Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nat Janoff was born on July 13, 1970 in New Jersey and began his musical education on the piano before switching to bass. After hearing Eddie Van Halen he settled on the guitar. Growing up in the 80’s his musical interests were all things rock and metal and soon earned a reputation for being one of the best shred guitarist in the area. However, seeking a platform to improvise longer than a standard rock riff led him to jazz and hearing the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Birds of Fire for the first time.
He pursued jazz earning his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from William Paterson University in 1996 and set to work forging his own musical path.
Recording his debut album, Looking Through, he enlisted the talents of electric bassist, Matthew Garrison and drummer Gene Lake, that showcased him as a player and a composer. Two more albums as a leader followed, a live acoustic date and a studio session, then contributing to the ESC tribute album Mahavishnu Redefined II.
In addition to playing with his own groups, Janoff has performed with Joe, David “Pic” Conley, Norman Simmons and drummer Victor Jones’ group Culturversy, Debelah Morgan, and Roland Clark.
Guitarist, composer and educator Nat Janoff teaches guitar privately, has been a guest instructor at the annual William Paterson University summer jazz camp, and continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
James “Plunky” Branch was born on July 20, 1947 in Richmond, Virginia and educated in the city’s segregated schools. He then attended Columbia University in New York City, but by 1971 he had moved to San Francisco, California. It was here that he formed Juju, a musical group that combined rhythm and blues, jazz, soul, and African musical influences.
He founded the band Plunky & Oneness, which began as Juju in 1971 which he renamed twice, Oneness of Juju and Plunky & the Oneness of Juju, before it was given its current name in 1988. One of Plunky & Oneness’ songs, Every Way But Loose, is featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, playing on fictional radio station Paradise FM.
Branch is the president and founder of the independent record label N.A.M.E. Brand Records, through which he has released 25 albums. As a studio musician Plunky has worked for The Cosby Show and has appeared on several avant-garde jazz albums.
As an educator he has been Director of the Jazz Ensemble at Virginia Union University as well as an instructor of Afro-American Music History at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He has been the recipient of two NEA Jazz Fellowships and was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force for the Promotion of the Arts in Virginia. In 1999 he was recognized by Richmond Magazine as Musician of the Year for 1999. J. Plunky Branch continues to perform, record, compose and produce.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Duane Andrews was born November 30, 1972 in Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador and grew up exposed to the island’s mélange of cultural influences and his development as a guitarist reflects that. After graduating from the Jazz Studies program at St. Francis Xavier University with honours, he spent several years studying contemporary music composition at the Conservatoire International de Paris and at the Conservatoire National de Region in Marseille, France.
He combines traditional Newfoundland folk music with jazz similar to the way that guitarist Django Reinhardt infused jazz with Manouche influences. He is a composer for film and television, and has recorded thirteen albums as he continues to compose and explore music.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Giorgio Gaslini born October 22, 1929 in Milan, Italy. He began performing aged 13 and recorded with his jazz trio at 16. In the 1950s and 1960s, He performed with his own quartet. He was the first Italian musician mentioned as a “new talent” in the Down Beat poll and the first Italian officially invited to a jazz festival in the USA New Orleans 1976-77.
He collaborated with leading American soloists, such as Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd, Max Roach, but also with the Argentinian Gato Barbieri and Frenchman Jean-Luc Ponty. He also adapted the compositions of Albert Ayler and Sun Ra for solo piano, which the Soul Note label issued. He also composed the soundtrack of Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1961 La notte (The Night).
From 1991 to 1995, Gaslini composed works for Carlo Actis Dato’s Italian Instabile Orchestra, and was the first to teach jazz courses at the Santa Cecilia Academy of Music in Rome in 1972. In the Seventies he scored ten films between 1970 to 1977.
Pianist, composer and conductor Giorgio Gaslini, who composed symphonic works, operas, and ballets, passed away on July 29, 2014 at 84 in Borgo Val di Taro, Italy in the province of Parma.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mikio Masuda 益田 幹夫, also known as Mickey Masuda, was born on August 14, 1949 in Osaka, Japan. Largely self-taught, he played bass at the age of 16, before switching to piano and performing in various Osaka clubs. Moving to Tokyo, Japan In 1969 he played around the Japanese jazz scene, notably in a quartet with Motohiko Hino, Shunzo Ohno and Terumasa Hino.
Recording his debut album Trace for East Wind Records in 1974, he followed it with his sophomore jazz-fusion album Mickey’s Mouth in 1976. The following years saw Masuda working with a number of Japanese musicians prior to moving to New York City in 1978. He recorded the album Corazón, and worked in New York City with David Matthews. He recorded the trio album Black Daffodils in 1996 with Ron Carter and Lewis Nash, and Blue Dumplings in 1998 with Ron Carter and Grady Tate.
In the field of jazz he was involved between 1972 and 1998 in 46 recording sessions, most recently with Chie Ayado. Pianist Mikio Masuda continues to be active on the jazz scene.
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