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Frank Strazzeri
Frank Strazzeri (April 24, 1930 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz pianist. Career Strazzeri began on tenor saxophone and clarinet at age 12, then switched to piano soon after. He attended the Eastman School of Music, then took a job as a house pianist in a nightclub in Rochester in 1952. While there he accompanied visiting musicians such as Roy Eldridge and Billie Holiday. He moved to New Orleans in 1954, playing with Sharkey Bonano and Al Hirt in a Dixieland jazz setting, but his focus since then was on bebop. He played with Charlie Ventura in 1957–58 and Woody Herman in 1959 before moving to Los Angeles in 1960. There he worked extensively as a studio musician on the West Coast jazz scene, and toured with Joe Williams, Maynard Ferguson, Les Brown and Elvis Presley!(1971–74). He also played with Elvis Presley in the Aloha from Hawaii concert of 1973). He worked with Terry Gibbs, Herb Ellis, the Lighthouse All-Stars, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Cal Tjader, Louie Bellson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in Western New York, the city of Rochester forms the core of a larger metropolitan area with a population of 1 million people, across six counties. The city was one of the United States' first boomtowns, initially due to the fertile Genesee River Valley, which gave rise to numerous flour mills, and then as a manufacturing center, which spurred further rapid population growth. Rochester rose to prominence as the birthplace and home of some of America's most iconic companies, in particular Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb (along with Wegmans, Gannett, Paychex, Western Union, French's, Constellation Brands, Ragú, and others), by which the region became a global center for science, technology, and research and development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Gibbs
Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 December 2022. Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Alice Coltrane, Louie Bellson, Charlie Shavers, Mel Tormé, Buddy DeFranco, and others. Gibbs also worked in film and TV studios in Los Angeles. Biography On being discharged from the armed forces, where he played drums in military bands, Gibbs worked in New York with Bill De Arango and recorded with Tiny Kahn in Aaron Sachs’s quintet (1946). In the 1950–1951 season, Gibbs was a popular guest on '' Star Time'' on the DuMont Television Network. Thereafter, he was a regular in 1953–1954 on NBC's '' Judge for Yourself''. In the late 1950s, he appeared on NBC's ''The Steve Allen Show'', on which he regularly played lively vibraphone duets with the entertainer an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Amy
Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Amy was born in Houston, Texas, United States. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the tenor saxophone. After his discharge, he attended and graduated from Kentucky State College. He worked as an educator in Tennessee while playing in midwestern jazz clubs. In the mid-1950s, he relocated to Los Angeles and later signed with Pacific Jazz Records, often playing with organist Paul Bryant. In the mid-1960s, he spent three years as musical director of Ray Charles' orchestra, together with his wife, Merry Clayton, and Steve Huffsteter. As well as leading his own bands and recording albums under his own name, Amy did session work and played the solos on several recordings, including The Doors song "Touch Me", Carole King's ''Tapestry'', and Lou Rawls' first albums, ''Black and Blue'' and ''Tobacco Road'', coinciding with Dext ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discovery Records
Discovery Records was a United States-based record company and label known for its recordings of jazz music. Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx. The record label eventually would record jazz notables such as Dizzy Gillespie, Georgie Auld, Red Norvo, Art Pepper, Joe Pass and Charles Mingus for issue on his Discovery label headquartered in Hollywood, California. Discovery later recorded such performers as singers Lorez Alexandria and Ernie Andrews, and Grammy winning composer-band leader Gerald Wilson. Marx had first become artistic for later Musicraft Records in 1944 before starting his own label. In the 1970s Musicraft Records was revived through Discovery/Trend by Albert Marx in Los Angeles. He also started the Trend AM-PM label in the 1980s to document and promote talented educational, college level jazz ensembles to include the Los Angeles Jazz Workshop, Nashville Jazz Machine and the Fullerton College Jazz Ensemble. His estate sold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catalyst Records (jazz)
Catalyst Records was a record company and label specializing in jazz. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1975. Catalyst released both new recordings and reissues. The catalogue was available through the 1980s, though recording ceased in 1977. This label should not be confused with the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) subsidiary which was founded in the early 1990s. Catalyst released new albums by Gary Bartz, Hadley Caliman, Frank Foster, Terumasa Hino, Ahmad Jamal, Irene Kral, Sam Most, Sonny Stitt, and Frank Strazzeri. It reissued albums by Paul Gonsalves, Charlie Mariano, and Michał Urbaniak. Discography 7601–7628 * CAT–7601: Ron Jefferson – ''Vous Ete's Swing'' (1976) * CAT–7602: George Muribus – ''Brazilian Tapestry '' (1976) * CAT–7603: Flip Nuñez – ''My Own Time and Space'' (1976) * CAT–7604: Hadley Caliman – ''Projecting'' (1976) * CAT–7605: Jim Gannon – ''Gannon's Back in Town'' (1976) * CAT–7606: Ahmad Jamal – ''Recorded Live at Oil Can Harry's'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Shew
Bobby Shew (born March 4, 1941) is an American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. Biography He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet and toured with the NORAD joint forces band stationed in Colorado Springs. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich big bands in the mid-to-late 1960s. He was a trumpeter in Tom Jones's band while in Las Vegas, and is featured on his 1971 live album ''Live at Caesar's Palace''. In 1972, Shew moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, where he did much studio work as well as play with some of the top big bands of the era through the end of the 1970s: Akiyoshi/Tabackin, Louis Bellson, Maynard Ferguson, and others. In addition to playing on several notable big band recordings starting in the 1960s, Shew recorded several albums as leader, starting with ''Debut'' in 1978. Shew has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Most
Samuel Most (December 16, 1930 – June 13, 2013) was an American jazz flutist, clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, based in Los Angeles. He was "probably the first great jazz flutist", according to jazz historian Leonard Feather. Biography He was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and began his career in music at the age of 18 with the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields, Boyd Raeburn and Don Redman. He also performed many times with his older brother, clarinetist Abe Most. His first recording was at age 23, a single called "Undercurrent Blues". The next year he was awarded ''DownBeat'' magazine's "Critic's New Star Award". Between 1953 and 1958 Most led and recorded sessions for the Prestige, Debut, Vanguard and Bethlehem labels. He also did session work for Chris Connor, Paul Quinichette and Teddy Wilson. He was a member of the Buddy Rich band from 1959 to 1961. Most resurfaced in the late 1970s recording six albums on the Xanadu label. From 1987 Most, with pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Menza
Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist. Career Menza was born in Buffalo, New York. After serving in the U.S. Army, he was part of the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra from 1960 to 1962 and then briefly worked for Stan Kenton. From 1964 to 1968 he lived in Germany. Back in the U.S., he became a member of the Buddy Rich band in 1968 and recorded a well-known solo with that band on "Channel One Suite". In the 1970s he was a member of ''The Tonight Show'' Band. He later lived in California and played with Elvin Jones and Louie Bellson. In 2005 Menza was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame. Menza wrote two of the charts played by the Buddy Rich Band: "Time Check" and "Groovin' Hard". Personal life His son Nick Menza (1964–2016) was the drummer for the heavy metal band Megadeth. Discography As leader * ''Morning Song'' (SABA, 1966) * ''First Flight'' (Catalyst, 1977) * ''Horn of Plenty'' (Discwasher, 1979) * ''Burnin'' (M&K, 1981) * ''Hip Pocket'' ( ... [...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 and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma on 23 December 1929. His father, Chesney Baker Sr., was a professional guitarist, and his mother, Vera Moser, was a pianist who worked in a perfume factory. His maternal grandmother was Norwegian. Baker said t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums.National Endowment for the Arts biography of Louis Bellson , January 1994; accessed January 2009. Bellson performed in most of the major capitals around the world. Bellson and his wife, actress and singer Pearl Bailey (married from 1952 until Bailey's death in 1990), had the second highest number of appearances at the |
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, the Caribbean, México and Latin America. Cal Tjader played the vibraphone primarily, but was accomplished on the drums, bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano. He worked with many musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Although fusing Jazz with Latin music is often categorized as "Latin Jazz", Tjader's works swung freely between both styles. His Grammy award in 1980 for his album ''La Onda Va Bien'' capped off a career that spanned over forty years. Early years (1925–1943) Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was born July 16, 1925, in St. Louis to touring Swedish American vaudevillians. His father tap danced and his mother played piano, a husband-wife team going from city to ... [...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 well known 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, United States. He began with clarinet in Vandalia, Ohio, but had switched to saxophone before attending the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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