Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bob Cranshaw was born Melbourne R. Cranshaw on December 10, 1932 in Evanston, Illinois and started on drums and piano before switching to the tuba and bass in high school. He was a founding member of Walter Perkins’ MJT +3 band in 1957 and it was Perkins who recommended Bob to Sonny Rollins as a replacement bassist for a gig at the first Playboy Jazz Festival in Chicago in 1959.
His long association with Rollins has spanned over five decades with their first recording of the album The Bridge in 1962. From the heyday of Blue Note Records to the present, though never a leader, Cranshaw has a long list of accolades performing and recording with such giants as Lee Morgan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dexter Gordon, Duke Pearson, Grant Green, Coleman Hawkins, Jimmy Heath, Joe Henderson, Shirley Scott, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Hank Mobley, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson and the list goes on and on.
One of the early jazz bassists to trade his upright bass for an electric bass, Bob was criticized for this by jazz purists, who either never knew or cared that he was forced to switch due to a back injury incurred in a serious auto accident. Never stopping, he served as the sole session bassist for Sesame Street and The Electric Company and played on all songs, tracks, buttons and cue recorded by The Children’s Television Workshop under the tenure of songwriter and composer Joe Raposo.
Cranshaw has performed on Broadway, on hundreds of television shows such as the David Frost Show band under Dr. Billy Taylor and the original 70s Saturday Night Live, has worked on film and television scores, and appeared on The Blue Note Story documentary of the famous label. He has also recorded for Vee Jay, Prestige and other labels throughout his career as a sought after sideman. He remains an active performer and member of the New York Musicians Union.
More Posts: bass
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jimmy Owens was born December 9, 1943 in New York City. In the 1960s, he was a member of the hybrid classical and rock band Ars Nova, and then became a member of the New York Jazz Sextet playing with at times were Sir Roland Hanna, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Benny Golson, Hubert Laws, and Tom McIntosh.
Between 1969 and 1972, Jimmy was a sideman on the David Frost Show under musical director Dr. Billy Taylor. During this stint he played alongside Frank Wess, Seldon Powell Barry Galbraith and Bob Cranshaw.
As an educator Jimmy is an active member of the jazz education community, sitting on the board of the Jazz Foundation of America and the Jazz Musicians’ Emergency Fund to help individual musicians.
Over the course of his career the trumpeter, composer, arranger, lecturer and music education consultant has performed and recorded as a leader and sideman with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Archie Shepp, Joe Zawinul, Gerald Wilson, Duke Ellington, Hank Crawford, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Herbie Mann among many others. Since 1969, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus.
Give The Gift Of Knowledge
More Posts: flugelhorn,trumpet
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Cleo Brown was born in Meridian, Mississippi on December 8, 1905. As a child she sang in church until 1919 when her family moved to Chicago and she began studying piano. In the 1920s she began taking gigs in clubs and broadcasting on radio.
From the 1930s to the 1950s she toured the United States regularly, recording for Decca Records among other labels and recorded many humorous, ironic titles such as “Breakin’ in a Pair of Shoes”, “Mama Don’t Want No Peas and Rice and Coconut Oil” and “The Stuff Is Here and It’s Mellow”.
Cleo’s stride piano playing was often compared to Fats Waller. In the 1940s she started moving away from singing bawdy jazz and blues songs because of her deepening religious beliefs, and in 1953 she retired and became a nurse.
Rediscovered in the 1980s after being tracked down by Marian McPartland, she returned to record again and performed on National Public Radio.
Cleo Brown, jazz and blues vocalist and pianist died on April 15, 1995 in Denver, Colorado at age 85.
Take A Dose On The Road
The Jazz Voyager
Red White Lounge: Jl. Kemang Raya 16B, Kemang, South Jakarta, Indonesia / Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. / Run and owned by renowned Indonesian jazz pianist and composer Indra Lesmana. The jazz club is one of the more active live jazz venues, with performances almost every day of the week, and has the atmosphere of a conventional jazz bar (dim lighting, a floor-level stage, and a well-stocked bar.
Performances and jam sessions are usually held from Wednesdays to Sundays and usually feature lesser known and established musicians. Indra Lesmana occasionally performs with his jazz band every month. Workshops and musician master classes are also held at the venue. Entrance to the venue usually costs from Rp 60,000 (US$5.22) to Rp 100,000, depending on who is performing.
Next Stop: Busan, Korea – I leave Jakarta at 6:45am for a 7h 55m flight to Tokyo, Japan. Then a 2h 35m layover before boarding the final leg at 6:30pm for a 2h 30m flight to Busan. Then a taxi ride to the hotel to rest before hitting the night life for some jazz.
Sponsored By
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Cecil Irwin was born December 7, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois. Learning to play clarinet and tenor saxophone, his career began playing with Carroll Dickerson, Erskine Tate and Junie Cobb. He would then join Earl “Fatha” Hines in 1928 in the reed section and arranging for the big band.
During this period Cecil recorded on more than a dozen sessions with Hines in a variety of ensembles with which his playing and arranging is prominent. Irwin also freelanced as a sideman working and recording with New Orleans notables Johnny Dodds, Jabbo Smith, King Oliver, and also with Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti.
While on tour driving outside Des Moines, Iowa, tenor saxophonist and arranger Cecil Irwin perished in a car accident at the age of 32 on May 3, 1935, cutting short a promising career.
Dose A Day – Blues Away