Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Vanessa Rubin was born on March 14, 1957 and raised in Cleveland, Ohio in a musical household of Trinidadian and Louisianan parentage. After achieving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Ohio State University, she received a standing ovation for her performance of “God Bless The Child” while competing in the Miss Black Central Ohio Contest, which convinced her that her true calling was to sing in the jazz tradition.

Returning to Cleveland after graduation, Rubin started singing locally, forming and managing her first group, consisting of organ, guitar, vibes and drums. By 1982 she was in New York City performing at such landmarks as Sweet Basil and the Village Vanguard with the Pharoah Sanders Quartet. She studied with pianist Barry Harris, went on to work with Kenny Barron, Lionel Hampton, the Mercer Ellington Orchestra, Cecil Bridgewater, Toots Thielemans, Steve Turre, Cedar Walton and Grover Washington, Jr.

In 1992 Vanessa signed with the Novus label, releasing four albums including a 1994 session I’m Glad There Is You: A Tribute to Carmen McRae. She left Novus to sign with RCA for one album and then Telarc releasing Language of Love and Girl Talk. She has recorded with Antonio Hart, Kenny Burrell, Monty Alexander, Houston Person, Frank Foster, E.J. Allen and Clark Terry.

Vocalist and composer Vanessa Rubin expertly interprets the lyrics with both honest emotion and swing, occasionally scatting in unison or in counterpoint with the horns. Billie Holiday’s classic God Bless The Child has since become her official theme song. Her latest release is The Dream Is You: Vanesa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron. She continues to entertain audiences around the world.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Terence Oliver Blanchard was born March 13, 1962 in New Orleans, Louisiana and began playing piano at the age of five and then the trumpet at age eight.  He played trumpet recreationally alongside childhood friend Wynton Marsalis in summer music camps but showed no real proficiency on the instrument. While in high school, he began studying at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and then studied at Rutgers, toured with Lionel Hampton, joined Art Blakey and became the Messenger’s music director.

While playing with Blakey, Blanchard rose to prominence as a key figure in the 1980s Jazz Resurgence as a co-leader of a quintet with saxophonist Donald Harrison and pianist Mulgrew Miller, The Harrison/Blanchard group recorded five albums from 1984-1988 until Blanchard left to pursue a solo career in 1990 and recorded his self-titled debut for Columbia Records.

He scored and performed on every Spike Lee movie soundtracks, including his 4-hour HBO Hurricane Katrina documentary “When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts” and the soundtrack for “Red Tails”. Composing for other directors, with over forty scores to his credit Blanchard is the most prolific jazz musician to ever compose for movies.

Terence has recorded eighteen albums, been nominated for twelve times and won five Grammy Awards, has won Soul Train Music Award, an Emmy and Golden Globe among others. On the short list his collaborations include Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Gary Bartz, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash and McCoy Tyner.

Composer, educator and trumpeter Terence Blanchard is the artistic director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of Southern California. All the while, he has remained true to his jazz roots as a trumpeter and bandleader on the performance circuit.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Leon Lee Dorsey was born on March 12, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The post bop genre bassist began as a child and matriculated through Oberlin College receiving two Bachelor of Music Degrees and the University of Wisconsin and the Manhattan School of Music receiving Maters degrees from both.

Dorsey’s chops for composing and arranging are witnessed on his 1995 debut album on the Landmark label titled The Watcher with Don Braden, Vincent Herring, Lafayette Harris Jr., Cecil Brooks III and Jimmy Madison followed by his 1999 release of Song of Songs that maintains a supreme sense of melody throughout the session.

He has performed and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, John Lewis, Cassandra Wilson, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Clarke, Jon Hendricks, Gloria Lynn, Harry “Sweets” Edison,  has played with symphonies, orchestras and big bands of Duke Ellington, Benny Carter and Charlie Persip, with opera diva Marilyn Horne and with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall.

Bassist Leon Dorsey completed his doctorate in Classical Double Bass under Ron Carter and is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Performance at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Chauncey Morehouse was born on March 11, 1902 in Niagara Falls, New York and was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania where he learned and played drums from an early age. He also played piano and banjo and while in high school led a group called the Versatile Five. He landed a job with Paul Specht’s orchestra in 1922, touring with him through Europe in 1923.

Through the Roaring Twenties Chauncey played with The Georgians, Jean Goldkette, Adrian Rollini and Don Voorhees. He recorded with Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers, Joe Venuti and many others.

By 1929 Morehouse was active for the next decade chiefly as a studio musician, working in radio and television in and around New York City. In 1938, he put together his own percussion ensemble which played percussion tuned chromatically.

Morehouse invented a set of drums called the N’Goma drums, which were made by the Leedy Drum Company who endorsed Morehouse during his career. His career in the studios continued into the 1970s when he retired from studio work and began playing jazz again, mostly at festivals.

In his later years Morehouse made appearances at Carnegie Hall for the Tribute to Bix concert for the Newport Jazz Festival, and at one of the early Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festivals in Davenport, Iowa. Chauncey Morehouse passed away on October 31, 1980 in Medford, New Jersey, aged 78.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Mino Cinelu was born on March 10, 1957 in Saint-Cloud, Haute-de-Seine and was introduced to music as a child playing percussion in concert halls in the suburbs of Paris. He became interested in jazz, rock, salsa eventually expanded into fado, flamenco, African, Japanese and other varieties.

His first instrument was the bongo drums, which led him to decide to try and live from his music. He often played the bongos in the streets experimenting with improvisation. By the end of the 1970s he became more and more interested in the French jazz-fusion scene working with Jef Gilson, Chute Libre and Moravagine

In 1979 Mino moved to New York, met George Benson, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Barron and Cassandra Wilson, added new instruments to his repertoire, and was soon joining Miles Davis on tour.  This recognition led Joe Zawinul asking him to be a part of Weather Report during which time he began composing with the help of Wayne Shorter and Zawinul.

Cinelu also played with Michel Portal prior to beginning his solo career in the 1990s with his self-titled debut album Mino Cinelu was released in 2000, followed by Quest Journey in 2002 and La Californie in 2006. He continues to compose, record and perform.

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