Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Diego Urcola was born on November 5, 1965 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and began his musical studies at age 9 in the Music Department of the Colegio Ward where his father Ruben served as director. He continued his studies and in 1988 he received the title of Profesor Nacional de Música from the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica.
Subsequently, having received a scholarship to study abroad, the trumpeter and flugelhorn player moved to Boston where he attended Berklee College of Music. In 1990 Diego graduated with an emphasis in Jazz Performance, and less than a year later moved to New York and established himself on the jazz scene.
Urcola toured with Slide Hampton, has been a member of the Paquito D’Rivera Quintet since 1991, toured with the United Nations Orchestra, has worked with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, plays steadily with the Caribbean Jazz Project since 2004, and performs regularly with the legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All Star Big Band.
Urcola has played with Joe Henderson, Steve Turre, Milt Jackson Avishai Cohen, Edward Simon, Antonio Sánchez, Dave Samuels, Brian Lynch, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdés, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Claudia Acuña, Danilo Perez, Conrad Herwig and the Calle 54 Band among others. He leads and records with his own group, has captured second place honors at the 1997 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition, received a Latin Grammy as part of D’ Rivera’s band, and since has been nominated three times for a Grammy Award. The jazz trumpeter continues to perform, compose and record integrating the flavor of tango with jazz.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ralph Earl Sutton was born on November 4, 1922 in Hamburg, Missouri. A stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, he had a stint as a session musician with Jack Teagarden‘s band before joining the Army during World War II.
After the war, he played at various venues in Missouri, eventually ending up in New York City at Eddie Condon‘s club in Greenwich Village. Relocating to San Francisco in 1956, Sutton recorded several albums with Bob Scobey‘s Dixieland band.
Ralph recorded for Riverside and Arbors Record labels as a leader and played and recorded with Jay McShann, Johnny Varro, Ruby Braff and Dick Cary as a sideman. From the 1960s onward, he worked mostly on his own up until the time of his death on December 30, 2001 in Evergreen, Colorado. The following year pianist Ralph Sutton was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jane Monheit was born November 3, 1977 in Oakdale, New York on Long Island. As a child, Jane spent her summers as a student at the Usdan Center For the Creative and Performing Arts, and is a recipient of their distinguished alumna award.
She began singing professionally while attending Connetquot High School in Bohemia, N.Y. from which she graduated in 1995. As a student at the Manhattan School of Music she studied voice under Peter Eldridge, graduated with honors. Monheit was the first runner up to Teri Thornton in the 1998 Thelonious Monk Jazz Institute’s vocal competition.
An international artist, Jane has performed at most of the major concert halls, cabarets and jazz venues around the globe. She has released seven albums and two DVDs, and has appeared as a guest artist on many others, as well as soundtracks for the movie “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” singing Over The Rainbow.
Monheit has appeared on numerous television shows and also been a featured performer in the nationally televised Christmas at the White House, the Capitol Fourth of July Celebration, and The National Memorial Day Celebration.
Vocalist Jane Monheit has collaborated with artists such as Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, David “Fathead” Newman, Michael Bublé, Geoffrey Keezer, Donald Harrison, Romero Lubambo, Terence Blanchard, Ron Carter, Christian McBride, and Tom Harrell and has been nominated twice for her recordings. She spends most of the year on tour with her band but also performs with the major symphonic orchestras throughout the country.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Phil Woods was born Philip Wells Woods on November 2, 1931 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He studied music with his great influence Lennie Tristano, at the Manhattan School of Music and at The Julliard School.
After moving to France in 1968, Phil led the avant-garde jazz group The European Rhythm Machine, and then returned to the United States in 1972 and unsuccessfully attempting to establish an electronic group formed a quintet, which is still performing with some changes of personnel.
Although Woods is primarily a saxophonist he is also a fine clarinet player and solos can be found scattered through his recordings. His pop credits include the alto solos on Billy Joel’s Just The Way You Are, Steely Dan’s Doctor Wu and Paul Simon’s Have A Good Time.
Phil has worked with the likes of Kenny Burrell, Mundell Lowe, Red Garland, Palle Danielsson, Pony Poindexter, Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, Steve Kuhn , Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Art Farmer, , Dizzy Gillespie, Julius Watkins, Louis Hayes, Hal Galper, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Michel Legrand, Tommy Flanagan, Stephane Grappelli, Modern Jazz Quartet, Oliver Nelson, Ron Carter, Lalo Schifrin, Shirley Scott, Carmen McRae, Lew Tabackin and Jimmy Rowles among others.
