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Apollo Stompers
The Apollo Stompers was a jazz big band led by Jaki Byard. Accounts vary on when the Apollo Stompers was formed. These range from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. For a time, two versions of the band existed: one of New York musicians, and the other of students from the New England Conservatory of Music, where Byard taught.Stokes, W. Royal (May 27, 1979) "This Music Is Unmistakably American: Jaki Byard's Big-Band Stand". ''The Washington Post''. p. L4. He commented that he was "running up and down the road between Boston and New York and I said why not get a band together in New York, too?" For one concert, Byard used the two ensembles together, on either side of a stage at the New England Conservatory. He referred to it as his "Stereophonic Ensemble", because of the effects that could be created by having the bands playing together but separated spatially. The band played a diverse range of material, including compositions by Stevie Wonder in 1978, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Duke Elli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz. Byard played with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was a member of bands led by bassist Charles Mingus for several years, including on several studio and concert recordings. The first of his recordings as a leader was in 1960, but, despite being praised by critics, his albums and performances did not gain him much wider attention. In his 60-year career, Byard recorded at least 35 albums as leader, and more than 50 as a sideman. Byard's influence on the music comes from his combining of musical styles during performance, and his parallel career in teaching. From 1969 Byard was heavily involved in jazz education: he began teac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New England Conservatory Of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Hall. NEC is home to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies, with 1400 more in its Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education. It offers bachelor's degrees in classical performance, contemporary improvisation, composition, jazz, musicology, and music theory, as well as graduate degrees in accompaniment, conducting, and vocal pedagogy. The conservatory has also partnered with Harvard University and Tufts University to create joint double-degree, five-year programs and provide multi-passionate students access to Boston's premier academic resources. The New England Conservatory's faculty and alumni comprise nearly fifty percent of the Bost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. Wonder's single " Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eubie Blake
James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote '' Shuffle Along'', one of the first Broadway musicals written and directed by African Americans. Blake's compositions included such hits as "Bandana Days", "Charleston Rag", "Love Will Find a Way", " Memories of You" and " I'm Just Wild About Harry". The 1978 Broadway musical ''Eubie!'' showcased his works. Early years Blake was born at 319 Forrest Street in Baltimore, Maryland. Of the many children born to former slaves Emily "Emma" Johnstone and John Sumner Blake, he was the only one to survive childhood. John Sumner Blake was a stevedore on the Baltimore Docks. Blake claimed in later life to have been born in 1883, but records published beginning in 2003— U.S. Census, military, and Social Security records and Blake's passport application and passport—uniformly give ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. His best-known compositions, " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them co-written with his closest collaborator, Andy Razaf. Razaf described his partner as "the soul of melody... a man who made the piano sing... both big in body and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". It is likely that he composed many more popular songs than he has been credited with: when in financial difficulties he had a habit of selling songs to other writers and performers who claimed them as their own. Waller started playing the piano at the age of six, and became a professional organist at 15. By the age of 18, he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's " Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history,See the 1998 documentary ''Triumph of the Underdog'' with a career spanning three decades and collaborations with other jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herbie Hancock. Mingus' compositions continue to be played by contemporary musicians ranging from the repertory bands Mingus Big Band, Mingus Dynasty, and Mingus Orchestra, to the high school students who play the charts and compete in the Charles Mingus High School Competition. In 1993, the Library of Congress acquired Mingus' collected papers—including scores, sound recordings, correspondence and photos—in what they described as "the most important acquisition of a manuscript collection relating t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phantasies (album)
''Phantasies'' is an album by the American jazz pianist Jaki Byard with the Apollo Stompers, recorded in 1984 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Soul Note discography accessed July 13, 2011 Reception The review by awarded the album 2½ stars stating, "This outing by Jaki Byard's big band The Apollo Stompers does not quite live up to its potential... The real reason to acquire this admittedly spirited set is for the occasional (and always notable) piano solos".Yanow, S... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Saint/Soul Note
Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black Saint was established in 1975 by Giacomo Pelliciotti and devoted to recording avant-garde musicians who might not have an opportunity elsewhere. In 1979, a sister label, Soul Note, was established as a home for artists who, while being no less creative, might be considered slightly closer to the mainstream. The labels specialize in avant-garde jazz stemming from the free jazz tradition. Some of its roster of artists were members of the Chicago-based music association Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the St. Louis-based multidisciplinary arts collectives Black Artists Group and the Human Arts Ensemble. The company was based in Tribiano, Italy. Many of the recordings were made in Milan, as the performers passed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phantasies II
''Phantasies II'' is an album by the American jazz pianist Jaki Byard with the Apollo Stompers, recorded in 1988 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Soul Note discography accessed July 13, 2011 The album follows Byard's big band tributes album '' Phantasies'' (1984). Reception The review by awarded the album 2½ stars stating "The second CD featuring Jaki Byard's Apollo Stompers (a young big ban ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Mother's Eyes (Jaki Byard Album)
''My Mother's Eyes'' is an album by jazz pianist Jaki Byard with the Apollo Stompers. Background This was pianist Jaki Byard's third album with the Apollo Stompers.Giddins, Gary (March 9, 1999"Jaki Byard, 19221999" ''The Village Voice''. The previous two were '' Phantasies'' and ''Phantasies II''. Music and recording The album was recorded in March 1998."My Mother's Eyes by Jaki Byard and The Apollo Stompers" Eastwind Import. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Six of the tracks are Byard originals. Releases The album was unreleased at the time of Byard's apparent murder in 1999. It was reissued on January 16, 2013, by M&I.Track listing #"Garr" #"My Mother's Eyes" #"[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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