Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Lyman Woodard was born on March 3, 1942 in Owosso, Michigan. He started his musical career with a trio with drummer Melvin Davis and guitarist Dennis Coffey. They recorded the album Hair And Thangs that was released under Coffey’s name, however a single with It’s Your Thing and River Rouge was released under the name of Dennis Coffey and the Lyman Woodard Trio.
From the late 1960s, Woodard recorded with Motown acts, and served as musical director for Martha and the Vandellas. Establishing the jazz~funk band, the Lyman Woodard Organization in 1975 recorded Saturday Night Special, and in 1979, he recorded Don’t Stop The Groove, for the Corridor label. His 1987 recording, Dedicacion, featured violinist Regina Carter.
In March 2009, Wax Poetics Records reissued a limited pressing of his Saturday Night Special as a double LP on 180-gram vinyl.
Organist Lyman Woodard, who was based in Detroit, Michigan and was known for his ability to fuse Latin and Afro~Cuban inspired rhythms, transitioned on February 25, 2009 in his hometown of Owosso.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alain Mion was born of French extraction on January 14, 1947 in Casablanca, Morocco but was raised in Paris, France.Influenced by Bobby Timmons, Ray Charles and Les McCann, his style varies between jazz, soul jazz and funky music. By the time he was 19 he formed his own trio and performed at the Blue Note. This subsequently led to him gigging at various festivals with Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones.
1974 Alain created the jazz funk group Cortex and recorded a dozen albums before embarking upon a career under his own name in 1982, recording to date eleven albums, such as Pheno-Men, Alain Mion in New York recorded with David Binney and Marc Johnson, and Some Soul Food recorded in Stockholm, Sweden with Patrik Boman and Ronnie Gardiner.
In 2008, he emerged with a new group, Alain Mion FunKey Combo with drums, bass and a saxophone section consisting of Italian and French musicians. He reinvented his new group Alain Mion & The New Cortex with the singer Adeline de Lépinay reprising the role originally performed by Mireille Dalbray on the Troupeau Bleu album.
In the United States, Alain Mion and Cortex’s songs have been sampled by several hip-hop artists including but not limited to Madlib, Fat Joe, DJ Day, MF DOOM, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Mellowhype, Tyler The Creator, Rick Ross, and Lupe Fiasco.
Pianist, composer, arranger, and vocalist Alain Mion continues his exploration of the jazz idiom.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jamaaladeen Tacuma was born Rudy McDaniel on June 11, 1956 in Hempstead, New York. Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he showed interest in music at a young age, taking up the electric bass and performing with the organist Charles Earland in his teens.
Through Earland, he came to know the record producer Reggie Lucas, who introduced Jamaaladeen to Ornette Coleman in 1975 at age 19. As the electric bassist for Coleman’s funky harmolodic Prime Time group, he rose to prominence quickly. During the 1980s he was playing a Steinberger bass that helped him create his readily identifiable sound.
His work with Prime Time got him an appearance with the band on Saturday Night Live in 1979. He went on to work with James “Blood” Ulmer, Walt Dickerson, Chuck Hammer, David Murray, and collaborated with The Golden Palominos in 1983. Tacuma recorded his first solo album as a leader, Show Stopper, that same year.
During the 1980s Jamaaladeen started to perform in a relatively straightforward funk/R&B setting with his group Cosmetic. He received the highest number of votes ever for an electric bassist in the “talent deserving wider recognition” category of the Down Beat magazine critics poll.
Though maintaining a low profile since the early 1990s, he has remained active but has maintained a lower profile. He has made numerous solo and collaborative recordings, returning to the jazz spotlight with an appearance on the World Saxophone Quartet’s Political Blues.
In 2007, he joined with Grant Calvin Weston and guitarist Vernon Reidto form the power trio Free Form Funky Freqs. He recorded two albums with Basso Nouveau. He has received numerous awards and fellowships and since 2015 he has presented the annual Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival in Philadelphia. Bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma continues to tour, produce and record worldwide.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jeff Lorber was born November 4, 1952 into a Jewish family in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. He started to play the piano when he was four years old and after playing in a number of R&B bands as a teen, he attended Berklee College of Music, where he developed his love for jazz. There he met and played alongside guitarist John Scofield and for several years he studied chemistry at Boston University.
Moving to Vancouver, Washington in 1972, his first group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, released their self-titled debut album in 1977 on Inner City Records. Recording five albums under his name, these early sessions showcased a funky jazz fusion sound, and his 1980 album, Wizard Island, introduced saxophonist Kenny G. In 1982, Lorber recorded his first solo album, It’s a Fact, which explored his R&B roots with a smoother, more synthesizer-heavy sound along with vocals.
Many of his songs have appeared on The Weather Channel segments as well as their compilation albums. He has had six Grammy Award nominations and his Prototype album won for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2018. Keyboardist, composer and record producer Jeff Lorber continues to produce, compose and perform.
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
As we approach November 3, VOTING in this very important election is this Quarantined Jazz Voyager’s top priority and I hope it is yours. Having received my absentee ballot, I will be delivering it this coming week. In the meantime, while remaining secluded and social distancing I’m pulling out an 2011 album by Pee Wee Ellis titled Tenoration.
It is a twelve-track jazz and funk double album by that is an all-instrumental album. Its subtitle, From Jazz to Funk and Back reflects Ellis’ affection to both jazz and funk music. On this production, he uses two different rhythm sections. CD1 emphasizes funk, and on CD 2 he’s bringing jazz.
The album was recorded in November 2010 and released the following year in April on the Art Of Groove label. The producer on the session was Joachim Becker.
Track Listing | 73:39 Disc 1- Slanky P (Pee Wee “Alfred” Ellis / Jim Payne) ~ 7:15
- Gittin’ A Little Hipper (James Brown /(Pee Wee “Alfred” Ellis / Bud Hobgood) ~ 3:01
- Bon Bonn ((Pee Wee “Alfred” Ellis) ~ 7:00
- Sticks (Cannonball Adderley) ~ 10:42
- Zig Zag (Pee Wee “Alfred” Ellis / Paul Rusky / Jim Schneider) ~ 7:01
- At Last (Mack Gordon / Harry Warren) ~ 6:04 #Out Of The Blue (Wright, Terry) ~ 2:15
- You’ve Changed (Bill Carey / Carl Fischer) ~ 4:30
- Sticks (Cannonball Adderley) ~ 4:11
- Parlayin’ (Pee Wee “Alfred” Ellis) ~ 4:30
- Sonnymoon For Two (Sonny Rollins) ~ 8:37
- Now Go On (Pee Wee “Alfred” Ellis) ~ 6:01
- Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris) ~ 4:47
- Guitar: Tony Remy (1-6)
- Keyboards: Dan Moore (1-6)
- Piano: Gareth Williams (7-12)
- Bass: Patrick Scales (1-6)
- Bass: Laurence Cottle (7-12)
- Drums: Guido May
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