Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eddie Benitez was born on November 12, 1956 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and his family moved to Europe soon after his birth for his father’s work. Raised in Italy and Spain, the family returned to the U.S. when he was nine and settled in Brooklyn, New York. He formed his first band at age twelve and began competing and winning local battles of the bands in Brooklyn. It was at one such battle of the bands where he was discovered by an AR person from Fania Records. Soon after the teenage guitarist was signed to the label.
Playing his first concert at Marcala la paz Honduras in front of 20,000 fans soon after joining the label in 1976, his performance with his band Nebula and the Fania All Stars marked the beginning of his early rise to fame as a guitarist. His debut release Nightlife was followed six months later with Essence of Life. He would later perform with such stars as Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaría.
His musical style began with Latin jazz as part of the Fania family, and would later incorporate smooth jazz and world music styles. His performing career came to a sudden halt at the age of 23 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, changing his life forever. Surviving cancer he took time off to reflect on life and spirituality and throughout his life Benitez has claimed to have had many spiritual visions, including those that occurred while overcoming a heart attack and an unexplained three-day coma.
He returned to performing with a private concert in Phoenix, Arizona in 2003 and it was there that reports that some in attendance saw mysterious beings, some would claim they were angels, on the stage with Benitez when he performed. That event gave rise to the title of his book and his tour.
Guitarist Eddie Benitez transitioned on January 17, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Boutté was born November 3, 1958 in New Orleans, Louisiana into a 7th Ward Creole-Catholic family. Exposed to the local culture such as Mardi Gras parades and jazz funerals since childhood, he also grew up listening to the music of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and the like. He played trumpet and cornet in marching bands in his junior high and high school days. During this time, he also formed an a cappella group and sang on the streets.
Studying business at Xavier University of Louisiana, Boutté was in ROTC and after graduation was commissioned in the U.S. Army, serving for four years. Returning home he worked at a credit union until he met Stevie Wonder, then decided to seriously become a professional singer. He soon joined his sister Lillian on her tour to Europe, and his professional career started.
In 1993 John released his debut album titled Through the Eyes of a Child. The following year he was featured on his sister’s live album, Gospel United, released in 1994. He was the featured guest vocalist on Cuban group Cubanismo!’s Mardi Gras Mambo, recorded in New Orleans.
In recent years, Boutté has been working with ex-Cowboy Mouth guitarist and singer Paul Sanchez which led to a collaborative effort Stew Called New Orleans released in 2009. He was also featured on John Scofield’s 2009 album, Piety Street, singing the lead on three tracks.
His Treme Song on his Jambalaya album is the theme song of HBO’s series, Treme. He appears in several episodes of the show’s Seasons 1, 2, and 3.
Vocalist John Boutté, who is known for his diverse music style that goes beyond jazz to R&B, gospel, Latin, and blues, continues to perform.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ernest Dawkins was born November 2, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois. As a child he was a neighbor of Anthony Braxton as a child. He played bass and drums early in life before switching to saxophone in 1973.
During that decade he began studying with Joseph Jarman and Chico Freeman, members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. He also studied at Vandercook College of Music.
He worked with Ed Wilkerson and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Douglas Ewart before founding his own New Horizons Ensemble. The ensemble played regularly in Chicago into the new century, as well as at jazz festivals and on tour in Europe.
As a leader he recorded sixteen albums, three as an unofficial leader/co-leader of The (AACM) Great Black Music Ensemble and as a guest with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble.
Saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, who is principally active in free jazz and post-bop, continues to perform, record and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Terri England was born on October 24, 1956 in South Texas, England into a family of musicians, artists, and entrepreneurs. At six years of age she took an interest in playing guitar that would never wane, while also receiving extensive classical training on piano and cello. During formal education her immersion in both art and music proved to be valuable experiences strongly influencing her later development as an independent artist.
Her orchestral activities would teach her to create dynamic, musical arrangements that take the listener on a stimulating sonic journey. Her debut album, Tone Of The Tropics, is a mix of high energy tunes and melodies backed by samba, bossa nova and batucada rhythms from Brazil and booty-shakin’ Latin beats. Using a Brazilian guitar fingerstyle technique, England conveys a refreshing economy of expression that allows her music to breathe while flowing above rich harmonies and tight, syncopated rhythms.
Recording and mixing in her own studio, Terri blends bass, drums and percussion, as well as unexpected tempo changes on a few tunes. She releases her recordings through her publishing company, Inglaterra Música.
Guitarist, composer and arranger Terri England continues to produce original music by combining cool Brazilian and Latin rhythms, jazz highlights and classical orchestral arrangements.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jan Gunnar Hoff was born in Bodø, Norway on October 22, 1958. A graduate of the Teachers’ College in his hometown and Bergen, Norway, he pursued further education in the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium under Terje Bjørklund for three years starting in 1986. He trained in composition at Norges Musikkhøgskole in 2001.
He had his jazz debut with his own trio on Ad Lib Jazzklubb in 1976. Hoff’s background includes classical piano, progressive rock, pop and jazz. Over the course of his career Hoff has released 21 recordings as solo artist and co-leader, fifty-seven as a sideman, and has composed 250 works for different settings.
He has received several awards for his music including a US Grammy nomination for the album Quiet Winter Night. Hoff’s quartet album Fly North with Marilyn Mazur, Anders Jormin and Arve Henriksen was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, Spellemannpris 2014. He received the highest distinction in Norwegian Jazz, the Buddy-award and became a Steinway Artist.
He is a professor at the University of Tromsø and the University of Agder. He co-founded The Groove Valley JazzCamp in Beiarn, Norway and was artistic director for TGV Jazz camp from 2005 to 2009. Hoff also initiated Bodø Jazz Open which was launched in 2011, where he was artistic leader and festival head until 2020.
Pianist, composer, arranger and professor Jan Hoff, who has worked with Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Alex Acuña, Karin Krog, Maria João, Marilyn Mazur, Gary Novak and Arild Andersen among numerous others.
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