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Jimmy Gourley
James Pasco Gourley, Jr. (June 9, 1926 – December 7, 2008) was an American jazz guitarist who spent most of his life in Paris. Gourley was born in St. Louis in 1926. He met saxophonist Lee Konitz in Chicago when both were members of the same high school band. He credits Konitz with encouraging him to become a serious musician. Gourley's father started the Monarch Conservatory of Music in Hammond, Indiana, though he didn't teach, and he bought Gourley his first guitar. Gourley took his first guitar classes at the school. He became interested in jazz while listening to the radio, enjoying in particular Nat King Cole. For his first professional experience as a performer, he dropped out of high school to play with a jazz band in Oklahoma City. From 1944–1946, Gourley served in the U.S. Navy. After he returned to Chicago, he met guitarist Jimmy Raney and wanted to play like him. He worked in bars and clubs with Jackie Cain & Roy Kral, Anita O'Day, Sonny Stitt, and Gene Amm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. People from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges are called ''Villeneuvois'' in French. History Prehistory and Antiquity Villeneuve-Saint-Georges was settled during the Paleolithic and the Neolithic ages at the meeting of the Yerres and the Seine rivers, as well at Triage, with evidence from archeological remains found by Francis Martin in the 19th century, which includes flints and some stone tools. After the battle of Melun during the Roman Empire, the area was integrated into the Roman Empire. A small town was built around the area, with the name of ''Villa Nova'' (Latin for ''new house''). Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges was a possession of the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The addition of "Saint-Georges" in the name of the commune was after the remains of Saint George was brought back in AD 858. The strategic position on the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Jaspar
Bobby Jaspar (20 February 1926 – 28 February 1963) was a Belgian cool jazz and hard bop saxophonist, flautist and composer. Early life Born in Liège, Belgium, Jaspar learned to play piano and clarinet at a young age. Later, he took up the tenor saxophone and flute. Career With the "Bop Shots" band, he took his first steps in the jazz world. In 1950, Jaspar moved to Paris, playing and recording with the best musicians of the era. Here he met singer Blossom Dearie; the two were married in 1954 but separated in 1957. In 1956, Jaspar was persuaded to try his luck in the United States, where his reputation in jazz circles had preceded him. He played and recorded with the quintet of J. J. Johnson, with Kenny Burrell, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Donald Byrd and many others. In 1961/1962, Jaspar returned to Europe for a year for a series of concerts and a number of recordings. With his colleague, Belgian guitarist René Thomas, he formed a successful quinte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz Forum
''Jazz Forum'' is a European jazz magazine based in Warsaw. It was established as a quarterly in 1964 by jazz bassist Jan A. Byrczek, who served as its editor-in-chief. It was the first jazz magazine published behind the Iron Curtain and allowed Polish culture, under a communist regime, to reach out to the West. In the opinion of Willis Conover, Jazz is "the music of freedom;" and to those who had no freedom, it became a metaphor of hope. At its peak, in the late 1970s, ''Jazz Forum'' was being published in Polish, English, and German and distributed to 103 countries. Pawel Brodowski is the current editor-in-chief. ''Jazz Forum'' is published 8 times a year and, as of 2012, circulation is approximately 8,000. The first publication was in Polish only. It was published in English from 1967 to 1992 and in German from 1976 to 1981. Around 1969, ''Jazz Forum'' became the official publication of the European Jazz Federation. In 1970, the magazine had contributing correspondents from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called "a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". Known for his hip, introverted style, he invented or popularized much of the hipster jargon which came to be associated with the music. Early life and career Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi, on August 27, 1909. to Lizetta Young (née Johnson), and Willis Handy Young, originally from Louisiana. Lester had two siblings – a brother, Leonidas Raymond, known as Lee Young, who became a drummer, and a sister, Irma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucky Thompson
Eli "Lucky" Thompson (June 16, 1924 – July 30, 2005) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing music, swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing the soprano saxophone out of obsolescence in the early 1960s, Thompson (along with Steve Lacy (saxophonist), Steve Lacy) embraced the instrument earlier than Coltrane. Early life Thompson was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and moved to Detroit, Michigan, during his childhood. Thompson had to raise his siblings after his mother died, and he practiced saxophone fingerings on a broom handle before acquiring his first instrument. He joined Erskine Hawkins' band in 1942 upon graduating from high school. Career After playing with the swing music, swing orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Don Redman, Billy Eckstine (alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker), Lucky Millinder, and Count Basie, he worked in rhythm and blues and then established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big band, afterward enjoying a long solo career, often in partnership with fellow saxmen Gerry Mulligan and Al Cohn. Biography Sims was born in 1925 in Inglewood, California, United States, to vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. His father was a vaudeville hoofer, and Sims prided himself on remembering many of the steps his father taught him. Growing up in a performing family, he learned to play drums and clarinet at an early age. His brother was the trombonist Ray Sims. Sims began on tenor saxophone at age 13. He initially modelled his playing on the work of Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Don Byas. By his late teens, having dropped out of high school, he was playing in big bands, starting with those of Kenny Baker and Bobby Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern jazz. His virtuosity led many to call him the Charlie Parker of the piano. Powell was also a composer, and many jazz critics credit his works and his playing as having "greatly extended the range of jazz harmony".Grove Life and career Early life He was born in Harlem, New York, United States. Powell's father was a stride pianist.Gitler, p. 112. Powell started classical piano lessons at the age of five. His teacher, hired by his father, was a West Indian man named Rawlins. At 10 years of age, Powell showed interest in the swing music that could be heard all over the neighborhood. He first appeared in public at a rent party,Crawford, p. 12. where he mimicked Fats Waller's playing style. The first jazz composition that he mastered was Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz drumming. "Snap Crackle" was a nickname given to him in the 1950s. He has led bands such as the Hip Ensemble. His albums ''Fountain of Youth'' and ''Whereas'' were nominated for a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1999. His son Graham Haynes is a cornetist; another son Craig Holiday Haynes and grandson Marcus Gilmore are both drummers. Career Haynes was born in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts, United States to parents from the Barbados. His younger brother, Michael E. Haynes, would become an important leader in the black community of Massachusetts, working with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, representing Roxbury in the Massachusetts House of Representatives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing career was relatively short, much of his work as a player, composer, and arranger was quite influential and well-recognized during his time. However, Gryce abruptly ended his jazz career in the 1960s. This, in addition to his nature as a very private person, has resulted in very little knowledge of Gryce today. Several of his compositions have been covered extensively (" Minority", "Social Call", "Nica's Tempo") and have become minor jazz standards. Gryce's compositional bent includes harmonic choices similar to those of contemporaries Benny Golson, Tadd Dameron and Horace Silver. Gryce's playing, arranging, and composing are most associated with the classic hard bop era (roughly 1953–1965). He was a well-educated composer and musician, and wrote some classical work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott Yanow as "one of the all-time great tenor saxophonists". Getz performed in bebop and cool jazz groups. Influenced by João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim, he also helped popularize bossa nova in the United States with the hit 1964 single "The Girl from Ipanema". Early life Stan Getz was born on February 2, 1927, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Getz's father Alexander ("Al") was a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who was born in Mile End, London, in 1904, while his mother Goldie (née Yampolsky) was born in Philadelphia in 1907. His paternal grandparents Harris and Beckie Gaye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clifford Brown
Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", and "Daahoud" have become jazz standards. Brown won the '' DownBeat'' magazine Critics' Poll for New Star of the Year in 1954; he was inducted into the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in 1972. Early career Brown was born into a musical family in Wilmington, Delaware. His father organized his four sons, including Clifford, into a vocal quartet. Around age ten, Brown started playing trumpet at school after becoming fascinated with the shiny trumpet his father owned. At age thirteen, his father bought him a trumpet and provided him with private lessons. In high school, Brown received lessons from Robert Boysie Lowery and played in "a jazz group that Lowery organized", making trips to Philadelphia. Brown briefly attended Delaware State University as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre, before rejoining Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. He garnered 8 Grammy Award nominations during his lifetime. Biography Brookmeyer was born on December 19, 1929 Kansas City, Missouri. He was the only child of Elmer Edward Brookmeyer and Mayme Seifert. Brookmeyer began playing professionally in his teens. He attended the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, but did not graduate. He played piano in big bands led by Tex Beneke and Ray McKinley, but concentrated on valve trombone from when he moved to the Claude Thornhill orchestra in the early 1950s. He was part of small groups led by Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, and Gerry Mulligan in the 1950s. During the 1950s and 1960 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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