Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Warren Bernhardt was born on November 13, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin. His early childhood exposure to piano was due to his pianist father and he learned some rudiments of keyboarding from his friends. At five his parents moved to New York City, where he began studying seriously under varied instructors. After his father’s death he suffered a period of depression and quit music opting to study chemistry and physics at the University of Chicago. However, exposure to blues and jazz influenced the rest of his career.

From 1961 to 1964 he worked in Paul Winter’s sextet, which led to his return to New York. He would go on to work with George Benson, Gerry Mulligan, Jeremy Steig among others. He developed a close relationship with the pianist Bill Evans, who served as his mentor. Bernhardt released several solo albums in the Seventies, and eventually became a member of the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead. In 1971, he provided the piano accompaniment on the Don McLean song Crossroads.

Warren has toured as the musical director with Steely Dan and can be heard on their Alive in America album. He has performed on Simon and Garfunkel’s Old Friends tour, on Art Garfunkel’s solo tours, and on the latter’s presentation Across America.

In 2009 he reunited with his 1973 band L’Image, featuring Mike Mainieri, David Spinozza, Tony Levin and Steve Gadd. They released the album L ‘Image 2.0. Pianist Warren Bernhardt transitioned on August 19, 2022 of natural causes.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

James Edward Pugh, born November 12, 1950 in Butler, Pennsylvania began playing the trombone around the age of ten. He attended the Eastman School of Music from 1968 to 1972, where he played in an ensemble under Chuck Mangione.

Pugh toured and recorded with the Woody Herman Band for four years from 1972 and briefly performed with Chick Corea in 1977. He then concentrated on studio session work for jazz and popular musicians. In 1984, he was co-leader for the album The Pugh–Taylor Project. He also composed for and played on the album X Over Trombone.

Trombonist and composer James Pugh continues to perform and record sessions for jazz, pop and Broadway soundtracks.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Irvin Stokes was born November 11, 1926 in Greensboro, North Carolina. He moved to New York City in 1947 and recorded with a Charlie Singleton sextet in 1949. Throughout the 1950s he worked in the big bands of Tiny Bradshaw, Duke Ellington, Mercer Ellington, Erskine Hawkins, Buddy Johnson, Andy Kirk, and Jimmie Lunceford. 

By the end of the decade Stokes was playing in Austin Powell’s ensemble, then went on to record with Bobby Donaldson and Lou Donaldson in the early 1960s. Principally with Broadway musical bands in the 1970s such as Hair, in 1978 he played on the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra’s tour of Europe, and with Panama Francis at the end of the decade. 

His credits in the 1980s included George Kelly, Illinois Jacquet, Oliver Jackson, and the Count Basie Orchestra. He was a regular performer alongside Spanky Davis at Doc Cheatham’s Sunday brunch gig at the Sweet Basil Jazz Club, continuing in this role after Cheatham’s death in 1997, when Chuck Folds took over. He also played with the Statesmen of Jazz late in the 1990s. 

Trumpeter Irvin Stokes, who recorded two albums as a leader, Just Friends and Broadway w/Oliver Jackson, retired from music.

Bestow upon an inquiring mind a dose of a Greensboro trumpeter to motivate the perusal of the genius of jazz musicians worldwide whose gifts contribute to the canon…

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The Jazz Voyager

This week I’m still masking and social distancing whenever I’m on a plane or in enclosed spaces because this pandemic is not over. I’m following the sun and heading westward to Palm Springs, California for the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival. The festival is being held at the Palm Springs Convention Center located at 271 N Avenida Caballeros 92262.

Over the course of three days the festival are presenting Nnenna Freelon, Cyrille Aimee, Lea Delaria, Ledisi, and the Divas Of The Desert featuring Hope Diamond, Gennine Francis, Melba Miller, Cynthia Thomas, Chris Bennett, Rose Mallett, Keisha D, Yve Evans, Patrice Morris.

This is my first time visiting this venue and seeing all but one vocalist for the first time. I am so looking forward to this voyage. This trip I’m going to be hanging around for the weekend to have the full music experience. As always, for more information visit notoriousjazz.com/event or palmspringscc.com. The convention center number is 760-325-6611.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

David Theak was born on November 10, 1970 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was raised in a house of impromptu parties. His childhood found him listening to his downstairs neighbor teaching piano every afternoon which led to lessons and a piano for Christmas. His bandmistress at Mona Vale PS introduced him to the saxophone but paid his dues on the baritone horn for a couple of years. After a brief stint at the Conservatorium High School, he returned to the local high school with some enthusiastic music teachers. They encouraged us to improvise and created opportunities for us to play in jazz and rock bands.

he following years saw David practicing, composing, gigging, releasing his own albums and organizing tours of Australia & Europe for his quartet, theak-tet, but with limited opportunities in the 90’s, he became involved with a musician led organization, the Jazzgroove Association, which received NSW and Federal government funding that allowed presentation of new music every week as well as create a record label and form an original creative jazz orchestra, The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra.

He went on to become involved with SIMA, WAYJO and the formation of the Australian National Jazz Orchestra and ANJO Youth Big Band. David has been running a boutique international jazz festival for the past five years, is currently a Senior Lecturer in Jazz at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Artistic Director of the Australian National Jazz Orchestra, an advisory panel member of the Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, President of the Sydney Improvised Music Association and Artistic Director of the Sydney Con Jazz Festival.

Jazz saxophonist, composer, bandleader, educator, festival director and jazz protagonist, David Theak, who continues to compose, perform and tour, is the artistic director of the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra and collaborates with a who’s who of international jazz musicians.

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