Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Einar Iversen was born on July 27, 1930 in Mandal Municipality, Norway and was raised in Oslo, Norway where he studied classical piano under Inge Rolf Ringnes, Artur Schnabel, and Finn Mortensen. He quickly established himself on the Oslo jazz scene in 1949 and released his first album with Rowland Greenberg’s orchestra in 1953.

In the 1950s he played with Dizzy Gillespie, Anthony Ortega, and the Modern_Jazz_Quartet”>Modern Jazz Quartet. He was a regular pianist at Metropol Jazz Club in the Sixties, where he played with Dexter Gordon, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Griffin, Svend Asmussen, and Stuff Smith in Sweden. As a leader, Einar recorded an album in 1967 leading his own E. I. Trio, Me and My Piano, plus five more. His sideman duties had him performing with Swedish Putte Wickman, Monica Zetterlund, and Povel Ramel on tour in 1978. In Norway, he participated in a number of releases with Bjarne Nerem, Egil Johansen, Totti Bergh, Nora Brockstedt, and Ditlef Eckhoff.

Pianist and composer Einar Iverson, who became one of the most respected Norwegian jazz musicians, awarded Buddyprisen and the Knight of First Class of the Order of the St. Olavs, passed away on April 3, 2019 in Oslo, Norway at the age of 88.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Rudy Collins was born on July 24, 1934 in New York City, New York. He played trombone in high school and started on drums at that time as well. From 1953 to 1057 he studied with drummer Sam Ulano.

He began gigging in New York City, playing with Hot Lips Page, Cootie Williams, Eddie Bonnemere, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Smith, Carmen McRae, Cab Calloway, and Roy Eldridge. At the Newport Jazz Festival, Rudy performed with J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding.

Later in the 1950s, Collins became increasingly interested in the budding free jazz scene, in addition to playing with more traditional ensembles. He worked with Herbie Mann from 1959 and later with Cecil Taylor, Quincy Jones, Dave Pike, and Lalo Schifrin.

He recorded with Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Gene Ammons, Ray Bryant, Billy Butler, Junior Mance, James Moody, the Jimmy Owens-Kenny Barron Quintet, Randy Weston, and Leo Wright.  Drummer Rudy Collins, whose  last recordings were in 1981, passed away on August 15, 1988.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Tony Lee, born Anthony Leedham Lee on July 23, 1934 in Whitechapel, London, England. He learned the rudiments of the piano from his elder brother, Arthur, who was self-taught and preferred to use the black keys rather than the white. As a consequence, he became fluent in keys such as G flat and B natural, before moving on to more standard keys, leaving him with the ability to transpose effortlessly his entire repertoire into any key.

He played as a regular for many years with his trio comprising bassist Tony Archer and drummer Martin Drew or Terry Jenkins at The Bull’s Head in Barnes, South West London, a few miles from his home in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.

During a visit by tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell who came to play at the Bull’s Head, both Mitchell and Lee got on so well together that the Bull’s Dan Fleming organized for both of them a 1984 U.S. tour. Despite his sketchy knowledge of musical theory, he was a complete master of his instrument, and blessed with large hands, stretching an 11th with ease, all played in a lyrical style, and swinging like a garden gate. He was arguably the greatest British exponent of the Erroll Garner piano style, though his playing embraced a much wider compass.

He appeared on at least two recordings with Phil Seamen, a live recording featuring U.S. bassist Eddie Gómez, and a solo debut, Electric Piano, earned many comparisons to the works of Burt Bacharach. Lee led at least four other album sessions, including Tony Lee Trio, probably the quintessential album of his career.

His 40-year association with bassist Tony Archer in the Tony Lee Trio, also had them playing together in the sextet The Best of British Jazz formed in the early 1970s with drummer Jack Parnell, trumpeter Kenny Baker, trombonist Don Lusher and tenor saxophonist Betty Smith.

Pianist Tony Lee, influenced by Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson, and Art Tatum, passed away on March 2, 2004 in Esher, Surrey, England.

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Three Wishes

Three wishes were requested of Walter Perkins and he replied to Pannonica with: 

    1. “Happiness for my brothers. All of them.”

    2. “To get a sound out of those drums that has never been heard before. ”

    3. “More cooperation between our brothers.”

*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter

GRIOTS GALLERY

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Chuck Hedges was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 21, 1932 and began playing clarinet while attending a military school. He received formal training under Claude Bordy and learned to play jazz on his own.

After studying at Northwestern University, Chuck joined George Brunis’s ensemble in 1953, remaining with Brunis through the end of the decade. He was active on the Dixieland revival scene in the 1960s, playing regularly at clubs in Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin into the 1990s.

Working with Wild Bill Davison for most of the 1980s, he also worked with Alan Vaché and Johnny Varro. He with Ray Leatherwood, Gene Estes, Eddie Higgins, Bob Haggart, Duane Thamm, John Bany, Dave Baney, Charles Braugham, Howard Elkins, Jack Wyatt, Jim Vaughn, John Sheridan, Henry “Bucky” Buckwalter, Gary Meisner, Dave Sullivan, Mike Britz, and Andy LoDuca.

Clarinetist Chuck Hedges released several albums as a leader in the 1990s and 2000s before passing away on June 24, 2010.

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