Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alfred Williams was born December 17, 1919 in Memphis, Tennessee but moved as a young child with his family to Chicago, Illinois. He studied classical piano and worked as a professional pianist from the age of 16, initially as leader of a 12-piece dance orchestra in local venues. In 1942, he formed a trio, the Three Dudes, and also played with trumpeter Henry “Red” Allen, clarinetist Jimmie Noone, and violinist Erskine Tate. He wrote arrangements for many Chicago bands.
His marriage to singer Audrey Hobbs brought about the couple performing together in the late 1940s as Alfred and Audrey. From the early Fifties he performed in New York City at venues including the Savoy Ballroom and the Metropole Cafe. He played in a Dixieland band, and also with Sam “The Man” Taylor, Jimmy Rushing, and others.
As a session musician Al appeared on Langston Hughes’ 1958 album Weary Blues. He toured Europe with Buck Clayton in 1959 and Johnny Hodges in 1961. He also recorded as the leader of a trio, accompanied the 1968 satirical revue The Establishment, and in the 1970s worked as arranger and pianist with the Deep River Boys.
Pianist Al Williams transitioned in New York on November 15, 1998 at the age of 78.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Allan Vaché was born December 16, 1953 in San Antonio, Texas but was raised in Rahway, New Jersey. He graduated from Rahway High School in 1971.
Vaché played with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band of San Antonio, Texas, for seventeen years and was a regular on the Riverwalk – Live from the Landing radio show on Public Radio International, which featured the Cullum band. He performed with Cullum on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.
He is a featured performer on Gershwin’s “Porgy & Bess” with the Cullum band, released on CBS Masterworks. Allan toured Mexico for the U.S. State Department with the live show of Porgy & Bess, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and The Kennedy Center.
He has performed with or appeared on stage with Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Pete Fountain, Clark Terry, Benny Carter, Milt Hinton, Bob Haggart, Yank Lawson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gene Krupa, Jake Hanna, Scott Hamilton, Herb Ellis, and many others.
He has several recordings as a soloist on the Arbors, Audiophile, Chesky, and Nagel-Heyer record labels. Vaché has performed in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. Clarinetist Allan Vaché continues to perform and record.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Carlos Zíngaro or Carlos Zíngaro Alves was born December 15, 1948 in Lisbon, Portugal. He studied classical music at the Lisbon Music Conservatory from 1953 to 1965, and during the years 1967/68 he studied pipe organ at the Sacred Music High School and did studies on musicology and electroacoustic music.
During the 1960s, he was a member of the Lisbon University Chamber Orchestra. In 1967 he formed the musical group Plexus. He has performed at music festivals in Europe, Asia and America. He has recorded more than 50 albums under his name or in collaboration with other musicians and composers.
Zingaro was a founding member and director of the Lisbon art gallery Cómicos from 1984 till 1990, and his work has been exhibited, and he was awarded several prizes for his illustration, comics and paintings. Samples of his work can be seen on a number of CD sleeves. Since 2002 he is the founder and president of experimental arts and music association Granular.
Violinist and electronic musician Carlos Zingaro, who is active in free improvisation, continues to perform and record.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is heading off to the Big Apple once again to take another seat in the small uptown Manhattan West Side jazz club Smoke Jazz and Supper Club. This intimate space is located at the junction of 106th and Broadway, also known as Duke Ellington Boulevard, offering legends, modern masters and rising stars.
A new player for me to hear is trumpeter Marquis Hill, one of the leading trumpeters of our time. He will be leading an adventurous group featuring vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Michael King, bassist Junius Paul, and drummer Kendrick Scott. He won the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Both wins helped launch his career.
Smoke is located at 2751 Broadway, New York City 10025. You can get more information at https://notoriousjazz.com/event/marquis-hill.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Aura Rully was born Aura Urziceanu in Bucharest, Romania on December 14, 1946. She grew up surrounded by classical music, as her father was a concertmaster with the symphony orchestra. Her vocal talent emerged very early and she sang from the time she was a little girl. She was a natural and a fast learner even though she didn’t take any formal lessons until her late teens. While she likes all kinds of music, jazz is her favourite. She was just over 13 years old when she recorded a big-band song.
She started scatting before she even knew what it was. She was just bored with the lyrics. She found out what scatting was when she heard Ella Fitzgerald do it. Her first appearance was as a guest on the Ray St. Germain Show. Sell-out performances at Club Morocco, the only jazz club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada followed. It was there Ellington spotted her, taking some time out from a concert performance to drop by the club. After jamming together the next day, he sent her a ticket to New York and she performed with him full-time in the U.S. until his death two years later, in 1974. Over the course of her career, Aura has composed her own music and recorded four of her own albums.
She has toured and performed with Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Ahmad Jamal, Hank Jones, Thad Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Paul Desmond, Joe Pass and Mel Lewis.
Vocalist Aura Rully, who has performed as Urziceanu-Rully in America, continues to perform and record.
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