Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Barry Miles was born Barry Miles Silverlight on March 28, 1947 in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1956 he joined the musicians union at age nine as a child prodigy on drums, piano and vibraphone appearing with Miles Davis and John Coltrane among other talents of the day. He appeared live and on television shows including To Tell the Truth, Dick Van Dyke’s variety show, and The Andy Williams Show.
In 1961 at age fourteen he made his solo artist debut recording, “Miles of Genius”, as drummer and composer with sidemen Al Hall and Duke Jordan. Miles continued to perform with his own band in the early 1960s in which he composed the material that enabled up and coming talents such as Woody Shaw, Eddie Gómez and Robin Kenyatta to display their talents.
While a student at Princeton University he concentrated on his piano playing, recording a live album in 1966 entitled Barry Miles Presents His Syncretic Compositions. He followed in 1969 with the eponymously titled album, Barry Miles, incorporating electric instruments.
The Seventies saw him recruiting his brother Terry Silverlight on drums along with guitarists Pat Martino and John Abercrombie to record his White Heat album, which is regarded as one of the pioneering fusion jazz recordings. For the next decade, Miles recorded several albums in which he developed the principle of fusing styles together in jazz.
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Barry went on to work as Roberta Flack’s musical director for a stint that lasted fifteen years. During that time he composed, produced and recorded songs that Flack recorded in the film Bustin’ Loose, and on her album Oasis. He established a long-lasting relationship with Al Di Meola as his performing, recording and co-producing keyboardist.
He wrote the instruction book, “Twelve Themes With Improvisations”, and is currently out of print. In 2013, he released Home and Away, Volume One, his first album as a leader in 27 years. Pianist, record producer and author Barry Miles continues to perform, record and produce.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Robert Philip Militello a.k.a. Bobby M. was born on March 25, 1950 in Buffalo, New York. He was groomed by the legendary Sam Scamacca at Buffalo’s iconic Lafayette High School in the 1960s.
During the Seventies, Militello went on tour with Maynard Ferguson and returned to Buffalo in the early 1980s to work as a freelance musician.
Moving to Los Angeles, California he spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s as a member of orchestras led by Bill Holman and Bob Florence. He toured and recorded with Dave Brubeck from 1982 to 2012.
Saxophonist and flautist Bobby Militello leads a quartet that performs concerts dedicated to Brubeck.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ofer Assaf was born on March 10, 1976 in Israel and went to the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts dividing his time between his two passions: music and dance, and started training as a professional ballet dancer at the age of eight before switching to a full-time jazz career. He won the Israeli National Competition in Jazz and Contemporary Music for young musicians in 1991. He went on to become a member of the Air Force and IDF Orchestras of the Israeli Army, played with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and a diverse array of national TV and radio shows. He has performed with leading Israeli musicians and was a member of the Tel Aviv Big Band in the mid-1990’s.
Moving to New York City in 1997 he entered The New School University’s jazz program and also studied with tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, bassist Reggie Workman, pianist Richie Beirach, trumpeter Jimmy Owens and percussionists Bobby Sanabria. Upon graduation in 2002, Ofer performed with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall as part of the JVC Jazz Festival.
A recipient of scholarships and awards from the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, he was pre-nominated for the Grammy Awards in the “Best Jazz Instrumental Album” category in 2009 for his debut album Tangible Reality for Summit Records. With the Bernie Worrell Orchestra he was awarded “Best Funk/Fusion/Jam Song of the Year” at the 12th annual Independent Music Awards in 2013.
Tenor saxophonist, composer and educator Ofer Assaf continues to perform and conduct workshops around the world.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Louiz Banks was born Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi to Nepali parents on February 11, 1941 in Calcutta, West Bengal, British India and grew up in his hometown of Darjeeling. His early music education was at the hands of his father, a trumpeter, and his neighbour Mrs. Myers. He did his schooling at St. Roberts School, Darjeeling and around age thirteen he became interested in western music and he started playing the guitar and the trumpet. His father gave him piano lessons and played in his band. He went to college at St. Joseph’s College in Darjeeling, where he continued to study piano.
