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Billy Taylor (jazz Bassist)
William Taylor Sr. (April 3, 1906 – September 2, 1986) was an American jazz bassist. He was born Washington, D.C. and died in Fairfax, Virginia. Taylor began playing tuba but later picked up bass alongside it. After moving to New York City in 1924, he played with Elmer Snowden (1925), Willie Gant and Arthur Gibbs (1926), Charlie Johnson (1927–29, 1932–33), Duke Ellington (1928), McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1929–31), Fats Waller (1934), and Fletcher Henderson. He recorded with Jelly Roll Morton on three sessions in 1930. From 1935 to 1940, he again played with Ellington, and it is for this association that he is best remembered; he often played with a second bassist in the orchestra, at times Hayes Alvis or Jimmie Blanton. During that time, he also recorded with Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges. In the 1940s, he played with Coleman Hawkins (1940), Red Allen (1940–41), Joe Sullivan (1942), Raymond Scott (1942–43), Cootie Williams (1944), Barney Bigard (1944–45), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Johnny Hodges
Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered to be one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era. After beginning his career as a teenager in Boston, Hodges began to travel to New York and played with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Luckey Roberts and Chick Webb. When Ellington wanted to expand his band in 1928, Ellington's clarinet player Barney Bigard recommended Hodges. His playing became one of the identifying voices of the Ellington orchestra. From 1951 to 1955, Hodges left the Duke to lead his own band, but returned shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence – the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. Biography Early life Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an upper middle-class Jewish family. He learned to play the piano and clarinet without formal training and started writing about jazz and film by his late teens. At the age of twenty-one, Feather made his first visit to the United States, and after working in the UK and the US as a record producer finally settled in New York City in 1939, where he lived until moving to Los Angeles in 1960. Feather was co-editor of ''Metronome'' magazine and served as chief jazz critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' until his death. Feather made a significant contribution to the development of jazz broadcasting in Britain, first devising three ''Evergreens of Jazz'' programmes broadcast in August and September 1936, using George Scott-Wood and His Six Swingers. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caravan (1936 Song)
"Caravan" is an American jazz standard that was composed by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington and first performed by Ellington in 1936. Irving Mills wrote lyrics, but they are rarely sung. The sad sound of "Caravan" interested exotica musicians; Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Gordon Jenkins all covered it. Woody Allen used the song in two of his films, '' Alice'' and ''Sweet and Lowdown''. Steven Soderbergh used the Lyman version in his 2001 film ''Ocean's Eleven''. The song appears often in the 2014 film ''Whiplash'' as an important plot element. The Mills Brothers recorded an a cappella version in which they imitated instruments with their voices. Johnny Mathis recorded the song in 1956. More than 350 versions have been recorded. Original recording The first version of the song was recorded in Hollywood in 1936 and performed as an instrumental by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators. Two takes were recorded, of which the first (Variety VA-515-1) was published. The band members were: * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
After The Lights Go Down Low (album)
''After the Lights Go Down Low'' is an album by vocalist Al Hibbler, released by the Atlantic label in 1957. The album contains tracks that were recorded between 1950 and 1956, with several being released on the Original and Atlantic labels as singles. accessed September 14, 2015 Reception 's Arwulf stated that "anyone else putting on such a show would run the risk of sounding foolish, Hibbler had so much class mingled with chutzpah that each performance feels like something from an impossible or imaginary jazz/lieder recital."Track listing # "[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Hibbler
Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is best seen as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music. According to one authority, "Hibbler cannot be regarded as a jazz singer but as an exceptionally good interpreter of twentieth-century popular songs who happened to work with some of the best jazz musicians of the time." Early life Hibbler was born in Tyro, Mississippi, United States, and was blind from birth. Some sources give his birth name as Andrew George Hibbler. At the age of 12 he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he attended Arkansas School for the Blind, joining the school choir. Later he began working as a blues singer in local bands, failing his first audition for Duke Ellington in 1935. However, after winning an amateur talent contest in Memphis, Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Carney
