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Pat Martino
Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" Azzara (d. 1990) and mother Jean (née Orlando, d. 1989). He was first exposed to jazz by his father, who sang in local clubs and briefly studied guitar. Martino began playing professionally at the age of 15 after moving to New York City. He lived for a period with Les Paul and began playing at jazz clubs such as Smalls Paradise. He later moved into a suite in the President Hotel on 48th Street. He played at Smalls for six months of the year, and played summers at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Martino played and recorded early in his career with Lloyd Price, Willis Jackson, and Eric Kloss. He also worked with jazz organists Charles Earland, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Jack McDuff, Don Patterson, Trudy Pitts, Jimmy Smith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopedia Of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Knowledge'', Christmas edition, 22 December 2007- 4 January 2008. It was described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". History of the encyclopedia Larkin believed that rock music and popular music were at least as significant historically as classical music, and as such, should be given definitive treatment and properly documented. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is the result. In 1989, Larkin sold his half of the publishing company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an encyclopedia of popular music. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a pre-internet age, "relying instead on information gleaned from music magazines, individual expertise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Club Harlem
Club Harlem was a nightclub at 32 Kentucky Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams, it was the city's premier club for black jazz performers. Like its Harlem counterpart, the Cotton Club, many of Club Harlem's guests were white, wealthy and eager to experience a night of African-American entertainment. An elaborate all-black revue called ''Smart Affairs'', produced by Larry Steele and headquartered at the club from 1946 to 1971, featured 40 to 50 acts and was on a par with Broadway productions. Performers at the club included Sammy Davis Jr. (who would also invite the white members of the Rat Pack), Dick Gregory, Dinah Washington, Bootsie Barnes, Gladys Knight, Teddy Pendegrass, Hot Lips Page, and Wild Bill Davis. Drummer Crazy Chris Columbo conducted the club orchestra for 34 years. Club Harlem was outfitted with seven bars, two lounges and a main showroom seating more than 900. A cocktail lounge had room for 400 guests with continuous ent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz performers as trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonist Houston Person, and guitarist John McLaughlin. DeFrancesco signed his first record deal at the age of 16 and over the years recorded and toured internationally with David Sanborn, Arturo Sandoval, Larry Coryell, Frank Wess, Benny Golson, James Moody, Steve Gadd, Danny Gatton, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, George Benson, Pat Martino, Tony Monaco, John Scofield, Lee Ritenour, Joe Lovano, and had prominent session work with a variety of musicians, including Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Janis Siegel, Diana Krall, Jimmy Smith, and Van Morrison. Early life and education DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, on April 10, 1971. He was born into a musical family that included three generatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Ludwig
Gene Ludwig (September 4, 1937 – July 14, 2010) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues organist, who recorded as a leader as well as a sideman for Sonny Stitt, Arthur Prysock, Scott Hamilton, Bob DeVos, and Leslie West, and others. Ludwig received international acclaim as a Hammond organ player and was a prominent figure in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania jazz scene. Life and career Born in Twin Rocks, Cambria County, Ludwig was raised in the boroughs of Wilkinsburg and Swissvale, near Pittsburgh. He began studying the piano at age 6. Ludwig became interested in rhythm and blues after hearing Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner and organists Bill Doggett and Wild Bill Davis played by disc jockey Porky Chedwick on WHOD in Homestead. Ludwig graduated from Swissvale High School in 1955, and studied physics and mathematics at Edinboro State Teachers College. He left due to his father going on strike at Westinghouse Electric, and returned to Pittsburgh to work in construction. Ludwig a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Smith (musician)
James Oscar Smith (December 8, 1925 – February 8, 2005) was an American jazz musician whose albums often appeared on ''Billboard'' magazine charts. He helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, creating a link between jazz and 1960s soul music. In 2005, Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that America bestows upon jazz musicians. Early years There is confusion about Smith's birth year, with sources citing either 1925 or 1928. Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, he joined his father doing a song-and-dance routine in clubs at the age of six. He began teaching himself to play the piano. When he was nine, Smith won a Philadelphia radio talent contest as a boogie-woogie pianist. After a period in the U.S. Navy, he began furthering his musical education in 1948, with a year at Royal Hamilton College of Music, then the Leo Ornstein School of Music in Philadelphia in 1949. He began exploring the Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trudy Pitts
