Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Judi Marie Canterino was born on December 18, 1942 in New York City, New York. She began her musical training at the age of seven with classical piano and performed at the Juilliard School of Music through her thirteenth year. Then she turned her studies to voice, training classically through high school.
At 19 she turned her attention to jazz singing and was introduced to Lennie Tristano, with whom she began studying. As part of my jazz training, she would listen to Lennie Tristano perform at the Half Note. Early in her career she sat-in at the club with Zoot Sims, Al Cohen, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Tate, Bud Johnson, Jimmy Rushing, Van Dickenson, Major Holly, Milt Hinten, Doc Cheatham, Roy Eldridge, Ross Thompkins, Bobby Hackett and others.
Her style came from mentorship of those previously mentioned and the influences of singers Jimmy Rushing, Billie Holiday, Maxine Sullivan, Rosemary Clooney, Anita O’Day and Frank Sinatra. She took time off from performing to raise a family but remained active in the jazz world, resuming her career with guitarist Joe Puma. She’s appeared around New York and New Jersey.
I have been working with jazz greats Warren Vache, Scott Hamilton, Norman Simmons, Chuck Folds, Clark Terry, Mark Shane, Rio Clemente, Joe Cocuzzo, Phil Bodner, Spanky Davis, Bucky Pizzarelli, Kenny Daverne, Kenny Asher and before their deaths, the great Doc Cheatham and Red Richards.
Her debut as a leader was titled Gee Baby and her sophomore project is Live At Maureen’s jazz Cellar. Vocalist Judi Marie Canterino, the Swing Jazz Singer, is still taking the stage to this day.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jim Hession was born on December 10, 1947 in Pasadena, California, where he studied piano with composer Oscar Rasbach. By the time he turned twenty he was a fixture in the traditional jazz scene, with his incredibly accurate two-handed piano style. He was a founding member of the Maple Leaf Club, receiving his degree in composition from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he studied under Paul Chihara and Lalo Schifrin.
Jim met and began recording with Eubie Blake and while recording with Eubie Blake in New York City he began exploring more contemporary jazz venues, while retaining his handle on traditional jazz styles like ragtime, stride and boogie-woogie.
He met his future wife Martha while they were attending UCLA, where she was studying piano and voice. She began singing professionally with Jim and started a professional association with the Walt Disney Company in 1967 until relocating to the Gulf Coast in 2003.
Over the years they have performed with such luminaries as Teddy Wilson, Al Hirt, Bob Crosby, Johnny Guarnieri, Max Morath, Shelton Brooks, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, and Disney songwriters the Sherman Brothers. They have acquired an incredible knowledge of the history of American music and hold 85,000+ pieces, one of the largest privately-held collections of original sheet music in the United States.
They have lectured at many colleges and educational venues across the country. The couple have performed as a jazz duo, headlined the American Jazz Quintet, appeared on television, produced stage shows, and historical lectures. Pianist Jim Hession and Martha Hession continue to bring a level of talent and versatility not often found on the music scene.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bob Smith was born on December 9, 1945 in Columbus, Ohio and was the first child of a young pair of Swing Kids. Growing up he listened to the radio and records playing big band instrumentals and vocals. He became familiar with Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and the Andrews Sisters in the family’s Ohio State University campus area apartment.
By the time he turned ten he had rented a metal clarinet from a local shop and started his entrance into the music industry. Two years later Bob began lessons on the clarinet with David Hite and at Columbus Linden-McKinley high school joined the dance band by learning to play baritone saxophone. This was followed by the purchase of a Selmer Mark VI alto and fell in love.
Attracting national attentionhe as a member of the dance band in 1961-62 the band was invited those two years to the Stan Kenton National Stage Band Camps as a featured guest band. They enjoyed the thrills of being rehearsed by Stan Kenton, Buddy DeFranco, Buddy Morrow, John LaPorta, Don Jacoby, Buddy Baker and others. Then Kenton and DeFranco took them to Chicago’s McCormick Place to perform for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Directors Convention.
At the Ohio State University School of Music he majored in Music Education and alto saxophone was his major instrument. Smith added bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, tenor and bass saxes to his arsenal of instruments.
He taught instrumental music in southern and northwest Ohio and privately in Columbus and Toledo, Ohio. Along with being an educator Bob spent the majority of his working career in business sales, retiring in 2008. Over the decades alto saxophonist Bob Smith has played in numerous big bands in Ohio and currently performs in Toledo’s Swingmania All-Stars, a band that never recorded an album or a song.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Andy LaVerne was born on December 4, 1947 in New York City, and studied at Juilliard School of Music, Berklee College, and the New England Conservatory. He also took private lessons from jazz pianist Bill Evans.
LaVerne has worked with Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton, Michael Brecker and Elvin Jones. As a leader he has recorded more than 50 albums including a duo with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi.
An educator, Andy has released a series of instructional videos, Guide to Modern Jazz Piano, Vols. 1 &, 2, and Jazz Piano Standards, and In Concert with guitarist John Abercrombie.
He has authored several books that has included his own compositions as well as the Handbook of Chord Substitutions, Tons of Runs, Bill Evans Compositions 19 Solo Piano Arrangements, and is the pianist on The Chick Corea Play-Along Collection. He is a frequent contributor to several jazz, music and piano publications.
Besides receiving being a recipient of several fellowships and awards, holding numerous clinics, masterclasses and performances worldwide, pianist Andy LaVerne currently is Professor of Jazz Piano at The Hartt School on the campus of the University of Hartford in Connecticut and on the faculty of the Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Terry Plumeri was born John Terryl Plumeri on November 28, 1944 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and grew up in Tampa, Florida. He began studying music when he was 10 and while attending Chamberlain High School, he was introduced to the double bass by band director Robert Price. He went on to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, studying with Robert Brennand, then the principal bassist in the New York Philharmonic. Later, he studied composition and conducting with Antal Doráti.
During his military service, Terry was a member of the Air Force Band. After his discharge he played with among others John Abercrombie, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman, Quincy Jones, Yusef Lateef, Les McCann, Wayne Shorter, Frank Sinatra, Ralph Towner, and Joe Williams.
He performed, toured, and recorded with Roberta Flack from 1969 to 1974, playing electric and acoustic bass. He appears on the albums Chapter Two, Quiet Fire, Killing Me Softly, and wrote the song Conversation Love on the latter album.
Moving to Los Angeles, California to work in the film industry, Terry wrote the music for over 50 feature films, and his score for the film One False Move was nominated for Best Score by the IFC Independent Spirit Awards. In later years, he was guest conductor for the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and was a frequent guest lecturer, teacher, music producer, and photographer.
Double bassist, classical and film score composer, orchestra conductor, lecturer, teacher, and producer, and composer Terry Plumeri was murdered by burglars during a home invasion on March 31, 2016 in Dunnellon, Florida. He was 71.
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