Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rabih Abou-Khalil ربيع أبو خليل, was born August 17, 1957 in Beirut, Lebanon and studied the oud at the Beirut Conservatory with oudist Georges Farah. After moving to Munich, Germany at 21, he studied classical flute at the Academy of Music under Walther Theurer.
Combining elements of Arabic music with jazz, rock, or classical music, he has earned praise as a world musician years before the phrase became a label. Along with Tunisian oud virtuosos Anouar Brahem and Dhafer Youssef, he has helped establish the oud as an important instrument of Ethno jazz and world fusion.
Among other musicians, Abou-Khalil has worked with ARTE Quartett, Alexander Bălănescu, Luciano Biondini, Milton Cardona, Sonny Fortune, Michel Godard, Joachim Kühn, Howard Levy, Charlie Mariano, Ricardo Ribeiro, Steve Swallow, Kenny Wheeler. He has recorded for ECM, Enja, MMP, Granit, and World Village record labels.
Rabih has hosted the 13 part documentary television series Visions of Music, that explores the blending of jazz with different music styles of the world. The music of the TV-series was released on the album Visions of Music – World Jazz by Enja Records.
Oudist Rabih Abou~Khalil continues to be active in music, composing, recording and performing worldwide.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Lennie Felix was born in Stamford Hill, London, England on August 16, 1920. He learned piano from the age of ten and his playing style reflected the influence of Fats Waller, Art Tatum and Earl Hines. His later influences drew from Keith Jarrett, Charlie Parker and Vladimir Horovitz.
From the 1960s, Lennie performed increasingly more as a solo pianist and appeared regularly at the PizzaExpress Jazz Club, where he also accompanied US visitors like Bud Freeman and Buddy Tate.
He worked in the bands of Nat Gonella, Harry Gold, and Sid Philips, and enjoyed a 20-year association with trumpeter Freddy Randall. Pianist Lennie Felix passed away on December 29, 1980 in a hospital after he was hit by a speeding car near to the 606 Club in Fulham, West London.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bobby Orr was born Robert on August 15, 1928 in Cambuslang, Scotland and began playing drums at the age of three, encouraged by his father, a drum major. From the age of 16 he started playing the trumpet, as a member of Basil Kirchin’s band; however, he had difficulties with his embouchure and returned to the drums.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Orr was a fixture on the London jazz scene, including as a founder member of Joe Harriott’s quintet, which he left and subsequently rejoined, and played for Tubby Hayes among others. He also served as a house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s Club, backing top American visitors such as Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Milt Jackson, and Dizzy Gillespie.
He had three tours with Benny Goodman, then as a freelance musician from 1970, he also toured with Billy Eckstine and Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Tommy Whittle and Don Lusher. In the 1990s, Bobby toured extensively with the UK Glenn Miller Tribute Band.
Over the course of his career he recorded with Sandy Brown, George Chisholm, Digby Fairweather, and Shake Keane. Drummer and session musician Bobby Orr, who played on many recording sessions for pop and rock artists such as Donovan and Dusty Springfield, passed away on March 12, 2020.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mikio Masuda 益田 幹夫, also known as Mickey Masuda, was born on August 14, 1949 in Osaka, Japan. Largely self-taught, he played bass at the age of 16, before switching to piano and performing in various Osaka clubs. Moving to Tokyo, Japan In 1969 he played around the Japanese jazz scene, notably in a quartet with Motohiko Hino, Shunzo Ohno and Terumasa Hino.
Recording his debut album Trace for East Wind Records in 1974, he followed it with his sophomore jazz-fusion album Mickey’s Mouth in 1976. The following years saw Masuda working with a number of Japanese musicians prior to moving to New York City in 1978. He recorded the album Corazón, and worked in New York City with David Matthews. He recorded the trio album Black Daffodils in 1996 with Ron Carter and Lewis Nash, and Blue Dumplings in 1998 with Ron Carter and Grady Tate.
In the field of jazz he was involved between 1972 and 1998 in 46 recording sessions, most recently with Chie Ayado. Pianist Mikio Masuda continues to be active on the jazz scene.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Michael Joseph Smith was born August 13, 1938 in Tiline, Kentucky. At the age of 6 years, he gave his first concert of original solo piano music in Nashville, Tennessee. After serving in the United States Navy, he studied electro-acoustic music, moving between Boston, Massachusetts and New York City. He became involved with the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School and developed a philosophy and notation form of his original music, titled Geomusic, and composed works with this method for various chamber groups, solo piano, and symphony orchestra.
Embarking on his first European concert tour in 1970, he completed his initial recordings in Italy and developed an interest in Jazz and improvisation. Moving to Paris, France in 1972 he had several concert tours and recordings in Western Europe and America with Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton and others. In 1975 he began recording various albums in Europe and America and toured, mostly solo, Italy, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Western Europe, South America and Scandinavia over the next year. 1977 saw Michael admitted to the Swedish Composers Society andtwo years later he became a member of the International Society for Contemporary Music.
A return to the United States landed a composer-in-residence in Atlanta, Georgia and completed three ballet projects, has been awarded numerous cultural prizes and stipends in Europe and Scandinavia, and has composed scores for films, television projects, and music for 10 major ballet works.
He has lectured in Atlanta, Boston, Massachusetts, Brunswick, Maine and in Beijing and Xian, China. He has founded three music corporations and has been inducted in the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s Swedish Musical Heritage project as a “living musical heritage” of Sweden. Pianist and composer Michael Smith, who has released 55 recordings of original compositions in 17 countries and has three film portraits of his life, continues to remain active.