Jean Toussaint
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Jean Toussaint
Jean Toussaint (born July 27, 1960) is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. Life and career Toussaint was born in Aruba, Dutch Antilles, and was raised in Saint Thomas and New York City. He learned to play calypso as a child and attended Berklee College of Music in the late 1970s, studying under Bill Pierce (saxophonist). In 1979 he formed a group with Wallace Roney and from 1982 to 1986 was a member of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers alongside Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Mulgrew Miller and Lonnie Plaxico. With Blakey he recorded three studio albums, including '' New York Scene'', which won a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance. In 1987, Toussaint moved to London, England, when he was invited to be artist-in-residence at the Guildhall School of Music by Lionel Grigson, at the time the school's professor of jazz.Robbie France biography/ref> Since then, Toussaint has maintained a profile as a band leader in the UK and Europe, playing with British m ...
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Aruba
Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. It measures long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and across at its widest point. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, these and the other three Dutch substantial islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean, of which Aruba has about one-third of the population. In 1986, it became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and acquired the formal name the Country of Aruba. Aruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten; the citizens of these countries are all Dutch nationals. Aruba has no administrat ...
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Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee College of Music in 2021. He is also an NEA Jazz Master. He is the uncle and former tutor of Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, also known as Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. Biography Harrison was born to Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr in 1960 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The foundation of Harrison's music comes from his lifelong participation in New Orleans culture. He started in New Orleans second-line culture and studied New Orleans secret tribal culture, under his father, Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr. Whereas, Harrison Jr. is currently the Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans Culture. He studied at the Berklee College of Music. As a professional musician he worked with Roy Haynes and Jack McDuff, before joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messen ...
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McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA Jazz Master and five-time Grammy award winner. Unlike many of the jazz keyboardists of his generation, Tyner very rarely incorporated Electronic keyboard, electric keyboards or synthesizers into his work. Tyner has been widely imitated, and is one of the most recognizable and influential pianists in jazz history. Early life and family Tyner was born on December 11, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three children of Jarvis and Beatrice (Stevenson) Tyner. His younger brother Jarvis Tyner was the executive vice-chairman of the Communist Party USA. Tyner was encouraged to study piano by his mother, who had installed a piano at her beauty salon. He began piano lessons at age 13 at the Granoff School of Music where he had als ...
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Cleveland Watkiss
Cleveland Watkiss, (born 21 October 1959), is a British vocalist, actor, and composer. Biography Cleveland Watkiss was born in Hackney, East London, to Jamaican parents, and was one of nine children. He is the older brother of pianist Trevor Watkis (and the different spelling of their surname is deliberate). At age 16, he won twice in a local singing talent competition, hosted by "FatMan" of FatMan Sound System (North East London Based Roots, Reggae & Dub Sound System). Watkiss studied at the London School of Singing with opera coach Arnold Rose and subsequently at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Lionel Grigson. Watkiss was one of the co-founders of the vastly influential Jazz Warriors big band, and his vocals can be heard on their debut album, ''Out of Many People'' (1987), which won a video award in Japan. Watkiss was then entered for the ''Wire''/''Guardian'' Jazz Awards and was voted best vocalist for three consecutive years, and was the opening act of cho ...
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Julian Joseph
Julian Raphael Nathaniel Joseph (born 11 May 1966) is a British jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and broadcaster. Biography Joseph was born in London and attended Allfarthing Primary School and Spencer Park Secondary School in Wandsworth. He has worked solo, in his big band, trio, quartet, forum project band or electric band. Joseph works in both contemporary music, contemporary and traditional music, traditional situations with his music. He is also active in jazz education helping to form the jazz syllabus for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in Great Britain. Starting with his first album ''The Language of Truth'' in 1991, Joseph has six albums, one single, and one soundtrack to his credit, and has focused on live performance, composing, broadcasting and teaching. He performed at the 2003 London Jazz Festival and also hosts several radio shows on BBC Radio 3, including ''Jazz Line-up'' and ''Jazz Legends''. He has also made two jazz televisio ...
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Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and keyboards. On his 2011 album, ''Europa'', he plays almost exclusively bass clarinet. Background Pine's parents were Jamaican immigrants, his father a carpenter and his mother a housing manager. As a child, he wanted to be an astronaut. Born in London, Pine lived in the ‘Avenues’ area of Kensal Green in north-west London, before moving to Wembley and attending Kingsbury High School, where he studied classical clarinet, teaching himself the saxophone from the age of 14.Maya Jaggi"Fusion visionary" ''The Guardian'', 30 September 2000. He began his music career playing reggae, touring in 1981 with Clint Eastwood & General Saint. Career In 1986 Pine's debut album '' Journey to the Urge With ...
