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Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra
''Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra'' is a live album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, featuring performances recorded at Jamal's own club in Chicago in 1961 and released on the Argo label.Ahmad Jamal discography accessed May 21, 2012 Critical reception '' Allmusic'' awarded the album 4 stars, stating: "The interplay between the musicians was often magical."Track listing # "We Kiss in a Shadow" (, |
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Biography Early life Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1930. He began playing piano at the age of three, when his uncle Lawrence challenged him to duplicate what he was doing on the piano. Jamal began formal piano training at the age of seven with Mary Cardwell Dawson, whom he describes as greatly influencing him. His Pittsburgh roots have remained an important part of his identity ("Pittsburgh meant everything to me and it still does," he said in 2001) and it was there that he was immersed in the influence of jazz artists such as Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner. Jamal also studied with pianist James Miller and began playing piano professionally at the age of fourteen, at which point he was recogniz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Comden
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned six decades: "the longest running creative partnership in theatre history." The musical-comedy duo of Comden and Green collaborated most notably with composers Jule Styne and Leonard Bernstein, as well enjoyed success with ''Singin' in the Rain'', as part of the famed " Freed unit" at MGM. Early life Betty Comden was born Basya Cohen in Brooklyn, New York in 1917, the younger child of Leo Cohen (originally Astershinsky), a lawyer, and Rebecca ( Sadvoransky) Cohen, an English teacher. Both were Russian immigrants and observant Jews. She had an older brother, Nathaniel ("Nat"), born . Basya "attended Erasmus Hall High School and studied drama at New York University, graduating in 1938," according to ''The New York Times''. In 1938, mutual f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isn't It Romantic
"Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950,'' calls it "a perfect song." It was introduced by Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in the Paramount film ''Love Me Tonight'' (1932). It has since been recorded numerous times, with and without vocals, by many jazz and popular artists. The song has also since been featured in a number of other movies. In ''Love Me Tonight'', the song is used in a sequence in which it is first sung by Maurice Chevalier, a tailor, and then taken up by others (his customer, a cabby, a composer, a troop of soldiers, a band of gypsies) and is finally heard and sung by a princess, played by Jeanette MacDonald. The lyrics in the film are not the same as those in the published version. In 2004 this version finished ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist movement, and include '' Les Enfants du Paradis'' (1945). He published his first book in 1946. Life and education Prévert was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine and grew up in Paris. After receiving his ''Certificat d'études'' upon completing his primary education, he quit school and went to work in Le Bon Marché, a major department store in Paris. In 1918, he was called up for military service in the First World War. After this, he was sent to the Near East to defend French interests there. He died of lung cancer in Omonville-la-Petite, on 11 April 1977. He had been working on the last scene of the animated movie ''Le Roi et l'Oiseau'' (''The King and the Mockingbird'') with his friend and collaborator Paul Grimault. When the film was released in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Kosma
Joseph Kosma (22 October 19057 August 1969) was a Hungarian-French composer. Biography Kosma was born József Kozma in Budapest, where his parents taught stenography and typing. He had a brother, Ákos. A maternal relative was the photographer László Moholy-Nagy, and another was the conductor Georg Solti. He started to play the piano at age five, and later took piano lessons. At the age of 11, he wrote his first opera, ''Christmas in the Trenches''. After completing his education at the Secondary Grammar School Franz-Josef, he attended the Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with Leo Weiner. He also studied with Béla Bartók at the Liszt Academy, receiving diplomas in composition and conducting. He won a grant to study in Berlin in 1928, where he met Lilli Apel, another musician, whom he later married. Kosma also met and studied with Hanns Eisler in Berlin. He became acquainted with Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel. Kosma and his wife emigrated to Paris in 1933. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autumn Leaves (1945 Song)
"Autumn Leaves" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 with original lyrics by Jacques Prévert in French (original French title: "Les Feuilles mortes"), and later by Johnny Mercer in English. An instrumental version by pianist Roger Williams was a number one best-seller in the US ''Billboard'' charts of 1955. Background Kosma was a native of Hungary who was introduced to Prévert in Paris. They collaborated on the song ' ("The Dead Leaves") for the 1946 film '' Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night)'' where it was sung by Irène Joachim and Yves Montand. The poem was published, after the death of Jacques Prévert, in the book " Soleil de Nuit" in 1980. Kosma was influenced by a piece of ballet music, "Rendez-vous" written for Roland Petit, performed in Paris at the end of the Second World War, large parts of the melodies are exactly the same, which was itself borrowed partially from "Poème d'octobre" by Jules Massenet. The first commercial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ann Ronell
