Sparky J's
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Sparky J's
Sparky J's, previously known as the Cadillac Club, was a popular jazz club in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Sparky J's often featured soul jazz or funky jazz best exemplified by the organ combo, a band usually consisting of a Hammond B-3 organist, a saxophonist, a drummer, and a guitarist. The club was located in downtown Newark, on the corner of Halsey Street (Newark), Halsey and William streets. This area known locally as the "Jazz Corner of the World" in the 70s because it contained two jazz clubs: Spark J's and Key Club (jazz club), Key Club.George, Kanzler. "Newark Celebrating '70s Nightclub Scene." ''Star-Ledger, The (Newark, NJ)'' 22 Nov. 1992: ''NewsBank - Archives''. Web. 18 Aug. 2014. Both clubs closed in the 1970s, and they were the last full-time jazz clubs in the area at the time of closing. While Key Club was free entry, Sparky J's charged admission.Barbara, Kukla. "Hot jam: Benson returning for jazz fest's final event." ''Star-Ledger, The (Newark, NJ)'' 31 Oct. 1996: 1 ...
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Jazz Club
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. Jazz clubs were in large rooms in the eras of Orchestral jazz and big band jazz, when bands were large and often augmented by a string section. Large rooms were also more common in the Swing era, because at that time, jazz was popular as a dance music, so the dancers needed space to move. With the transition to 1940s-era styles like Bebop and later styles such as soul jazz, small combos of musicians such as quartets and trios were mostly used, and the music became more of a music to listen to, rather than a form of dance music. As a result, smaller clubs with small stages became practical. In the 2000s, jazz clubs may be found in the basements of larger residential buildings, in storefront locations or in ...
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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 ...
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Newark Jazz
Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, once called Newark Germany * Neuwerk (traditional English name Newark), an island and quarter of Hamburg in the German Bight * Great Tower Neuwerk, tower on the German island Neuwerk, synonymously called Newark in older English texts United Kingdom * Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England * Newark, Orkney, a hamlet on Sanday, Scotland * Newark, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, a hamlet * Newark Wapentake, a former administrative division * Newark Castle, Fife * Newark Castle, Selkirkshire * Newark Park, a country house and estate in Gloucestershire * Port Glasgow, Scotland, called Newark until 1667 ** Newark Castle, Port Glasgow United States * Newark, Arkansas * Newark, California * Newark, Delaware * Newark, I ...
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Jazz Clubs In New Jersey
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisatio ...
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WBGO
WBGO (88.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Jazz 88") is a Public broadcasting, public radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. Studios and offices are located on Park Place in downtown Newark, and its transmitter is located at 4 Times Square in Manhattan. The station primarily plays jazz music. In addition the station airs public affairs programming, locally produced newscasts, traffic reports from Total Traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours, and NPR-produced newscasts and programming. History WBGO's first license was granted on January 26, 1947. Originally owned by the Newark Public Schools, Newark Board of Education with studios in Central High School, it was established as the first public radio station in New Jersey when in 1979 the broadcast license was transferred to Newark Public Radio in cooperation with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. WBGO then became affiliated with National Public Radio (NPR) and went to a 24-hour broadcast format in 1980. While WBGO ...
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Institute Of Jazz Studies
The Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) is the largest and most comprehensive library and archives of jazz and jazz-related materials in the world. It is located on the fourth floor of the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers University–Newark in Newark, New Jersey. The archival collection contains more than 100,000 sound recordings on CDs, LPs, EPs, 78- and 75-rpm disks, and 6,000 books. It also houses over 30 instruments used by prominent jazz musicians. In 2013, the Institute was designated a Literary Landmark by New Jersey's Center for the Book in the National Registry of the Library of Congress. It is the fifth place in New Jersey to be given this designation, after the Newark Public Library, Paterson Public Library, the Walt Whitman House and the Joyce Kilmer Tree, which is located at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Major collections housed in the Institute include the Jazz Oral History Project, the Mary Lou Williams collection, the Women In Jazz collection, the Benny Cart ...
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Jimmy Scott
James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After success in the 1940s and 1950s, Scott's career faltered in the early 1960s. He slid into obscurity before a comeback in the 1990s. His unusual singing voice was due to Kallmann syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that limited his height to until the age of 37, when he grew by . The syndrome prevented him from reaching classic puberty and left him with a high voice and unusual timbre. Early life James Victor Scott was born on July 17, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The son of Arthur Claude Scott (born Chester Stewart) and Justine Hazel Stanard Scott, he was the third child in a family of 10. As a child he got his first singing experience by his mother's side at the family piano and later in church choir. At 13, he was orphaned when ...
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Bill Doggett
William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", Doggett was a pioneer of rock and roll. He worked with the Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan. Biography Doggett was born in Philadelphia. During the 1930s and early 1940s he worked for Lucky Millinder, Frank Fairfax and arranger Jimmy Mundy. In 1942 he was hired as the Ink Spots' pianist and arranger. In 1951, Doggett organized his own trio and began recording for King Records. His best known recording is "Honky Tonk", a rhythm and blues hit of 1956, which sold four million copies (reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 2 Pop), and which he co-wrote with Billy Butler. The track topped the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart for over two months. He also arranged for many bandleaders and pe ...
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Pieces Of A Dream (band)
Pieces of a Dream is an American R&B and jazz fusion group. Overview The group was formed in Philadelphia during 1976 by bassist Cedric Napoleon, drummer Curtis Harmon, and keyboardist James Lloyd who were all teenagers at the time. The group based their name on " Pieces of Dreams", a Michel Legrand tune recorded by Stanley Turrentine that they regularly performed. During 1981 Pieces of a Dream had a minor soul hit with 'Warm Weather' (vocals by singer Barbara Walker and synthesizer by Dexter Wansel) which was recorded on Elektra Records and co-produced by Dexter Wansel. In late 1983, the group had their most successful single, "Fo-Fi-Fo", which peaked at No. 13 on the US soul chart. The single "What Can I Do", from the album Bout Dat Time'', with Norwood on the lead vocals, peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-t ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Jimmy McGriff
James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. Biography Early years and influences Born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States, McGriff started playing piano at the age of five and by his teens had also learned to play Vibraphone, vibes, alto sax, drums and upright bass. He played bass in his first group, a piano trio. When he joined the United States Army, McGriff served as a military policeman during the Korean War. He later became a police officer in Philadelphia for two years. Music kept drawing McGriff's attention away from the police force. His childhood friend, organist Jimmy Smith (musician), Jimmy Smith, had begun earning a substantial reputation in jazz for his Blue Note Records, Blue Note albums (the two played together once in 1967) and McGriff became entranced by the organ sound while Richard "Groove" Holmes played at his sister's wedding. ...
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