Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Andrew W. Bey was born October 28, 1939 in Newark, New Jersey. Although he received piano and singing lessons later on, he began playing by ear at the age of three. In the early 50s Andy got his initial professional exposure working on a television show “Startime” with Connie Francis and sang for Louis Jordan. He went on to form a trio with sisters Salome and Geraldine called “Andy and The Bey Sisters”. They recorded various sides and released two albums on the Prestige label and one on RCA. The group parted in 1965.
In the Seventies he worked with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, collaborated with musicians like Stanley Clarke and also did notable work with Horace Silver and Gary Bartz. Later he recorded an album titled “Experience And Judgment” which had Indian influences. After that period he returned to hard bop and also recorded covers of music by non-jazz musicians.
In 1994, openly gay, Andy was diagnosed HIV-positive, but as of yet it has not interrupted his career. Colleague Herb Jordan assisted him with a resurgence of his recording career with “Ballads, Blues, & Bey” in 1996, returning him to prominence. Since then he has released five additional albums with his latest 2013 offerings titled “Chillin’ With Andy Bey” and “World According To Andy Bey”. Vocalist and pianist Andy Bey continues to perform, record and tour.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Warne Marion Marsh was born October 26, 1927 in Los Angeles, California into an affluent family, his father was a cinematographer, mother a violinist and his aunt May Marsh an actress.
Tutored by Lennie Tristano and, along with Lee Konitz became one of the pre-eminent saxophonists of the Tristano-inspired “Cool School”. Of all of Tristano’s students, Marsh came closest to typifying Tristano’s ideals of improvised lines, in some respects, even transcending the master himself. He often recorded in the company of other Cool School musicians, and remained one of the most faithful to the Tristano philosophy of improvisation. His distinctively pure tone without the inflections popular among many other tenor saxophonists at that time such as honks, growls, etc. set him apart from other Lester Young and Ben Webster-influenced saxophonists.
Warne’s rhythmically subtle lines are immediately recognizable and have been called by Anthony Braxton as “the greatest vertical improviser.” In the 1970s he gained renewed exposure as a member of Supersax, a large ensemble that played orchestral arrangements of Charlie Parker solos. Marsh also recorded one of his most celebrated albums, “All Music”, with the Supersax rhythm section during this period.
Marsh died onstage at the Los Angeles club Donte’s on December 18, 1987, in the middle of playing the tune “Out of Nowhere”. Though he remains something of a cult figure among jazz fans and musicians, his influence has grown since his death. Younger players such as Mark Turner have borrowed from his music as a way of counterbalancing the pervasive influence of John Coltrane.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Odean Pope was born October 24, 1938 in Ninety Six, South Carolina to musical parents but was reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when the family moved when he was ten. His lifelong study of music began at the Graniff School of Music and the Benjamin Franklin High School music program.
Pope grew up in a rich musical environment with other Philadelphia jazz luminaries as John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Kenny Barron, Jimmy and Percy Heath, Clifford Brown, Philly Joe Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Golson to name a few. Early in his career, the young tenor saxophonist, while at Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater, played behind a number of noted rhythm and blues artists including James brown, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, however, it was Coltrane who chose him as his replacement in Jimmy Smith’s group when he left to join Miles Davis in New York.
He went on to play briefly with Jimmy McGriff in the 1960s and late in the decade began working with Max Roach and touring Europe. Odean was a member of Philadelphia group Catalyst in the early and mid-1970s, and in 1977 assembled the “Saxophone Choir” consisting of nine saxophones and a rhythm section. He became a regular member of Roach’s quartet in 1979 and has recorded extensively with him, in addition to numerous releases as a leader.
His never-ending quest to study his craft led him to study orchestration, modern harmony, African rhythms, be-bop art forms and arrangement with Kenny Clarke at the Paris Conservatory. He would go on to study with Ray Bryant, Jimmie Merritt, and Hasaan Ibn Ali and with Max Roach for some twenty-two years. Pope is known for saying, “Studying with Max was like going to the highest institution in the world.”
Odean perfected the techniques of circular breathing and multiphonics, both allowing him to stretch his solo improvisations from dazzling elevations to the throbbing, husky sounds for which he is so well known, to all kinds of delicacy in getting from one to the other.
Pope has won “Best Tenor Saxophone Player” at the North Sea Jazz Festival, received numerous citations from the City of Philadelphia, and has received awards from the Pew Fellowship, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Chamber music America. He started the jazz studies program at the Settlement Music School and he continues to give master classes in the Philadelphia School District as well as nationally and internationally.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Freddy Cole was born Lionel Frederick Cole on October 15, 1931, to Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole and is the youngest sibling of musicians Eddie, Ike and Nat. Growing up in Chicago he began playing piano at age six, Cole hoped for a career with the NFL. But a hand injury ended his dream and the teenager began playing and singing in Chicago clubs. Although he was ready to hit the road at 18, his mother intervened and he continued his musical education at Chicago’s Roosevelt Institute before moving to New York City in 1951. While in New York, Cole studied at the Juilliard School of Music and went on to get a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music.
The small Chicago-based label, Topper Records, released Freddy’s first single, “The Joke’s On Me” in 1952. A sophomore single, “Whispering Grass” on the OKeh label, was a moderate hit in 1953. He later spent several months on the road with Johnny Coles and Benny Golson in the Earl Bostic band before returning to hone his skills in the bistros of New York. He went on to work with Grover Washington, Jr. and to record jingles for various companies, including Turner Classic Movies.
During the 1970s, Cole recorded several albums for European and English based labels. He was the subject of the 2006 documentary “The Cole Nobody Knows” by filmmaker Clay Walker and is a member of the Steinway Artist roster. He has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Freddy cites his influences as John Lewis, Oscar Peterson, Teddy Wilson and Billy Eckstine, the latter being the subject of his release, “Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B”, that was nominated for a Grammy Award. When speaking of Eckstine, Cole recalled, “He was a fantastic entertainer. I learned so much from just watching and being around him.”
With over two-dozen albums as a leader and numerous collaborations, jazz pianist and vocalist Freddy Cole leads his quartet that holds down a rigorous schedule that continually tours the United States, Europe, South America and the Far East.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Curtis Amy was born on October 11, 1929 in Houston, Texas and learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army. During his time in service he picked up the tenor saxophone and after his discharge he enrolled and graduated from Kentucky State College.
Working as an educator in Tennessee while playing in mid-western jazz clubs for a time and in the mid-1950s, Amy relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Pacific Jazz Records. By the mid-60s he spent three years as musical director for Ray Charles’ orchestra, together with his wife and singer Merry Clayton, and Steve Huffsteter.
Curtis lead his own bands and recording albums under his own name, Amy also did session work and played the solos on several recordings, including The Doors song “Touch Me”, Carole King’s “Tapestry”, and Lou Rawls’ first albums, “Black and Blue and Tobacco Road”; with Dexter Gordon in the Onzy Matthews’ big band as well as working with Marvin Gaye, Tammy Terrell and Smoky Robinson.
Soul jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist Curtis Amy, a part of the West coast jazz scene who explored other musical mediums, passed away on June 5, 2002.
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