Career Stewart taught music in Pennsylvania public schools and at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City. He is now a professor at the Juilliard School and is a distinguished lecturer at Lehman College. Stewart has toured and recorded with such artists as Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Muhal Richard Abrams, David Murray (saxophonist), David Murray, Taj Mahal (musician), Taj Mahal, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Don Cherry (jazz), Don Cherry, Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Haden, Lester Bowie, Bill Frisell, Globe Unity Orchestra and many others in the United States, Europe, and Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal grandfather was from the Bahamas)Sean Singer & Grachan Moncur III"The Soul of Trombone — Grachan Moncur III" ''Cerise Press'', Vol. 4, Issue 10, Summer 2012. and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Grachan Moncur III began playing the cello at the age of nine, and switched to the trombone when he was 11. In high school, he attended the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, the private school where Dizzy Gillespie had studied. While still at school, he began sitting in with touring jazz musicians on their way through town, including Art Blakey and Jackie McLean, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. After high school, Moncur toured with Ray Charles (1959–62), Art Farmer and Benny Golson's Jazztet (1962), and Sonny Rollins. He took part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Campbell (trombonist)
William, Willy, Will, Billy, or Bill Campbell may refer to: Government officials * Lord William Campbell (c. 1731 – 1778), Scottish-born royal governor of Nova Scotia and South Carolina * William Campbell (British Army officer, died 1796) (died 1796), governor of Bermuda in 1796 * William Campbell, 2nd Baron Stratheden and Campbell (1824–1893), British peer and Liberal politician * George William Robert Campbell (''fl.'' 1860s), British colonial Inspector General of Police of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) * William Campbell, Lord Skerrington (1855–1927), Scottish judge * William Campbell (MP) (died 1787), British Army officer and politician, MP for Glasgow * William Telfer Campbell (1863–1929), British colonial administrator Canada * William Campbell (judge) (1758–1834), Scottish-born Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Upper Canada * William Campbell (Canadian politician) (born 1929), Canadian House of Commons, 1979–1980 * William Campbell (Prince Edward Island politici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clifford Thornton
Clifford Edward Thornton III (September 6, 1936 – November 25, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, trombonist, political activist, and educator. He played free jazz and avant-garde jazz in the 1960s and '70s. Career Clifford was born in Philadelphia. The year of his birth has been reported as early as 1934 or as late as 1939. Jazz pianist Jimmy Golden was his uncle, while his cousin, drummer J. C. Moses, had a jazz career that was cut short by failing health. Clifford began piano lessons when he was seven-years-old. He briefly attended Morgan State University and Temple University. Several biographers report that Clifford studied with trumpeter Donald Byrd during 1957, after Byrd had left Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also that he worked with 17-year-old tuba player Ray Draper and Webster Young. Following a late 1950s stint in the U.S. Army bands Thornton moved to New York City. Clifford's political and musical motivations are epitomized by his statement: "For a lot o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Sullivan (musician)
Charles Sullivan (Also known as Kamau Adilifu) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader. He has recorded four albums as leader. He also made recordings as a sideman with Woody Shaw, Dollar Brand, Ricky Ford, and King Curtis, among others. Biography Charles Sullivan was born in New York City. Growing up, Sullivan was taught how to play the trumpet from his two uncles who were both trumpet players. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 1967. He also worked for multiple off-Broadway productions shortly before and after his graduation. In Spring of 1967 Sullivan made his first trip to Europe; a five month long tour performing with the Donald McKayle, Donald McKayle Dance Company then toured briefly as Count Basie's lead trumpeter in 1970 and with Lonnie Liston Smith in 1971. In 1974 Sullivan released his first album as bandleader titled Genesis (Charles Sullivan album), Genesis. The album was entirely arraigned, composed, and produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson
Hannibal Lokumbe (born Marvin Peterson on November 11, 1948) is an American composer and jazz trumpeter. Career A native of Smithville, Texas, United States, he is sometimes known by the name "Hannibal". He attended high school in Texas City, Texas. In the late 1960s, he attended North Texas State University for two years, then moved to New York City and went on tour with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He became a member of the Gil Evans orchestra, an association that lasted through the 1980s, and worked with Roy Haynes and Pharoah Sanders. As the leader of the Sunrise Orchestra, he played koto and trumpet. His debut solo album, ''Children of the Fire'', was released in 1974. Lokumbe coauthored a biography of his life with the author, artist, and cultural anthropologist Lauren Coyle Rosen, called Hannibal Lokumbe: Spiritual Soundscapes of Music, Life, and Liberation' (Columbia University Press, 2024). The book has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography, the National Book Awar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahmed Abdullah
Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band. Biography He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native New York City. One of the first groups he performed with was the Master Brotherhood. By the 1970s, he was performing in New York's loft scene with various groups including the Melodic Art-Tet ( Charles Brackeen, Roger Blank and Ronnie Boykins, later William Parker) and joined the Sun Ra Arkestra. Abdullah formed his own band in 1972, and joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1975, working there on and off until 1993, when Sun Ra died. He stayed on with the Arkestra after Sun Ra's demise working under the leadership of John Gilmore and then Marshall Allen. During his time with the Arkestra, Abdullah participated in more than 25 recordings and traveled extensively with Sun Ra.Ahmed Abdullah with Louis Reyes Rivera"Excerpts from A Strange Celestial Road (Traveling the Spaceways)", Ahmedian.com; accessed Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |