Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Theodore Salvatore Fiorito, known professionally as Ted Fio Rito, was born December 20, 1900 in Newark, New Jersey into an Italian immigrant couple. His mother had sung light opera in Italy. He attended Barringer High School in Newark.
He was still in his teens when he landed a job in 1919 as a pianist at Columbia’s New York City recording studio, working with the Harry Yerkes bands: the Yerkes Novelty Five, Yerkes’ Jazarimba Orchestra and The Happy Six.
His earliest compositions were recorded by the Yerkes groups and Art Highman’s band. Fio Rito had numerous hit recordings, notably his two number one hits, My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii and I’ll String Along with You. Over the course of his life he composed more than 100 songs, collaborating with such lyricists as Ernie Erdman, Gus Kahn, Sam Lewis, Cecil Mack, Albert Von Tilzer, and Joe Young.
Moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1921 he joined the Dan Russo band and the following year became the co-leader of Russo and Fio Rito’s Oriole Orchestra and opened at Detroit, Michigan’s Oriole Terrace, with a rebranding as the Oriole Terrace Orchestra. Returning to Chicago they did their first radio remote broadcast in 1924. Throughout the 1920s the orchestra played Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati and San Francisco.
The Fio Rito Orchestra’s vocalists included Jimmy Baxter, Candy Candido, the Debutantes, Betty Grable, June Haver, the Mahoney Sisters, Muzzy Marcellino, Joy Lane, Billy Murray, Maureen O’Connor, Patti Palmer, Kay and Ward Swingle.
During the 1940s, the band’s popularity diminished, but Fio Rito continued to perform in Chicago and Arizona. He played in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1960s. In his last years, he led a small combo at venues throughout California and Nevada until his death.
Composer, orchestra leader, and keyboardist Ted Fio Rito, who was popular on national radio broadcasts in the 1920s and 1930s, died from a heart attack on July 22, 1971 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Peter Charles Strange was born December 19, 1938 in Plaistow, Newham, London, England and played violin as a child before switching to trombone as a teenager. His first major gig was with Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band when he was just 18 years old.
In 1957, Silk’s clarinetist Teddy Layton split off and formed his own band, and Strange went with him. Called up for National Service in 1958 and became a bandsman in the Lancashire Fusiliers, whilst serving in Cyprus. Following this he played with Sonny Morris, Charlie Gall, and Ken Sims, before joining Bruce Turner from 1961 to 1964.
1964 saw Turner in a 10 year partial retirement for about 10 years, playing but when he returned Peter played with Turner permanently in 1974, and in 1978 co-founded the Midnite Follies Orchestra with Alan Elsdon.
In 1980, he founded the five-trombone ensemble, Five-A-Slide, which featured Roy Williams and Campbell Burnap. He joined Humphrey Lyttelton’s band in 1983, and remained with the ensemble until the leader died. With the other members of the Lyttelton band, Strange performed on the 2001 Radiohead album Amnesiac.
Trombonist, arranger and composer Pete Strange, who played with his group The Great British Jazz Band, died of cancer in Banstead, Surrey, England on August 14, 2004 at the age of 65.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nicole Rampersaud was born on December 17, 1981 in Toronto,Canada. Studying trumpet through high school she then went to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in Jazz Performance. From there a scholarship led her studies to the New England Conservatory, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies. While at the Conservatory, Nicole studied with Danilo Perez, John McNeil, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Morris, Herb Pomeroy, Joe Maneri, and Bob Moses. She also studied composition with Michael Gandolfi and Ken Schaphorst.
Developing her singular voice that intersects with a broad range of musical practices and traditions, Nicole has become a sought-after collaborator with a host of artists. A few of his contemporary musicians are Anthony Braxton, Joe Morris, Ra-kalam Bob Moses, Sandro Perri, and many more.
Rampersaud’s primary groups include Brass Knuckle Sandwich with pianist Marilyn Lerner, a duo with guitarist Joel LeBlanc, and she is a founding member of the trio c_RL alongside Allison Cameron and Germaine Liu. She has performed with AIMToronto Orchestra, Eucalyptus, Michael Vlatkovich 5 Winds, and Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra.
Since 2008, she has been building a catalogue of solo compositions that deconstruct the trumpet’s sonic possibilities and co-founded the improvisation-driven series, Understory. Trumpeter and composer Nicole Rampersaud continues to relentlessly seek out and create spaces to work with a diverse and expanding group of music-makers.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Chuck Gentry was born Charles T. Gentry on December 14, 1911 in Belgrade, Nebraska. He learned to play clarinet while growing up in Sterling, Colorado and attended Colorado State Teachers College before moving to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in music.
He played with Vido Musso in 1939, then with Harry James in the first years of the Forties. During World War II he worked with Benny Goodman, the Army band of Glenn Miller, and Artie Shaw. Gentry then worked with Jan Savitt before returning to Goodman’s employ in 1946.
After 1947 Chuck worked as a session musician with June Christy, Louis Armstrong, Georgie Auld, Charlie Barnet, Ralph Burns, Benny Carter, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Pete Fountain, The Four Freshmen, Erroll Garner, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Spud Murphy, Anita O’Day, Patti Page, Mel Powell, Della Reese, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Mel Torme, and Nancy Wilson.
Saxophonist Chuck Gentry died on January 1, 1988 in California.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Karen Street was born on December 13, 1959 in the United Kingdom (UK) and started playing the accordion at the age of 7. She went on to study at Bath University, RWMCD and in London, England with the late Ivor Beynon, a pioneer of the classical accordion. She studied music at Welsh College of Music and Drama and Guildhall School of Music. She became the British Virtuoso Champion in 1981/2 and competed in the Coupe Mondiale World Championship in Hamburg, Germany and Folkstone, UK.
Karen has created a niche for herself in the UK jazz scene and is a regular member of Mike Westbrook’s groups, works with Tim Garland as well as part of Lammas playing alongside Geoff Keezer, Joe Locke and Avishai Cohen.
As a saxophonist Street was a member of the all girl saxophone quartet The Fairer Sax and is now a member and co-leader of Saxtet with her husband Andy Tweed.
Karen’s composing is specialized by writing music for the saxophone, from solos to large ensembles. Her composition for solo accordion, In The Ballroom With The Rope, took first prize at the London Accordion Festival, Composition Competition in 2001. The same year she released her debut recording, Finally A Beginning.
Besides jazz, Karen has played across genres with the likes of Bryan Ferry, Grace Jones, Andrea Bocelli, Kate Westbrook, BBC Philharmonic, Icebreaker, and the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour band for three seasons.
Accordionist, saxophonist and flutist Karen Street is currently a freelance musician playing across a wide variety of genres.
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