Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Frank Vignola was born December 30, 1965 in Long Island, New York where his father played accordion and banjo and his brother plays trumpet. When he was five, he picked up the guitar, learning from his father and from records by Django Reinhardt, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Pass, and Johnny Smith. At 12 he started on the banjo, and two years later he won a national championship in Canada.
He studied guitar at the Cultural Arts Center and early in his career, he went to used record stores to buy albums by musicians whose work he didn’t know, so that he could study their music. 1987, when he was 23, saw Frank forming the Hot Club quintet, named after the Quintette du Hot Club de France. In the early 1990s, a move to New York City he was playing in groups with Max Morath, Andy Stein, Herman Foster, Joe Ascione, and tuba player Sam Pilafian.
Vignola formed the Concord Jazz Collective with veteran guitarists Howard Alden and Jimmy Bruno and has worked with includes Leon Redbone, Ken Peplowski, Susannah McCorkle, Charlie Byrd, Joey DeFrancesco, Gene Bertoncini, Johnny Frigo, Bucky Pizzarelli, Wynton Marsalis, David Grisman, Jane Monheit, Mark O’Connor, and Donald Fagen.
He has recorded two dozen albums as a leader, recorded another 50+ as a sideman, has written over fifteen instructional books for Mel Bay, produced several instructional DVDs, and teaches courses over the internet. Sadly, in May 2017, guitarist Frank Vignola was in a serious ATV accident where he was thrown into a tree, sustaining numerous injuries. In November of 2017, friend and fellow guitarist Tommy Emmanuel posted an update on Vignola’s status, stating that he would be unable to play the guitar and may only recover after many surgeries and a long period of physical therapy.
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One For Lady was a 1977 recording session led by vocalist Kimiko Kasai, with pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Yoshio Suzuki and drummer Hiroshi Murakami . It was released the following year originally on the Catalyst International label out of Japan.
The albums consists of the eight recognizable and memorable compositions: Don’t Explain, My Man, Some Other Day, Willow Weep For Me, Yesterdays, Lover Man, You’re My Thrill and Left Alone.
The album design is by Keijiro Kubota, photography by Takashi Arihara, the producer/recording director was Tetsuya Shimoda and the recording engineer was Hideo Takada
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Soul Fountain is an album featuring saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1966 and but not released on the Atlantic Records subsidiary Vortex label until 1970.
All compositions were composed by Clifford Jordan with the exception as noted: T.N.T. composed by Ben Tucker, Grady Tate and Bob Dorough, I’ve Got a Feeling for You, H.N.I.C. composed by Tate and Tucker, I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown, Caribbean Cruise, Señor Blues by Horace Silver, Eeh Bah Lickey Doo and Retribution composed by Abbey Lincoln.
The personnel included Clifford Jordan on tenor saxophone, flute, piano, Jimmy Owens – trumpet, flugelhorn, Julian Priester – trombone, John Patton – organ (tracks 6-8), Frank Owens – piano, organ (tracks 1-5), Ben Tucker – bass (tracks 1-5), Bob Cranshaw – bass, electric bass (tracks 1-5), Bobby Durham (tracks 1-5), Billy Higgins (tracks 6-8) – drums, Ray Barretto – congas (tracks 6-8), Joe Wohletz – bongos, percussion and Orestes Vilato – percussion (tracks 1-5)
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Cosmic Vortex – Justice Divine is the debut 1974 album by jazz pianist and keyboardist, Weldon Irvine. It explores the deeply spiritual and political landscape with a focus on lyrics and vocals in conjunction with elements of funk and improvisation.
Writing all of the compositions, Weldon included on this album Love Your Brother, Walk That Walk; Talk That Talk, Love Jones, I’ll Name It Tomorrow, Cosmic Vortex (Justice Divine), Quiet (In Memory of Duke Ellington), Let Yourself Be Free and Love Your Brother (Sanctified Version)” 1:30
To execute the task of giving this project life, along with himself on keyboards, soprano saxophone and vocals Irvine brought to the session Henry Grate, Jr., Cornell Dupree and Joe Caro on guitar, Bob Cranshaw, Gordon Edwards and George Murray on bass, Wesley “Gator” Watson, Jimmy Young, Lenny White and Chipper Lyles on drums, Napoleon Revels on percussion, Bud Johnson, Jr. on the congas and bongos, Gene Jefferson on tenor saxophone, Jimmy Owens, Roy Roman and Everett “Blood” Hollins on the trumpet, Bill Barnwell on flute, and on vocals he enlisted the talents of Nalo and Ojuleba.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Esa Pietilä was born on December 9, 1964 in Finland and started learning the saxophone as a youth, taking his inspiration from Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. He studied saxophone and composition in the Sibelius- Academy jazz department in Helsinki and privately in United States with David Liebman.
Pietilä started his career as a jazz musician and later on expanded his expression to many different musical genres. Performing with his jazz groups Liberty Ship and Esa Pietilä 3, he also has duo collaborations with contemporary classical & new music chamber musicians, and has soloed with chamber orchestras and other larger ensembles. He performs totally free improvisations at his solo concerts.
He has worked with conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, with Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. Esa has premiered the saxophone concerto of Kalevi Aho, Eero Hämeenniemi and Pietilä´s concerto Graffiti Play for chamber orchestra & contemporary jazz trio.
His jazz collaborators have been Paal Nilssen-Love, Harvey Sorgen, Michael Jefry Stevens, Mathias Eick, Jeff Siegel, Karl Berger, Mark Helias, Brian Melvin, Heiri Kaenzig, Christoph Baumann, Baenz Öster, Franziska Baumann, Mike Nock, Ron McClure, Claudio Fasoli, Anders Begcrantz, Odean Pope, Hilmar Jensson, Raoul Björkenheim. Markku Ounaskari, Ulf Krokfors, Iro Haarla.
Saxophonist and composer Esa Pietilä, who in his home country, received the Yrjö Jazz award in 2016 for his original, genre-defying work in the field of avant-garde jazz, continues to work diversely in the field of contemporary music.
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