Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Harry Haag James was born on March 15, 1916 in Albany, Georgia the son of a bandleader in a traveling circus, the Mighty Haag Circus, and Myrtle Maybelle Stewart, an acrobat and horseback rider. He started performing with the circus at an early age, first as a contortionist at the age of four, then playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six.
James started taking trumpet lessons from his father at age eight, and by age twelve he was leading the second band in the Christy Brothers Circus, for which his family was then working. James’s father placed him on a strict daily practice schedule. In 1924, his family settled in Beaumont, Texas and in the early 1930s he began playing in local dance bands when he was 15. While still a student at Dick Dowling Junior High School, he was a regular member of Beaumont High School’s Royal Purple Band, and in May 1931 he took first place as trumpet soloist at the Texas Band Teacher’s Association’s Annual Eastern Division contest held in Temple, Texas.
His first job was playing at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee and played regularly with Herman Waldman’s band, where he was noticed by Ben Pollack. In 1935 he joined Pollack’s band, but left two years later and joined Benny Goodman’s orchestra through 1938. He was nicknamed “The Hawk” early in his career for his ability to sight-read. With financial backing from Goodma, Harry debuted his own big band in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1939, but it didn’t click until adding a string section in 1941. Subsequently, known as Harry James and His Music Makers, he went on to produce hits, appeared in four Hollywood films, and toured with the band into the 1980s.
Trumpeter and big band leader Harry James was a heavy smoker, drinker, and gambler, in 1983 he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. He played his last professional job, with the Harry James Orchestra, on June 26, 1983, in Los Angeles, California dying just nine days later in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 5, 1983, at age 67. Frank Sinatra gave the eulogy at his funeral, held in Las Vegas.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Antonio Ciacca was born in Wuppertal, Germany March 14, 1969 and raised in Italy. He began playing the piano at the age of seven and studied with Steve Grossman, Jaki Byard, Bruce Barth and Barry Harris.
Ciacca toured Europe with the Larry Smith Quartet in 1995 and 1996, played in Japan with the Eiji Nakayama Quartet in 1998, and toured Europe with Wes Anderson and Steve Lacy in 1999. His study with Jaki Byard in 1998–99, and dedicated the album Hollis Avenue to him.
He founded the Detroit Gospel Singers, and toured Europe with them in 2000. He earned his undergraduate Diploma at the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna, Italy. He became Director of Programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center from 2007 to 2011. Earning his master’s degree in jazz studies at City College in New York City and his DMA, Doctor of Musica Arts at Stony Brook University.
Pianist Antonio Ciacca is currently the adjunct professor of Jazz History at Marymount Manhattan College, and Professor of Jazz Arranging and Composition at the G. Nicolini Conservatory in Piacenza, Italy.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Andrew Morgan was born on March 13, 1901 in Pensacola, Florida. He played clarinet with the Imperial Band in the mid-1920s and then joined his brother Isaiah Morgan’s band in 1925. Sam Morgan led this ensemble for its recordings in 1927.
Heading to New Orleans, Louisian he played in the late 1920s and 1930s with Kid Howard, Kid Rena, and Kid Thomas Valentine. In the 1940s he and Isaiah played together again in Biloxi, Mississippi, then moved back to New Orleans to play with Alphonse Picou, Kid Rena again, Herb Morand from 1946 to 1952 and Kid Clayton from 1952.
He played with Percy Humphrey in 1953 and with the Young Tuxedo Brass Band and led the group after 1964. From 1958 he played Sweet Emma Barrett, Kid Howard again, Alvin Alcorn, Onward Brass Band, Eureka Brass Band, and Captain John Handy.
Clarinetist and saxophonist Andrew Morgan, who recorded once as a leader for his 1969 album Down By the Riverside, died in New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 71 on September 19, 1972.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Layla Angulo was born March 12, 1976 to a Greek mother and an Irish-American father and started playing the piano at age 6. However, it was her grandfather’s upright bass playing that inspired her to learn the saxophone at age 10. She began playing in jazz clubs during high school. After graduation, she played in various funk, jazz, and pop and groups and performed as the horn section leader of various salsa bands around the Northwest.
Developing the idea to write her own music. Soon after Layla released her debut album, Live at The Triple Door, was recorded at the noted Seattle theater in 2005. The album’s first single Que Te Vaya Bien was Top 10 for three months. Mientras, her sophomore album, was recorded in New York with Arturo O’Farrill, Oscar Estagnaro, Tony Escapa, and Dario Escanazi and released in 2008.
Moving to New York City in 2009, she subsequently spent a year on tour with reggaeton artist Don Omar. Her third album TriAngulo gave up a single, No Se Como Olvidarte that rose to #16 on the Billboard Tropical Charts. Another song from TriAngulo, La Pelicula, reached #1 in the National Latin Record Pool.
On March 24, 2015, the International Songwriting Competition announced its 2014 Finalists, including Layla’s song Dame Todo.
Alto saxophonist, composer, singer, band director, and recording artist known professionally by the mononym Layla, continues to specialize in Latin music.
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Jazz Poems
MAY 12
From The Daily Mirror
A book could be written on the moment swing turned into bop the moment Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, and Teddy Wilson gave way to Bird, Dizzy, Miles, Bud and Monk in fact it would be a great movie at least the sound track would be “beyond category” as Duke Ellington would have put it the life of a jazz musician (about which I know so little) is the life for me I felt on the afternoon Jamie and I visited his father who sat at the piano and talked and played I was tongue-tied and wanted him to play a song as if Helen Merrill were there and her voice and his fingers were about to have an intimate talkDAVID LEHMAN | 1948
from Jazz Poems ~ Selected and Edited by Kevin Young
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