Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Maceo Parker was born February 14, 1943 in Kinston, North Carolina and was exposed to music early in life within his family and learned to play the saxophone. He and his brother Melvin, who played drums, joined James Brown in 1964 a relationship that lasted for six year before he left with Melvin and a few other Brown band members to form Maceo & All The King’s Men in 1970.

By ’74 he was back with Brown, charted a party single with Maceo & The Macks, joined Parliament-Funkadelic in the late 70s into the 89s, and then returned once again to James Brown for four years late in the decade. In the 1990s, Parker began his successful solo career releasing ten albums and performing 100 to 150 dates a year.

He has guest appeared on a variety of group’s albums and concerts and turning to jazz recorded “Roots & Grooves” with the WDR Big Band to critical acclaim as a tribute to Ray Charles. The album won a Jammie for best Jazz Album in 2009.

In October 2011 soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. He continues touring throughout the world, headlining the major Jazz Festivals in Europe where his following is at its strongest.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Juini Booth was born Arthur Edward Booth on February 12, 1948 in Buffalo, New York. He began playing piano at about age eight, and switched to bass at 12. He worked with Chuck Mangione in his hometown before moving to New York City around 1966, where he played with Eddie Harris, Art Blakey, Sonny Simmons, Marzette Watts, Freddie Hubbard and Shelley Manne out in Hollywood through the end of the decade.

In the 70s Juini performed with Erroll Garner, Gary Bartz, Charles Brown, Tony Williams and McCoy Tyner and recorded with Larry Young, and with Takehiro Honda and Masabumi Kikuchi during a 1974 tour of Tokyo. He would spend a short period with Hamiett Bluiett, then resettle in Buffalo but worked with Chico Hamilton in Los Angeles and Junior Cook in New York. By the late 70s he played with Elvin Jones and Charles Tolliver.

From 1980 on, he played with Ernie Krivda in Cleveland, as well as locally in Buffalo. He recorded freelance with Beaver Harris, Steve Grossman, Joe Chambers, and Sun Ra among others and currently lives and works in New York City.

Double and electric bassist Juini Booth died on July 11, 2021 at the age of 73.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Sérgio Santos Mendes was born in Niteroi, Rio de Janiero, Brazil on February 11, 1941. S a child he attended the local conservancy with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as the jazz-inflected derivative of samba known as bossa nova emerged.

Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio, recorded Dance Moderna in 1961, toured Europe and the U.S., recorded with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann, played Carnegie Hall and then moved to the States in 1964, cutting two albums for Capitol and Atlantic Records.

Sergio would join the Musicians Union, Create Brasil 65, change the name later to Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, opt not to record Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” which would become a hit for Carlos Santana, release “Mas Que Nada” that would take them platinum. He would record “Look Around” and their fourth album “Fool On A Hill”.

His breakout success was with the performance of Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love” at the 1968 Academy Awards telecast, ultimately becoming the biggest Brazilian star in the world at the time. He would go on to record for Elektra, Bell, A&M and Concord record labels, collaborate with Stevie Wonder, reunite with Lani Hall on the Bond “Never Say Never Again” soundtrack, record with will.i.am and The Black Eyed Peas, Jill Scott, India Arie and others on his Timeless project, win several Grammys over the course of his fifty-five releases and be twice nominated for an Academy Award for the Look of Love and his contributions to the 2011 film “Rio”.

Bandleader, pianist, composer, arranger and songwriter Sergio Mendes died on September 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. He was 83.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ari Brown was born on February 1, 1944. Growing up in Chicago he learned to play the piano and saxophone. He attended Wilson College where he met Jack DeJohnette, Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman.

Brown played piano in R&B and soul bands in the 1960s, then switched to saxophone in 1965. By  1971 he was a member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and was also playing with The Awakening in the early 1970s. In 1974 Ari lost several teeth in a car crash, and temporarily switched to piano again until he recovered.

By the late 1970s he was playing sax once more with McCoy Tyner, Don Patterson and Sonny Stitt. In the 1980s, Brown worked with Lester Bowie, Von Freeman, Bobby Watson and Anthony Braxton. He would later become a member of Kahil El’Zabar’s trio.

