Requisites

Once Upon A Summertime is an album by Blossom Dearie, recorded and released in 1959 on Verve Records. The third in a series of six albums recorded by the vocalist for the label.

When Norman Granz called and asked Blossom to make another album with Tom Nola, he had Ray Brown playing bass, Mundell Lowe playing guitar, and Ed Thigpen playing drums.e told her she could pick the songs and write the arrangements so how could a girl go wrong? So, by twisting my arm a few times he seemed to persuade her to go ahead with it… even though she says, she resisted stubbornly.

The lineup of compositions are: Tea For Two, The Surrey With the Fringe On Top, Moonlight Saving Time, It Amazes Me, If I Were a Bell, We’re Together, Teach Me Tonight, Once Upon a Summertime, Down With Love, Manhattan, Doop-Doo-De-Doop (A Doodlin’ Song) and Our Love is Here to Stay.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Conrad Herwig was born Lee Conrad Herwig III on November 1, 1959 in Lawton, Oklahoma. He graduated from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, where he performed in the One O’Clock Lab Band, attended Goddard College and Queens College, CUNY.

He began his career in Clark Terry’s band in the early 1980s and has gone on  to be a featured member in the Joe Henderson Sextet, Tom Harrell’s Septet and Big Band, and the Joe Lovano Nonet and featured as a soloist on the latter’s Grammy Award winning 52nd Street Themes.

He performs and records with Eddie Palmieri’s La Perfecta II and Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet, Michel Camilo’s 3+3, the Mingus Big Band (often serving as musical director, and was an arranger on the 2007 Grammy nominated Live at the Tokyo Blue Note, the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra, and Jeff “Tain” Watts Family Reunion Band, among many others.

He has recorded several highly acclaimed projects in the Afro-Caribbean jazz genre, including the Grammy nominated albums the Latin Side of Joe Henderson featuring Joe Lovano for Half Note Records, the Latin Side of Wayne Shorter, Another Kind of Blue: The Latin Side of Miles Davis, and, the Latin Side of John Coltrane. Conrad has worked with Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Valentin, Eddie Palmieri, and Randy Brecker. He has been voted No. 1 Jazz Trombonist three times in the Downbeat Jazz Critics’ Poll and nominated for Trombonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association on multiple occasions.

He has conducted master classes, seminars and workshops at hundreds of universities and conservatories around the world and has received  performance and teaching grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Trombonist Conrad Herwig is a professor of jazz trombone, jazz improvisation and jazz composition and arrangement at Rutgers University, was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Trombone Association and continues to compose, perform and record.

DOUBLE IMPACT FITNESS

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Trilok Gurtu was born in Mumbai, India on October 30, 1951 to Hindu Brahmin parents and attended Don Bosco High School. His mother, singer Shobha Gurtu, encouraged him to learn playing tabla, and he studied playing the instrument under Shah Abdul Karim. He didn’t  begin playing western drum kit in the 1970s and developed an interest in jazz, and played played with Charlie Mariano, John Tchicai, Terje Rypdal, and Don Cherry.

One of Trilok’s earliest recordings was around 1977 in the record Apo-Calypso in an album of the German ethnic fusion band, Embryo. His mother also sang in that record, and later joined him in his first solo CD, Usfret. In the 1980s, Gurtu played with Swiss drummer Charly Antolini, John McLaughlin, Jonas Hellborg, Kai Eckhardt, Dominique DiPiazza and opened for Miles Davis in Berkeley, California in 1988. He went on to play and record three albums with Oregon after the death of drummer Collin Walcott. In the early 1990s he resumed his career as a solo artist and a bandleader.

In 1999, Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell founded a musical group, Tabla Beat Science, bringing Trilok, Karsh Kale and Talvin Singh into the fold. Before going dormant in late 2003 they released three albums. He went on to record the album, Miles Gurtu, with Robert Miles, collaborate with the Arkè String Quartet and perform with Ricky Portera, Nick Beggs, Mario Marzi, Terl Bryant, John De Leo.

Percussionist, drummer and composer Trilok Gurtu has won awards from DRUM! Magazine, Carlton Television Multicultural Music Awards, Down Beat’s Critics Poll and has been nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World and continues to perform, compose, record and tour.

GRIOTS GALLERY

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Requisites

Blue Serge is an album by jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, that was released by Capitol Records in 1956. It was recorded on March 14 and 16, 1956 at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California. The session included pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

The album is comprised of eight tunes and among the recognizable standards are a Serge original and an Al Cohn composition.  Leading off the session is A Handful Of Stars, followed by The Goof and I (Cohn), Thanks For The Memory, All The Things You Are, I’ve Got The World On A string, Susie’s Blues (Chaloff), Stairway To The Stars and How About You.

This album exhibits plenty of improvisation and melodic variations to make this an important session and has been added to the Penguin Guide and Definitive Records “Core Collection” with a four star rating.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Barbara Sfraga was born on October 28, 1956 in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. Pursuing her vocal talent she attended Long Island University from 1974-76 before moving to Connecticut, attending the University of Bridgeport from 1976-78 and majoring in classical voice.

After discovering the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Anita O’Day, she became seriously interested in jazz singing. This was soon followed with her discovery of the innovations of Mark Murphy, Betty Carter and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and in the 1980s, she began singing jazz in New York clubs.

In 1996, Barbara founded In Concert with our Community, an organization whose initial goal was using cultural events to raise funds for children’s organizations. 1998 saw her recording her debut album as a leader titled Oh, What A Thrill, bringing in guests as Mark Murphy, who wrote the liner notes and pianist Fred Hersch.

In 2003, her sophomore album, Under the Moon, was released by the Chicago-based A440 label. the risk-taking jazz vocalist and lyricist Barbara Sfraga, who sings in the avant-garde and post bop genres, continues to perform, tour and write.

BRONZE LENS

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