Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Walter “Baby Sweets” Perkins was born on February 10, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. Starting out in his hometown, he began his professional career drumming with Ahmad Jamal in 1956–57. He recorded as a leader for Argo Records in 1957 under the name MJT+3 with trumpeter Paul Serrano, Nicky Hill on tenor saxophone, Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, and bassist Bob Cranshaw.
1959 witnessed the regrouping under the same name with Willie Thomas on trumpet, Frank Strozier on alto saxophone, pianist Harold Mabern, and Cranshaw on bass. They recorded four albums for Vee-Jay in 1959 and 1960 and played in Chicago until 1962 when Walter made his move to New York City.
Perkins played with Sonny Rollins in 1962 and accompanied Carmen McRae in 1962–63. By 1964 he was playing with Art Farmer and Teddy Wilson, however, following this he recorded with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, George Shearing, Gene Ammons, Charles Mingus, Billy Taylor, Etta James, J.J. Johnson, Johnny Coles, Booker Ervin, Jaki Byard, Lucky Thompson, Pat Martino, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Criss, Ray Bryant, Duke Pearson, Bobby Timmons, and Charles Earland. And that’s the shortlist as he recorded some 44 albums throughout his career as a sideman.
Drummer Walter Perkins passed away on February 14, 2004 in Queens, New York.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nelson Boyd was born on February 6, 1928 in Camden, New Jersey and played in local orchestras in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1945. Two years later he moved to New York City in 1947 and played with Coleman Hawkins, Tadd Dameron, and Dexter Gordon, and later with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Barnet in 1948.
In 1947, he recorded with Fats Navarro and Charlie Parker, later with Jay Jay Johnson on Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool sessions in 1949. In addition, the Davis composition Half Nelson was named after Boyd because of his stature.
After 1949, he often played with Gillespie and toured the Middle East with him in 1956. Later, he recorded with Melba Liston in 1958 with her trombone ultimates on Melba Liston and Her ‘Bones. Boyd also did sessions with Max Roach and Thelonious Monk. His last recordings were in 1964. Bebop bassist Nelson Boyd passed away in October 1985 in his hometown of Camden.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Leroy Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 3, 1939 and first began playing drums as a teenager in the 1950s. From 1959 to the middle of the 1960s he played with Judy Roberts, and following this stint he moved to New York City and played with Booker Ervin in 1967.
1968 found him playing with Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, and Clifford Jordan; in 1969 he first began playing and collaboration with Barry Harris. 1970 saw him playing with Hank Mobley, Wilbur Ware, and Thelonious Monk, the latter of which he went with on a tour of Japan.
Later in the 1970s he played and recorded with Hank Mobley, Yusef Lateef, Ray Bryant, Charles McPherson, Stan Getz, Andrew Hill, Sonny Stitt, Junior Cook, Al Cohn, Buddy Tate, Ted Dunbar, Slide Hampton, Red Rodney and Bob Wilber, among others.
In the 1980s Williams played with Talk Talk, Level 42, Art Davis, Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Steve Turre, and recorded with Pepper Adams, Bill Hardman. In the 1990s he performed and recorded with Frank Morgan, with Anthony Braxton, Lee Konitz, Ralph Lalama, and Pete Malinverni. Most recently, he was a member of El Mollenium with Roni Ben-Hur, Bertha Hope, and Walter Booker.
He was a member of the cast in the music documentary Bird Now and played one of the Angels of Mercy in the Steve Martin film spoof Leap Of Faith about fake faith healers. At the turn of the decade, Williams was a member of the cooperative band el Mollenium, which also included guitarist Roni Ben-hur, pianist Bertha Hope, and bassist Walter Booker. The band is devoted largely to interpreting the music of the late pianist Elmo Hope. Drummer Leroy Williams continues to be active.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jodie Christian was born on February 2, 1932 on 44th Street and Prairie Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. His grandfather sold his livestock and sent the family there once he realized the futility of raising a family as share-croppers. His mother was a church pianist, who helped him with music. The young Jodie attended Wendell Phillips High in Chicago. When his mother became director of the church choir, he took over on the piano; sometimes they played organ and piano duets in the church. His father sang and played the blues on the piano in speakeasies and rent parties, but ultimately stopped performing and followed his wife into the church.
Christian was one of the founders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) with pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. He and Abrams were also part of the Experimental Band. He worked at the Jazz Showcase club in Chicago and performed with Eddie Harris, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Roscoe Mitchell, Buddy Montgomery, and John Klemmer.
He led his own group and recorded six albums, and another fifteen as a sideman with Von Freeman, Eric Alexander, Gene Amons, Lin Halliday, Les McCann, and Ira Sullivan to name a few. Pianist and bandleader Jodie Christian, noted for bebop and free jazz, passed away on February 13, 2012, aged 80, in Chicago.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bernie Leighton, born on January 30, 1921 in West Haven, Connecticut, first played piano professionally at the end of the 1930s. In the early Forties, he played with Bud Freeman, Leo Reisman, Raymond Scott and Benny Goodman before serving in the Army.
Following his discharge, he found work as a studio sideman through the Sixties with Dave Tough, Billie Holiday, Neal Hefti, Goodman again, Artie Shaw, John Serry, Sr., James Moody and Bob Wilber. He toured a year with Tony Bennett from 1972 to 1973.
While Leighton was best known as a sideman, he also recorded extensively as a leader, releasing albums on Keynote Records, Mercury Records, Columbia Records, Brunswick, Disneyland and Capitol. He also recorded a tribute to Duke Ellington released in 1974. He has a cameo role in the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters. Pianist Bernie Leighton passed away on September 16, 1994 in Coconut Creek, Florida.
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