After college Banks moved to Kathmandu, Nepal with his father’s band and decided to become a full-time musician, it was there he discovered jazz music. In the late 1960s he had a three year residency at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu. Moving back to Calcutta in 1971 he met singer Pam Craine and saxophonist Braz Gonsalves and formed The Louis Banks Brotherhood. They played hotel rooms and night clubs and he got work composing advertisement jingles and stage musicals.
In 1977 Louiz was in Mumbai with the R.D. Burman troupe and got introduced to world music. Popularizing live jazz he cemented his place and reputation in the city. Two years later along with Goan saxophonist Braz Gonsalves he formed the Indo-Jazz Ensemble, composing music on Indian classical scales and Jazz rhythms, incorporating Indian instruments like ghatam and thavil. In 1980, he was a member of the jazz quartet which was part of the orchestra to perform with Ravi Shankar in his noted suite Jazzmine at the ‘Jazz Yatra’ Festival.
He would go on to form several groups with vocalists, tabla and sitar. In addition he has composed music for several short films. He has performed at various concerts and with well-known jazz artists such as Radha Thomas and Joe Alvares. He worked on a progressive fusion jazz album titled Labyrinth with his son’s band Nexus.
He collaborated as co-producer, arranger and pianist and keyboards on the album Miles From India, a tribute to the founder of modern jazz Miles Davis was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Awards in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category. In the same category, John McLaughlin’s fusion album Floating Point was also nominated, Banks was the featured keyboardist on the album.
Keyboardist, singer, film composer, record producer Louiz Banks, who has often been acknowledged as the Godfather of Indian Jazz, continues to perform, compose and produce.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ernest “EC3 Coleman III was born a second generation musician in Naples, Italy on February 9, 1963 to Ernest and Rebecca Coleman. His father, Ernest Jr. was a jazz musician who played tenor saxophone and was a great arranger and composer.
He studied at the Naval Conservatory of Music in Norfolk, Virginia and was awarded a special honor for being the youngest student to graduate from this conservatory. Moving to Los Angeles, California after his tour with the Navy Band, EC began his true musical quest performing for Guys & Dolls, Ain’t Misbehavin, and A Chorus Line.
Getting the call to work with Loretta Holloway in Las Vegas, Nevada he opened for Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, David Brenner, Yakov Smirnoff, Whoopi Goldberg, Don Rickles and many many more. Coleman took over as Loretta’s musical director and traveled around the world. For twelve years.
He eventually got called to play with jazz bassist Al McKibbon. Excited to get the call, he auditioned and got booked for The Bourbon Street Review show. For three years this was his training ground. Al being like a second father to him, they lived together for many years and this was where he attained most of his great knowledge of music.
When the show closed Billy Higgins was there to offer EC work with saxophonist Azar Lawrence and for the next year and a half they were on the road. A move to Las Vegas, Nevada saw him working with Frank Sinatra’s pianist and conductor Vincent Falcone. Meeting jazz pianist Kevin Toney led him to play with Kevin bassist Brad Bobo.
He went on to work with Kenny Burrell, Russell Malone, Lorendo Alameida, Lorez Alexandria, John Clayton, George Cables, Herman Riley, Charlie Owens, Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, Diahann Carroll, Pudgy, and the orchestras of Caesar Palace, Harrah’s Tahoe and Reno, and The Las Vegas Symphony.
Since then he embarked on a solo career as a leader, recording eight albums and producing thirteen records for Misha, Wendy C, Wendy B, Rayshun Lamarr, Zac Williams, Fabian, and Troy “Sol” Edler.
Drummer, producer and bandleader Ernest “EC3” Coleman continues to expand the language of his musical talent.
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