Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Dick Collins was born Richard Harrison Collins on July 19, 1924 in Seattle, Washington into a musical family where several of his parents and grandparents were professional musicians. He attended Mills College in 1946–47, where he studied music formally under Darius Milhaud, and moved with Milhaud to Paris, France for the next academic year. As a student at Mills, he first met Dave Brubeck, and while in Paris he played with Hubert Fol and Kenny Clarke.

Returning to the States he landed in San Francisco, California where he began playing with Brubeck in his Bay Area-based octet, then completed his bachelor’s degree in music at San Francisco State College. In the 1950s he performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Charlie Mariano, Nat Pierce, Paul Desmond, Cal Tjader, and Woody Herman. By 1957 Dick was working with Les Brown, an association that continued for nearly a decade that included worldwide tours.

In 1965, Collins took a position as a music librarian, which he held through 1967, and took a second position from 1971 to 1986, mostly receding from active performance. In later years, he still occasionally performed live or recorded, including with Nat Pierce, Mary Ann McCall, and Woody Herman.

Trumpeter Dick Collins transitioned on April 19, 2016 in Hesperia, California, at the age of 91.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Donald Neff Bagley was born on July 18, 1927 in Salt Lake City, Utah and received formal training on the double bass. He went on to study in Los Angeles, California and played in 1945 with Shorty Sherock and Wingy Manone, and in 1948 with Dick Pierce.

During the early Fifties from 1950 to 1953, and sporadically thereafter, Bagley played with Stan Kenton. HIs time with Kenton, A Study for Bass by Bill Russo and Bags by Bill Holman were written to feature Bagley’s playing. By 1954 he was fronting his own ensembles. His session work between 1950 and 1952, Don worked extensively with Nat King Cole, Maynard Ferguson, and Dexter Gordon. He played in Europe with Zoot Sims, Lars Gullin, Frank Rosolino, and Åke Persson. He would go on to work with Les Brown, Jimmie Rowles, Shelly Manne, Pete Fountain and Phil Woods. In 1957 and 1958, he recorded three albums under his own name.

The Sixties saw him playing with Ben Webster and Julie London. Into the 1970s and 1980s he worked with Burt Bacharach while composing and arranging for film and television, including the scores to Mama’s Dirty Girls, The Manhandlers, The Swinging Barmaids, The Student Body, Young Lady Chatterley and Sacred Ground.

Double bassist, composer and arranger Don Bagley transitioned of natural causes on July 26, 2012 at the age of 85.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Kitty White was born Kitty Jean Bilbrew on July 7, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. Raised in a musical family, her parents were singers, and her uncle was a well-known vaudevillian and disc jockey. Her twin sister, Maudie Jeanette, also sang and briefly worked with Duke Ellington’s revue, Jump for Joy, but never pursued an active career. Their mother, known as A.C. Bilbrew, organized an all-black chorus that performed in the 1929 film Hearts of Dixie.

She started her career at the age of sixteen as a singer and a pianist, appearing in local nightclubs around Los Angeles. Branching out she opened at the Black Orchid in Chicago, Illinois and was introduced to the executives of Mercury Records, where she became a recording artist.

Kitty picked up her catchy jazz name legitimately by marrying songwriter Eddie White in the 1940s. She moved to Palm Springs, California in 1967 and sang at the Spa Hotel for sixteen years.

Recording mostly on the West Coast, she worked with Buddy Collette, Gerald Wiggins, Chico Hamilton, Bud Shank and Red Callender. She sang many demo recordings for her friend, Los Angeles blues composer Jessie Mae Robinson, including I Went To Your Wedding, a No. 1 hit for Patti Page in 1953. She was also the sole female voice on Elvis Presley’s song Crawfish from the King Creole film soundtrack.

Vocalist Kitty White, who recorded eight albums as a leader and had two compilations released, transitioned in Palm Springs, at the age of 86 on August 11, 2009 after suffering a stroke.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Frank Rehak was born July 6, 1926 in New York City and began on piano and cello before switching to trombone. He worked with Gil Evans and Miles Davis. He also appeared with Davis on the broadcast The Sounds of Miles Davis.

A heroin addiction combined with other financial problems led to his withdrawal from music and his lapsing into relative obscurity. It was probably partially contributed to his failed marriage to nightclub dancer Jerri Gray. In an effort to deal with these issues he spent time at Synanon, which led to his mention in Art Pepper’s autobiography.

Trombonist Frank Rehak transitioned in Badger, California on June 22, 1987 of throat cancer at the age of 60.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Malcom Bruce Turner was born July 5, 1922 in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England. He received his education at Dulwich College, learning to play the clarinet as a schoolboy. He began playing alto saxophone while serving in the Royal Air Force in 1943 during World War II.

From 1948-53 he played with Freddy Randall and worked on the Queen Mary in a dance band and in a quartet with Dill Jones and Peter Ind. He briefly studied under Lee Konitz in New York City in 1950. His first period with Humphrey Lyttelton ran from 1953 to 1957 but leaving Lytteltonin  he led his Jump Band from until 1965, which was featured in the 1961 film, Living Jazz.

Turner arranged and recorded the music for this film and the album Jumpin’ at the NFT (National Film Theatre) was issued to coincide with the film’s release. He then took part in the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain at Alexandra Palace. Returning to Randall’s group from 1964 to 1966, he played with Don Byas and Acker Bilk. He continued to work with Lyttelton and Ind into the 1980s, played with the Jump Band intermittently, and led small ensembles in the 1990s.

Turner’s autobiography Hot Air, Cool Music, was published by Quartet Books, appeared in 1984. He wrote a column on jazz for the Daily Worker. Saxophonist, clarinetist and bandleader Bruce Turner transitioned on November 28, 1993.

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