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Steve Williamson
Steve Williamson (born 28 June 1964) is an English saxophonist and composer (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboard and composition). He has been called "one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in contemporary British jazz". Biography Born in London, England, to Jamaican parents, Williamson began playing saxophone at the age of 16 and started his career playing in reggae bands, including Misty in Roots. In 1984 and 1985 he studied at London's Guildhall School of Music, where he was tutored by Lionel Grigson. Williamson was a member of the noted collective of British-born black jazz musicians who came together as the Jazz Warriors in the mid-1980s. At the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday open-air festival in 1988, Williamson played alongside Courtney Pine in Wembley Stadium, and afterwards was a constant presence at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. He was member of Louis Moholo's Viva La Black (1988) and of Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (1990). Duri ...
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Robbie France
Robbie France (5 December 1959 – 14 January 2012) was an English drummer, record producer, arranger, journalist, music educator, and broadcaster. Early life France was born in Sheffield, and emigrated to Australia in March 1972. He studied at the National Academy of Rudimentary Drummers of Australia until 1974, under tutor Harry Lebler. At the age of fifteen, he began to teach at the Australian Academy of Music (1974–1975). Career While living and travelling in Australia, France formed the jazz-fusion group, Carnival, performed at the Oz Jazz Festival, and supported John McLaughlin. He worked with Stevie Wright of the Easybeats, Marty Rhone, Tim Gaze, and other major Australian artists. He amassed over 1,000 television, radio, and advertising credits, including eight documentaries and four film scores, including ''Band on the Run'', one of the most successful surfing films ever made. France left Australia in 1982 to return to England, where he joined Diamond Head the fo ...
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Camden Town
Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential district from 1791 and originally part of the manor of Kentish Town and the parish of St Pancras, Camden Town became an important location during the early development of the railways, which reinforced its position on the London canal network. The area's industrial economic base has been replaced by service industries such as retail, tourism and entertainment. The area now hosts street markets and music venues that are strongly associated with alternative culture. History Toponymy Camden Town is named after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. His earldom was styled after his estate, Camden Place near Chislehurst in Kent (now in the London Borough of Bromley), formerly o ...
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Dingwalls
Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, T.E. Dingwall, had his name painted on to the outside wall of the building, which was a common practice by businesses in Camden Town during the late Victorian era. The paint is still visible to this day, hence the venue's name. The 500-capacity venue was bought by promoter Vince Power in June 2020 and continues to host gigs of contemporary music. It was renamed and reopened as The PowerHaus after a copyright issue blocked the use of its original name. History First launched as the newly developed Camden Lock's flagship venue in the summer of 1973. The Natural Acoustic Band performed five times between July and November 1973. Dingwalls Dancehall was open to all - "reasonably priced at half a bar for entry", providing the longest bar in ...
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Lionel Grigson
Lionel Grigson (12 February 1942 – 14 June 1994) was an English jazz pianist, cornettist, trumpeter, composer, writer and teacher, who in the 1980s started the jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music. As Simon Purcell wrote in ''The Independent'', "Whether he inspired or inflamed, Grigson's energies often acted as a catalyst and his interest in, and support for, young jazz musicians contributed significantly to the growth and consolidation of jazz education in Britain....Within the context of a leading international conservatoire, the Guildhall School of Music, in London, Grigson did much to demonstrate and explain the underlying principles common to jazz, classical and indeed all music, and as a result produced a generation of jazz educators possessing a thorough grounding in an area where much educational work is left to chance."
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Guildhall School Of Music
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with drama and production arts. The school has students from over seventy countries. Widely regarded as one of the leading performing arts institutions in the world, it was ranked first in both the Guardian’s 2022 League Table for Music and the Complete University Guide's 2023 Arts, Drama and Music league table. It is also ranked the sixth university in the world for performing arts in the 2022 QS World University Rankings. Based within the Barbican Centre in the City of London, the school currently numbers just over 1,000 students, approximately 800 of whom are music students and 200 on the drama and technical theatre programmes. The school is a member of Conservatoires UK, the European Association of Conservatoires and the Fede ...
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