Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Daniel Eugene Quill was born on December 15, 1927 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He played often with Phil Woods in the duet Phil and Quill. The two often engaged in celebrated alto battles, exemplifying musical sportsmanship at its finest. As a leader, he recorded three albums and collaborating with Phil Woods recorded six albums between 1956 and 1959.

Recording for Roost and Dawn on his own dates, Quill certainly had no problem playing melodically and was in very melodic settings when employed in Claude Thornhill’s big band and Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band from 1960-1962.

Working as a sideman, Gene recorded forty-three albums for Buddy DeFranco, Quincy Jones, Gene Krupa, Gerry Mulligan, Manny Albam, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn, Michel Legrand, Joe Newman, Johnny Richards, Steve Allen, Buddy Arnold, Gil Evans, Dick Garcia, Billie Holiday, Teddi King, Jimmy Knepper, Mundell Lowe, Oscar Pettiford, Pony Poindexter, Bill Potts, Buddy Rich, Jimmy Rushing, and George Williams.

During the last years of his life, he was in extremely poor health during the last years of his life, after suffering brain damage and partial paralysis. On December 8, 1988 alto saxophonist Gene Quill passed away at the age of 60 in his hometown of Atlantic City.

More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Budd Johnson was born Albert J. Johnson III on December 14, 1910 in Dallas, Texas. He initially played drums and piano before switching to tenor saxophone. In the 1920s he performed in Texas and parts of the Midwest, working with Jesse Stone among others.

Making his recording debut while working with Louis Armstrong’s band from 1932 to 1933, he is more known for his work, over many years, with Earl Hines. He was an early figure in the bebop era, doing sessions with Coleman Hawkins in 1944. The 1950s saw Budd leading his own group and doing session work for Atlantic Records, being the featured tenor saxophone soloist on Ruth Brown’s hit Teardrops From My Eyes.

In the mid-1960s he began working and recording again with Hines. His association with Hines is his longest lasting and most significant. In 1975 he began working with the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra. In 1993 he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

Throughout his career, he recorded ten albums as a leader and played and recorded thirty~two albums as a sideman with among others, Cannonball Adderley, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Bud Powell, Carrie Smith, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Roy Eldridge, Claude Hopkins, Etta Jones, Jimmy Smith, Randy Weston, Gil Evans, and Billie Holiday.

Tenor and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Budd Johnson passed away of a heart attack on October 20, 1984 at the age of 73 in Kansas City, Missouri.

More Posts: bandleader,clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone

Requisites

The Magnificent Thad Jones | By Eddie Carter

My next entry from the library is the second of three albums released in 1956 by trumpeter, Thad Jones. The Magnificent Thad Jones (Blue Note BLP 1527) finds him in the company of Billy Mitchell on tenor sax, Barry Harris on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Max Roach on drums. He comes from a musical family, his older brother is pianist Hank Jones and his younger brother, the dynamic drummer, Elvin Jones. Jones also taught himself to play the cornet, and French horn, becoming a professional musician at sixteen. Thad was also a member of some great big bands including Count Basie, Gil Evans, Quincy Jones, and Ernie Wilkins. Jones also led small groups as well and co-led The Jazz Orchestra with drummer Mel Lewis for twelve-years. He led The Danish Radio Big Band and the Count Basie Orchestra for a time after Basie’s death in 1984. His status as an accomplished arranger and composer has given the music world some of the most beautiful compositions ever written including what many consider his masterpiece, A Child Is Born. My copy used in this report is the 2016 Music Matters Jazz Mono audiophile reissue (MMBLP-1527).

April In Paris, written in 1932 by Vernon Duke and E.Y. Harburg begins our five-song journey.  It premiered in the Broadway musical Walk a Little Faster that year, later becoming a favorite song among jazz and pop musicians and vocalists.  Percy and Max introduce the tune softly, then the front line and piano enter for the melody with Thad dispensing a mellow tone from his horn.  Billy makes a brief comment during the opening and ending chorus.  Jones opens with a quote from the English nursery rhyme and children’s song, Pop Goes The Weasel.  His ensuing verses flow at a relaxing pace into the reprise and fadeout.

Thad’s Billie-Do is a blues characterized by the quintet’s carefree feeling from the brief introduction of the trio into the opening chorus providing a delightful treat of what’s to come. Everyone kicks back individually except Max who provides pleasant brushwork behind each soloist.  Jones begins the lead solo with a sweet-toned delivery, then Mitchell conveys a bluesy impression of playful relaxation with a down-home flavor. Harris swings easily on the third reading, then Percy illustrates his rhythmic ingenuity on an abbreviated closer before the quintet takes the song out.

