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Dave Valentin
David Peter Valentin (April 29, 1952 – March 8, 2017) was an American Latin jazz flautist of Puerto Rican descent. Life and career Valentin was born to Puerto Rican parents in The Bronx in New York City. He attended The High School of Music & Art. He learned percussion at an early age, and by 10 was playing conga and timbales professionally. When he was 12, he began to practice the flute so he could get to know a girl in school who played the flute, Irene Cathcart. He borrowed a flute, bought a Herbie Mann record, and started to teach himself. Years later, he recorded an album with Mann called ''Two Amigos''. He took lessons from Hubert Laws, who became his mentor. In the 1970s, Valentin combined Latin music with jazz in bands with Bill O'Connell, Lincoln Goines, Richie Morales, Robby Ameen, Sammy Figueroa, and Giovanni Hidalgo. He was the first musician signed to GRP Records, a label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen that specialized in smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, Bronx, Melrose, and Port Morris, Bronx, Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was originally known as the Manor of Morrisania, as it was the manor of Lewis Morris (governor), Lewis Morris. As the Morris family continued to expand on the land, an influx of German and Irish immigrants started to populate the area, leading the Bronx to be considered the "Jewish Borough" in the 1930s. This soon changed as World War II caused rent to increase in many apartments, pushing people out. By the end of the 1950s, the South Bronx was two-thirds African American or Hispanic (of any race). The South Bronx is known for its Hip hop#Culture, hip hop culture and graffiti. Graffiti became popular in the Bronx in the early 1970s, spreading through t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill O'Connell
Bill O'Connell (born August 22, 1953 in New York City) is a jazz pianist, educator, and bandleader. He is most associated with Latin jazz and hard bop. He studied piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, but has mostly lived in NYC or Long Island. He teaches jazz piano at Mason Gross School for the Arts at the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University, in New Jersey. He worked with Chet Baker and Sonny Rollins early on in his career. From 1982 to 2017 he has often collaborated and toured with Dave Valentin. Discography * 1978 ''Searchig'' (Inner City Records) * 1988 ''Love For Sale'' (Bellaphon, Jazz City) * 1993 ''Lost Voices'' (CTI Records) * 1998 The Jazz Slumber Project Directed By Bill O'Connell - Sleep Warm - A Jazz Lullaby Collection (HokanZee Records) * 2001 ''Black Sand'' (Random Chance) * 2010 ''Rhapsody In Blue'' (Challenge Records) * 2015: ''The Power Of Two'' (Panorama) * 2016: ''Heart Beat'' (Savant) * 2018: ''Jazz Latin'' (Savant) * 2019: ''Wind Off The Hudson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eliane Elias
Eliane Elias BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger. Biography Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil on 19 March 1960. She started studying piano when she was seven, and at age twelve she was transcribing solos from jazz musicians. She began teaching piano when she was fifteen, and began performing at seventeen with Brazilian singer-songwriter Toquinho and touring with the poet Vinicius de Moraes. In 1981 she moved to New York City, where she attended The Juilliard School of Music. A year later she became part of the group Steps Ahead. In 1993 Elias signed with EMI Classics to record classical music, classical pieces, which were released on ''On the Clas ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Benoit (musician)
David Bryan Benoit (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer, based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Benoit has charted over 25 albums since 1980, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. He is also music director for the Pacific Vision Youth Symphony (previously known as the Asia America Symphony Orchestra) and the Asia America Youth Orchestra. Furthermore, crediting Vince Guaraldi as an inspiration, Benoit has participated both as performer and music director for the later animated adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip, such as the feature film, ''The Peanuts Movie'', restoring Guaraldi's musical signature to the franchise. Early life David Bryan Benoit was born in Bakersfield, California, on August 18, 1953. He studied piano at age 13 with Marya Cressy Wright and continued his training with Abraham Fraser, who was the pianist for Arturo Toscanini. He attended Mira Costa High School. He focused on theory and composition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Connor
Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shirley. She became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for eight years during middle school and high school. She sang with the college band at the University of Missouri, playing at functions in Columbia, Missouri. In 1949 Connor recorded two songs with Claude Thornhill's band: "There's a Small Hotel" and "I Don't Know Why". With Jerry Wald's big band she recorded "You're the Cream in My Coffee", "Cherokee", " Pennies from Heaven", "Raisins and Almonds", and "Terremoto". Connor and Thornhill reunited in 1952 for a radio broadcast from the Statler Hotel in New York City for which she sang "Wish You Were Here", Come Rain or Come Shine", "Sorta Kinda", and "Who Are We to Say". She made her final recordings for HighNote: ''Haunted Heart'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Ritenour
Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years later decided on a career in music. When he was 16 he played on his first recording session with the Mamas & the Papas. He developed a love for jazz and was influenced by guitarist Wes Montgomery. At the age of 17 he worked with Lena Horne and Tony Bennett. He studied classical guitar at the University of Southern California. 1976–1988 Ritenour's solo career began with the album ''First Course'' (1976), a good example of the jazz-funk sound of the 1970s, followed by ''Captain Fingers'', ''The Captain's Journey'' (1978), and ''Feel the Night'' (1979). In 1979, he "was brought in to beef up" one of Pink Floyd's ''The Wall''s heaviest rock numbers, "Run Like Hell". He played "uncredited rhythm guitar" on "One of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patti Austin
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have referred to themselves as her godparents. When Austin was four years old, she performed at the Apollo Theater. As a teenager she recorded commercial jingles and worked as a session singer in soul and R&B. She had an R&B hit in 1969 with "Family Tree". She sang backing vocals on Paul Simon's 1975 number-one hit " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". The jazz label CTI released her debut album, ''End of a Rainbow'', in 1976. She sang "The Closer I Get to You" for Tom Browne's album ''Browne Sugar'', a duet with Michael Jackson for his album '' Off the Wall'', and a duet with George Benson on "Moody's Mood for Love". After singing on Quincy Jones's album '' The Dude'', she signed a contract with his record labe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noel Pointer
Noel Pointer (December 26, 1954 – December 19, 1994) was an American jazz violinist and record producer, whose life inspired a music foundation. Career Pointer made his solo debut at the age of 13, performing Vivaldi with the Symphony of the New World, followed by guest solo appearances with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He began playing jazz on the violin while a student at The High School of Music and Art in New York City. While attending college at Manhattan School of Music, Pointer earned a reputation as a session musician. By age 19, his experience as a freelance musician included the Apollo Theater Orchestra, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, the Westbury Music Fair Orchestra, the Radio City Music Hall Symphony, the Love Unlimited Orchestra (US Tour), the Dance Theater of Harlem Orchestra, the Symphony of the New World, and the pit orchestras of several Broadway shows, including ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''Dreamgirls''. (subscription required) Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz Fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyboards that were popular in rock and roll started to be used by jazz musicians, particularly those who had grown up listening to rock and roll. Jazz fusion arrangements vary in complexity. Some employ groove-based vamps fixed to a single key or a single chord with a simple, repeated melody. Others use elaborate chord progressions, unconventional time signatures, or melodies with counter-melodies. These arrangements, whether simple or complex, typically include improvised sections that can vary in length, much like in other forms of jazz. As with jazz, jazz fusion can employ brass and woodwind instruments such as trumpet and saxophone, but other instruments often substitute for these. A jazz fusion band is less likely to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Rosen (producer)
Larry Rosen (May 25, 1940 – October 9, 2015) was an American entrepreneur, producer, musician, and recording engineer. Life Rosen was born in The Bronx, New York and was raised in Dumont, New Jersey.Pugliese, Nicholas; and Ensslin, John C"Innovative jazz producer Larry Rosen of Park Ridge dies at 75" ''The Record (Bergen County)'', October 9, 2015, updated October 11, 2015. Accessed October 12, 2015. "Mr. Rosen, a Bronx native who grew up in Dumont, died surrounded by his family in his home in Park Ridge, his publicist, Sheryl Feuerstein, said." He began his musical career as a drummer with the Newport Youth Band, meeting eventual partner Dave Grusin while working with singer Andy Williams and attending the Manhattan School of Music. In 1972, Grusin and Rosen produced vocalist Jon Lucien for RCA Records; Grusin/Rosen Productions would evolve from freelance production team to performer-centric jazz label over the next few years, discovering- and developing homegrown talent like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Grusin
Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award and 10 Grammy Awards. In 1978, Grusin founded GRP Records with Larry Rosen (producer), Larry Rosen, and was an early pioneer of digital recording. Early life Grusin was born in Littleton, Colorado, to Henri and Rosabelle (née de Poyster) Grusin. His mother was a pianist and his father was a violinist from Riga, Latvia. Grusin has one Jewish parent. Grusin studied music at the University of Colorado at Boulder and received his degree in 1956. Grusin's teachers included Cecil Effinger and Wayne Scott, pianist, arranger and professor of jazz. Career Grusin produced his first single in 1962, "Subways Are for Sleeping", and his first film score, for ''Divorce American Style'', in 1967. Other sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Hidalgo
Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist. Early years Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José Manuel Hidalgo "Mañengue", was a renowned conga player. Hidalgo was raised in a household surrounded by drums, bongos, congas, and timbales. For his eighth birthday, he received a conga which was handmade by his father. As a young child he practiced and developed his skills on the conga and on other instruments in his house. Hidalgo would drum a tune with sticks and then play the same tune with his hands. Music career Hidalgo auditioned and was hired by the Batacumbele Band in 1980. In 1981, he traveled with the band to Cuba, where he met a musician by the name |
