Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Kevin Mahogany was born July 30, 1958, in Kansas City, Missouri and began his childhood study of music with piano, later learning to play the clarinet and baritone saxophone. He performed with jazz bands and teaching music while still in high school and later attended Baker University, performing with both instrumental and vocal ensembles. He formed a vocal jazz group, matriculating with a BFA in Music and English Drama.
After graduation, he returned to Kansas City where he attracted a local following in the 80’s performing with his groups, “The Apollos” and “Mahogany”. 1991 saw the vocalist featured on a Frank Mantooth CD and lists his influences as Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Al Jarreau and Eddie Jefferson.
His first CD release as a solo artist was Double Rainbow in 1993 followed by his self-titled album Kevin Mahogany, which won him his first critical acclaim in the media, prompting Newsweek to call him “the standout jazz vocalist of his generation.”
He appeared in Robert Altman’s 1996 film Kansas City playing a character that’s said to be based on Kansas City singer Big Joe Turner. As a jazz educator, he has taught at the Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami. Known for his scat singing and with a dozen albums to his credit, vocalist Kevin Mahogany continued to perform, record, tour and educate until he passed away in his home on December 17, 2017 at the age of 59.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nnenna Freelon, born Chinyere Nnenna Pierce on July 28, 1954 was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and sang in Union Baptist Church and St. Paul AME choirs as a young woman. She graduated from Boston’s Simmons College with a health care administration degree, worked at the Durham County Hospital in North Carolina and by 1990 had been singing for about seven years under her married name.
Attending the Southern Arts Federation conference presented her the opportunity to meet Ellis Marsalis, who became mentor and teacher. He passed her “package” on to George Butler of Columbia Records and in 1992 she was signed and dropped her debut. By 1994 Columbia ended their association and two-years later Concord picked her up.
The singer, composer, arranger, producer has been nominated for a five Grammy Awards, has performed and toured with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves, Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock, just to name a few. Nnenna has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Montreux, Monterey and Ellington Jazz Festivals, the Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theatre and many more worldwide.
Aside from her many jazz and singing responsibilities, Freelon is the national spokesperson for the National Association of Partners in Education, an arts education organization with over 400,000 school/community partnership programs across the U.S; and her Babysong workshops teaches young mothers and healthcare providers the importance of the human voice for healing, nurturing and brain development in young children. She continues to perform, record and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Dale Fielder was born July 27, 1956. Growing up in Midland, a small suburb outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania he studied oboe, bassoon and tuba in the school system and clarinet, saxophone, composition and arranging privately with Pittsburgh area tenor saxophonist Phillip Celli. An alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Studies Program, Dale studied as an ethnomusicology major under Dr. Nathan Davis. His debut jazz performance was as a member of the Joe Harris Quartet, former drummer with the Charlie Parker Quintet and Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra.
Fielder is a recipient of a NEA grant, has completed his first large work “The Aquarian” for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra; spent eight years in NYC, moved to Los Angeles, began studying with alto legend, Charles McPherson. He has recorded a dozen CDs as a leader including the top-ten critically acclaimed “Dear Sir: Tribute To Wayne Shorter”; he received his first commission and wrote the extended eleven-movement jazz suite, “Ocean Of Love And Mercy”; was selected as BET’s 1999 Jazz Discovery winner and performs throughout Europe and Asia with his quartet.
If originality is the barometer of what truly makes a great jazz artist, Dale Fielder possesses a quality of originality in his voice. The multi-instrumentalist offers rare and obscure jazz classics to his audience coupled with his original compositions, giving the listener a variety of new concepts and presentations. He continues his performance, recording and touring.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joanne Brackeen was born Joanne Grogan on July 26, 1938 in Ventura, California but has used her married name throughout her career. The pianist and music educator attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, but devoted her talents to jazz by imitating Frankie Carle albums. She was greatly influenced by Charlie Parker and bebop.
Her career began in the late 1950s while working with names like Dexter Gordon, Teddy Edwards, Harold Land, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Charles Lloyd. In 1969 Brackeen began to “take off” as she became the first woman to join Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
In the 70s Joanne he played with Joe Henderson (1972-75) and Stan Getz (1975-1977) before leading her own trio and quartet. Brackeen established herself as a cutting edge pianist and composer through her appearances around the world, and her solo performances also cemented her reputation as one of the most innovative and dynamic of pianists. Her trios featured such noted players as Clint Houston, Eddie Gomez, John Patitucci, Jack DeJohnette, Cecil McBee and Billy Hart.
She has served on the grant panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, toured the Middle East with the US State Department as sponsor, had solo performances at Carnegie Hall and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music. With 25 albums to her credit, pianist Joanne Brackeen continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Brian Blade was born July 25, 1970 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The first music he experienced was gospel and songs of praise at the Zion Baptist Church pastored by his father, Brady L. Blade. Elementary school music appreciation classes were an important part of his development and at age nine, he began playing the violin. Inspired by his older brother, Brady, who had been the church drummer, he shifted his focus to the drums throughout middle and high school.
During high school Brian began listening to the music of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Elvin Jones and Joni Mitchell. Upon graduation he attended Loyola University from 1988 through 1993, studying and playing with most of the master musicians living in New Orleans, such as Ellis Marsalis, George French and Alvin Red Taylor.
As a bandleader, he has released three albums under Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band and In conjunction with his leader duties Blade has been a member of Wayne Shorter’s most recent quartet and continues to record and perform with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell, Ellis Marsalis, Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, Dorothy Scott, Billy Childs, Chris Potter and David Binney, just to name a few. He has recorded for Verve, Columbia, Blue Note, Warner and Nonesuch record labels, and continues to amass a prestigious catalogue as a sideman and leader.
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