Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Paul Smith also known as Paul T. Smith was born on April 17, 1922 in San Diego, California. After playing early on with Johnny Richards in 1941 and spending a couple of years in the military, the pianist played with Les Paul from 1946–1947 and Tommy Dorsey from 1947–1949, them moved to L.A. and became a studio musician.
Smith has recorded frequently as a leader both with his trios and as a soloist. As a sideman he worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Anita O’Day, Buddy DeFranco, Louis Bellson, Steve Allen, Sammy Davis Jr., Rosemary Clooney, Stan Kenton Mel Torme and Ella Fitzgerald, the later with whom he was her conductor and pianist from 1956 to 1978.
Throughout his career Smith has worked in television with Bing Crosby, Red Skelton, Dinah Shore, Nat King Cole, Carol Burnett and many more, has toured around the world and has authored a number of educational books and CDs, most of which focus on explaining his particular approach to jazz piano.
Often praised for his brilliant technique and lyrical playing, he has performed in various genres of jazz, most typically bebop but has delved into cool jazz, swing, and traditional pop. Pianist Paul Smith passed away of heart failure at the age 91 in Torrance, California on June 29, 2013.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bennie Green was born on April 16, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. After playing locally around Chicago, at nineteen he teamed up with the Earl Hines Orchestra alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker from 1942-1948, gained some fame for his work with Charlie Ventura, played with Gene Ammons-Sonny Stitt, Charlie Ventura then joined Earl Hines’ small group in the early Fifties.
Following this last tenure with Hines, Bennie led his own groups for the rest of the decade. In the Sixties he played with sidemen Charlie Rouse, Paul Chambers, Louis Hayes, Sonny Clark, Jimmy Forrest and many others. He recorded as a leader for Decca, Blue Note, Bethlehem, Jazzland, Vee-Jay and Prestige during this same period.
By the end of the 60s, Green worked with Duke Ellington but then moved to Las Vegas where he spent his final years playing in hotel bands emerging only to play the Newport Jazz Festival and New York jam sessions. He was one of the few trombonists of the 1950s who played in a style not influenced by J.J. Johnson. He possessed a witty sound and full tone that was reminiscent of the swing era phrasing with an influence of R&B.
It has been speculated that Green was the first trombonist to consort with beboppers and whose ear enabled him to adopt aspects of their harmonic approach. On March 23, 1977 swing and bop trombonist Bennie Green passed away in San Diego, California at age 53.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eugene Valentino Cherico was born on April 15, 1935 in Buffalo, New York. As a child he played drums and pursued a drumming career until he hurt his hand while in a special services band in the Army whereupon he picked up the double bass as therapy. He attended Berklee College of Music where he met Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he would tour and record intermittently for many years.
Throughout the Fifties and 60s Cherico worked as a sideman with Herb Pomeroy, Maynard Ferguson, Red Norvo, Benny Goodman, George Shearing, Stan Getz, Peter Nero Joe Morello, Paul Desmond and Gary Burton.
Much of the ‘70s Gene made a living as a studio musician siding with Frank Strazzeri, Louis Bellson Peggy Lee, Lew Tabackin, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson Gerry Mulligan, Carmen McRae and Frank Sinatra, who he toured with into the early eighties. In 1984 he retired after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and after a ten-year battle, double bassist Gene Cherico passed away on August 12, 1994 in Santa Monica, California.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eugene Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 14, 1925 to one of the greatest boogie-woogie pianist, Albert Ammons. At the age of 18 he left Chicago to go on the road with King Kolax for a year and in 1944 and ‘49 he worked as a featured soloist with Billy Eckstine and Woody Herman respectively. By 1950 he formed a duet with Sonny Stitt and recorded as a leader from 1947 to 1953 for the Mercury, Aristocrat, Chess, Decca, United and for the rest of his career he was affiliated with Prestige.
Known as “Jug” and “The Boss”, Gene’s playing showed influences from Lester Young and Ben Webster and both helped develop higher levels of expressiveness with from the tenor. Along with Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, he integrated those developments into the emerging vernacular of bebop. His adeptness with technical aspects did not abandon the commercial blues and R&B sounds and he became an important part of the soul jazz movement in the mid-50s combining the tenor with the Hammond B3.
Using a thinner drier tone Ammons exploited a vast textural range that would later influence Stanley Turrentine, Houston Person and Archie Shepp and much later Joshua Redman. Yet he had little interest in the modal jazz of Coltrane, Henderson or Shorter. His ballads are classic, a testament to his sense of intonation, melodic symmetry and lyrical expressiveness.
Along with Von Freeman, they founded the Chicago School of Tenor Saxophone. On August 6, 1974 Gene Ammons passed away after a battle with cancer.
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From Broadway To 52nd Street
On October 19, 1938 the musical Knickerbocker Holiday opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre starring Walter Huston, Ray Middleton, Richard Kollmer and Jeanne Madden. The play ran for 168 performances with music composed by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson. From the musical came the jazz standard September Song.
The Story: As he is writing the history of New York, Washington Irving seems to wander back to the 17th century just as New Amsterdam is awaiting the arrival of Peter Stuyvesant. The town council seeks to divert the new governor from its corruption and ineptitude by staging a hanging of a rebellious young man named Brom.
Brom has brashly asked for the hand in marriage of Tina, one of the councilor’s daughters. Stuyvesant pardons Brom but refuses him marriage to Tina. Stuyvesant decides to marry Tina, prompting Brom to rouse the citizens against the governor. Sensing the way the political winds are blowing, the governor backs down, his decision aided by Irving’s warning for him to consider his place in history.
Broadway History: While Broadway is experiencing both success and failure, Hitler takes control of the army and marches into Austria; Joe Louis takes the heavyweight championship title from Nathan Mann followed by a first round KO of Max Schmeling; the first play is telecast with the original cast of Susan and God; the Yankee Clipper completes its first cross Atlantic flight; Howard Hughes flies around the world in 91 hours; and instant coffee is invented.
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