Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jack Lesberg was born February 14, 1920 in Boston, Massachusetts. He had the misfortune of playing in that city’s Cocoanut Grove on the night in 1942 when 492 people lost their lives in a fire. His escape was memorialized by fellow bassist Charles Mingus.

Jack performed in the New York City Symphony under Leonard Bernstein in the 1940s. Lesberg continued to tour in the 1980s and performed in Menlo Park, California in 1984. Jack played with Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Jack Teagarden, Coleman Hawkins, Sarah Vaughan, Urbie Green, George Barnes, Ruth Brown, Tony Bennett, Johnny Hodges and Benny Goodman among others, He went on several international tours.

Double-bassist Jack Lesberg, who co~led two sessions and twenty-one as a sideman, passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease in Englewood, California at the age of 85 on September 17, 2005.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Irving “Irv” Cottler was born February 13, 1918 in Brooklyn, New York. He would become a sometime member of Los Angeles, California based The Wrecking Crew, who recorded with Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others.

Best known as the drummer for Frank Sinatra, with whom he worked for over 30 years beginning in 1955, Irv’s first recording session with Sinatra was in October 1955 on ‘Love Is Here To Stay’ and he played on many of the remaining Songs For Swingin’ Lovers tracks, alternating with Alvin Stoller.

From 1956 on, Irv was Sinatra’s preferred drummer and played a world tour with Sinatra during 1962, as well as on his many TV recordings. He also performed for twelve years with The Dinah Shore Show house band.

Drummer Irv Cottler passed away of a heart attack on August 8, 1989 in Templeton, California at the age of 71.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bernard Privin was born of Jewish ancestry on February 12, 1919 in New York City. An autodidact on trumpet, he played professionally while in his teens. When he was 13, he bought a trumpet the day after he heard Louis Armstrong perform.

In 1937 Berniee became a member of Harry Reser’s band, and in the same year also worked with Bunny Berigan and Tommy Dorsey. The following year, he joined the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and then worked with Charlie Barnet, Mal Hallett, and Benny Goodman. Drafted in 1943 Bernie played from 1943 to 1946 with the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band in Europe.

Returning to the United States, he worked with Goodman once more, then became a staff musician for radio and television, working with NBC and then CBS, the latter well into the 1960s. Concomitantly he played as a session musician, especially with Goodman throughout the 1950s, as well as for musicians such as Sy Oliver and Al Caiola.

Privin played frequently in Europe from the Sixties onward, playing in Sweden multiple times in the decade, and was a member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, under the direction of Warren Covington and Pee Wee Erwin, for tours of Europe in the mid-1970s. He was a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Company when it toured the Soviet Union in 1975.

Trumpeter Bernie Privin passed away on October 8, 1999 in the city of his birth.

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Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions

Conversations About Jazz Celebrates LOVE 

in Pre-Valentine’s Show on February 11

Hammonds House Digital invites you and your Valentine to join us for Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions hosted by former jazz radio host and founder of Notorious Jazz, Carl Anthony. On Thursday, February 11 at 7:30 pm (EST), Carl and his guests: Sweet Lu Olutosin, Nicole Henry, and Tony Hightower will discuss and share music around the theme of celebrating love. It’s sure to be a lively and romantic evening! Conversations About Jazz comes out twice a month – on the second and fourth Thursdays. The program is free and will stream on Hammonds House  Museum’s Facebook and YouTube channels. For more information about upcoming virtual events visit hammondshouse.org.

Atlanta-based internationally acclaimed Jazz vocalist and recording artist Sweet Lu Olutosin’s music consistently displays a unique and energetic creativity. As a youngster Sweet Lu’s goal was to be an uninhibited singer using a mix of jazz, blues, and gospel to make music with the message of soulful, spiritual healing. This goal remains as he channels everything from Al Jarreau, Joe Williams, Lou Rawls, Eddie Jefferson, and John Lee Hooker in his performances creating his own unique vocal style. Sweet Lu’s latest Grammy-contending release, “Meet me at the Crossroads,” debuted at number four on the Billboard Jazz Albums Charts, just behind Gregory Porter and Norah Jones. During its next three weeks, it rose to number one on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums Charts. For more information: sweetlumusic.com.

