Three Wishes

Nica asked Dakota Staton what her three wishes were and she said she only had two and they were:

1. 1. “One would be that the hearts of men would change. That they could love one anothe rin peace~live with good in their hearts, so that they can meet their God squarely. That is my main wish. I think if I could have that, that would take care of everything else that I was wanting.”

   2. “Freedom! I’d be free. A woman among women!”

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

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Donald Gale Lanphere was born on June 26, 1928 in Wenatchee, Washington and briefly studied music at Northwestern University in the 1940s, but moved to New York City as a member of Johnny Bothwell’s group and became part of the bebop jazz scene. While in New York, he was in a relationship with Chan Richardson, who later married Charlie Parker and then Phil Woods.

1951 saw Don arrested and charged with heroin possession in New York City. After his release from jail, he worked in his family’s music store in Wenatchee, where he met Midge Hess, whom he married in 1953. By the late 1950s and early 1960s he performed with Herb Pomeroy and with Woody Herman.

Throughout most of the 1960s Lanphere was mostly inactive musically but began performing around the Seattle, Washington area after becoming a born again Christian in 1969, at which time he also stopped using drugs and alcohol. It wasn’t until the 1980s that he would begin recording again and started releasing albums. He toured in New York City and Kansas City in 1983 and a Europe in 1985.

His later years, had Don as a jazz educator in the Pacific Northwest, giving lessons out of his home in Kirkland, Washington. He instructed clinics and small groups, as well as performing at the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop, an annual, week-long summer camp in Port Townsend, Washington for jazz students of all ages. The workshop coincided with the annual Port Townsend Jazz Festival.

He led thirteen recording sessions as well as Fats Nava Jazz Orchestrarro and the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. Tenor and soprano saxophonist, bandleader, and educator Don Lanphere passed away on October 9, 2003.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jacques Pelzer was born in Liège, Belgium on June 24, 1924, and got his inspiration from Benny Carter, then Charlie Parker and Lee Koni. His first exposure to jazz was after World War II when he joined the Bob Shots, a legendary Belgian bop band that included at various time pioneers such as Bobby Jaspar, René Thomas, and Sadi. He also played with other historical figures of Belgian jazz such as pianist/arranger Francy Boland, guitar and harmonica player Toots Thielemans, bassist Benoît Quersin. His work with René Thomas continued for several years, leading to several recordings.

Pelzer’s evolution in the Sixties and Seventies included free jazz and fusion, recorded the soundtrack of the film “Le Départ” with Don Chery, Philip Catherine, and Gato Barbieri. He had three tours of the United States with Chet Baker, resulting in a lasting friendship and musical partnership and ultimately met  Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Philly Joe Jones and Bill Evans.

The next two decades saw Jacques returning to straight-ahead jazz, acoustic jazz, and bebop standards, modern compositions with an accent on lyricism and expression. Moving back to the studios in 1990 to record his CD Never Let Me Go with his band the Open Sky Unit along with Barney Wilen, Michel Graillier, Eric Legnini as guests. This recording received the Sax Prize for best jazz album of the year 1991.

Three magnificent Belgian jazz musicians, guitarist Philip Catherine, bassist Philippe Aerts, and drummer Bruno Castellucci joined for his final album Salute To The Bandbox. Alto and soprano saxophonist and flutist Jacques Pelzer passed away on August 6, 1994 in his hometown.

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Three Wishes

On the day that Percy Heath was questioned by Pannonica as to what his three wishes would be he said:

1. 1. “I would like to be able to travel to another planet.”

   2. “To find something to do when I get there.”

   3. “To know how to get back again.”

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

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Hank Shaw was born Henry Shalofsky on June 23, 1926 in London, England and played with Teddy Foster’s band during World War II at the age of 15. In the latter half of the decade, he played in London with Oscar Rabin, Frank Weir, and Tommy Sampson, then switched permanently to playing bebop music in 1946 after hearing Dizzy Gillespie.

A visit to the United States in 1947 with close friend and fellow pioneer bebopper alto saxophonist Freddy Syer, preceded their move to Canada after he was unable to secure a work permit. There they played with Oscar Peterson and Maynard Ferguson before returning to England in 1948. He was one of the early Club Eleven players, along with Ronnie Scott, John Dankworth, Lennie Bush, and others. He also played with many of these musicians on the recordings of Alan Dean’s Beboppers.

After Club Eleven shuttered, Shaw played with Vic Lewis and toured Europe with Cab Kaye, then joined Jack Parnell’s ensemble in 1953 and Ronnie Scott’s nonet in 1954. He went on to play regularly both live and as a session musician for many British jazz musicians over the course of the next twenty or so years, working with Joe Harriott, Tony Crombie, Don Rendell, Tony Kinsey, Stan Tracey, Bill Le Sage, and others.

In the Sixties, he led a quartet at the 100 Club and played in the Bebop Preservation Society and the John Burch Quartet for over two decades each. Retiring from music due to ill health in the late 1990s, trumpeter Hank Shaw passed away on October 26, 2006 in Kent, four months past his 80th birthday.

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