Apex Studios
Apex Studios was a recording studio in Manhattan, New York City. It had a high reputation for recording jazz. It was located in the Beaux Arts Steinway building. The owner was Bob Scheuing. When Al Schmitt started in 1950, the two engineers were Fred Herbert Otto and Tom Dowd. Apex did almost all of the work for National, Atlantic, and Prestige record labels. Miles Davis's album '' Miles Davis and Horns'' was partly recorded here in 1951. Duke Ellington did a session with his son, Mercer. It was one of the first major sessions engineered by Al Schmitt. The studio also recorded radio shows for Voice of America in many languages. Artists that recorded at the studio included Charlie Parker, The Clovers, Clyde McPhatter, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Peppermint Harris, Lightnin' Hopkins. The studio went bankrupt and closed in the early 1950s. Notable Recordings * The Clovers, "Don't You Know I Love You "Don't You Know I Love You" is the 1951, debut single by The Clovers. The single ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state of New York. Located near the southern tip of New York State, Manhattan is based in the Eastern Time Zone and constitutes both the geographical and demographic center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. Over 58 million people live within 250 miles of Manhattan, which serves as New York City’s economic and administrative center, cultural identifier, and the city’s historical birthplace. Manhattan has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world, is considered a safe haven for global real estate investors, and hosts the United Nations headquarters. New York City is the headquarters of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Voice Of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages which it distributes to affiliate stations around the globe. It is primarily viewed by a non-American audience. VOA was established in 1942, and the VOA charter (Public Laws 94-350 and 103–415) was signed into law in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. VOA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent agency of the U.S. government. Funds are appropriated annually under the budget for embassies and consulates. In 2016, VOA broadcast an estimated 1,800 hours of radio and TV programming each week to approximately 236.6 million people worldwide with about 1,050 employees and a taxpayer-funded annual budget of . While Voice of America is seen by some foreign list ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lightnin' Hopkins
Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. The musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick opined that Hopkins is "the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act". He was a notable influence on Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Jr., and a generation of blues musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose Grammy winning song "Rude Mood" was directly inspired by the Texan's song "Hopkins' Sky Hop." Life Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas. As a child, he was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for the music at the age of 8, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas.Allmusic biography/ref> He went on to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peppermint Harris
Harrison Demotra Nelson, Jr. (July 17, 1925 – March 19, 1999), known as Peppermint Harris, was an American rhythm and blues and jump blues singer and guitarist. Originally from Texarkana, Texas, he first recorded in Houston, as Peppermint Nelson, in the late 1940s, accompanied by his friend Lightnin' Hopkins. He then made further recordings including, in 1950, "Raining In My Heart" for the Sittin' in With record label run by Bob Shad, who allegedly forgot Nelson's name and released them as by Peppermint Harris. In 1951, he moved to Modern Records in Los Angeles, California, and had his biggest R&B hit, on the Aladdin Records label, with " I Got Loaded", which reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart in November that year. He had eight other, less successful recordings, on the same label, switching to other smaller labels in Southern California later in the 1950s and into the 1960s. In 1962, he had a self-titled album, released on the Time label. Harris lat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy Heath (double bass), and Connie Kay (drums). The group grew out of the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie's big band from 1946 to 1948, which consisted of Lewis and Jackson along with bassist Ray Brown (musician), Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke. They recorded as the Milt Jackson Quartet in 1951 and Brown left the group, being replaced on bass by Heath. During the early-to-mid-1950s they became the Modern Jazz Quartet, Lewis became the group's musical director, and they made several recordings with Prestige Records, including the original versions of their two best-known compositions, Lewis's "Django (composition), Django" and Jackson's "Bags' Groove (composition), Bags' Groove". Clarke left the group in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clyde McPhatter
Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pioneer Rock Singer" ''The New York Times'', May 26, 1981. and was a key figure in the shaping of doo-wop and R&B. McPhatter's high-pitched tenor voice was steeped in the gospel music he sang in much of his early life. He was the lead tenor of the Mount Lebanon Singers, a gospel group he formed as a teenager.Shaw, Arnold (1978). ''Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues''. Reprint edition (March 1, 1986); / New York: Crowell-Collier Press. pg. 381. He was later the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes and was largely responsible for the initial success of the group. After his tenure with the Dominoes, McPhatter formed his own group, the Drifters, and later worked as a solo performer. Only 39 at the time of his death ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Clovers
The Clovers are an American rhythm and blues/doo-wop vocal group who became one of the biggest selling acts of the 1950s.The Guinness Who's Who of Fifties Music. General Editor: Colin Larkin. First published 1993 (UK). . The Clovers p77. They had a top 30 US hit in 1959 with the Leiber and Stoller song "Love Potion No. 9 (song), Love Potion No. 9". History 1946 to 1960 The group was formed at Armstrong High School, Washington, D.C., in 1946 by Harold Lucas (baritone), Billy Shelton and Thomas Woods. Initially a trio, they expanded to a quartet with the addition of John "Buddy" Bailey (lead) and began calling themselves The Four Clovers. Billy Shelton was replaced by Matthew McQuater (tenor) in 1948. As The Four Clovers, the group started to appear at local amateur music shows including the WWDC amateur hour show hosted by Jack Lowe Endler at the Republic Theatre. This brought them to the attention of a wider audience including Harold Winley (bass) who, after hearing them on WWDC, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. Parker was an extremely brilliant virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker's tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber. Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career on the road with Jay McShann. This, and the shortened form "Bird", continued to be used for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Bird Gets the Worm", and "Bird of Paradise". Parker was an icon for the hipster ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al Schmitt
Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and others. He also won 2 Latin Grammys, and a Trustees Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. Biography Early career Schmitt grew up in New York City and lived in Brooklyn until the late 1940s. He bought his first 78 at the age of 10, Jimmie Lunceford's record "White Heat." Schmitt's favorite band was Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra. He had a younger sister, Doris, and two younger brothers, Richie and Russell, both of whom became audio engineers. His family was poor so some Saturdays he worked at a shop doing shoe repairs. On the weekends, Schmitt would spend time at his uncle's recording studio, Harry Smith Recording (Smith had changed his name from "Schmitt" to "Smith" because of the anti-German sentiment of the era). From the age of 8, Schmitt wou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Miles Davis And Horns
''Miles Davis and Horns'' (PRLP 7025) is a compilation album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, released by Prestige Records in 1956. It compiles material from different albums previously released by Prestige in the discontinued 10 inch LP format. The fifth, sixth, and eighth tracks were originally issued on the various artists album '' Modern Jazz Trumpets'' (PRLP 113), and had also been issued as 78rpm singles. Tracks 1–4 first appeared on '' Miles Davis Plays The Compositions Of Al Cohn'' (PRLP 154). Track 3 was also previously released as the B-side of the "Morpheus" single (Prestige 734). Track 7 was originally on '' Blue Period'' (PRLP 140). The cover art was designed by '' MAD'' magazine cartoonist Don Martin, who created several album covers for Prestige before beginning his career with ''MAD''. 12" LP track listing PRLP7025: An alternate take of "Blue Room" was later added as a bonus track. Personnel Tracks 1–4: * Miles Davis – Trumpet * Zoot Sims – T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in a five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz. Born in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, Davis left to study at Juilliard in New York City, before dropping out and making his professional debut as a member of saxophonist Charlie Parker's bebop quintet from 1944 to 1948. Shortly after, he recorded the ''Birth of the Cool'' sessions for Capitol Records, which were instrumental to the development of cool jazz. In the early 1950s, Davis recorded some of the earliest hard bop music while on Prestige Records but did so haphazardly due to a heroin addiction. After a widely acclaimed comeback performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, he signed a long-term contract wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |