Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Dave Samuels was born on October 9, 1948 in Illinois. He started his musical career on the drums at age six, attended the New Trier High school in Winnetka, Illinois, known for its superb arts and music programs. He graduated from Boston University with a psychology degree but by this time he was studying mallet instruments.
Samuels next matriculated through Berklee College of Music where he studied under Gary Burton. The vibraphonist first worked with guitarist Pat Metheny and John Scofield while in Boston, then toured with Gerry Mulligan and played with various groups early in his career such as Timepiece, Double Image and Frank Zappa.
In 1979 Dave began recording with Spyro Gyra but it wasn’t until seven years later that he became a member of the group and one of the soloists. His recordings as a leader have been commercial but since leaving Spyro Gyra in the 90s and taking a slot in the Grammy-winning Latin jazz music group Caribbean Jazz Project, one can witness some very impressive output.
Vibraphonist Dave Samuels has worked with Eddie Palmieri in tribute to Cal Tjader, Andy Narrell and Paquito D’Rivera among others. He has taught at his alma mater, Berklee School of Music and continues to perform, record and tour.
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Hollywood On 52nd Street
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening enters into jazz history from the creative minds that scored the music and lyrics, Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson, respectively. Taken from the 1944 musical film Higher and Higher starring Michele Morgan, Jack Haley and Frank Sinatra. Written It is loosely based on the 1940 Broadway musical written by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan. The film version diverges significantly from its source.
The Story: The household staff of millionaire Cyrus Drake hasn’t been paid for months when his bankruptcy is announced. With the wife and daughter of Cyrus on a long trip abroad, a scheme is formed to pass off the attractive young maid Millie as the socialite daughter, Pamela Drake, and marry her off to a rich man so there’ll be money for all.
The valet, Mike O’Brien, helps with the transformation, unaware that Millie is secretly in love with him. Asked if she’d ever been courted, Millie mentions that she likes the way a young man next door sometimes sings to her. His name is Frank.
The social secretary Sandy begins to teach Millie the proper etiquette and how to walk and talk like a debutante. At a coming-out ball, where Georgia Keating, a high-society friend of the Drakes, wants her daughter Katherine to be considered the most desirable deb, Millie is nudged toward Sir Victor Fitzroy, a nobleman she should marry.
No one there knows Victor can’t even pay his hotel bill. He’s hoping to catch a rich girl to pay off his own debts. Millie isn’t in love, but agrees to marry him for everyone’s sake. Mike mistakenly thinks she’s in love with Frank, so he helps Millie get out of the wedding at the last minute. To his surprise, Frank ends up paired up with Katherine, which frees Mike and Millie to finally begin their romance.
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Daily Dose OF Jazz…
Donny Edward Hathaway was born on October 1, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois and was raised by his grandmother in the projects of St. Louis, Missouri. He began singing at age three in a church choir with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer. Graduating from high school he studied music at Howard University. Forming a jazz trio to work around D.C. but left Howard in 1967 without a degree, after receiving job offers in the music business.
Hathaway worked as songwriter, session musician and producer in Chicago at Twinight Records, arranged for The Unifics, worked with the Staple Singers, Jerry Butler, Aretha Franklin, The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield. He became house producer for Curtom Records, recorded as a member of the Mayfield Singers and dropped his first single “The Ghetto” in 1970. He recorded several albums following this debut.
Donny went on to contribute to soundtracks, recorded the theme to the TV series Maude, composed and conducted the soundtrack for the 1972 film Come Back Charleston Blue and wrote several hits such as his collaboration with Roberta Flack – Where Is The Love – that garnered them both a Grammy and This Christmas that has become a seminal holiday song.
However, genius has its detractors and during the best part of his career he began to suffer from severe bouts of depression and was found suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. On January 13, 1979 the body of Donny Hathaway was discovered on the sidewalk outside the luxury Central Park South hotel Essex House in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Vic Juris was born Victor E. Jurusz, Jr. on September 26, 1953 in New Jersey and started to play guitar around age 10, inspired by rock and roll legend Chuck Berry. He was self taught and played in many local rock and R&B bands around New Jersey as soon as he could.
Not long after he started playing professionally did he discover jazz and classical music and from then on it was a love affair with jazz. With an impeccable fluid approach to harmony and accompaniment, great writing style, a nice “blend” within the band, phenomenal chops, unique phrasing, advanced rhythmic ideas and concepts for improvisation Juris easily gained the respect of jazz musicians on the circuit and was not at a loss for work.
In the early 70s Vic played with Lyn Christie, made his first recordings with Eric Kloss, then joined Barry Miles working with him well into the Eighties. He recorded with Richie Cole, released his first album as a leader in the late 70s, and played with Don Patterson, Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Smith, and Mel Torme.
He put together his own quartet in 1981, recorded for Muse and Steeplechase record labels, then became increasingly in demand as a sideman working with Bireli Lagrene, Larry Coryell, Dave Liebman, Jeanie Bryson, Gary Peacock, Judi Silvano, Lee Konitz and the list goes on.
As an educator Juris has held teaching positions at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Mason Gross School of the Arts, William Patterson and Lehigh Universities. Also a composer, his “Horizon Drive” was sampled in 1994 by Gang Starr on their Mass Appeal song. Guitarist and educator Vic Juris continued to perform, record and teach until his transition on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2019 in Livingston, New Jersey at the age of 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Steve Coleman was born on born September 20, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in the musically rich Southside. As a child, he was in little singing groups, imitating the Jackson 5, singing in church and he started playing alto saxophone at the age of 14. About three years later he began to study the music of Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane and other masters.
He spent two years at Illinois Wesleyan University, transferred to Roosevelt University to concentrate on Chicago’s musical nightlife, having been introduced to Chicago premier saxophonists Von Freeman, Bunky Green and Sonny Stitt are just a few names from whom he learned.
Moving to New York in 1978 he joined the big bands of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Slide Hampton, Sam Rivers, and Cecil Taylor and was soon recording as a sideman with David Murray, Doug Hammond, Dave Holland, Mike Brecker and Abbey Lincoln. During this period he was playing the club circuit and putting a band together that would evolve into the Five Elements. He would go on to cofound the M Base movement with Cassandra Wilson and Greg Osby.
Influenced by Parker and Coltrane, gleaning improvisation from Von Freeman, composition from Sam Rivers and conceptual thinking from Doug Hammond, the alto saxophonist has added to his arsenal West African music, non-western cultures, Black American rhythm and blues and even nature by studying the flight patterns of bees. Steve Coleman continues to perform, record and tour and compose within the construct of contemporary jazz.
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