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Norman Connors
Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is possibly best known for the 1976 hit, "You Are My Starship" on which lead vocals were sung by Michael Henderson. Biography Connors lived in the same Philadelphia neighbourhood as comedian/actor Bill Cosby and had an interest in jazz from a very early age when he began to play drums. Whilst at elementary school, Connors was exposed to jazz extensively and became heavily influenced by the drummer Lex Humphries and the younger brother of bassist and Jazz-Messenger player, Spanky DeBrest. He first met his idol, Miles Davis, aged just 13 in 1960. He once sat in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane performance he attended while in middle school. Connors studied music at Temple University and Juilliard. His first recording was on Archie Shepp's 1967 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrated albums as '' My Favorite Things'', ''A Love Supreme'', '' Ascension'' and '' Live at Birdland''. After 1966, Jones led his own trio, and later larger groups under the name ''The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine''. His brothers Hank and Thad were also celebrated jazz musicians with whom he occasionally recorded. Elvin was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1995. In his ''The History of Jazz'', jazz historian and critic Ted Gioia calls Jones "one of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz." He was also named Number 23 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Early life Elvin Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to parents Henry and Olivia Jones, who had moved to Michigan from Vicksburg, Mississ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Brown (guitarist)
Norman Brown (born December 18, 1970) is an American smooth jazz guitarist and singer. Career Brown was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1970 and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. When he was eight years old, he was attracted to his brother's acoustic guitar. He was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and the Isley Brothers. When he heard Wes Montgomery, he began to play jazz. He attended the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. After graduating in 1984, he joined the staff and was an instructor until 1998. In 1991 he signed with Mo Jazz, a division of Motown. In 1992 he released his debut album, ''Just Between Us''. Collaborators included Boyz II Men, Stevie Wonder, and Kenneth H. Williams. The album was produced by Norman Connors, a jazz drummer and producer who discovered Brown. In 1994 Brown released the album ''After the Storm'', which gained critical success and was awarded jazz album of the year by Soul Train Music Awards. It also won a Gavin Radio Award by remaining on the charts f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Johnson (musician)
Alfred Orlando Johnson (February 11, 1948 – October 26, 2013) was an American R&B singer, writer, arranger and producer. He co-wrote the song "We Have Love for You" with Deniece Williams from her 1977 album ''Songbird''. Biography Born in Newport News, Virginia in 1948, Johnson attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. and while there, co-founded the soul group, the Unifics. The group, with Johnson as lead singer, scored three hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968 and 1969 for the Kapp Records label. The first, "Court of Love" climbed to #25, but reached #3 on the US '' Billboard'' R&B chart. The follow-up, "The Beginning of My End" got to #36 on the Hot 100 and #9 R&B. Two further releases in 1969 reached the R&B chart. Johnson continued to write songs for other artists throughout the 70s including ''Sparkle'' star Lonette McKee, Tata Vega and Deniece Williams. In 1978 he recorded his debut solo album, ''Peaceful'' which he co-produced, as well as arranging an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show ''JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater''. She is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization. Biography Born Denise Eileen Garrett in Memphis, Tennessee, she was raised Catholic in Flint, Michigan. Her father, Matthew Garrett, was a jazz trumpeter and teacher at Manassas High School, and through his playing, she was exposed to jazz early on. At the age of sixteen, she was a member of a Rock and R&B trio, singing in clubs in Michigan. At 18, she studied at Michigan State University before she went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With the school's jazz band, she toured the Soviet Union in 1969. The next year, she met trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, and aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Carne
Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was born Sarah Jean Perkins in Columbus, Georgia. At the age of four, she became a member of her church choir. Carn planned on furthering her studies at Juilliard School of Music in New York City when she met and married jazz pianist Doug Carn (the couple later divorced) and became a featured vocalist in his jazz fusion band. The couple based themselves in Los Angeles, California, where Carn did four early albums with her husband, ''Infant Eyes'', ''Spirit of the New Land'', ''Revelation'' and ''Adam's Apple'' on Black Jazz/Ovation. In 1976, Carn was signed to Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records. She released her debut album ''Jean Carn'' in 1976. The debut single "Free Love" went to number 23 R&B. In June 1978, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" (1979), "Living All Alone" (1986) and " Don't Wanna Change the World" (1991). Hyman also performed on Broadway in the 1981 musical based on the music of Duke Ellington, ''Sophisticated Ladies'', which ran from 1981 until 1983. The musical earned her a Theatre World Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. After an extended struggle with her mental health, Hyman died by suicide in 1995 at her New York City apartment. Early life and early career The eldest of seven children, Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Phillip, a World War II veteran, and Louise Hyman, a waitress at a local night club, and grew up in St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh. Hyman's pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Carn
Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was born Sarah Jean Perkins in Columbus, Georgia. At the age of four, she became a member of her church choir. Carn planned on furthering her studies at Juilliard School of Music in New York City when she met and married jazz pianist Doug Carn (the couple later divorced) and became a featured vocalist in his jazz fusion band. The couple based themselves in Los Angeles, California, where Carn did four early albums with her husband, ''Infant Eyes'', ''Spirit of the New Land'', ''Revelation'' and ''Adam's Apple'' on Black Jazz/Ovation. In 1976, Carn was signed to Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records. She released her debut album ''Jean Carn'' in 1976. The debut single "Free Love" went to number 23 R&B. In June 1978, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cobblestone Records
Cobblestone Records was an American jazz record label founded by Joe Fields in New York City in 1972. Cobblestone had two successive incarnations. The earlier was in 1968–69 as a singles label, subsidiary of Buddah Records. (The Joe Thomas LP is drawn from that period.) The singles line went dormant in the early 1970s, until in 1972 a new version of the label was established by Joe Fields in New York City, also as a subsidiary label to Buddah. Much of what was issued on the label was produced by Don Schlitten. Among the label's releases was a six-album issue of recordings from the Newport Jazz Festival New York of 1972. The label also released previously unissued recordings from Grant Green with Big John Patton. In a move reflecting an active era of independent record labels, Fields later formed Muse Records, essentially an extension of Cobblestone's approach, with Schlitten producing the initial majority of the output. Later producers included Michael Cuscuna and Fred Sei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano, clarinet and alto saxophone before narrowing his focus to tenor saxophone. He occasionally plays soprano saxophone as well. He studied drama at Goddard College from 1955 to 1959. He played in a Latin jazz band for a short time before joining the band of avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor. Shepp's first recording under his own name, '' Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet'', was released on Savoy Records in 1962 and featured a composition by Ornette Coleman. Along with alto saxophonist John Tchicai and trumpeter Don Cherry, he formed the New York Contemporary Five. John Coltrane's admiration for Shepp led to recordings for Impulse! Records, the first of which was ''Four for Trane'' in 1964 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elite drama, music, and dance schools in the world. History Early years: 1905-1946 In 1905, the Institute of Musical Art, Juilliard's predecessor institution, was founded by Frank Damrosch, the godson of Franz Liszt and head of music education for New York City's public schools, on the premise that the United States did not have a premier music school and too many students were going to Europe to study music. In 1919, a wealthy textile merchant named Augustus Juilliard died and left the school in his will the largest single bequest for the advancement of music at that time. In 1968, the school's name was changed from the Juilliard School of Music to The Juilliard School to reflect its broadened mission to educate musicians, directors, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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