Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bobby Donaldson was born Robert Stanley Donaldson on November 29, 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts. Early in his career he played with the Boston Symphony. After playing locally in the early 1940s, he played with Russell Procope while serving in the Army in New York City.

In 1946–47 Bobby worked with Cat Anderson. Following this stint he played with Edmond Hall, Andy Kirk, Lucky Millinder, Buck Clayton, Red Norvo, and Sy Oliver/Louis Armstrong.

A prolific session musician for much of the 1950s and 1960s, he played with Helen Merrill, Ruby Braff, Mel Powell, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Bobby Jaspar, Herbie Mann, André Hodeir, Kenny Burrell, Lonnie Johnson, Frank Wess, Willis Jackson, and Johnny Hodges.

Drummer Bobby Donaldson, who played both in the jazz, Dixieland and R&B idioms, transitioned in 1971.

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Jazz Poems

THE JAZZ OF THIS HOTEL Why do I curse the jazz of this hotel? I like the slower tom-toms of the sea; I like the slower tom-toms of the thunder; I like the more deliberate dancing knee Of outdoor love, of outdoor talk and wonder. I like the slower, deeper violin Of the wind across the fields of Indian corn; I like the far more ancient violincello Of whittling loafers telling stories mellow Down at the village grocery in the sun; I like the slower bells that ring for church Across the Indiana landscape old. Therefore I curse the jazz of this hotel

That seems so hot, but is so hard and cold

VACHEL LINDSAY

from Jazz Poems | Selected and edited by Kevin Young

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Adelhard Roidinger was born on November 28, 1941 in Windischgarsten, Austria into a musician familyand first learned piano, violin and guitar. When he was 16 he started to play double bass. From 1960 to 1967, he studied architecture at the Graz University of Technology, simultaneously studying double bass and jazz composing at the University of Music and Performing Arts.

Since 1969, Roidinger has played double bass with Joachim Kühn, Eje Thelin, and Karl Berger. From 1971 to 1975 he played in Hans Kollers Free Sound, then founded the European Jazz Consensus with Alan Skidmore, Gerd Dudek and Branislav Lala Kovačev. They recorded two albums. A new band, the International Jazz Consensus was formed by him along with Kovačev, Allan Praskin and John D. Thomas. He went on to perform with Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner, Herbert Joos, Albert Mangelsdorff, Yosuke Yamashita, George Russell, Maria João, Anthony Braxton, Tone Janša and Melanie Bong.

Roidinger started to teach at Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance in Linz in Upper Austria. He was the director of its jazz department and the director of the Music and Media Technology department. He wrote lessons for double bass and bass guitar as well as a detailed publication about jazz improvisation and pentatonic scale.

Bassist, composer and computer graphic designer Adelhard Roidinger, who was awarded Ernst Koref Composition Prize for his computer composition Siamesic Sinfonia, transitioned on April 22, 2022 in Vienna, Austria at 88 years old.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Lyle David Mays was born November 27, 1953 in Wausaukee, Wisconsin. While growing up he had four main interests: chess, mathematics, architecture, and music. His mother played piano and organ, and his father taught himself to play guitar by ear. His teacher allowed him to practice improvisation after the structured elements of each lesson were completed. At the age of nine, he played the organ at a family member’s wedding, and fourteen he began to play in church. During his senior year of high school he was introduced to jazz pianist Marian McPartland.

He attended the University of North Texas where he composed and arranged for the One O’Clock Lab Band and was the composer and arranger for the Grammy Award-nominated album Lab 75. After leaving the University of North Texas, Mays toured the US and Europe with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd.

In 1975 he met Pat Metheny at the Wichita Jazz Festival, with whom he soon co-founded the Pat Metheny Group. Mays had an extraordinary career as a core musical architect and sound designer of the group for more than three decades. The group had 23 Grammy nominations, winning the award 11 times.

In 2010 Lyle decided to retire from public music performance and became a software development manager because of changes in the music industry. He composed and recorded children’s audiobooks, composed several contemporary classical pieces and formed his own band.

As an amateur architect, he was influenced by fellow Wisconsinian, Frank Lloyd Wright and designed his own house, home studio, and his sister’s house. Mays brought intellectual and organic architectural concepts in his music and sound design based on the innovative integration of many different sources to create a completely new soundscape.