Since her debut in 2004, Nicole Henry has established herself as one of the jazz world’s most esteemed performers, possessing a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and emotional resonance. Her passionate, soulful voice has earned her a Soul Train Award for Best Traditional Jazz Performance and three Top 10 U.S. Billboard and HMV Japan jazz albums. Heralded by The New York Times, The Japan Times, Jazz Times, Essence and more, she tells real stories through unparalleled interpretations of repertoire from the American Songbook, classic and contemporary jazz, popular standards, blues, and originals. She has recorded with some of today’s musical greats including Kirk Whalum, Julian Lage, Gerald Clayton and Gil Goldstein. In 2019, Ms. Henry returned to the theatrical stage and garnered critical praise in the musical The Bodyguard. For more information:  nicolehenry.com.

The art of cool has been wayward since artists like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Miles Davis and John Coltrane left the scene. As represented by these legends of jazz, cool is a state of mind, an attitude of confidence in one’s craft. Jazz artist Tony Hightower encompasses a new age of cool that is part homage and part regeneration. He emulates the timelessness of the classics without the kitsch and injects his own interpretations. His Grammy-nominated release, “The New Standard,” is a nod to the sounds of big band and vocal jazz, a sonic bridge between contemporary and purist forms. Working with The HC3 and The Good Times Brass Band on the album, he maintained the deep, historical roots, neat vocal styling, multipiece instrumentation, scat, and swing elements of jazz.  For more information: tonyhightowerstandard.com.

Hammonds House Museum is generously supported by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Fulton County Arts and Culture, the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, The National Performance Network, AT&T and WarnerMedia.

Hammonds House Museum’s mission is to celebrate and share the cultural diversity and important legacy of artists of African descent. The museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron. A 501(c)3 organization which opened in 1988, Hammonds House Museum boasts a permanent collection of more than 450 works including art by Romare Bearden, Robert S. Duncanson, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Amalia Amaki, Radcliffe Bailey and Kojo Griffin. In addition to featuring art from their collection, the museum offers new exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, concerts, poetry readings, arts education programs, and other cultural events throughout the year.

Located in a beautiful Victorian home in Atlanta’s historic West End, Hammonds House Museum is a cultural treasure and a unique venue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to observe CDC guidelines, but look forward to welcoming in-person visitors soon!  For more information about upcoming virtual events, and to see how you can support their mission and programming, visit their website: hammondshouse.org.

MEDIA: For more information, contact Karen Hatchett at Hatchett PR, karen@hatchettpr.com. 

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

My social distancing and masks continues amidst the on-going vaccinations. This week the album I’m puting on the turntable is an album from a member of a family who are vocal royalty. The album is a 2018 titled My Mood Is You by Freddy Cole.

Recorded on the HighNote label The album features Cole’s working band. Arrangements are by Randy Napoleon and John DiMartino. This album received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album on December 7, 2018.

1. My Mood Is You ~ 5:47
2. Temptation ~ 4:55
3. Almost In Love ~ 5:39
4. I’ll Always Leave The Door A Little Open ~ 5:45
5. First Began ~ 6::21
6. The y Didn’t Believe Me ~ 4:34
7. My Heart Tells Me ~ 6:32
8. The Lonely One ~ 5:12
9. Love Like This Can’t Last ~ 4:17
10. Marie ~ 3:20

• Freddy Cole ~ piano, vocal
• Randy Napoleon ~ guitar
• Elias Bailey ~ bass
• Quentin Baxter ~ drums
• John DiMartino ~ piano
• Joel Frahm ~ tenor saxophone

This pandemic is here for the long haul. In the meantime, stay vigilant, wear masks and remain healthy and we’ll all be jet setting sooner than we think.

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