Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nefertari Bey was born on September 29, 1980 in Oakland, California, but had the privileged of growing up in places such as Detroit, Chicago, South Carolina & North Carolina. Having such strong musical influence at home she naturally gravitated toward music and began singing at the age of 5. By 16, Nefertari was embarking on her first European tour.
With a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance/Music Engineering Technology from Hampton University, and a Masters in Music from Georgia State University, Nefertari has used her musical education and talent to master the powerful art of musical storytelling and become a profound advocate of music education for all ages.
Bey, who is also a pianist, composer and arranger draws her musical style from influences such as Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, John Coltrane and Liz Macomb. She has lent her rhythmic skill, style and sound to performances with notable artist such as Kenny Barron, Curtis Lundy and Louis Hayes.
Nefertari Bey unparalleled talent and sultry voice continues to perform.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Lammar Wright, Jr. was born September 28, 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri to a big band trumpeter father. He began playing with local bands and by 16 the young trumpeter performing professionally with the Lionel Hampton band. Stints with Dizzy Gillespie and as principal soloist with the Charlie Barnet big band followed.
Often substituting for one another on recordings, Sr. or Jr. were never put in the credits on discographies, leaving the two to become ambiguous. However it was only the younger that hired out as a session player in the genres of R&B, rock and roll, doo-wop and others forms of music backing such artists as Wynonie Harris, Esther Phillips, The Coasters and Otis Redding during the ‘50s and ‘60s.
He later even had a brief association with Stan Kenton, whose modernistic charts were obviously influenced by some of the Hampton band’s more eccentric traits. Lammar Wright Jr. eventually settled on the West Coast, where he passed away on July 8, 1983 in Los Angeles.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Red Rodney was born Robert Roland Chudnick on September 27, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He became a professional musician at age 15 working in the mid-Forties Jerry Wald, Jimmy Dorsey, George Auld, Benny Goodman and Les Brown. Inspired by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker he turned to bebop and began playing with Claude Thornhill, Gene Krupa and Woody Herman.
Red joined Parker’s quintet in 1949 and was billed as Albino Red when playing in the racially segregated South. Leaving Parker he moved to join Charlie Ventura. Recording extensively over the next ten years he left jazz in 1958 due to diminishing opportunities, lack of acceptance as a white bebop trumpeter, and problems with the police about his drug addiction.
He continued to work in other musical fields and although he continued to be paid well, he supported his drug habit through theft and fraud, eventually spending 27 months in prison. In the early 1970s he was bankrupted by medical costs following a stroke and returned to jazz.
From 1980 to 1982, Rodney made five highly regarded albums with multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, worked with The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, provided an early showcase for saxophonist Chris Potter, a member of his working group when Rodney recorded “Red Alert” in late 1990. Bebop and hard bop trumpeter Red Rodney passed away on May 27, 1994.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Vic Juris was born Victor E. Jurusz, Jr. on September 26, 1953 in New Jersey and started to play guitar around age 10, inspired by rock and roll legend Chuck Berry. He was self taught and played in many local rock and R&B bands around New Jersey as soon as he could.
Not long after he started playing professionally did he discover jazz and classical music and from then on it was a love affair with jazz. With an impeccable fluid approach to harmony and accompaniment, great writing style, a nice “blend” within the band, phenomenal chops, unique phrasing, advanced rhythmic ideas and concepts for improvisation Juris easily gained the respect of jazz musicians on the circuit and was not at a loss for work.
In the early 70s Vic played with Lyn Christie, made his first recordings with Eric Kloss, then joined Barry Miles working with him well into the Eighties. He recorded with Richie Cole, released his first album as a leader in the late 70s, and played with Don Patterson, Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Smith, and Mel Torme.
He put together his own quartet in 1981, recorded for Muse and Steeplechase record labels, then became increasingly in demand as a sideman working with Bireli Lagrene, Larry Coryell, Dave Liebman, Jeanie Bryson, Gary Peacock, Judi Silvano, Lee Konitz and the list goes on.
As an educator Juris has held teaching positions at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Mason Gross School of the Arts, William Patterson and Lehigh Universities. Also a composer, his “Horizon Drive” was sampled in 1994 by Gang Starr on their Mass Appeal song. Guitarist and educator Vic Juris continued to perform, record and teach until his transition on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2019 in Livingston, New Jersey at the age of 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Samuel Carthorne Rivers was born September 25, 1923 in Enid, Oklahoma, the son of a gospel musician who sung with the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Silverstone Quartet which exposed a young Sam to music at an early age. By 1947 he was in Boston studying Alan Hovhaness at the Boston Conservatory.
Active in jazz since the early 1950s, by the end of the decade he was performing with then 13 year-old drummer Tony Williams. In the mid Sixties he held a short-lived tenure with Miles Davis, producing the album Miles In Tokyo. He went on to sign with Blue Note leading four dates, his first being Fuschia Swing Song and contributing many more as a sideman.
A multi-instrumentalist, Rivers who plays soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano, is also a composer. Rooted in bebop and equally adept at free jazz he has performed and recorded with the likes of Quincy Jones, Herb Pomeroy, Tadd Dameron, Jaki Byard, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Andrew Hill, Larry Young and many others.
The 70s saw the rise of the loft era and Rivers ran RivBea in New York’s NoHo district where numerous performance lofts emerged. He continued to perform and record for a variety of labels including several albums for Impulse Records, two big band albums for RCA Victor, and joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band near the end of the trumpeter’s life.
With a thorough command of music theory, orchestration and composition, Rivers has been an influential and prominent artist in jazz music. He performs regularly with his RivBea Orchestra and Trio and is currently recording new works. Sam Rivers, who played soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano in the avant-garde and free jazz arenas, passed away on December 26, 2011 in Orlando, Florida at age 88.
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