Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tony Oxley was born on June 15, 1938 in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. A self-taught pianist by the age of eight, he first began playing the drums at seventeen and was taught by Haydon Cook. While playing evening gigs with local dance bands at night, he was sacked from his regular job, at a cutlery-making company, for falling asleep.
During his National Service from 1957 to 1960 with the Black Watch military band he studied music theory and improved his drumming technique. After leaving the army he became a member of a dance band playing for passengers on the Queen Mary and made several trips to New York. When on shore leave Tony visited clubs and heard Philly Joe Jones, Horace Silver, Art Blakey. From 1960 to 1964 he led a quartet which performed locally back home.
1963 saw Oxley playing Saturday afternoon gigs with other aspiring young jazz musicians and working with Gavin Bryars and guitarist Derek Bailey, in a trio known as Joseph Holbrooke. Moving to London, England in 1966 he became house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s, where he accompanied visiting musicians such as Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Charlie Mariano, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, and Bill Evans until the early 1970s. He was a member of bands led by Gordon Beck and Mike Pyne.
As a sideman he appeared on the John McLaughlin 1969 album Extrapolation and formed a quintet with Bailey, Jeff Clyne, Evan Parker, and Kenny Wheeler, releasing the album The Baptised Traveller. Tony helped found Incus Records with Bailey and others and Musicians Cooperative. The label would go on to release more than 50 albums, received a three-month artist-in-residence job at the Sydney Conservatorium in Australia and joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra and collaborated with Howard Riley.
Oxley wwent on to join saxophonist Alan Skidmore’s quintet, tutor at the Jazz Summer School in Barry, South Wales, and form the band Angular Apron, and start the Celebration Orchestra He toured and recorded with Anthony Braxton, and began a working relationship with Cecil Taylor. Over the next few decades he joined several bands, recorded a series of albums and ventured into electronic and acoustic percussion music.
Free improvising drummer and electronic musician Tony Oxley died on December 26, 2023.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Edgar Avenir was born on May 25, 1950 in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. As a child he grew up in the University of the Philippines and lived in Area One of the campus. As a young guitarist, Avenir played with the renowned jazz pianist and composer Bong Peñera, and the Sangkatutak Band, whose members included Cariño, Ivy Violan and Richard Merk. His neighbors included Ed “Sarge” Cariño and John Lesaca, both of whom would later play with Avenir in various bands.
While he sessioned for pop acts like the Apo Hiking Society, his associations with fellow jazz musicians allowed him to explore the more eclectic side of his music. His move to jazz had him rubbing shoulders and exchanging notes with Pinoy jazzmen like Sandra Lim Viray, Jun Viray, Romy Posadas and Roger Herrera.
An excellent musician who could play with anyone, Avenir regularly performed with singer Zenaida Celdran and De la Calzada at La Cuisine Francaise in Makati. Celdran took care of Avenir in the last few months of his life. He was always willing to help fellow artists who wanted to learn more about music.
Still playing until August even though he was ill, guitarist Edgar Avenir, affectionately known as Koyang, died on Saturday, September 17, 2017 of pneumonia arising from lung cancer. He was 61.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Marco Cortesi was born on May 18, 1962 in Locarno, Switzerland. Though learning the guitar early he began taking music seriously at the age of 20. He attended several Italian summer camps with Joe di Jorio, Jim Hall, Mick Goodrick and others. From 1985 to 1991 he enrolled at the Swiss Jazz School (SJS) in Bern, Switzerland where he studied and played with Frank Sikora, Rachel Gould, Woody Shaw, Sal Nistico and others.
After graduation at SJS in 1991, he started a musical and artistic relationship with American and European musicians and started working regularly with Gene Calderazzo in a trio that features special guests such as Franco Ambrosetti, Walt Szymansky, Jon Davis, Mark Abrams, Dario Deidda, Jeff Gardner, Rick Margitza, Giorgio di Tullio, Alberto Bonacasa and many others. He went on to perform in trio to quintet configurations at festivals and in clubs.
In 1997 he’s in London, England for a tour with the Gene Calderazzo Quartet. That same year the Swiss label Altri Suoni released his first CD Triblu. In 1999 he was in New York City he worked, toured and recorded with pianist Jeff Gardner. He went on to tour with tenor saxophonist Rick Margitza, with whom he also recorded with his sophomore project Why Not in 2000. He has collaborated with Franco Ambrosetti, trumpeter Hilaria Kramer, lute player Luca Pianca, and viola player Walter Fähndrich.
Guitarist Marco Cortesi composed all the music and soundtracks played and recorded by his group. He writes music for jingles, radio tunes, and electronic compositions for professional use in the media business.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ronnie Foster was born May 12, 1950 in Buffalo, New York and was attracted to music at the age of four. Attending Public School 8, then Woodlawn Jr. High for a year, he took music more seriously from his early teens while at McKinley Vocational High School for two years, and having his first professional gig aged fifteen, playing in a strip club. He spent his final year at Lafayette High School. The only formal musical instruction he received was a month of accordion lessons.
Foster initially performed with other local musicians before moving to New York City with his own band, and acquired a publishing company. He has performed as a sideman with a wide range of musicians, frequently working with guitarist George Benson and playing on the guitarist’s album Breezin’.
He has played organ with Grant Green, Grover Washington, Jr., Stanley Turrentine, Roberta Flack, Earl Klugh, Harvey Mason, Jimmy Smith, and Stevie Wonder. His music Mystic Brew has been sampled by A Tribe Called Quest and J. Cole.
Organist Ronnie Foster, who is also a record producer, continues to perform, record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Duke Jones was born Albert Jones on May 6th in White Plains, New York. The nickname was given to him by his favorite aunt due to his love of music at an early age. He began learning trumpet at the age of nine and played in elementary school through high school. He formed a band with The Lewis Brothers and Sharon Bryant that ultimately became Atlantic Starr.
Jones attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, studying music and film. He worked the New York club circuit and continued his studies with traditional island rhythms, calypso and soca at the University of Virgin Islands. He was influenced by Kenny Dorham, Woody Shaw, Lee Morgan, Benny Bailey and Miles Davis.
He would go on to tour Japan, Europe and Africa, working with The Temptations, Angela Bofill, Larry Coryell and Marion Meadows. He has collaborated and recorded with August Darnell, and drummer Norman Connors. Duke served as Vice President of Creole Records, a label started with then band mate August Darnell (Kid Creole). In 2005, he formed Café Soul All-Stars, recording their debut album Love Pages which featured George Benson, Roy Ayers and Kenny Garrett among others.
Trumpeter and flugelhornist Duke Jones continues to perform, record and collaborate with his music.
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