Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nicolas Masson was born on April 14, 1972 in Geneva, Switzerland. He took up the saxophone in his youth and at twenty years old he met Cecil Taylor in New York and took lessons from Frank Lowe and Makanda Ken McIntyre. Returning home he enrolled in the jazz program at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique de Genève with Maurice Magnoni as a saxophone teacher.
While a student he attended master classes withLee Konitz, Dave Douglas and Misha Mengelberg. In 1999 Masson spent the summer in New York City studying with Chris Potter. Graduating from the conservatoire in 2000 with a jazz performance and teaching degree, he returned to New York City for a year and studied regularly with Rich Perry and played with local musicians.
His debut album Awake was released in 2002 on the Swiss label Altri Suoni. The session was recorded with his New York band featuring trumpeter Russ Johnson, bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Mark Ferber. A year later they were touring Switzerland and Italy.
Receiving a grant from the Bourse d’Aide à la Création he was able to tour Italy and record his sophomore album Yellow (A Little Orange) that was released in 2006 on the Fresh Sound/New Talent label. In 2005 and 2006, the Quartet toured Italy again, taking part in an itinerant Swiss festival organized by Rome’s Swiss Cultural Centre, sharing the evening with Irène Schweizer, Lucas Niggli and Malcolm Braff.
In 2007, a New York concert, European duo tour with Kris Davis of Switzerland, Italy, France and Germany, a New York gig with the Quartet and a 2009 release Thirty Six Ghosts on Clean Feed Records kept him busy. Saxophonist Nicolas Masson continues to record and play throughout Europe.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Simon Spang-Hanssen was born on April 13, 1955 in Copenhagen, Denmark andstarted playing alto saxophone but later added tenor and soprano. Receiving the annual Ben Webster Prize he created his own quartet Spacetrain with Ben Besiakov, Jesper Lundgaard and Alex Riel in 1979. He played in several groups before joining the sextet of Brazilian drummer and composer Nenê, and touring Denmark and France with Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo.
A move to Paris, France saw him playing with among others Denis Badault, Andy Emler, Nguyên Lê, Quintet Moutin, Ramuntcho Matta, Edouard Ferlet and with his own projects including musicians such as Richard Bona, Billy Hart, Niels Lan Doky, J.F. Jenny-Clarke, Bojan Z., and others. Returning to Copenhagen he created the tentet Central Earth and recorded Wondering with Maaneklar for Dacapo. Concerts and recording followed with a new quartet and quintet into the new millennium. He has had several iterations
Simon started the record label Alisio and released Rainbow Spirit and Coexistence with a quintet. These were followed with several other releases including The Riddle with Ear Witness, a live-recording in Copenhagen Jazzhouse with Maneklar XL, and two nominations for Danish Jazz Awards: Composer of the Year, Album of the year.
He has played and toured with the Aliso Ensemble South America, Scandinavia, and Zanzibar with Ear Witness. He released a new recording with the Epistrophy Septet with trombonist Peter Dahlgren. Saxophonist Simon Spang-Hanssen continues to perform and tour with a variety of musicians.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Marty Krystall was born on April 12, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. He beame fluent on tenor saxophone and clarinet and his sound was somewhat influenced by Ben Webster but is open to adventurous improvisations.
Marty has appeared in several of Buell Neidlinger’s groups through the years. Since the late 1970s he has worked as a Los Angeles studio musician and helped run the K2B2 record label. He has recorded with Neidlinger in Krystall Klear and the Buells, Buellgrass which was later renamed String Jazz, the group Thelonious, and a tribute album to Herbie Nichols.
He has recorded with Leon Kottke, Aretha Franklin, Peter Erskine, Hugh Schick, Yasushi Yoneki, and his marty krystall spatial quartet. Saxophonist and clarinetist Marty Krystall, who is a member of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, continues to explore the genres of jazz.
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Three Wishes
Marian McPartland was hanging out with the Baroness when she inquired about her three wishes and she responded by telling her:
- “I don’t need three wishes. Just one. But I can’t tell you what it is.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
David Buckley Wilborn was born April 11, 1904 in Springfield, Ohio, on April 11, 1904. He started on piano at the age of 12 but switched to banjo soon after. He played with Cecil and Lloyd Scott in 1922, then joined William McKinney’s Synco Septet, which became the Cotton Pickers soon after. He sang and played banjo for the group until its dissolution in 1934, and when it reformed a short time later he remained in the group until 1937.
After 1937, Dave worked as a bandleader until 1950, after which he left full-time performance. When David Hutson formed the New McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, Wilborn also played in this ensemble. He sang and played on their albums New McKinney’s Cotton Pickers released in 1972 and their 1973 You’re Driving Me Crazy.
Banjoist and vocalist Dave Wilborn, who recorded with Louis Armstrong in 1928, transitioned during a performance in Detroit, Michigan on April 25, 1982.