Jazz Poems
THELONIOUS SPHERE MONK
Cold, the day you leave
you can use that hat.
Ahh Monk, the station fades
as the suburbs begin
you bent the notes right
they will not lose their ring.
I see your shuffle dance
up from the 5 Spot piano
and hear you, wordless, sing.
BILL CORBETT
from Jazz Poems ~ Selected and Edited by Kevin Young
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Bill Ohashi was born on March 29, 1949 in New York City, New York. His formative years were spent learning at Julliard, Mannes College, U. of PA, Berkley School of Music, and bandstands in NYC, New England and the southern corridor. He was making the jam session rounds in the city with jazz legends Kenny Dorham, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Mingus, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Henderson, Jaki Bayard, Carla Bley, George Cables, Lenny White, Billie Cobham and Art Blakey’s Messengers, among others.
Bill’s early work was with Willie Colon, Eddie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Machito, Slide Hampton, Chuck Israels, Chico O’Farrill, Joe Farrell, Elvin Jones, Bruce Fowler, Ray Charle’s Big Band, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Charlie Mingus, Gil Evans, as well as Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Eddie Kendricks & The Temptations, Franki Valli & The Four Seasons, Marvin Gaye, The Spinners, Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, Jay & the Americans, Yoko Ono, The O’Jays & Stevie Wonder.
After a brief to move to the west coast and a short hiatus from playing, the legendary Ray Charles wisely gave Bill the opportunity to join his band on the road for about a year, bringing Bill back into the working music scene; Bill subsequently toured Europe three times with Lionel Hampton, playing around NYC and began his own record label, EAR Records, Inc.
As an educator he taught at NYC’s Third St. Music School, Henry St. Settlement, Boy’s Harbor, New England Conservatory, Metropolitan School of Music and others. Trombonist Bill Ohashi, who subs on Saturday Night Live, continues to perform and record.
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Barry Miles was born Barry Miles Silverlight on March 28, 1947 in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1956 he joined the musicians union at age nine as a child prodigy on drums, piano and vibraphone appearing with Miles Davis and John Coltrane among other talents of the day. He appeared live and on television shows including To Tell the Truth, Dick Van Dyke’s variety show, and The Andy Williams Show.
In 1961 at age fourteen he made his solo artist debut recording, “Miles of Genius”, as drummer and composer with sidemen Al Hall and Duke Jordan. Miles continued to perform with his own band in the early 1960s in which he composed the material that enabled up and coming talents such as Woody Shaw, Eddie Gómez and Robin Kenyatta to display their talents.
While a student at Princeton University he concentrated on his piano playing, recording a live album in 1966 entitled Barry Miles Presents His Syncretic Compositions. He followed in 1969 with the eponymously titled album, Barry Miles, incorporating electric instruments.
The Seventies saw him recruiting his brother Terry Silverlight on drums along with guitarists Pat Martino and John Abercrombie to record his White Heat album, which is regarded as one of the pioneering fusion jazz recordings. For the next decade, Miles recorded several albums in which he developed the principle of fusing styles together in jazz.
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Barry went on to work as Roberta Flack’s musical director for a stint that lasted fifteen years. During that time he composed, produced and recorded songs that Flack recorded in the film Bustin’ Loose, and on her album Oasis. He established a long-lasting relationship with Al Di Meola as his performing, recording and co-producing keyboardist.
He wrote the instruction book, “Twelve Themes With Improvisations”, and is currently out of print. In 2013, he released Home and Away, Volume One, his first album as a leader in 27 years. Pianist, record producer and author Barry Miles continues to perform, record and produce.
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Robert Philip Militello a.k.a. Bobby M. was born on March 25, 1950 in Buffalo, New York. He was groomed by the legendary Sam Scamacca at Buffalo’s iconic Lafayette High School in the 1960s.
During the Seventies, Militello went on tour with Maynard Ferguson and returned to Buffalo in the early 1980s to work as a freelance musician.
Moving to Los Angeles, California he spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s as a member of orchestras led by Bill Holman and Bob Florence. He toured and recorded with Dave Brubeck from 1982 to 2012.
Saxophonist and flautist Bobby Militello leads a quartet that performs concerts dedicated to Brubeck.
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Jon Ivar Christensen was born March 20, 1943 in Oslo, Norway. In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell. He also was a central participant in the jazz band Masqualero, with Arild Andersen, and they reappeared in 2003 for his 60th anniversary.
He appears on many recordings on the ECM label with such artists as Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Bobo Stenson, Eberhard Weber, Ralph Towner, including the seminal 1975 Solstice, Barre Phillips, Arild Andersen, Enrico Rava, John Abercrombie, Michael Mantler, Miroslav Vitous, Rainer Brüninghaus, Charles Lloyd, Dino Saluzzi Jakob Bro, and Tomasz Stanko.
Christensen was a member of the Keith Jarrett “European Quartet” of the 1970s, along with Jan Garbarek and Palle Danielsson, which produced five jazz recordings on ECM Records.
Drummer Jon Christensen died on February 18, 2020, at the age of 76 in his hometown.
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