Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nat Hentoff was born Nathan Irving Hentoff on June 10, 1925 in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Boston Latin School, matriculated through Northeastern University with honors, did graduate work at Harvard University and was a Fulbright fellow at the Sorbonne in Paris.
He became an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic and a syndicated columnist having written for Down Beat, Jazz Times as well as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Village Voice, The New Yorker amongst others.
Hentoff joined Down Beat Magazine as a columnist in 1952 and from 1953 through 1957 was an associate editor. In 1958 he co-founded The Jazz Review, a magazine that he co-edited with Martin Williams until 1961. His broadcast career began with a notable radio show called “JazzAlbum”, that would continue into the 50s. During this period he would also host radio shows “Evolution of Jazz” and “The Scope of Jazz”.
In June 1955, Hentoff co-authored with Nat Shapiro “Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya: The Story of Jazz by the Men Who Made It”. The book features interviews with some of the best-known names in jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Paul Whiteman. He went on to author numerous other books on jazz.
Hentoff is a Guggenheim Fellow, NEA Jazz Master, and has been honored y Northeastern University, National Press Foundation, Human Life Foundation and the American Bar Association. He has written twenty non-fiction books and nine novels, of which eight are dedicated to jazz. Writer, author and record producer Nat Hentoff passed away of natural causes at his Manhattan apartment on January 7, 2017.
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Requisites
Maiden Voyage is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. Many of the song titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space and almost tidal dynamics. Three of the albums tunes – Maiden Voyage, The Eye of the Hurricane and Dolphin Dance have become jazz standards. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Personnel: Herbie Hancock – piano, Ron Carter – bass, Tony Williams –drums, Freddie Hubbard – trumpet, George Coleman – tenor saxophone
Supervised by: Rudy Van Gelder
Record Date: Blue Note / May 17, 1969
Cover: The sailboat lends to the nautical theme of a first outing.
Songs: Maiden Voyage, The Eye Of The Hurricane, Little One, Survival Of The Fittest and Dolphin Dance
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Jazz In Film
The Film: A Man Called Adam
The Year: 1966
The Director: Leo Penn
The Stars: Sammy Davis Jr., Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra Jr., Peter Lawford, Mel Torme, Lola Falana, Jeanette Dubois, Johnny Brown, George Rhodes and Henry Silva.
The Music: Scored by Benny Carter with Sammy Davis ghosted by Nat Adderley. Performances by Louis Armstrong, Billy Kyle, Buster Bailey, Tyree Glenn, Kai Winding, Jo Jones, Frank Wes and Mel Torme.
The Story: Sammy Davis Jr. does a great job as the film’s central character Adam Johnson, a famous self-destructive, unlikable jazz trumpeter finds himself unable to cope with the problems of everyday life. He finds true love for the first time with a virginal bleeding heart: a sensible civil rights activist who wants to reform the hotheaded musician of his hard liquor and hard living. Adam, carrying around a multitude of shoulder-chips, lashes out at everybody and never seems to land on his feet; after burning all his bridges, he finds himself at the end of his professional rope; yet the faithful are still hopeful he can make a comeback. Much better are Ossie Davis as a friend with a strong center and endless patience, as well as love-interest Cicely Tyson. Mel Tormé stops the show with a terrific rendition of “All That Jazz”, while the superb soundtrack and Jack Priestley’s gleaming cinematography are first-rate throughout.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Pete Jolly was born Peter Ceragioli Jr. on June 5, 1932 in New Haven, Connecticut. He began playing the accordion at age three under his father’s tutelage, then took lessons from age seven and appeared on the CBS radio program Hobby Lobby at the age of eight. The emcee called him Jolly and liking it, adopted the name. He would soon add piano to his musical talents.
Moving to Phoenix, Arizona with his family, by high school Pete was playing at the Jazz Mill behind such visitors as Chet Baker and Benny Carter. After graduation he moved to Los Angeles in 1954 and within days was playing behind Shorty Rogers. Over the next ten years he would play with Gerry Mulligan, Mel Torme, Red Norvo, Buddy DeFranco, Terry Gibbs, Art Pepper, Anita O’Day, Ray Conniff and Marty Paich.
He also began his long recording career as a leader in 1955 with the album, Jolly Jumps In for RCA. Over the next forty-five years, Jolly would record over twenty albums, but rarely more than twice with the same label. The highlight of his career came in 1963, when his bossa nova flavored composition, “Little Bird” recorded for Ava Records, earned him a Grammy nomination. He formed the Pete Jolly Trio in 1964, recording as a solo artist and with trio several albums until his final in 2000.
Pete was well known for his performances on television programs such as Get Smart, The Love Boat, I Spy, Mannix, M*A*S*H and Dallas, as well as hundreds of movie soundtracks. He continued performing with his trio until shortly before being hospitalized in August 2004. Jazz pianist and accordionist Pete Jolly passed away on November 6, 2004 in Pasadena, California from complications of multiple myeloma at age 72.
