Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Lorenzo Paesani was born on August 9, 1977 in Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy and studied piano since childhood. He graduated Summa Cum Laude at 21 from the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory of Bari. He studied improvisational music all over Europe and the U.S. with John Taylor, Fabrizio Puglisi, Franco D’Andrea, Ralph Alessi, Tim Berne, Marc Ducret, among others.
He collaborated with Norma Winston, Massimo Manzi, Claudio Fasoli, Sound Sketches Orchestra, Sidma Jazz Orchestra, and the Turin Philharmonic Orchestra among others.
Since 2014 he has performed at a variety of jazz festivals across Europe, recorded with different ensembles but all projects have a particular blend of jazz, original compositions and open improvisation, spanning from modern jazz to contemporary music. In his role as a composer, he collaborates with Kairostudio, a cultural association that produces documentaries and movies about the safeguard of the environment. Pianist and bandleader Lorenzo Paesani continues to perform, record and explore the realm of music
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Charlie H. “Devil” Gaines was born on August 8, 1900 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a teenager, Gaine played in brass bands in his hometown before moving to New York City in 1920. It was there that he joined the orchestra of Wilbur Sweatman.
Signing on with Clarence Williams’s house band, he went on to play with Sam Wooding, Earl Walton, Leroy Smith, Fats Waller, Charlie Johnson, and the Hot Chocolates.
In the 1930s Gaines launched his own band in Philadelphia, recorded occasionally, including once with Williams in 1934. Simultaneously he continued playing with Smith while playing in Louis Armstrong’s orchestra. He continued to lead bands in Philadelphia into the 1950s, especially at the jazz venue Carroll’s.
The 1960s saw him performing in a trio at the Hangover Club until he went into retirement in the 1970s. Trumpeter and bandleader Charlie Gaines passed away on November 23, 1986.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Harry Arnold Persson was born on August 7, 1920, in Helsingborg, Sweden and led his first big band in 1942, playing the saxophone initially but eventually ceased to perform, concentrating on arranging.
From 1949-52 he played and arranged for Thore Ehrling’s band and worked extensively as a studio musician, particularly writing film scores through much of the 1950s. From 1956 to 1965 Arnold led the Swedish Radio Big Band, which included Arne Domnérus, Bengt Hallberg, and Åke Persson.
American trumpeter Benny Bailey played with the band for a time, Quincy Jones arranged and briefly led the group, and they recorded with Ernestine Anderson, Lucky Thompson, Coleman Hawkins, Toots Thielemans, Tony Scott, and Stan Getz.
Disbanding the group in 1965, Arnold continued working as an arranger and led big bands in Europe. Saxophonist and bandleader Harry Arnold passed away on February 11, 1971 at the age of 51 in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Charles James Shavers was born on August 3, 1920 in New York City and took up piano and banjo before switching to trumpet. In the mid-Thirties he performed with Tiny Bradshaw and Lucky Millinder. In 1935 he joined the trumpet section with Dizzy Gillespie and Carl “Bama” Warwick in Frankie Fairfax’s Campus Club Orchestra.
1936 saw him as a member of John Kirby’s Sextet as trumpet soloist and arranger. Only 16 at the time he gave his birth date as 1917 to avoid child labor laws, Charlie’s arrangements and solos helped make the band one of the most commercially successful and imitated of its day. In 1937, he performed with Midge Williams and her Jazz Jesters. By 1944 he began playing sessions in Raymond Scott’s CBS staff orchestra.
Leaving John Kirby’s band In 1945 he joined Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra, with whom he toured and recorded, off and on, until Dorsey’s passing in 1956. In 1949, he sang and played the hit The Hucklebuck with Dorsey. He was a member of Dorsey’s Orchestra on numerous Stage Show telecasts for CBS, including early Elvis Presley appearances. During this time he continued to play at CBS while also appearing with the Metronome All-Stars and making a number of recordings as trumpet soloist with Billie Holiday.
From 1953 to 1954 he worked with Benny Goodman and toured Europe with Norman Granz’s popular Jazz at the Philharmonic series, where he was a crowd favorite. He formed his own band with Terry Gibbs and Louie Bellson.
Swing era trumpeter Charlie Shavers passed away from throat cancer in New York City on July 8, 1971 at the age of 50. While on his deathbed his close friend Louis Armstrong passed away, and his last request was that his trumpet mouthpiece be buried with Armstrong.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Richard Tobin McDonough was born on July 30, 1904 in New York City and began playing banjo and mandolin in high school. While matriculating through Georgetown University, he performed professionally at weekend dances and two years later started a band. Attending Columbia Law School he played with bands in New York City.
McDonough played with Red Nichols in 1927 as a banjoist, and soon after played with Paul Whiteman. He began studying the guitar and eventually was in demand for session work, recording with The Dorsey Brothers, Red Nichols, and Miff Mole. In the 1930s, he performed in a duo with jazz guitarist Carl Kress and cut several sessions with an orchestra under his own name, in addition to backing numerous other recording artists.
His session work with Mildred Bailey, Smith Ballew, The Boswell Sisters, Rube Bloom, Chick Bullock, The Charleston Chasers, Cliff Edwards, Gene Gifford, Benny Goodman, Adelaide Hall, Annette Hanshaw, Billie Holiday, Baby Rose Marie, Glenn Miller, Irving Mills, Red McKenzie, Johnny Mercer, Red Norvo, Fred Rich, Adrian Rollini, Pee Wee Russell, Ben Selvin, Artie Shaw, Frank Signorelli, Jack Teagarden, Claude Thornhill, Frankie Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Don Voorhees, and Ethel Waters. He played in the Jam Session at Victor with Fats Waller, Bunny Berigan, and George Wettling.
Struggling with alcohol abuse during his adult life and guitarist Dick McDonough passed away of pneumonia on May 25, 1938 in New York City.
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