He has amassed 34 sessions as a sideman and nearly four-dozen albums as a leader and has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and won one for Images: “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance”, and three for “Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group” for Live from the Show Boat, More Live, and At the Vanguard.
His 2005 documentary film “A Life in E Flat” – Portrait of a Jazz Legend” offers an intimate portrait of Woods during a recording session of the Jazzed Media album This is How I Feel About Quincy. In 2007, Phil received a “Jazz Master” award from the National Endowment of the Arts. Saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Phil Woods was married to Chan Parker, the widow of Charlie Parker, until her death in 1999. He continued to perform, record and tour until his passing on September 29, 2015 in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Requisites
Make Everybody Happy ~ MJT + 3 | By Eddie Carter
Submitted for your approval from my library this morning is one of the tightest, most underrated hard bop groups to emerge out of Chicago, Illinois, at the beginning of the sixties. MJT+3 (short for Modern Jazz Two + Three) was co-founded by drummer Walter Perkins and bassist Bob Cranshaw, who solidified the lineup by recruiting three young Memphis musicians: trumpeter Willie Thomas, alto saxophonist Frank Strozier and pianist Harold Mabern. “Make Everybody Happy” (Vee-Jay VJLP 3008/VJSR 3008) was the second of four albums the quintet made together and captures the ensemble delivering a distinct Midwestern brand of hard bop and firing on all cylinders. I own the 1960 U.S. Stereo misprint reissue (a stereo label on both sides listing the mono catalog number).
The title track, Make Everybody Happy by Harold Mabern, opens the album with sanctified blues and gospel overtones in a marching melody by the quintet. Frank enters first with a biting tone and imaginative ideas. Willie follows with a superbly constructed reading, and Harold cooks consistently into the theme’s reprise and close. The Trolley Song by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Perkins and the rhythm section mimic a train coming down the track toward the ensemble’s theme. On this twelve-minute trip, Willie, Frank, and Harold each take turns at the controls ahead of the quintet’s closing melody and Perkins’s fade-out.
Sweet Silver by Booker Little is a bluesy tribute to pianist Horace Silver, and the group’s opening chorus gets into a good groove right out the gate. Frank’s opening solo will have the listener popping their fingers, then Willie impresses on the following statement with solid assurance. Harold delivers a final, concise reading that swings comfortably before leading the quintet into the reprise. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell opens Side Two, with the ensemble’s melody giving this old favorite fresh clothes. Willie and Frank both take short solos, with Walter and Bob offering a concise comment before the closing chorus.
Up next is My Buddy by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn. After the front line’s introduction, Frank takes the lead on the melody, and Willie switches to a mute to join him. Frank shapes the first solo with a touch of the blues. Willie follows with an exquisite reading, smooth as glass. Harold then delivers an impressive statement before the climax. Harold Mabern’s original, Richie’s Dilemma, kicks the energy level up for the quintet’s medium melody. Willie goes first with a laid-back solo, then Bob takes a short walk in the following interpretation. Frank works his magic next, followed by Harold, who provides a delightfully constructed reading. Willie and Frank share an impressive offering with Walter, leading to the group’s climax.
The quintet eases back on the throttle one final time for Love Letters by Edward Heyman and Victor Young. The opening ensemble begins with Willie’s elegant mid-tempo bounce. Frank’s opening statement is warm and compassionate. Then Walter has his say next and gives a short, deeply satisfying moment. Willie puts an exclamation point on the song with a mellow performance, before the group reconvenes for the closing chorus. The session was supervised by Sid McCoy, but the recording engineer is not known. The album’s sound quality is excellent, with a soundstage that’s warm, engaging and musical.
Make Everybody Happy by MJT + 3 is an overlooked gem with a well-balanced lineup and thoughtful repertoire. Willie Thomas and Frank Strozier create a compelling two-horn conversation, while Harold Mabern adds harmonic richness and rhythmic drive. Bob Cranshaw and Walter Perkins anchor the ensemble with steady, assured support. Together, MJT + 3 offers the listener a prime example of soulful, bluesy jazz that, as the title suggests, is sure to Make Everybody Happy every time it’s on the turntable. I highly recommend it for your library, and I hope you’ll check it out the next time you visit your favorite record store!
~ Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ Love Letters, The Trolley Song – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2026 by Edward Thomas Carter
