Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Michael White was born On May 24, 1933 in Houston, Texas and grew up in Oakland, California. He took up the violin when he was nine years old and not becoming known until 1965 when he played with the John Handy Quintet at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He would go on to record three albums with Handy.

White was among the first to play the violin in avant-garde jazz and by the late 1960s became one of the first jazz violinists to play jazz-rock fusion with his band Fourth Way. He has played with musicians such as Sun Ra, Prince Lasha, McCoy Tyner, Eric Dolphy, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Dorham, Joe Henderson, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Richard Davis. In early 2007, The Michael White Quintet’s “Mechanical Man” won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Jazz Song.

Now living in Kobe, Japan, Michael has experienced a long period of obscurity.  However, in the mid 1990s he was involved in a reunion of the Handy Quintet, and recorded an album as co-leader with Bill Frisell titled “Motion Picture” and in 2006 White released his ninth album “Voices”.

Violinist Michael White has recorded nine albums as a leader and nine as a sideman with John Coltrane, The Dead Science, Sonny Simmons, The Fourth Way and John Handy. He still records and performs.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Rosemary Clooney was born on May 23, 1928 in Maysville, Kentucky. When she was fifteen, her parents split up and along with her sister, Betty remained with their father. In 1945, the Clooney sisters won a spot on Cincinnati, Ohio’s radio station WLW as singers. They sang in a duo for much of her early career. Clooney’s first recordings in 1946 were for Columbia Records. She sang with Tony Pastor’s big band. Clooney continued working with the Pastor band until 1949 when making her first as a solo artist a month later still for Columbia.

In 1951, her record of “Come On-a My House”, produced by Mitch Miller, became a hit. It was her first of many singles to hit the charts, despite the fact that Clooney hated the song passionately. She had been told by Columbia Records to record the song, and that she would be in violation of her contract if she did not do so.

Around 1952, Rosemary recorded several duets with Marlene Dietrich and by ’54 she was starring in the movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen. She went on to appear on radio and television, including her own half-hour show featuring the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.

Leaving Columbia Records in 1958 for MGM Records doing a number of recordings, then some for Coral Records. Her career languished in part due to depression and drug addiction in the early Sixties but she signed with RCA Victor until 1963, on to Reprise in ‘64, Dot Records in 1965 and moved to United Artist Records in ’66.

Clooney’s career revived in 1974, when she appeared with Bing Crosby on his 50th anniversary in show business. By 1977, she recorded an album a year for the Concord Jazz record label.

Throughout her career Rosemary Clooney continued to perform on radio, sing jingles for television commercials, guest starred on nighttime dramas, parodied on Saturday Night Live, received a Primetime Emmy nomination, collaborated with Barry Manilow, founded the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and recorded until her death on June 29, 2002.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jackie Cain was born May 22, 1928 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By the time she was 18, the blonde and extremely attractive high school graduate decided she wanted to be a jazz singer. The year was 1946 when a friend took her to Chicago and introduced her to Roy Kral, a pianist and arranger who was going places. He took a good look at her, but according to legend wasn’t the least bit interested until he heard her sing.

Liking something about each other, they became a duo using their first names Jackie & Roy and became one of the most enduring combinations in jazz, beginning in the late ’40s when the team began interacting as fellow members of intriguing saxophonist Charlie Ventura’s band. The two continued working together, off and on, until Kral’s death from congestive heart failure at the age of 80 in 2002. The following year Jackie was still going strong, performing at an 85th birthday event for jazz pianist Marian McPartland.

The appeal of Jackie & Roy was about voices, but more accurately about voicings. The two vocalists, who became husband and wife in 1949, sang like twin songbirds but with ranges an octave apart. This blend would be effective in any singing style, but was uniquely suited to the style of jazz vocalese. Along with goofy singer Eddie Jefferson, Jackie & Roy were innovators in a type of jazz singing that is distinct from scat singing.

Her syllables or sheer vocal sounds along with a great sense of humor created enjoyable performances and funniest material. She recorded commercials for Plymouth, recorded Paul Simon and Donovan material, and by 1990 had appeared on over 50 recordings. She has also studied both flute and cello.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Redd Holt was Isaac Holt born on May 16, 1932 in Rosedale, Mississippi. His interest in drums and percussion began as a child and he bought his first drum set when he was a sophomore at Crane Technical High School. Graduating from high school in 1951, he attended the Cosmopolitan School of Music in Chicago and then received advanced musical instruction at the Chicago School of Music.



Between 1954 and 1966 Holt was part of the original Ramsey Lewis Trio that spawned the classic hit singles “Hang on Sloopy” and “In Crowd.” He was co-founder and leader of Young-Holt Unlimited from 1966 to 1974, creating another hit, “Soulful Strut,” and the successful single, “Wack Wack”, used in the movie Harriet the Spy and various other movies and commercials.



Redd has directed the Gumption Performing Artists Workshop, received the Jazz Master Award from the Midwest Arts, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Indianapolis Radio Sounds of Jazz, and the Grand Master of Time Award from the Jazz Institute of Chicago and the DuSable Museum of African American History.

As a jazz educator drummer Redd Holt has been active for many years in Urban Gateways, a nonprofit organization providing multicultural performing, and visual and literary arts programs. He continues to perform his percussion and vocal skills at jazz clubs, festivals, theaters and concerts around the world.

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Ellis Larkins was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 15, 1923. The pianist was the first African American to attend the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and began his professional playing career in New York City after moving there to attend the Julliard School. Following school Larkins performed with Billy Moore and Edmond Hall.

He recorded with Coleman Hawkins, Mildred Bailey and Dickey Wells in the 1940s, Ruby Braff and Ella Fitzgerald in the Fifties recording “Ella Sings Gershwin” and “Songs In A Mellow Mood” with the latter. His 1960s work included recordings and/or performances with Eartha Kitt, Joe Williams, Helen Humes, George Gibbs and Harry Belafonte.

Though he was best known as an accompanist, Larkins recorded several solo albums in the 1950s. In the 1970s he performed regularly at several New York venues, including Gregory’s, a small bar in the east 70s. Next to Jimmy Jones, traditional jazz fans regard him as one of the most lyrical and romantic pianists in jazz history. Ellis Larkins passed away on September 30, 2002.

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