Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Wayne Andre was born on November 17, 1931 in Manchester, Connecticut. His father was a saxophonist, and he took private music lessons from age 15. In the early 1950s he played with Charlie Spivak before spending some time in the U.S. Air Force. 1955 saw him joining the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, and the next year played with Woody Herman.
From 1956 to 1958 Wayne played with Kai Winding and enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music. He composed his Nutcracker and arranged The Preacher for the Kai Winding Septet while performing with the septet. In the 1960s, he performed with Gerry Mulligan’s first Concert Jazz Band, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and Clark Terry’s Big Band.
He joined the Mission to Russia with Benny Goodman in 1962. He also played with Urbie Green, Art Farmer, Roy Ayres, and Carl Fontana. After settling in New York City, Andre became a sought-after studio sideman and soloist. He has recorded with Liza Minnelli, Bruce Springsteen, and Alice Cooper.
During the Eighties he played with Lynn Welshman’s Tentet, The Mingus Big Band, The Epitaph Band, Jaco Pastorius and many others. He performed with his own quintet, which included Marvin Stamm, Pat Rebillot, Ronnie Zito, Jay Leonhart; and his septet which included Matt Finders, Keith O’Quinn, and Jim Pugh. Andre performed with his own big band, the Illinois Jacquet Band and Mike Longo’s New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble.
Wayne Andre, who recorded one hundred and sixty-seven albums as a studio musician, continued to write music for symphony orchestras and big bands throughout his life, died on August 26, 2003..
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alexei Zoubov was born on November 15, 1936 in Moscow, Russia into a family of scientists. Following the family tradition, he graduated from Moscow University with a master’s degree in physics and was offered a prestigious job that physicists would kill for. However, jazz seduced him in the early Fifties and tuned into Voice of America, BBC and other jazz programs.
In his sophomore University year he started playing clarinet, then switched to the saxophone and joined the early wave of jazz rebirth in the Soviet Union. At this time, Stalin was in power and playing jazz in the Soviet Union was considered not far from committing treason. Zouboc went on the road with the Oleg Lundstrem Big Band. He followed this with a seven year run with Vadim Ludvikovsky Radio and Television Big Band.
Alexei led his Crescendo Quartet, his duo with keyboardist Igor Saulski, Barometer Quintet as well as numerous jazz groups. He worked as a studio musician recording for Studio Melodya and wrote music for films. In 1984, Zoubov settled in Los Angeles, California where he continued to compose and play music.
Over the course of his on going fifty plus year career in music, he’s shared the stage and recorded with Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pete Cristlieb, Paul Gonsalves, Charlie Haden, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Dick Hyman, Keith Jarrett, Milcho Leviev and Russian musicians like Konstantin Bakholdin, Gennadiy Golshtein, German Lukyanov, Konstantin Nosov, Boris Rychkov and so many others.
Saxophonist Alexei Zoubov continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Dale Bruning was born on November 8, 1934 in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. During the 1940s and 1950s he spent time living, working and recording in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. During his tenure in the United States Navy from 1953-57, he was a guitarist and arranger, but when called upon he also played piano, bass, vibes, and percussion.
Leaving the military in 1957 he studied at Temple University, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. He took as many music classes as he could. Concurrently, he studied music and guitar with Dennis Sandole.
1961 saw him as the leader of the house band for The Del Shields Show, a television variety program. In 1964, he and his family moved to Denver. A broken glass accident in 1988 that deeply cut his wrist nearly ended his performing career. Practicing through the pain during the rehabilitative process was rewarded, and Dale has become an even stronger performer.
Equaled by his talent in composing, arranging and educating, during his 65 plus years of private teaching, he has expressed the joy of jazz to more than 1000 students, and has been featured in numerous magazines.
Guitarist, composer, arranger, author and educator Dale Bruning, who lived in Longmont, Colorado from 1994-2017 and now resides in Thornton, Colorado, continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Gordon Brisker was born on November 6, 1937 in Cincinnati, Ohio and began on piano as a child. He studied reed instruments at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Before enrolling in the Berklee College of Music he played with Ralph Marterie Following this he worked with Al Belletto, Bill Berry, and Woody Herman.
Moving to New York City he played with Louie Bellson and Gerry Mulligan. After a short time Brisker returned to Cincinnati, then moved to Los Angeles, California where he worked extensively as a studio musician.
From 1983 to 1985, Gordon taught at Berklee College of Music and during this time also arranged for Herb Pomeroy. After 1985 he returned to Los Angeles, recording extensively with Anita O’Day and Bobby Shew among others. He recorded several albums under his own name.
In the 1990s, Brisker moved to Australia and taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Tenor saxophonist Gordon Brisker died of pancreatic cancer on September 10, 2004 at the age of 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Aladar Pege was born on October 8, 1939 in Budapest, Hungary into a family of Gypsy musicians. He did not start playing the bass until age 15 but he quickly grabbed the attention of his teachers at the Bartók Bela Musical Training College. He studied classical music at Bartók, and worked in dance orchestras. He attended Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and after graduating in 1969 he remained as a double bass teacher.
Forming a jazz quartet in 1963 Pege quickly gained international recognition and in 1964 saw him being named festival Virtuoso at a concert in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Reforming his jazz group in 1970 he appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he was named Europe’s Best Soloist.
Between 1975 and 1978 he lived in Berlin, Germany playing bop and free jazz, but later returned home to teach. Aladar recorded with Walter Norris, and played concerts with Herbie Hancock, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon and Mingus Dynasty. Sue Mingus, the widow of Charles Mingus, gave him one of her late husband’s instruments.
Double bassist Aladar Pege, who was called the Paganini of the bass, died at age 67 on September 23, 2006 in Budapest.
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