Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alicia Cunningham was born Alicia Rodriguez of Mexican heritage on October 5, 1946 in Los Angeles, California. A classically trained vocalist and pianist, she worked in the L.A. studios and as an educator at Loyola University in her early years.
Meeting her husband Don was fortuitous when he moved to Los Angeles in the early 70s. Their combination of his jazz-influenced energetic singing style and Alicia’s fluid, clear and lyrical sound, established a solid reputation. This would lead to a tour with Count Basie in Europe for five months at major events and jazz festivals in England and Switzerland.
She was an intricate and melodic harmonizer and arranger and paired with the Cunningham stage presentation, they offered enormous panache. They not only kept her hometown audiences satisfied but they traveled around the country and the world thrilling listeners in Europe, Canada, Singapore, Brazil, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea.
In 2012, they released their final album together titled Sao Paulo Lights that was recorded in Brazil. In the autumn of 2014, Alicia made her last performance in St. Louis when Don received a St. Louis Jazz Hall of Fame Award.
Vocalist Alicia Cunningham, who sang hard jazz, transitioned in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 23, 2014 at the age of 68 after battling cancer for a year.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rebecca Kilgore was born September 24, 1949 and grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts honing her voice. By the age of thirty she left the East Coast for the West, settling in Portland, Oregon. She began her music career fronting an area swing band dubbed the Wholly Cats and recorded a 1982 LP titled Doggin’ Around. Following the group’s 1984 breakup, she formed her own unit, the Rebecca Kilgore Quintet, and quickly became a mainstay of the Northwest jazz scene. In 1989 she released the cassette-only I Hear Music.
She has recorded twenty-two albums as a leader, performing and/or recording a total of 21 with jazz pianist Dave Frishberg, trombonist Dan Barrett, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, BED, the Wholly Cats and numerous other musicians. In 2010 she was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame
Vocalist Rebecca Kilgore, who has been slated as one of the best interpreters of the Great American Songbook, continues to perform locally in her Northwest home as well as worldwide at jazz festivals, cruises and other venues.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Fred Hess was born in Abington, Pennsylvania on September 3, 1944 but was raised in New Jersey. He studied at Trenton State College with his early studies with saxophonist Phil Woods, a stint with bandleader Fred Waring, and composing music for the world premiere of a Sam Shepard play.
As a composer, his influences encompass avant-garde classical sources, as well as Anthony Braxton and the members of the AACM. Moving to Boulder, Colorado in 1981, he founded the Boulder Creative Music Ensemble. Fred then completed further studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, taking his doctorate in composition in 1991.
He recorded his debut album Sweet Thunder in 1991 and by 2012 had sixteen albums as a leader in his catalog. He was the Director of Music Composition at Metro State College in Denver, Colorado.
In addition to his own projects as a leader, BCME, The Fred Hess Group and the Fred Hess Big Band, he was the founding director of Denver’s Creative Music Works Orchestra and was a member of drummer Ginger Baker’s Denver Jazz Quintet, as well as ensembles led by trumpeter Ron Miles.
His playing was influenced by Lester Young, John Coltrane, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and Eric Dolphy. Tenor saxophonist Fredd Hess transitioned on October 27, 2018.
Bestow upon an inquiring mind a dose of a Abington saxophonist to motivate the perusal of the genius of jazz musicians worldwide whose gifts contribute to the canon…
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bryan Spring was born on August 24, 1945 in London, England. A self-taught drummer beginning at the age of six, he later studied with Philly Joe Jones. He led and co-led his own trios and quartets from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s with Don Weller and also Art Themen.
The new millennium saw Bryan collaborating with Mark Edwards and Andy Cleyndert. He has been a member of Bill Le Sage’s Bebop Preservation Society, Alan Skidmore’s Quartet, Klaus Doldinger’s Passport, and various line-ups led by Stan Tracey.
He has worked with other leading British jazz musicians, including Tubby Hayes, Dick Morrissey, Bobby Wellins, as well as accompanying American musicians, notably George Coleman and Charlie Rouse, when they were visiting the UK.
Drummer Bryan Spring, who is sometimes credited as Brian and has led/co-led two recording sessions and played on eighteen as a sideman, continues to be active on the jazz scene.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Wik Horn was born on August 9, 1943 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Classically trained piano education for 4 years starting at 10, when he was 14 he started to play classic jazz with his younger brother trumpeter Fred.
After playing in several school bands he formed his first real band in 1965,The Court Town Rhythm Kings. The band played authentic old jazz in the way of Oliver, Morton, early Armstrong, Williams, Beiderbecke and Half Way House.
The band broke up in 1972 due to moving members and Wik moved from The Hague to resettle in Amsterdam. There along with his brother they founded in 1973 as Madam Zenja and Her Jazz Horns in 1973, together with singer Zenja Damm, recording two albums, Changes and Was It A Dream. From 1974 to 1980 he was president of the oldest and famous Jazzclub in Holland, the Haarlemse Jazz Club. Many of the great American musicians who came to Europe and Amsterdam performed there.
Settling in the little village of Leiderdorp between Amsterdam and The Hague, he spent some time in advertising and public relations. He started the jazz club De Wagenschuur from 1984 to 1994 and a new band, Swingin’ Crash, that started as a little swing ensemble but grew within a year into a small big band.
He went on to write charts and arrangements for the band and well as compose, song texts and write a little booklet for special occasions like the 60th anniversary of the The Hague Jazz Club. Pianist Wik Horn retired but has continued to have a life filled with music, writing and painting.
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