Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Steve Lane was born on November 7, 1921 in London, England where his father was a concertina player who recorded with the Rio Grande Tango Orchestra in the 1920s. Having heard his first jazz in the Rhythm Clubs of the late 1930s, his first choice of instrument was guitar, but, following wartime service, he switched to the cornet on which he soon developed a jazz style based on the hot trumpeters of the 1920s he so much admired, with particular emphasis on his role leading the collective ensemble.

A gifted composer of vocal and instrumental pieces, he deftly incorporated female vocalists as an integral part of the band, thus presenting a range of songs carefully chosen to showcase the singer, and the supporting musicians strictly trained in the art of accompaniment. A taskmaster offering little compensation and weekly rehearsals, his personnel changed often but allowed him the ability to discover young talent such as pianists Martin Litton and Bruce Boardman and trombonist Bob Hunt.

Steve led his own Southern Stompers jazz band in the early 1950, and also led and recorded with his Red Hot Peppers and the VJM Washboard Band for over 50 years. In 1952 he established the Ealing Jazz Club, and in the Sixties establishe the West End Jazz Club and was a founding partner of VJM Records.

Cornetist, guitarist, composer, arranger and bandleader Steve Lane, who was a traditional jazz player, passed awya on August 22, 2015 at age 93.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Laila Dalseth was born November 6, 1940 in Bergen, Norway. After an early debut in her hometown she became active on the Oslo, Norway jazz scene, recording with Kjell Karlsen, Egil Kapstad and Helge Hurum’s big band. Her first recording was Metropol Jazz in 1963, then she was a part of Stokstad/Jensen Trad Band from 1973 to 1975. This she followed with a stint in a band with Per Borthen, then at Teatret Vårt in the play Havhesten in 1976.

>With her own band, Laila recorded Listen Here! (1999), 1960’s album One of a Kind (2000) and then Everything I Love (2003), all on the Gemini label. Her L. D. Quintet consisted of her husband Totti Bergh on saxophone, pianist Per Husby, bassist Kåre Garnes and Tom Olstad on drums.

Dalseth was awarded Buddyprisen in 1976, the Spellemannprisen i klassen jazz on three occasions, for Just Friends in 1975, Glad There is You in 1978 and in 1984 for Daydreams. International recognition came in the Eighties with her release of  for the record Time for Love with Red Mitchell, Travelling Light with Al Cohn, and into the 1990s with The Judge and I with Milt Hinton, A Woman’s Intuition, her own sextet featuring guitarist Philip Catherine, and into the new century with We Remember You with Al Cohn, and Everything I Love.

At 80, vocalist Laila Dalseth has recorded thirteen albums, received eight awards and remains active on the jazz scene.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John Henry Windhurst came into this world on November 5, 1926 in New York City, New York and was a self taught trumpeter. At the age of 15 he played his first public performance at Nick’s, and made his professional debut during the spring of 1944 at one of Eddie Condon’s concerts at the Town Hall, both venues in New York City. By eighteen he replaced Bunk Johnson in Sidney Bechet’s band for a Savoy Cafe gig in Boston, Massachusett, which launched his career as a trumpeter.

Going on to play with Art Hodes and James P. Johnson at the Jazz at Town Hall concert in 1946, Johnny then moved to the midwest and after a brief stint in the Chicago, Illinois jazz scene he returned to the Savoy Cafe as a member of Edmond Hall’s band. Eventually he moved west to experience the west coast jazz scene in California. However, his inability to read music forced him to decline gigs with Benny Goodman and Woody Herman, emphasizing his preference for informal jamming.

Over the years, he played with Louis Armstrong, Nappy Lamare, Eddie Condon. Ruby Braff,George Wettling, Jack Teagarden and Barbara Lea. He also led his own band, Riverboat Five, through Columbus, Ohio and Boston for several years, opting to play colleges and small venues instead of the most popular east coast venues and nightclubs.He also did some off-Broadway work with Conrad Janis in the musical Joy Ride.

Windhurst only made one recording with his swing quartet called Jazz at Columbus Avenue, for the Transition label in 1956. On the record label Jazzology, George Buck released The Imaginative Johnny Windhurst which showcased his unique trumpet style. The LP was recorded at a showcase in Massachusetts, where the decision to record it was made on the spot just as the show began. The spontaneous set flaunts his innovative playing on timeless numbers such as Back In Your Own Backyard, Strut Miss Lizzie and Lover Come Back to Me.

He eventually moved upstate to Poughkeepsie, New York with his mother, where he finished his career in a dixieland band at Frivolous Sal’s Last Chance Saloon. Trumpeter Johnny Windhurst passed away from a heart attack at the age of 54 on October 2, 1981 in Dutchess County, New York.

