Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Steve Lacy was born Steven Norman Lackritz on July 23, 1934 in New York City. He didn’t begin his career until age sixteen, coming to prominence in the 1950s as a progressive Dixieland musician playing with the likes of Henry “Red” Allen, Pee Wee Russell, George ”Pops Foster and Zutty Singleton, as well as Kansas City jazz musicians like Buck Clayton, Dicky Wells and Jimmy Rushing.
Working extensively in experimental jazz and dabbling in free improvisation, Lacy’s music was typically melodic and tightly structured over a long and prolific career. He became involved with the avant-garde, performed on “Jazz Advance” in 1956, the debut album of Cecil Taylor, and appeared with his groundbreaking quartet at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.
Steve made a notable appearance on an early Gil Evans album, however, his most enduring relationship, however, was with the music of Thelonious Monk, his first recorded album in 1958 as a leader “Reflections” featured only Monk compositions. He briefly played in Monk’s band in 1960 and later on Monk’s Columbia session “Big Band/Quartet” in 1963.
Monk tunes became a permanent part of his repertoire, making an appearance in virtually every concert appearance and on his albums. He often collaborated with trombonist Roswell Rudd in presenting interpretations of Monk, Mingus, Ellington and Herbie Nichols’ compositions, rarely playing standard popular or show tunes. In the 1960s he continued to work with other players involved in the American free-jazz avant-garde, and in the Seventies immersed in the European free improvisation scene that would remain an important element in his work thereafter.
Steve became a highly distinctive composer with his signature simplicity of style. He became a widely respected figure on the European jazz scene for several decades, was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and performed one of his last public performances in front of 25,000 people at the close of a peace rally on Boston Common in 2003.
Steve Lacy, soprano saxophonist, was diagnosed with cancer continued playing and teaching until weeks before his death on June 4, 2004 at the age of 69.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson on July 1, 1933, grew up learning to play drums in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania influenced by his mother who sang with Jimmie Lunceford, and his brother Muhammad, a drummer with Albert Ayler.
Moving to New York in 1963, Ali worked in groups with Bill Dixon and Paul Bley. He would go on to record or perform with Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Arthur Rhames, James Blood Ulmer and many others. Scheduled to be second drummer alongside Elvin Jones on John Coltrane’s landmark free jazz album Ascension, he dropped out just before the recording was to take place. Though Coltrane did not replace him, he became best known for playing and recording with Trane from Meditations in 1965 onwards.
Rashied became a driving force in the free and avant-garde drumming world, stimulating the most avant-garde kinds of jazz activities. During the early 1970s, he ran an influential loft club in New York, called Ali’s Alley, briefly formed a non-jazz project called Purple Trap with Japanese experimental guitarist Keiji Haino and jazz-fusion bassist Bill Laswell. In the 1980s, he was member of Phalanx with guitarist James Blood Ulmer, tenorist George Adams and bassist Sirone.
Though most known for his work in the jazz idiom, Rashied Ali also made his contributions to other experimental art forms including multi-media performances and fully improvised large-scale performance pieces. During the last years of his life he played with Sonny Fortune, led his own quintet, served as mentor to young drummers, and was the featured drummer on Azar Lawrence’s 2009 album Mystic Journey.
Over the course of his stellar career drummer Rashied Ali amassed a discography of eighteen albums as a leader with another thirty as a sideman. He continued to record, perform and tour worldwide until his death at age 74 in New York City after suffering a heart attack on August 12, 2009.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eric Allan Dolphy was born on June 20, 1928 in Los Angeles, California and received his musical education at Los Angeles City College. Performing locally in the big bands of Gerald Wilson and Roy Porter, he played soprano clarinet, baritone saxophone and his main instrument, the alto, on early recordings. But his big break came when he joined Chico Hamilton’s quintet, gaining wider audience recognition.
By 1959 Dolphy had moved to New York City and his early association with then established John Coltrane brought him acclaim amongst jazz lovers. During this period, Dolphy also played in a number of challenging settings, notably in key recordings by Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation; Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth; and George Russell’s Ezz-thetics. He also worked with Max Roach, Gunther Schuller, Ron Carter, Ken McIntyre and Abbey Lincoln among others.
His first two albums as leader produced Outward Bound and Out There that were deeply rooted in hard bop with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. This was followed with Far Cry with Booker Little, with whom he would record a series of legendary sets at the Five Spot before Little’s death at 23. In 1964, Dolphy signed with Blue Note and recorded Out To Lunch! with Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis and Tony Williams. This record was rooted in the avant-garde, his solos unpredictable and is considered his magnum opus.
Eric Dolphy died in Berlin while touring with Charles Mingus on June 29, 1964. The circumstances are sketchy as to where he died and the cause, though he was a diabetic. Whatever the cause, the jazz world lost an alto saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist who contributed profusely to the genre of jazz during his short-lived 36 years.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jaki (John) Byard was born on June 15, 1922 in Worcester, Massachusetts and began playing professionally at age 15. Adept not only on the piano, he played trumpet and saxophone among other instruments. After serving in WWII he toured with Earl Bostic in the late 40s, based himself in Boston and had his recording debut with Charlie Mariano in 1951.
Known for his eclectic style, Byard added everything from ragtime to free jazz in his delivery. Through the fifties and into the sixties he was a member of Herb Pomeroy’s band followed by a stint with Maynard Ferguson.
Moving to New York, Byard recorded extensively with Charles Mingus from 1962 to 1964 and in 1970, touring Europe with him in 1964. He also made important recordings as a sideman with Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin and Sam Rivers.
As a leader, he recorded a string of albums for the Prestige label during the 1960s and fronted an occasional big band, the Apollo Stompers. He taught at the New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Hartt School of Music, and the New School for Social Research.
Jaki Byard was shot dead on February 11, 1999 in New York City. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been determined. Phil Woods described him as “one of the most compelling and versatile pianists in jazz”.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Matthew Garrison was born June 2, 1970 in New York. The son of double bassist Jimmy Garrison, he spent the first eight years of his life immersed in a community of musicians, dancers, visual artists and poets. After the death of his father (John Coltrane’s bassist), his family relocated to Rome, Italy where he began to study piano and bass guitar.
In 1988 Matthew returned to the United States and lived with his godfather Jack Dejohnette for two years, studying intensively under him and bassist Dave Holland. In 1989 he received a full scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. Along with his studies, he began his professional career with the likes of Gary Burton, Bob Moses, Betty Carter, Mike Gibbs and Lyle Mays to mention a few.
Garrison moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1994 and since then has performed, toured and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Whitney Houston, Joe Zawinul, Chaka Khan, Meshell Ndege Ocello, Joni Mitchell, Wayne Shorter, Jack Dejohnette, Steve Coleman, Bill Cosby, Paul Simon, Cassandra Wilson, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, John Mclaughlin, Tito Puente, John Scofield, Pat Metheny and many others.
In 1998 Matthew founded record label and production company, GarrisonJazz Productions, through which he currently produces, promotes and markets his music. Since 2000 he has released two compact discs and a live performance DVD. He is noted for playing his signature series Fodera bass, having created and developed a pizzicato technique that uses four fingers. He continues to perform and record.
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