Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Toni Ballard was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 12, 1946 and sang in the school choir during her primary years. She learned to play the guitar in college, then formed a band with her husband.
From 1981 to 1984 Ballard hosted Tasteful Blend on WICN Radio and recorded a children’s jazz album the following year. During the Nineties she collaborated with Larry Coryell and recorded I’m Your Pal, and produced and hosted CAble Ace nominated Studio 3 Jazz for seven years.
As the publicist for Berklee School of Music from 1998 to 2004 she was responsible for forming the relationship between the school and Black Entertainment Television, and worked on Jazz Scenes and Impressions.
Toni has performed with the Silvefr Bullet Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Boston Big Band, the White Heat Swing Orchestra, Ryles Jaz Orchestra, Worcester Jazz Orchestra, and the Benny Goodman Tribute Band.
Vocalist Toni Ballard is currently a freelance publicist and is involved with benefit concerts for Pancreatic Cancer Alliance.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Akua Allrich was born on July 11th in Washington, D.C., the child of a musical family with a home that held such a wealth of jazz recordings that she did not buy any albums until her second year in college. One of the first jazz albums she bought was John Coltrane’s Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes.
Educated at Howard University, she obtained her BM in jazz vocals and a master’s degree in social work. She was taught, coached and mentored by talented musicians such as world-renowned singer Kehembe V. Eichelberger, singer/drummer Grady Tate, and pianist Charles Covington.
Her musical roots run deeply into blues, soul and rhythm and blues, with a clear grounding in jazz and pan-African music. She launched her independently produced album A Peace of Mine in 2010, which created a significant buzz with critics and music-lovers alike. She sings in many languages including Portuguese, French, Spanish, English, Xhosa, and Twi.
Vocalist, composer and teacher, Akua Allrich continues to electrify audiences and is likened to such legendary artists as Oscar Brown, Jr., Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is leaving the Big Apple enroute to that Midwest state with the city that boasts the 630 foot Gateway Arch. Yes, people it’s St. Louis, Missouri. I love this city, even though that arch celebrates Lewis and Clark, history left out.
No longer hidden from the story, the arch now celebrates York, Clark’s enslaved servant, whose skills as a hunter, his ability to navigate and negotiate with Native American tribes, and his physical strength in tasks like hauling boats and building shelters, were all vital to their success.
Inside the city limits is a well known venue located in the Arts District named for its city, Jazz St. Louis. Two rooms feature a 220 seat and a more intimate 75 seats. It all started as Jazz at the Bistro in 1995 before becoming its current version.
On tap is a drummer I’ve yet to experience. Fortunately I have a ticket to this sold out date. Kaleb Kirby is bringing a quartet to play tribute to guitarist John Scofield. The ensemble will reimagine Scofield’s work showcasing the expressive range and rhythmic ingenuity that define the guitarist’s voice.
The Band:
Kaleb Kirby | drums
Greg Dallas | guitar
Chris Thomas | bass
Austin Cebulski | tenor saxophone
Jazz St. Louis is located at 3536 Washington Avenue, 63103. For more information contact the venue at jazzstl.org.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Brian Priestley was born on July 10, 1940 in Manchester, England and began studying music at the age of eight. In the 1960s he gained a degree in modern languages from Leeds University, while playing in student bands. In the mid-1960s, he began contributing to the jazz press and was responsible for entries in Jazz on Record: A Critical Guide to the First Fifty Years, 1917–1967.
In 1969 he moved to London, England and began playing piano with bands led by Tony Faulkner and Alan Cohen. Priestley helped transcribe Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige, and Creole Rhapsody for Cohen. He formed his own Special Septet featuring Digby Fairweather and Don Rendell. His compositions include Blooz For Dook, The Whole Thing and Jamming With Jools, based on a live broadcast with Jools Holland.
As a broadcaster he worked on the BBC, London Jazz FM, and for BBC Radio London, and influenced the renewed interest in jazz in the 1980s. Priestley taught jazz piano at Goldsmiths College from 1977 until 1993, and has taught jazz history for various other universities and conservatoires over the years.
Priestley has also written biographies of Charles Mingus, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, as well as the book Jazz on Record: A History. He co-authored The Rough Guide to Jazz, as well as contributing to several other reference books, and has compiled and/or annotated more than a hundred reissue compilations.
Writer, pianist and arranger Brian Priestley has lived in Tralee, Ireland since 2006 where he continues playing the piano and presents a show on Radio Kerry.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eric Soleil was born July 9, 1961 on the wind-swept plains of the Kansas prairie and began his musical career in elementary school where he was forced to play the trumpet that was handed down from his older brothers. He infuriated his band instructor by making up his own parts instead of playing the fourth-chair lines intended for him. He also began to compose little pieces on the family’s upright piano. In high school, Eric pursued concert choir and the thespian arts, earning a theater scholarship to college. At 19 years of age, he began studying the electric bass.
Deeply rooted in classical music, he also had an adoration for American jazz, which led to incorporating classic orchestral voices with some neo-Baroque, jazzified idioms that became Jazz-Symphonia. He later played the baritone, french horn, trombone, finally settling on the tuba where he remains an inveterate bass clef performer.
A unique blend of symphonic instruments with jazzy undertones, JasmPhonia is the nom de guerre of Eric, a gifted multi-instrumentalist/composer who utilizes acoustic symphonic voices and midi composition to create a rich mixture of chamber music and Nu-jazz styling. Eric has compiled his first CD, “Ad Astra Per Aspera” (To The Stars Thru Difficulty).
Tubist Eric Soleil continues to pursue a career in music, writing from the keyboard, drums, and bass, and performing his own unique original compositions. He is also continuously developing his skills as an artist, producer, and engineer.
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