Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Louis Aldebert was born on June 8, 1931 in Ismailia, Egypt. He studied both singing and piano after his family moved to Paris, France and became efficient enough on the latter instrument to gig with tenor saxophonist Don Byas in the mid-1950s. Several years later he played with violinist Stephane Grappelli of Hot Club fame.
Having a career as a singer, he worked with the Blue Stars in the mid-’50s. From 1959-1965 he was a member of the Double Six, a kind of experiment in overcrowding via scat singing. Needless to say, this attracted the attention of Jon Hendricks who made use of Aldebert on a 1965 session.
He married singer Monica Dozo, and after feeling a bias as Byas bandmates, she changed her name to Monique Aldebert-Guerrin. She was part of the rotating Double Six recording cast when some members needed to recover from nagging earaches.
Leaving the Double Six, Byas’ group and the French jazz scene in 1967, the couple moved to America. They initially settled in Las Vegas, Nevada before heading West to Los Angeles, California. They had their own group and did freelance studio vocal work in various capacities, one highlight being a feature on a 1979 side by the Crusaders.
Vocalist, pianist and composer Louis Aldebert, who with his wife collaborated as composers of original songs as well as vocal arrangements of various jazz standards, died on October 10, 2014 in Los Angeles.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Hilaria Kramer was born on June 1, 1967 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland and began playing the trumpet when she was ten years old. Beginning in 1983 she attended the vocational school department of Jazz School St. Gallen, where she studied under Benny Bailey and Art Lande.
After graduating she went on to work in Italy with the Claudio Fasoli Quintet, with Gianluigi Trovesi. She performed with Steve Lacy, Enrico Rava, Joe Henderson, Bob Mover, Sal Nistico, Chet Baker and Sangoma Everett. 1988 saw her recording her debut album leading her own quartet. The album was released in the spring of the following year on Unit Records.
1991 had Hilaria performing on the TV program Ladies in Jazz with singers Nina Simone and Carmen McRae. Over the next few years, she performed with Uli Scherer in Vienna and also toured around Europe.
In 2014, Kramer was awarded the Jazz Prize of the Fondation Suisa for her services as a musician, composer and band leader as well as her work in various organizations that support Swiss jazz.
Trumpeter and composer Hilaria Kramer, who has a discography of eighteen albums as a leader and sidewoman, continues to record, perform and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
David J. White was born May 3, 1968 in Houston, Texas and became a saxophone student at age eight. His love for jazz was nurtured by musicians and educators Conrad O. Johnson, Craig Green, and Dr. Robert Morgan. By the time he was sixteen he was playing with local bands in clubs and other musical events. While in high school he appeared in Saxophone Journal and other jazz education periodicals and won several awards including a DB award from DownBeat Magazine.
Moving to Washington, D.C. he attended Howard University and contributed to the Jazz Ensemble’s yearly recordings both as a performer and composer/producer. 1992 saw David meeting internationally renowned film maker Haile Gerima and composed, produced and performed the soundtrack for the critically acclaimed film Sankofa.
He went on to score other films and released his sophomore album on his own label titled Where I Left Off. This project represents a more aggressive style of composition and performance than his first release. He has performed with Rich Matheson, Billy Harper, Randy Brecker & Eliane Elias, and Lou Marini.
Tenor saxophonist David White continues to compose, perform, tour, produce and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
George Mesterhazy was born April 8, 1954 in Hungary and came to the United States with his family when they fled Hungary following their country’s 1956 revolution. Settling first in upstate New York, they later moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey where he first played guitar and trumpet.
Switching to piano he became a professional musician, relocated to Los Angeles, California but eventually became well known in the area of Cape May, New Jersey.
Mesterhazy had recently released a new album with singer Paula West, Live at Jazz Standard, and the pair was scheduled to play the New York club together in May.
He was nominated for a Grammy for his arranging work on Shirley Horn’s 1997’s Loving You album, on which he also played. George also played with Les Paul, Bernadette Peters and others.
At Rowan University he ran the jazz piano program, taught privately and managed Cape May’s Merion Inn. Pianist and composer George Mesterhazy died quietly in his sleep at his home in Cape May on April 11, 2019 of natural causes. He was 59.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Michael Nickolas was born on March 23, 1962 in Southington, Connecticut. A move to Boston, Massachusetts in 1980 had him attending the Berklee College of Music. After graduating Cum Laude in 1984, the guitarist became a founding member and leader of one of Boston’s most successful local acts, High Function. The group played extensively at clubs and colleges throughout New England and toured Switzerland, New York City, and recorded an eight song album in Chicago, Illinois.
After leaving High Function, he co-found and played guitar for the Boston Music Award winning R&B band, Universal Language. In addition to performing, Michael was teaching himself the art of recording, and built a home recording studio, worked as a freelance recording engineer, and has been published numerous times in the international periodical, Recording Magazine.
His home studio, Studio Nine Productions, has clients working on everything from voice over narration sessions to digital audio editing and CD creation. As a composer, Nickolas has licensed original music for NBC, ABC and CBS television’s daytime programming. In prime time, as well as Showtime.
Guitarist Michael Nickolas continues to perform, compose, record and engineer.
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