He recorded seven as a leader, two as member of the One O’Clock Lab Band and 14 with the Pat Metheny Band, and as a sideman, seventeen. Mays won eleven Grammys as a member of the Pat Metheny Group and whose important influences were the 1968 recordings of Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival and Filles de Kilimanjaro by Miles Davis

Pianist and composer Lyle Mays, who was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition in 2022 for his composition Eberhard, transitioned in Los Angeles, California on February 10, 2020 at age 66.

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Requisites

Amsterdam After Dark ~ George Coleman | By Eddie Carter

George Coleman enters this morning’s spotlight with an excellent 1979 quartet album, Amsterdam After Dark (Timeless SJP 129). I first heard him playing alto on Houseparty and The Sermon. I later discovered he also played tenor and enjoyed his work on Eastern Rebellion, ‘Four’ and More, Maiden Voyage, Miles Davis In Europe, My Funny Valentine and Seven Steps To Heaven. This morning’s album from the library was his debut as a leader, and he composed four of the tunes. He’s joined on this date by The Hilton Ruiz Trio. Hilton Ruiz on piano and Eastern Rebellion colleagues Sam Jones on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. My copy is the original Netherlands Stereo release.

Side One opens with the trio’s introduction to the title tune, Amsterdam After Dark. George takes over and starts the fire burning on the song’s infectious melody and opening solo. Hilton sinks his teeth into the second reading, and then Sam speaks confidently, preceding the tenor’s joyful vitality in the closing chorus. Hilton Ruiz’s New Arrival picks up the quartet’s pace in an engaging opening chorus. Coleman takes flight first and builds a perfectly crafted interpretation effectively. Ruiz comes on next and is shown to great advantage in the closing statement ahead of the theme’s reprise and fadeout.

Lo-Joe is a feisty original that opens with an airy statement of the theme. George gets things going with a passionate first solo, followed by Hilton, who suggests a happy mood in the second statement. Billy’s brushwork in the closing statement swings very nicely into the foursome’s ending theme and exit. Autumn In New York by Vernon Duke is the album’s only standard. The quartet dresses up this old favorite with an intimately tender introduction and melody. Coleman’s opening statement is reflective and quite beautiful. Ruiz takes a moment for an elegantly exquisite comment leading to the leader’s delicately pretty ending.

Apache Dance is an impressive tune from the opening notes of the two-instrument conversation with tenor sax and drums, leading to a quick run of the ensemble’s theme. George unravels a lot of twists and turns in the first solo. Hilton comes right behind him, keeping his foot on the gas. Billy delivers the song’s final solo until the group reappears to take it out. Blondie’s Waltz begins with the quartet establishing an optimistic melody. Coleman starts things off with a beautifully phrased statement. Ruiz jumps in next to move things along in a lively interpretation. Higgins adds to the fun with a short spot until Coleman’s reappearance for the finale.

Wim Wigt produced Amsterdam After Dark. Bob De Caro and Jim McCurdy were the recording engineers. The album has an exceptional soundstage that comes through your speakers convincingly. If you close your eyes, it’s like the musicians are playing right in front of you. George Coleman is on fire throughout each selection, and the trio compliments him efficiently. At 88 years old, he’s showing no signs of slowing down and is still performing for jazz fans. I’ve caught a few of his performances at Smalls via their nightly streams. If you only have albums with George Coleman as a sideman, I invite you to take a trip to visit Amsterdam After Dark. It’s worth every penny for a spot in your library and is an excellent trip you can take without leaving the comfort of your chair!

~ Eastern Rebellion (Timeless SJP 101), ‘Four’ and More (Columbia CL 2453/CS 9253), Houseparty (Blue Note BLP 4002/BST 84002), Maiden Voyage (Blue Note BLP 4195/BST 84195), Miles Davis In Europe (Columbia CL 2183/CS 8983), My Funny Valentine (Columbia CL 2306/CS 9106), Seven Steps To Heaven (Columbia CL 2051/CS 8851), The Sermon (Blue Note BLP 4011/BST 84011) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Autumn In New York – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter

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