Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Myron Pierman “Mynie” Sutton was born October 9, 1903 in Niagara Falls, Canada. He worked in dance ensembles in Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio between 1924 and 1931. Returning to Canada in 1931 he founded the Canadian Ambassadors in Aylmer, Quebec. This was one of very few black jazz bands based out of Canada in the 1930s.
The group operated out of Montreal, Canada from 1933, playing at Connie’s Inn, the Hollywood Club, and Cafe Montmartre. Additionally they toured Quebec and Ontario. Pianists in the ensemble included Lou Hooper and Buster Harding.
By 1941 the Ambassadors had disbanded and Sutton returned to his birthplace of Niagara Falls, where he played locally for decades. He made no commercial recordings. A collection of materials devoted to Sutton is held at the Concordia University library in Montreal.
Alto saxophonist and bandleader Mynie Sutton transitioned on June 17, 1982 in Niagara Falls.
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Daily Dose O fJazz…
Bill Stegmeyer was born October 8, 1916 in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky from 1934 to 1936, and following his studies he played through the rest of the decade with Austin Wylie, Glenn Miller, and Bob Crosby.
In the 1940s, he did arrangement work and played clarinet and occasionally, saxophone with Billy Butterfield, Yank Lawson, Bobby Hackett, Will Bradley, and Billie Holiday from 1945 to 1947. He arranged for WXYZ, a Detroit radio station, for two years starting in 1948, then followed this with arranging Your Hit Parade for eight years.
In the 1950s he also continued to play jazz with Lawson, Butterfield, Bob Haggart, Jimmy McPartland, and Ruby Braff. He went to work for CBS in the early 1960s.
Clarinetist and arranger Bill Stegmeyer, whose only recordings as a leader were five tunes for Signature Records in 1945 and some V-Discs, transitioned from cancer in Long Island, New York on August 19, 1968 at the age of 51.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alton “Slim” Moore was born October 7, 1908 in Selma, Alabama and began on baritone horn before settling on trombone by age 17. He played with local bandleaders and territory bands in his youth, such as Georgia Barlowe, Eddie Lemon, Gonzelle White, and Gene Coy.
Moving to New York City early in the Thirties he played with Jack Butler, Charlie Skeete, and Bobby Neal. Frequently switching ensembles in New York, in 1938 he did a short tour of Cuba with the Leon Gross Orchestra. Toward the end of the decade Moore moved up to play in more high-profile bands such as those of Fats Waller, Coleman Hawkins, Hot Lips Page, and Charlie Johnson. In the 1940s he played with Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong.
By the 1950s Slim had reduced his outings to part-time playing, after an extended stay in the band of Stafford “Pazuza” Simon. He would go on to play with Fletcher Henderson in 1957, and in the 1960s played in the Prince Hall Symphonic Band in New York as well as other big band revival outfits.
Trombonist Slim Moore, who also played and recorded on euphonium and did some scat singing, transitioned in 1978 in New York City.
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The Jazz Voyager
Back to the Big Apple for this Jazz Voyager to finally hear the luscious voice of Denise King at Minton’s Playhouse 206 West 118th Street, Harlem, New York. This was one of my hangouts in the Seventies when I needed to get away from the R&B and just chill with an appreciative crowd. Harlem was home once I crossed 110th and Lenox. And like everywhere I go, I will be wearing my N95!
To that point, I will be flying in a day ahead and once again come to Harlem to experience vocalist Denise King on October 7th. She has two sets, the former beginning at 7:00pm, the latter set at 9:30, of which I will be attending. Doors open an hour before showtime. The cover is $25.00 with a $20.00 minimum per guest. For additional information, the number is 212-866-1262 or mintonsharlem.com.
This vocalist overflows with energy, enjoying herself as she swings and interprets. She places the listener at the scene to experience every nuance that each character in the song portrays, be it one or many. She lives within each song and brings you along for the ride, be it gospel, r&b, soul, jazz or the Great American Songbook.
And of course this is the city that never sleeps, so I will carouse through the late night haunts of Harlem, Broadway Uptown or head downtown to The Village or may even go across the bridge to Brooklyn while I’m there through the weekend. But Miss King is my priority on this sojourn!
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ami Nakazono was born on October 6, 1986 in Kagoshima, Japan and began classical piano lessons at the age of 4. By 12 she was playing the alto saxophone and joined her school brass band. After two years, she won the “City Solo Instrumental Competition.” At the same time she was offered a full scholarship to study music at Fukuoka Daiichi High School in Fukuoka, Japan, where she studied classical music, theory, ear training, harmony, and brass band skills.
After graduation, she entered Senzoku Gakuen University, Japan’s most prestigious university, with a jazz major. During this time, Ami formed her own band and began playing gigs in and around Tokyo, Japan. Again two years later in 2007 she accepted a scholarship from Berklee College of Music, moved to Boston, Massachusetts and continued to perform and study under Walter Beasley, Dino Govoni, Bill Pierce, Shannon LeClaire and Jeff Harrington, and flute with Mia Olson. In 2008 with mentor and inspiration George W. Russell Jr., the two worked on several collaborations during this period at Berklee.
Nakazono began performing internationally with the acclaimed band, Violette, headed by French jazz singer~songwriter Violette De Bartillat. In 2010 she recorded for two critically praised albums, Joie de Vivre with Violette and Shine with George W Russell Jr.
Saxophonist Ami Nakazono is currently an active member of Boston’s entertainment group Raw Ambition and continues to perform at prestigious venues and festivals across the United States.
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