As a leader he recorded three albums for Delmark and as a sideman has recorded thirteen sessions with The Awakening, the Ritual Trio, Orbert Davis, the Juba Collective and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. Saxophonist and pianist Ari Brown continues to perform and record.

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bob Moses: The Drummer Who Helped Invent Jazz Fusion
Rakalam Bob Moses was born on January 28, 1948, in New York City, arriving just as bebop was transforming into something even more adventurous. He studied drums throughout his childhood, absorbing the rhythmic complexity of modern jazz, and by the time he was a teenager in 1964, he was already playing professionally with the wildly creative multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk—a baptism by fire that would shape his fearless approach to rhythm.

Pioneering Fusion Before It Had a Name
In 1966, Moses and guitarist Larry Coryell did something revolutionary: they formed the jazz-fusion group Free Spirits, blending jazz improvisation with rock energy and electric instruments at a time when most jazz purists considered such combinations heretical. This was two years before Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way, two years before Tony Williams Lifetime—Free Spirits were genuine pioneers, exploring territory that barely had a map.

The following year, 1967, Moses began a fruitful collaboration with vibraphonist Gary Burton, with whom he would record throughout the 1970s. Burton’s innovative approach to the vibraphone and his openness to musical experimentation made him the perfect partner for Moses’ exploratory drumming.

Finding His Voice as a Leader
Moses released his first album as a leader, Bittersuite, in 1975—a deeply personal statement that showcased his compositional abilities alongside his drumming. This was followed by Devotion in 1979, further establishing him as not just a sideman but a creative force with his own vision.

During this fertile period, he was also a member of Compost, an adventurous ensemble featuring saxophonist Harold Vick, percussionist Jumma Santos, bassist Jack Gregg, and the great drummer Jack DeJohnette. The group explored Afro-Cuban rhythms, modal jazz, and free improvisation—a melting pot that reflected Moses’ wide-ranging musical interests.

A Collaborator’s Collaborator
Moses became the drummer of choice for some of the most forward-thinking musicians of the era. He worked extensively with saxophonist Dave Liebman’s Open Sky ensemble, guitarist Pat Metheny (during his early, more experimental period), pianist Hal Galper, keyboardist Gil Goldstein, bassist Steve Swallow, Swiss bandleader George Gruntz, and the brilliant guitarist Emily Remler—each collaboration revealing different facets of his musical personality.

What united all these partnerships was Moses’ ability to provide both solid grounding and adventurous color, to swing hard when needed but also to explore texture, space, and unconventional rhythmic structures.

Prolific Leadership
From the 1980s into the new millennium, Moses continued recording prolifically as a leader for Gramavision, Amulet, Navarre, Sunny Side, and Jazzwerkstat record labels. Many of these releases received significant critical acclaim, recognized for their compositional depth, rhythmic sophistication, and willingness to take chances.

Unlike some drummers who lead albums that are merely showcases for technique, Moses’ recordings are genuine compositions—thoughtfully constructed pieces that happen to feature exceptional drumming rather than drum solos searching for a musical context.

Still Creating, Still Teaching
Today, Moses continues performing alongside bassist John Lockwood, bassist Don Pate, and keyboardist John Medeski with the noted spiritual jazz guitarist Tisziji Muñoz—explorations that connect to jazz’s mystical, transcendent possibilities.

He also teaches at the prestigious New England Conservatory, where he passes on decades of hard-won knowledge to the next generation of drummers and improvisers. For Moses, teaching isn’t just about technique—it’s about opening young musicians’ ears to possibilities they haven’t yet imagined.

A Legacy of Fearless Exploration
From teenage prodigy playing with Roland Kirk to jazz-fusion pioneer with Free Spirits, from sensitive accompanist with Gary Burton to visionary bandleader with dozens of albums under his own name, Bob Moses has spent over six decades refusing to be categorized, refusing to play it safe, and refusing to believe that drums are merely a timekeeper.

He’s proven that the drum kit can be a melodic instrument, a textural palette, a conversational partner, and a compositional tool—all while never losing sight of the fundamental groove that makes jazz music move and breathe.

That’s not just a career—that’s a lifetime of pushing boundaries and expanding what’s possible behind the kit.

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