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

In our ongoing practice of social distancing and wearing our masks, this week’s selection comes the very talented interpreter and vocalist Nnenna Freelon who has delivered her latest Time Traveler. The songs for the album were recorded over a span of two years on March 13~15, 2018, October 24, 2018, August 20, 2020 and September 3, 2020. It was released on May 21, 2021 on the Origin Records label.

The album was recorded at Manifold  Records in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Overdub Lane, Durham, North Carolina and Tedesco Studios in Paramus, New Jersey. It was produced by Nnenna Freelon, with musical direction by Miki Hayama. The engineers were Jason Richmond (1~6, 8~11), Ian Schreier (1,3~5,7,9) Tom Tedesco (1~3,8) and John Plymale (2,8).

The cover design and layout was by John Bishop, photography by Chris Charles, clothing stylist ~ Katina Bryson, makeup ~ Sharon Davis, hairstylist ~ Anes El and henna and face artist Shemora Sheik made up the production team.

She draws from her life story the songs of her youth and has helped her navigate the process of loss and healing and steps through an imagined doorway where past, present and future collide. She reminds us of a time when grace and elegance were a standard and that is timeless. There is a reverence in the lyrics that was lost in my youth but has been captured with age.

Tracks | 55:03

1. I Say A Little Prayer For You (Burt Bachrach/Hall David) ~ 5:07
2. Marvin Medley: If This World Were Mine/Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing/Ain’t No Mountain High Enough ( Marvin Gaye, Ashford & Simpson) ~ 6:05
3. Just You (Nnenna Freelon) ~ 5:32
4. Betcha By Golly Wow (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) ~ 4:54
5. Time In A Bottle (Jim Croce) ~ 6:59
6. You Make Me Feel Brand New (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) ~ 5:06
7. Moon River (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer) ~ 5:57
8. Time After Time (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne ~ 4:58
9. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) ~ 5:55
10. Time Traveler (Freelon,Curry,Robinson, Scott) ~ 4:30

• Nnenna Freelon ~ Vocals
• Miki Hayama ~ Piano 1,3,5,7,8 Rhodes 2,4,9 Synth 2,8
• Chuckey Robinson ~ Keyboards 10,11
• Brandon McCune ~ Hammond Organ 1,3
• Keith Ganz ~ Guitar 2~6,8~11
• Noah Jackson ~ Acoustic Bass 1,3~5,7,9
• Gerald Veasley ~ Electric Bass 2,8
• Lance Scott ~ Electric Bass 10,11
• E. J. Strickland ~ Drums 1,3~5,7,9
• Adonis Rose ~ Drums 2,8
• Jon Curry ~ Drums 10,11
• Beverly Botsford ~ Percussion 2,4,8
• Trineice Robinson-Martin ~ Background Vocal
• Kirk Whalum ~ Tenor Saxophone, Flute 4
• Shana Tucker ~ Cello 5

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Joe Sullivan was born Michael Joseph O’Sullivan on November 4, 1906 in Chicago, Illinois. The ninth child of Irish immigrant parents, he studied classical piano for 12 years and by age 17, he began to play popular music in silent-movie theaters, on radio stations, and then with the dance orchestras, where he was exposed to jazz. Graduating from the Chicago Conservatory he was an important contributor to the Chicago jazz scene of the 1920s.

Sullivan’s recording career began towards the end of 1927, when he joined McKenzie and Condon’s Chicagoans. Other musicians in his circle included Jimmy McPartland, Frank Teschemacher, Bud Freeman, Jim Lanigan and Gene Krupa. In 1933, he joined Bing Crosby as his accompanist, recording and making many radio broadcasts.

Contracting tuberculosis in 1936, while convalescing at a sanitarium in Monrovia, California in 1937, Crosby organized and appeared in a five-hour benefit for him at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on May 23, 1937 in front of an audience of six thousand. The show was broadcast over two different radio stations, with fourteen bands attending and raised approximately $3,000 for Sullivan.

After suffering for two years with tuberculosis, Joe briefly re-joined Bing Crosby in 1938 and the Bob Crosby Orchestra in 1939. In 1940, when leading Joe Sullivan’s Cafe Society Orchestra, he had a minor hit with I’ve Got A Crush On You. By the 1950s, he was largely forgotten, playing solo in San Francisco, California, and marital difficulties and excessive drinking caused him to become increasingly unreliable and unable to keep a steady job.

In 1963, he met up with old colleagues Jack and Charlie Teagarden plus Pee Wee Russell when they performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Pianist Joe Sullivan passed away on October 13, 1971 in San Francisco at the age of 64.

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