Al Gafa
Alexander "Al" Gafa (born April 9, 1941, New York City) is an American jazz guitarist. Career Gafa worked extensively as a session musician for recordings in the mid and late 1960s in New York. In jazz he worked in that decade with Kai Winding, Michel Legrand, Sam Donahue, Duke Pearson, and Carmen McRae. He worked with McRae until 1971, then played in the 1970s with Dizzy Gillespie, Mike Longo, and Yusef Lateef. Gafa put together his own small groups in the decade; his sidemen included Kenny Barron, Ben Brown, Al Foster, Steve LaSpina, Andy LaVerne, Dave Shapiro, and Richard Wyands. He worked with Johnny Hartman from 1978 to 1982 and in the early 1980s with Susannah McCorkle and Joe Albany, Sammy Davis Jr., Sylvia Syms, Morgana King, Shirley Horn."Al Gafa". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld. Discography As leader * ''Leblon Beach'' (Pablo, 1976) As sideman With Dizzy Gillespie * ''Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt Quintet Live in Paris & Copenhag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johnny Hartman
John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his collaboration in 1963 with saxophonist John Coltrane, ''John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman'', a landmark album for both him and Coltrane. Biography Born in Louisiana and raised in Chicago, Hartman began singing and playing the piano by the age of eight. He attended DuSable High School studying music under Walter Dyett before receiving a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College. He sang as a private in the Army's Special Services during World War II, but his first professional break came in September 1946 when he won a singing contest at the Apollo Theater, earning him a one-week engagement with Earl Hines, which lasted a year. Hartman's first recordings were with Marl Young during that time, though it was his collaboration with Hines t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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I Don't Care Who Knows It
''I Don't Care Who Knows It'' is an album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances recorded between 1968 and 1970.Duke Pearson discography accessed September 10, 2010 The album was released on the Blue Note label in 1996. Reception The review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars stating "the music swings with an understated funk, with the band alternating between standard hard-bop and mellow, soulful grooves. On the whole, ''I Don't Care Who Knows It'' is fairly uneven — the sessions don't set well together, ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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How Insensitive (album)
''How Insensitive'' is the fourteenth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances by Pearson's band augmented by a choir, recorded over three sessions in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label.Duke Pearson discography accessed September 10, 2010 Reception The review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 2 stars stating "Each song on ''How Insensitive'' boasts extravagant, layered arrangements that flirt with schmaltz, but the voicings and attack are so unusual, the result is a weird variation on easy listening. There is little opportunity for Pearson to showcase his tasteful playing through improvisation, yet the ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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From Broken Hearts To Blue Skies
''From Broken Hearts to Blue Skies'' is an album by Susannah McCorkle released in 1999. Reception Music critic Paula Edelstein of Allmusic praised the album and wrote "McCorkle's singing is straight from the heart and soul and she's clearly towering in blue skies as one of America's finest interpreters of the classic song." Track listing # "Laughing at Life" (Cornell Todd, Nick Kenny, Charles Kenny, Bob Todd) – 4:06 # " Something to Live For" (Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...) – 5:36 # "Look for the Silver Lining" (Jerome Kern, Buddy DeSylva, Susannah McCorkle) – 4:02 # "Nuages" (Django Reinhardt, Jacques Larue, McCorkle) – 5:00 # "Caminhos Cruzados" (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonça) – 4:26 # "I Wish I Were in Lov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Once In Every Life
''Once in Every Life'' is an album by vocalist Johnny Hartman which was recorded in 1980 and released on the Bee Hive label. accessed September 21, 2017 Four songs from the album, " Easy Living", "", "" and " [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bahiana
''Bahiana'' is an album by Dizzy Gillespie recorded in 1975 and released on the Pablo label.Dizzy Gillespie discography accessed April 17, 2012 Reception The review called the album "one of Dizzy Gillespie's finest albums of the decade... Those wanting to explore Dizzy Gillespie's Latin side should start here".Mason, SAllmusic Review accessed April 17, 2012 Track listing ''All compositions by Dizzy Gillespie except as indicated'' # "Carnival" - 8:02 # "Samba" ( ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barry Kernfeld
Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at University of California, Berkeley; then, from April 1970 to September 1972, he focused on being a professional saxophonist. In October 1972, Kernfeld enrolled at the University of California, Davis, where, in 1975, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in musicology. From 1975 to 1981, he studied at Cornell University where he focused on jazz. Cornell awarded him a master's degree in 1978 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree 1981. Editing and writing career Kernfeld was the editor of the first and second editions of ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,'' the largest jazz dictionary ever published. The first edition was published in 1988. ''Volume 1'' had 670 pages and ''Volume 2'' had 690. John S. Wilson"Books of The Times; Updating the Minutiae of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The New Grove
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theory of music. Earlier editions were published under the titles ''A Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', and ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''; the work has gone through several editions since the 19th century and is widely used. In recent years it has been made available as an electronic resource called ''Grove Music Online'', which is now an important part of ''Oxford Music Online''. ''A Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' ''A Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' was first published in London by Macmillan and Co. in four volumes (1879, 1880, 1883, 1889) edited by George Grove with an Appendix edited by J. A. Fuller Maitland in the fourth volume. An Index edited by Mrs. E. Wodehouse was issued as a separate volume in 1890. In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shirley Horn
Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and others. She was most noted for her ability to accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence and ability on the piano while singing, something described by arranger Johnny Mandel as "like having two heads", and for her rich, lush voice, a smoky contralto, which was described by noted producer and arranger Quincy Jones as "like clothing, as she seduces you with her voice". Biography Shirley Horn was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Encouraged by her grandmother, an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. Aged 12, she studied piano and composition at Howard University, later graduating from there in classical music. Horn was offered a place at the Juilliard School, but her family could not afford to send her th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morgana King
Maria Grazia Morgana Messina (June 4, 1930 – March 22, 2018), known as Morgana King, was an American jazz singer and actress.Liner notes by Joel Dorn – Morgana King album ''The Complete Reprise Recordings'' (2000).Liner notes by Ed Osborne – Morgana King re-issue album ''It's A Quite Thing'' (2006).''Beverly Kenny Sings For Johnny Smith''Toshiba EMI Japan 1955song "Moe's Blues", track listing 11. She began a professional singing career at sixteen years old. In her twenties, she was singing at a Greenwich Village nightclub when she was recognized for her unique phrasing and vocal range, described as a four-octave contralto range. She was signed to a label and began recording solo albums. She recorded dozens of albums well into the late 1990s. King had her debut and breakout role in film as Carmela Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974).Nichols, Peter M''The New York Times Guide to the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made''(2004), p. 390; Maltin, Leon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sylvia Syms
Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''No Trees in the Street'' (1959), ''Victim'' (1961), and ''The Tamarind Seed'' (1974). In 2006 she portrayed The Queen Mother in the Stephen Frears movie ''The Queen'', about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and days leading up to Diana's funeral. She remains active in films, television and theatre. Personal life Syms was born in Woolwich, London, England, the daughter of Daisy (''née'' Hale) and Edwin Syms, a trade unionist and civil servant. She grew up in Well Hall, Eltham"Well Hall" entry of ''London Gazetteer'' by Russ Willey, (Chambers 2006) (online extrac and was educated at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, on whose council she later served. Her daughter Beatie Edney is also an actress, and she is the aunt of musicians Nick and Alex Webb. Caree ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |