Catalyst (band)
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Catalyst (band)
Catalyst was a funk/jazz quartet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose material presaged the work of later jazz fusion artists.Catalystat Allmusic.com The group encountered regional success in the 1970s and have become more widely known since the re-release of their material on CD. The group was discovered by producer Skip Drinkwater, who signed them to Muse Records after hearing them play at a club in West Philadelphia. Drinkwater and Dennis Wilen produced their debut self-titled LP, released in 1972 with the following personnel: Eddie Green (keyboards, vocals), Sherman Ferguson (percussion), Odean Pope (saxophone, flute, oboe), Alphonso Johnson (bass). The group received little label support for major tours and so spent most of their playing time in the Philadelphia and New York areas. The group recorded and released a second album in 1973 on Muse Records, entitled ''Perception''; by this time, bassist Johnson had left the group to join Weather Report, and was replaced by Tyro ...
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Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ...
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John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ..., bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raised in North Carolina, Coltrane moved to Philadelphia after graduating high school, where he studied music. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of Modal jazz, modes and was one of the players at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. Over the course of his career, Coltrane's music t ...
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Joel Dorn
Joel Dorn (April 7, 1942 – December 17, 2007) was an American jazz and R&B music producer and record label entrepreneur. He worked at Atlantic Records, and later founded the 32 Jazz, Label M, and Hyena Records labels. He called himself "The Masked Announcer". Artists he worked with included: Roberta Flack, Max Roach, Bette Midler, The Allman Brothers Band, Peter Allen, Yusef Lateef, Willy DeVille, the Neville Brothers, Herbie Mann, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, Mose Allison, Leon Redbone, Jimmy Scott and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Dorn won two Grammy Awards: * "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack, 1972 Record of the Year * "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack, 1973 Record of the Year Dorn died from a heart attack in 2007. His son, Adam Dorn, is a musician working under the name Mocean Worker Mocean Worker (pronounced "motion worker") is the recording alias of jazz musician and producer Adam Dorn. Biography Philadelphia native Adam Dorn is the ...
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Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ''Billboard'' Top Twenty hit Verve album '' Organ Grinder Swing''. He has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.Cohassey, John. "Kenny Burrell: Guitarist, Educator." ''Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music.'' Ed. Julia M. Rubiner. Vol. 11. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1994. 29–31. PrintNash, Sunny. "Kenny Burrell Biography." ''PRLog,'' May 13, 2009. Burrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Early life Burrell was born in Detroit. Both his parents played instruments,Sallis, James. "Middle Ground: Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Ta ...
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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 Universi ...
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Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", Sanders played a prominent role in the development of free jazz and spiritual jazz through his work as a member of John Coltrane's groups in the mid-1960s, and later through his solo work. He released over thirty albums as a leader and collaborated extensively with vocalist Leon Thomas and pianist Alice Coltrane, among many others. Fellow saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world". Sanders' take on “spiritual jazz” was rooted in his inspiration from religious concepts such as Karma and Tawhid, and his rich, meditative performance aesthetic. This style was seen as a continuation of Coltrane's work on albums such as ''A Love Supreme''. As a result, Sanders was considered to have been a di ...
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Saxophone Choir
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called ''saxophonists''. The saxophone is used in a wide range of musical styles including classical music (such as concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, and occasionally orchestras), military bands, marching bands, jazz (such as big bands and jazz combos), and contemporary music. The saxophone is also used as a solo and melody instrument or as a member of a horn section in some style ...
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Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He worked with many famous jazz musicians, including Clifford Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, and Booker Little. He was inducted into the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in 1980 and the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1992. In the mid-1950s, Roach co-led a pioneering quintet along with trumpeter Clifford Brown. In 1970, he founded the percussion ensemble M'Boom. He made numerous musical statements relating to the civil rights movement. Biography Early life and career Max Roach was born to Alphonse and Cressie Roach in the Township of Newland, Pasquotank County, ...
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MFSB
MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The O'Jays, The Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul. In 1972, MFSB began recording as a named act for the Philadelphia International label. "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)", also known as the ''Soul Train'' theme, was their second and most successful single. Released in March 1974, it peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' pop and R&B charts. "TSOP" was influential in establishing the disco sound. The track sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in April 1974. Overview MFSB formed in 1971 and disbanded in 1985, three years after Teddy Pendergrass's car accident, which left him paralyzed. Assembled by record producers Kenneth Ga ...
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Sunny (Bobby Hebb Song)
"Sunny" is a soul jazz standard written by Bobby Hebb in 1963. It is one of the most performed and recorded popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" No. 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century". Background and composition Hebb's parents, William and Ovalla Hebb, were both blind musicians. Hebb and his older brother Harold performed as a song-and-dance duo in Nashville, beginning when Bobby was three and Harold was nine. Hebb performed on a TV show hosted by country music record producer Owen Bradley. Hebb wrote the song after his older brother, Harold, was stabbed to death outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by the event and many critics say it inspired the lyrics and tune. According to Hebb, he merely wrote the song as an expression of a preference for a ''"sunny"'' disposition over a ''"lousy"'' disposition following the murder of his brother. Events influenced Hebb's songwriting, but his melody, crossing over into R&B (#3 on U. ...
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Pat Martino/Live!
''Pat Martino/Live!'' is a live album by guitarist Pat Martino which was recorded in 1972 and first released on the Muse label. Reception Allmusic awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Martino performs music that falls between advanced hard bop, fusion and the avant-garde without really fitting into any of the genres. Well worth several listens".Yanow, SAllmusic listingaccessed September 6, 2013 Tom Moon, in his book ''1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die'', wrote: "Whenever you're feeling lethargic, unable to get anything done, cue up 'Sunny' from Pat Martino's famed ''Live!'' disc, and prepare to have your clock cleaned. Here, in a solo that lasts more than four minutes, the guitarist motors from one peak to the next with such determination he seems less a jazz musician than a superhero charged with saving Planet Earth." In an article for All About Jazz, Ian Patterson wrote: "There are only a handful of live recordings of Pat Martino, but this one... is arguably the best... ...
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Consciousness (Pat Martino Album)
''Consciousness'' is an album by guitarist Pat Martino which was recorded in 1974 and first released on the Muse label. Reception In his review on AllMusic, Michael G. Nastos notes that this is "Martino on the way up. Mostly quartet recordings for the brilliant guitarist... Guitar students should study this one." Tom Moon, in his book ''1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die'', wrote: "Beginning with a spry romp through Coltrane's 'Impressions,' ''Consciousness'' offers blindingly bright—yet never glib—Martino solos, each a marvel of structure. To hear an improviser in full control of his resources, check out the curvy bossa nova 'Along Came Betty,' then a pensive solo guitar reading of Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now.'" Guitarist Russell Malone stated that, when he first heard ''Consciousness'', he "almost wanted to quit playing the guitar. I said, 'Man, what the hell am I trying to play the guitar for when this guy's playing it like that? I'll never get to that level.' T ...
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