Ann Ronell (née Rosenblatt; December 25, 1905 — December 25, 1993) was an American composer and lyricist. She was best known for the standards "Willow Weep for Me" (1932) and "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" (1933). Early life Ronell was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Morris and Mollie Rosenblatt. Ronell graduated from Omaha's Central High School in 1923. She enrolled in Wheaton College, Massachusetts, but transferred after her sophomore year to pursue a more serious music education.Benjamin Sears"Ann Ronell" ''American National Biography Online'', 2000 She graduated from Radcliffe College, where she studied music with Walter Piston. While at Radcliffe, Ronell wrote music for college plays and contributed reviews and interviews to the school's music publication. After interviewing George Gershwin, she struck up a friendship with the composer, who hired her as a rehearsal pianist for his show '' Rosalie''. It was Gershwin who suggested that she change her name from Rosenblatt to R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willow Weep For Me
"Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. The song form is AABA, written in time,Zimmers, Tighe, E. (2009). ''Tin Pan Alley Girl: A Biography of Ann Ronell''. McFarland. pp. 19-22. although occasionally adapted for waltz time. One account of the inspiration for the song is that, during her time at Radcliffe College, Ronell "had been struck by the loveliness of the willow trees on campus, and this simple observation became the subject of an intricate song." The song was rejected by publishers for several reasons. First, the song is dedicated to George Gershwin. A dedication to another writer was disapproved of at the time, so the first person presented with the song for publication, Saul Bornstein, passed it to Irving Berlin, who accepted it. Other reasons stated for its slow acceptance are that it was written by a woman and that its construction was unusually complex for a composition that was targeted at a commercial a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Woode
William Henri Woode (September 25, 1909 – May 31, 1994) was an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and singer. His compositions include '' A Night at the Vanguard'', ''Sweet Slumber'', '' You Taught Me to Love Again'', and the jazz standard ''Broadway'' popularized by the Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 .... Woode and his orchestra starred in the 1946 featurette film '' Love in Syncopation''. References 20th-century American composers 1909 births 1994 deaths American jazz composers American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers {{US-composer-20thC-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teddy McRae
Teddy McRae (January 22, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger. McRae was born in Waycross, Georgia, and brought up in Philadelphia and played with local ensembles, including one composed of family members, when young. He played with June Clark in 1926 before moving to New York City to found his own band. Following this he played with Charlie Johnson, Elmer Snowden (1932), Stuff Smith (1934), Lil Armstrong (1935), and Chick Webb (1936-39), the last as both a soloist and arranger. After Webb's death he was musical director for the orchestra during its tenure under the leadership of Ella Fitzgerald (1939–41). He recorded in the decade of the 1930s with Benny Morton, Teddy Wilson, and Red Allen. In the 1940s McRae worked in the orchestras of Cab Calloway (1941–42), Jimmie Lunceford (1942), Lionel Hampton (1943), and Louis Armstrong (1944-45); he also served as Armstrong's musical director during his period with that band. He wrote tunes for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway (1940 Song)
"Broadway" is a 1940 jazz standard written by Wilbur H. Bird, Teddy McRae, and Henri Woode. It was popularized and long associated with the Count Basie Orchestra. Other recordings were made by The Gerry Mulligan sextet, The Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band, Stanley Turrentine, Art Pepper, Hampton Hawes, Ahmad Jamal, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Dexter Gordon, Tal Farlow and others. While not included in the original, recent editions of the '' Real Book'' now include this song amongst other popular jazz tunes. Vocal versions include those by Dakota Staton (''The Late, Late Show'' 1957), Mel Torme ('' Mel Tormé Sings Sunday in New York & Other Songs About New York'' 1963) and Diana Krall (''Only Trust Your Heart'' 1995). See also *List of jazz standards A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You". Early years Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill and his wife, Maude. When he was 11 years old, he played piano professionally. While still a youth, he played with two local combos. As a student at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, he played with several theater bands. Thornhill entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at the age of 16. He also studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Career As a youth, he was recognized as an extraordinary talent and formed a traveling duo with Danny Polo, a musical prodigy on the clarinet and trumpet from nearby Clinton, Indiana. He and clarinetist Artie Shaw started their careers at the Golden Pheasant in Cleveland, Ohio, with the Austin Wylie Orchestra. Thornhill and Shaw went to New York together in 1931. Thornhill went to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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