Gertrude E. "Trudy" Pitts (August 10, 1932 – December 19, 2010) was an American soul jazz keyboardist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was known primarily for playing the Hammond B3 organ. Biography Trained as a musician and a music educator, Pitts studied at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, Temple University and Juilliard, as well as other institutions. Early work experience included a position as an assistant to the pianist in the Tony Award-winning musical ''Raisin''. At the end of the musical's tour, she was encouraged by her husband (who had worked with Shirley Scott as a drummer) to continue developing her repertoire. In 1967, the ''Boston Globe'' printed a piece calling her a rising star and complimented her drawbar variation, vibrato shadings, and bass pedal work. Trudy, and her husband, William Theodore Carney II, aka Mr. C. produced and performed at many festivals and venues together; such as The Mellon Jazz Festival Organ Jams (produced by Mr. C. and Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Patterson (organist)
Don Patterson (July 22, 1936 – February 10, 1988) was an American jazz organist. Early life Patterson played piano from childhood and was heavily influenced by Erroll Garner in his youth. In 1956, he switched to organ after hearing Jimmy Smith play the instrument. Career In the early-1960s, he began playing regularly with Sonny Stitt, and he began releasing material as a leader on Prestige Records from 1964 (with Pat Martino and Billy James as sidemen). His most commercially successful album was 1964's ''Holiday Soul'', which reached #85 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 1967. Personal life Patterson's troubles with drug addiction hobbled his career in the 1970s, during which he occasionally recorded for Muse Records and lived in Gary, Indiana.Steve Huey, Don Pattersonat Allmusic In the 1980s, he moved to Philadelphia and made a small comeback, but his health deteriorated over the course of the decade, and he died there in 1988. Discography As leader * ''Goin' Down Hom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack McDuff
Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio. He is also credited with giving guitarist George Benson his first break. Career Born Eugene McDuffy in Champaign, Illinois, McDuff began playing bass, appearing in Joe Farrell's group. Encouraged by Willis Jackson in whose band he also played bass in the late 1950s, McDuff moved to the organ and began to attract the attention of Prestige while still with Jackson's group. McDuff soon became a bandleader, leading groups featuring a young George Benson on guitar, Red Holloway on tenor saxophone and Joe Dukes on drums. McDuff recorded many classic albums on Prestige, including his debut solo ''Brother Jack'' in 1960; ''The Honeydripper'' (1961), with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest and gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Holmes (organist)
Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (May 2, 1931 – June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre. He is best known for his 1965 recording of "Misty". Career Holmes's first album, on Pacific Jazz with guest Ben Webster, was recorded in March 1961. He recorded many albums for Pacific Jazz, Prestige, Groove Merchant, and Muse, many of them with Houston Person. He died of a heart attack after battling prostate cancer, having performed his last concerts in a wheelchair. One of his last gigs was at the 1991 Chicago Blues Festival with his longtime friend, singer Jimmy Witherspoon. Discography As leader * '' "Groove" (Les McCann Presents the Dynamic Jazz Organ of Richard "Groove" Holmes)'' lso released as ''That Healin' Feelin' ''(Pacific Jazz, 1961) – with Ben Webster * ''Groovin' with Jug'' (Pacific Jazz, 1961) – with Gene Ammons * '' Somethin' Special'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) – with Les McCann * '' After Hours'' (Pacific Jaz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Earland
Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 formed his first group. He started playing the organ after playing with Pat Martino, and joined Lou Donaldson's band from 1968 to 1969. The group that he led from 1970, including Grover Washington, Jr., was successful, and he eventually started playing soprano saxophone and synthesizer. His hard, simmering grooves earned him the nickname "The Mighty Burner". In 1978, Earland hit the disco/club scene with a track recorded on Mercury Records called "Let The Music Play", written by Randy Muller from the funk group Brass Construction. The record was in the U.S. charts for five weeks and reached number 46 in the UK Singles Chart. With Earland's playing on synthesizer, the track also has an uncredited female vocalist. He had several moderate ''Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Kloss
Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind, which was run by his father. When he was 10, he began to play the saxophone, and two years later he was playing in night clubs with professional musicians such as Bobby Negri, Charles Bell, and Sonny Stitt. At 16, he recorded his debut album, ''Introducing Eric Kloss'' (Prestige, 1965) with Don Patterson (organist), Don Patterson and Pat Martino. On his third album, ''Grits & Gravy'' (1966), he was recording with musicians over twice his age: Jaki Byard, Richard Davis (bassist), Richard Davis, and Alan Dawson. He continued recording and performing while a student at Duquesne University. A fan of Elvis Presley and The Ventures, he was attracted to the growth of jazz fusion in the 1960s and '70s, and eventually worked in the fusion idiom with musicians Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willis Jackson (saxophonist)
Willis "Gator" Jackson (April 25, 1928 – October 25, 1987) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Born in Miami, Florida, and educated at the University of Miami, Jackson joined Cootie Williams's band in 1948 as a teenager, and was part of it on and off until 1955. Under his own name (Willis Jackson and His Orchestra) he recorded various rhythm-and-blues instrumentals for Atlantic Records. His most famous record for Atlantic is "Gator's Groove" (1952), with "Estrellita" as the B-side. Jackson toured as leader of the backing band for singer Ruth Brown. Publicly they were married, but privately they never married but lived together from 1950 to 1955.Dik de Heer, ''This Is My Story'' series, "Shakin' All Over" web articles Jackson joined Prestige Records in 1959, making a string of albums. Jackson died in New York City one week after heart surgery, in October 1987, at the age of 55. Discography As leader * ''Please Mr. Jackson'' (Prestige, 1959) * '' Cool "Gator"'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
