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Dave McKenna
Dave McKenna (May 30, 1930 – October 18, 2008) was an American jazz pianist known primarily as a solo pianist and for his " three-handed" swing style. He was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano. Career He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States. At age 15, McKenna worked in big bands with Charlie Ventura (1949) and Woody Herman's Orchestra (1950–51). He then spent two years in the military, in the Korea War, before returning to Ventura (1953–54). During his career he worked in swing and dixieland settings with Al Cohn, Eddie Condon, Stan Getz, Gene Krupa, Zoot Sims, Joe Venuti, and often with Bob Wilber and Bobby Hackett. McKenna released his first solo album in 1955. During the 1980s, he worked as a pianist at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. Recordings McKenna recorded extensively from 1958–2002, beginning with ABC-Paramount (1956), Epic (1958), Bethlehem (1960) and Realm (1963). He made several recordings for Chiaroscuro in the 1970s, in ...
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Live At Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Two
''Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Two'' is an album of solo performances by jazz pianist Dave McKenna, recorded in 1989. Music and recording The album was recorded in November 1989 at the Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley, California.Asher, Don (July 24, 2013"Solo Jazz Piano at Maybeck Recital Hall: A Treasure Hunt Remembered" Retrieved November 11, 2017. Some of the tracks are medleys and are based on themes in the titles. Pianist Liam Noble commented on "Dream Dancing": "What you ''feel'' is the pulse, always, the constant polyphony between the hands serving the bounce, always. As the right hand lines move into the shriller high register, he backs off, similarly with the low end. The balance is impeccable, but it’s a warm perfection. When he shifts tempo halfway through, it's an easy slide not an abrupt shift.". Release and reception It was released by Concord Records. The AllMusic reviewer concluded: "Beautifully recorded and performed, this valuable CD was one of man ...
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Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts state line and constitutes part of both the Providence metropolitan area and the larger Greater Boston Combined Statistical Area. The city is the corporate headquarters of CVS Health, a pharmacy services provider. It is home to Landmark Medical Center, the Museum of Work and Culture, and the American-French Genealogical Society. History Before the arrival of European settlers in northern Rhode Island during the 17th century, today's Woonsocket region was inhabited by three Native American tribes: the Nipmuc (Cowesett), Wampanoag, and Narragansett. In 1661, the English theologian Roger Williams purchased the area from the "Coweset and Nipmucks", and in a letter referred to modern day Woonsocket as ''Niswosakit''. ...
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Eddie Condon
Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of John and Margaret (née McGraw) Condon. He grew up in Momence, Illinois, and Chicago Heights, Illinois, where he attended St. Agnes and Bloom High School. After playing ukulele, he switched to banjo and was a professional musician by 1921. When he was 15 years old, he received his first union card in Waterloo, Iowa. Career He was based in Chicago for most of the 1920s, and played with such jazz notables as Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, and Frank Teschemacher. He and Red McKenzie formed the Chicago Rhythm Kings in 1925. While in Chicago, Condon and other white musicians would go to Lincoln Gardens to watch and learn from King Oliver and his band. They later would frequent the Sunset Café to see Louis Armstrong and his Hot ...
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Improvisation
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties, across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation. Improvisation also exists outside the arts. Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. Improvised weapons are often used by guerrillas, insurgents and criminals. Engineering Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. Examples of such improvisation was the re-engineering of carbon dioxide scrubbers with the materials on hand during the Apollo 13 space mission, or the use of a knife in place of a screwdriver to turn a screw. Engineering improvisations may ...
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Arbors Records
Arbors Records is a record company and independent record label in Clearwater, Florida. It was founded by Mat and Rachel Domber in 1989 and was initially devoted to the recordings of their friend, Rick Fay. Arbors became known in the 1990s for swing music and Dixieland jazz, though its catalogue encompasses other forms of contemporary and classic jazz. Its roster includes Dan Barrett, Ruby Braff, Bob Wilber, Dave Frishberg, and Bucky Pizzarelli. Roster *Joe Ascione * Ehud Asherie * Dan Barrett *Ruby Braff * James Chirillo * Evan Christopher *Joe Cohn *Kenny Davern * Peter Ecklund * Rick Fay * Chris Flory *Johnny Frigo *Dave Frishberg *Wycliffe Gordon *Marty Grosz *Bob Haggart * Jake Hanna * Chuck Hedges * Joel Helleny *Skitch Henderson *Eddie Higgins *Maurice Hines *Dick Hyman *Jane Jarvis *Jon-Erik Kellso * Rebecca Kilgore * Walt Levinsky * George Masso * Louis Mazetier *Michael Moore *Tommy Newsom *Ken Peplowski *Bucky Pizzarelli *Herb Pomeroy * Scott Robinson * John Sheridan ...