If I Love Again, the 1932 ballad written by Ben Oakland and J.P. Murray ends Side One at an upbeat pace with the quintet delivering high-spirited energy on the melody. Barry opens the soloing with a jubilant performance, then Billy takes over for a vigorously brisk workout. Thad follows with a captivating reading, then Max closes with a clear, crisp attack providing some irresistible musical thrills swinging to the ensemble’s finale.

If Someone Had Told Me is a little-known ballad by Peter DeRose and Charles Tobias that I believe was written in 1952 because the two earliest vocals of the song were released that year. The first was by vocalist Dolores Gray, and the second was done by Sarah Vaughan. The version heard here is a quartet presentation and an attractive feature for Thad who is the only soloist with the trio providing an elegantly lush foundation under him. The trumpeter delivers a performance of beguiling warmth reflecting a bittersweet, poignant moment into a delicately tender finale as good as any you’ve ever heard or will hear.

Side Two closes with Thedia, a cheerfully joyful tune written for and named after Thad’s young daughter. The rhythm section makes a brief introduction for both horns to walk comfortably at an easy beat during the main theme. Billy takes the first solo, establishing a nice momentum in a meticulously conceived and well-executed performance. Barry is next in the spotlight, strolling and swinging to an intriguing beat. Perry grabs and holds the listener’s attention on the third interpretation with two brief choruses that’ll make him or her feel right at home. Thad takes a long, lengthy ride, soaring to the heights on the next statement seamlessly. Max shares the final spot with the leader in several exceptional exchanges ahead of the ensemble’s closing chorus and exit.  The sound quality on The Magnificent Thad Jones is positively stunning with an excellent soundstage and tonal balance between the highs, midrange, and bass that transports your sweet spot to the studio hearing the musicians at their best.

The MMJ reissues also include exceptional front and rear covers, high-definition gatefold photos and the pressings by RTI are on 180-gram Virgin Vinyl.  If you’re a fan of Hard-Bop or are just discovering Thad Jones, you’ll be delightfully surprised by The Magnificent Thad Jones. It’s jazz at its best and a title I’m certain you’ll enjoy for a very long time! During the fifties, Blue Note employed a sales strategy of giving distinguishing names to some of the artists on its label to spark the public’s interest in their albums and possibly boost their sales. Other examples of this are The Fabulous Fats Navarro, The Amazing Bud Powell, and The Incredible Jimmy Smith. In the cases of the artists listed above, the strategy succeeded beyond their expectations and the names stuck. Debut Records also used this method for The Fabulous Thad Jones in 1954!

~ April in Paris (Verve Records MG V-8012); The Fabulous Thad Jones (Debut Records DLP-12); If Someone Had Told Me (Decca Records 28051), (Columbia 4-39719, 39719) – Source: Discogs.com

~ April in Paris – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ If I Love Again – Source: MusicNotes.com ~ Thad Jones, Pop Goes The Weasel – Source: Wikipedia.org ©2020 by Edward Thomas Carter

More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,trumpet

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Louis Raphael Mucci was born on December 13, 1909 in Syracuse, New York and began as a baritone horn player. By age ten, he was appearing in professional settings. As a teenager, he switched to trumpet and worked in the late 1930s with Mildred Bailey and Red Norvo before joining Glenn Miller’s ensemble in 1938-1939.

During World War II he played in the bands of Bob Chester, Hal McIntyre, Claude Thornhill, and Benny Goodman. In the first half of the 1950s, he worked as a house musician for CBS and also recorded with Buddy DeFranco and Artie Shaw.

The late 1950s saw him working with Miles Davis, Helen Merrill, and John LaPorta. His association with Davis lasted into the early 1960s and he played with Kenny Burrell in 1964. Trumpeter Lou Mucci passed away on January 4, 2000.

More Posts: history,instrumental,jazz,music,trumpet

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Francis Albert Sinatra was born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey and at an early age was greatly influenced by the intimate easy listening vocal style of Bing Crosby. While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. He began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Finding success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, he became the bobbysoxers idol.

Releasing his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946, by the early 1950s, his professional career had stalled. Turning to Las Vegas, Nevada he became one of its best-known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. Venturing into Hollywood, his career was reborn in 1953 with the success of From Here to Eternity, and his subsequent wins of an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Through the Sixties Sinatra released several critically lauded albums, including In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely, and Nice ‘n’ Easy. Leaving Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album, September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music.

After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968’s Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington.

Retiring for the first time in 1971 he came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released New York, New York in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.

Forging a highly successful career as an actor during the Sixties he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm, The Manchurian Candidate, On the Town, Guys and Dolls, High Society, Pal Joey, Ocean’s Eleven, and Tony Rome, as well as television appearances.

He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and included in Time magazine’s compilation of the 20th century’s 100 most influential people.

Vocalist, actor, and producer Frank Sinatra, who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century and sold more than 150 million records worldwide, passed away on May 14, 1998.

More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,vocal