Harry Howell Carney (April 1, 1910 – October 8, 1974) was a jazz saxophonist and clarinettist who spent over four decades as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He played a variety of instruments but primarily used the baritone saxophone, being a critical influence on the instrument in jazz. Early life Carney was born on April 1, 1910, in Boston, Massachusetts. In Boston, he grew up close to future bandmate Johnny Hodges. Carney began by playing the piano at age seven, moved to the clarinet at 14, and added the alto saxophone a year later. He first played professionally in clubs in Boston. Early influences on Carney's playing included Buster Bailey, Sidney Bechet, and Don Murray. Carney also reported that, for his baritone saxophone playing, he "tried to make the upper register sound like Coleman Hawkins and the lower register like Adrian Rollini". Later life and career After playing a variety of gigs in New York City at the age of 17, Carney was invited to join the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keynote Records
A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework for the following programme of events or convention agenda; frequently the role of keynote speaker will include that of convention moderator. It will also flag up a larger idea—a literary story, an individual musical piece, or event. At political or industrial conventions and expositions and at academic conferences, the keynote address or keynote speech is delivered to set the underlying tone and summarize the core message or most important revelation of the event. Keynote speeches are also given at the graduation and commencement ceremonies of colleges, universities, and major high schools, usually by accomplished academics or celebrities invited by the student body. These speeches are often called a commencement speech. Keynote speak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cozy Cole
William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups. Life and career William Randolph Cole was born in East Orange, New Jersey, United States. His first music job was with Wilbur Sweatman in 1928. In 1930, he played for Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, recording an early drum solo on "Load of Cole". He spent 1931–33 with Blanche Calloway, 1933–34 with Benny Carter, 1935–36 with Willie Bryant, 1936–38 with Stuff Smith's small combo, and 1938–42 with Cab Calloway. In 1942, he was hired by CBS Radio music director Raymond Scott as part of network radio's first integrated orchestra. After that he played with Louis Armstrong's All Stars. Cole performed with Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with Velma Middleton singing vocals for the ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The concert was produced by Leon Hef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Morton
Benny Morton (January 31, 1907 – December 28, 1985) was an American jazz trombonist, most associated with the swing genre. Career He was born in New York, United States. One of his first jobs was working with Clarence Holiday, and he appeared with Clarence's daughter Billie Holiday towards the end of her life on The Sound of Jazz. Morton was a member of pianist Teddy Wilson's Sextet throughout the early 1940s. In the 1960s he was part of the Jazz Giants band: "Wild" Bill Davison (cornet), Herb Hall (clarinet and alto), Claude Hopkins (piano), Arvell Shaw (bass) and Buzzy Drootin (drums). They toured the U.S. and frequently in Canada where they did some recording for Sackville Records. Towards the end of the 1960s, he played with an offshoot of the Jazz Giants under the leadership of Buzzy Drootin, called Buzzy's Jazz Family, including Herb Hall, with Herman Autrey replacing Davison, Buzzy's nephew Sonny Drootin replacing Hopkins, and Eddie Gibbs replacing Shaw. He is proba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barney Bigard
Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creole parents, Alexander and Emanuella Bigard. He had two brothers, Alexander Jr. and Sidney. His uncle, Emile Bigard, was a jazz violinist. He attended local schools and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. In the early 1920s, he moved to Chicago, where he worked with King Oliver and others. During this period, much of his recording, including with clarinetist Johnny Dodds, was on tenor saxophone, which he played often with great lyricism, as on Oliver's "Someday Sweetheart". In December 1927, Bigard joined Duke Ellington's orchestra in New York. He played with Ellington until 1942. They played primarily at the Cotton Club until 1931, then toured almost nonstop for over a decade. With Ellington, he was the featured clarinet soloist, while also d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is familiar to millions because Carl Stalling adapted it in over 120 Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and other Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. His compositions may also be heard in ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' (which uses Scott's recordings in twelve episodes), ''The Simpsons'', ''Duckman'', ''Animaniacs'', ''The Oblongs'', ''Batfink'', and '' Bluey''. The only time he composed to accompany animation was three 20-second commercial jingles for County Fair Bread in 1962. Early life and career Scott was born in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrants, Joseph and Sarah Warnow. His older brother, Mark Warnow, was a conductor, violinist, and musical director for the CBS radio program ''Your Hit Parade'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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