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Maybeck Recital Hall
Maybeck Recital Hall, also known as Maybeck Studio for Performing Arts, is located inside the Kennedy-Nixon House located at 1537 Euclid Avenue in Berkeley, California, United States. It was built in 1914 by Bernard Maybeck. The hall seats up to 50 people and was designed upon commission for the Nixon family, local arts patrons who wanted a live-in studio for their daughter Milda's piano teacher, Mrs. Alma Kennedy. The room is paneled in unfinished clear-heart redwood, which contributes to an unusually rich and warm, yet bright and clear acoustic quality. There are two grand pianos in the space: a Yamaha S-400, and a Yamaha C7. Maybeck originally designed the space to accommodate an 1898 7-foot Bechstein. History In 1923, the hall was destroyed in a hillside fire. It was rebuilt quickly by Maybeck. Milda Nixon lived at the residence until her death in 1981 at the age of 92. Her adopted son, Charles R. Fulweiler, then held the house for several years. In 1987, the house was purchas ...
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Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the jazz festival which Jefferson also began. The label issued recordings by Art Blakey, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, Ray Brown, Rosemary Clooney, Chick Corea, Eliane Elias, and Kurt Elling. It is owned by Concord. Artists * Cannonball Adderley * Howard Alden *Herb Alpert *Monty Alexander *Steve Allen * Eden Atwood * George Barnes *Ray Barretto *Count Basie *Art Blakey *Terence Blanchard *Willie Bobo * Ruby Braff *Randy Brecker *Butcher Brown * Ray Brown *Dave Brubeck * Charlie Byrd * Frank Capp *Betty Carter *Ray Charles *Rosemary Clooney *John Collins *Bing Crosby * Jorge Dalto * Buddy DeFranco *Kurt Elling *Herb Ellis *Chris Flory *Stan Getz * Scott Hamilton * Gene Harris *Donald Harrison *Barney Kessel *Henry Mancini * Tania Maria ...
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ABC-Paramount Records
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels before ABC was sold to MCA Records in 1979. ABC produced music in a variety of genres: pop, rock, jazz, country, rhythm and blues, soundtrack, gospel, and polka. In addition to producing records, ABC licensed masters from independent record producers, and purchased regionally released records for national distribution. The label was initially called Am-Par Records (1955), but quickly changed to ABC-Paramount Records (1955–1966), and then renamed ABC Records in 1966. History Background In the 1940s and early 1950s, the Federal Communications Commission took action against the Anti-competitive practices of movie studios and broadcasting companies, forcing the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to sell the Blue Network, the sister networ ...
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the p ...
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Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist on some of the Jackie Gleason mood music albums during the 1950s. Biography Bobby Hackett was born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. He made his name as a follower of cornet player Bix Beiderbecke. Benny Goodman hired the talented 23 year old to recreate Bix's "I'm Coming Virginia" solo at his (Goodman's) 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. In the late 1930s, Hackett played lead trumpet in the Vic Schoen Orchestra which backed the Andrews Sisters. Hackett can be heard on the soundtrack to the 1940 Fred Astaire movie, '' Second Chorus''. In 1939, the talent agency MCA asked Bobby Hackett to form a big band with its backing. When the band failed, he was in substantial debt to MCA after it folded. He joined the bands of Horace Heidt a ...
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Bob Wilber
Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz pieces in a contemporary manner. He played with many distinguished jazz leaders in the 1950s and 1960s, including Bobby Hackett, Benny Goodman, Sidney Bechet, Jack Teagarden and Eddie Condon. In the late 1960s, he was an original member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band, and in the early 70s of Soprano Summit, a band which gained wide attention. In the late 1970s, he formed the Bechet Legacy Band. Wilber was active in jazz education, including working as director of the Smithsonian Jazz Repertory Ensemble. He wrote for films, including '' The Cotton Club''. In his autobiography, ''Music Was Not Enough,'' he recounts his childhood, meeting his mentor Sidney Bechet, in 1946, and his struggles as a musician ...
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Joe Venuti
Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lang, a friend since childhood. Through the 1920s and early 1930s, Venuti and Lang made many recordings as leader and as featured soloists. He and Lang became so well known for their 'hot' violin and guitar solos that on many commercial dance recordings they were hired to do 12- or 24-bar duos towards the end of otherwise stock dance arrangements. In 1926, Venuti and Lang started recording for the OKeh label as a duet (after a solitary duet issued on Columbia), followed by "Blue Four" combinations, which are considered milestone jazz recordings. Venuti also recorded commercial dance records for OKeh under the name "New Yorkers". He worked with Benny Goodman, Adrian Rollini, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagard ...
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