Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bill Jennings was born September 12, 1919 in Indianapolis, Indiana and started out with his twin brother, Albert, in a trio called The Three Spades. He would later work with Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, Wild Bill Davis Trio, Jack McDuff, Willis “Gator” Jackson, Bill Doggett, Louis Armstrong, Chris Powell And His Five Blue Flames, Hot Lips Page and others.

Recording as both a leader and a sideman, Bill has influenced numerous musicians in the genres of jazz, soul, R&B, and blues guitar. B.B. King often mentioned Jennings as one of his biggest influences. He  recorded with such artists as Leo Parker, King Curtis, Ella Fitzgerald, Jerry Daniels of the Inkspots, Kenny Burrell, Betty Roche and Stuff Smith.

His unique ability to play in many styles included swing, bop, jump blues, R&B, and pop. Jennings played on Fever by Little Willie John, which made the Billboard R&B chart in the U.S. and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A left-handed player, Bill played guitar upside down, with the high strings at the top, which gave him a different approach to phrasing and bending the strings. Later in his career, he lost a finger on his fretting hand and began playing bass guitar.

Guitarist and composer Bill Jennings, who was described as “The Architect Of Soul Jazz”, transitioned at Veterans Hospital in Indianapolis on November 29, 1978 at the age of 59.

More Posts: bandleader,composer,guitar,history,instrumental,jazz,music

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Senri Oe was born on September 6, 1960, in Fujiidera city, Osaka, Japan. He began playing piano at the age of three, and was trained by his junior high school teacher Yumi Nara, who would go on to become an acclaimed opera singer. After each of the lessons, Nara would encourage him to improvise, and eventually he began to compose.

Upon being introduced to music by The Carpenters, Captain & Tenille and Gilbert O’Sullivan, Oe decided to become a singer-songwriter. Soon after, Oe’s music repertoire expanded to include jazz musicians such as Chris Conor, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Winton Kelly, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

In 1975 at 15 Oe intended to study jazz but after participating in the final Yamaha Popular Song Contest POPCON, in 1980 he entered Kwansei Gakuin University majoring in economics while simultaneously beginning to pursue a professional music career. He formed his first band during his time at university, was scouted by Sony Music and signed to Epic Sony Japan in 1981. His pop career unexpectedly took off and he chose to put his jazz aspirations on hold.

At the New School for Jazz, in 2008 Senri moved to Manhattan, New Yorkand later He went on to start a prolific carrer as a pop singer/songwriter but in 2007 he began his serious study of jazz. After graduating from The New School for Jazz, he launched his jazz record label, Peace Never Die Records, in 2012. His jazz debut album was Boys Mature Slow the same year. As of 2021 he has released another six albums under the PND label.

Oe’s work towards composing for a drum-less trio was titled Collective Scribble, with saxophone, piano and upright bass. He has recorded as a leader with Sheila Jordan, Jon Hendricks, Theo Bleckmann and Lauren Kinhan. His Answer July was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Jazz Album category in 2017.

Pianist, composer, producer, actor, singer, and songwriter Senri Oe continues to compose, perform and stretch the realms of his jazz imagination, while writing and producing music for other artists and film soundtracks.

More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,producer,vocal

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Addison Gerald Farmer was born on August 21, 1928 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and was born an hour after his twin brother Art, reportedly at 2201 Fourth Avenue. Their parents divorced when the boys were four, and their steelworker father was killed in a work accident not long afterward. He moved with his grandfather, grandmother, mother, brother and sister to Phoenix, Arizona when he was still four.

Addison and his brother moved to Los Angeles, California in 1945 and attended the music-oriented Jefferson High School. There they gained music instruction and met other developing musicians such as Sonny Criss, Ernie Andrews, Big Jay McNeely and Ed Thigpen. The brothers earned money by working in a cold-storage warehouse and by playing professionally.

Taking bass lessons from Frederick Zimmermann, he went on to study at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music. By late 1945, Farmer was with Johnny Alston and His Orchestra recording for the Bihari Brothers’ Modern Music label, and shortly after on the Blue Moon label. He later recorded with Teddy Edwards’s band. Farmer played in several groups with his brother, including in ensembles led by Benny Golson, Gigi Gryce, Mose Allison, Jay McShann, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis.

Bassist Addison Farmer, who recorded extensively for Prestige Records, transitioned from sudden unexpected death syndrome on February 20, 1963, in New York City at the age of 34.

More Posts: bass,history,instrumental,jazz,music

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

James Elbert Raney was born on August 20, 1927 in Louisville, Kentucky.In 1946, he worked his first paying gig as the guitarist with the Max Miller Quartet at Elmer’s in Chicago, Illinois. He was also a member of the Artie Shaw Orchestra and collaborated with Woody Herman for nine months in 1948. He also collaborated and recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Al Haig and later on with Bob Brookmeyer.

In 1967, alcoholism and other professional difficulties led him to leave New York City and return to his native Louisville. Raney lived with Ménière’s disease for thirty years, a degenerative condition that led to near deafness in both ears, although this did not stop him from playing.

In 1954 and 1955, he won the DownBeat Critics’ Poll for guitar. Guitarist Jimmy Raney, one of the most gifted and influential post war jazz guitarists in the world, transitioned from heart failure in Louisville on May 10, 1995.

More Posts: bandleader,guitar,history,instrumental,jazz,music

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

In 1970 he played with Albert Ayler at the Fondation Maeght in France. Two years later he toured throughout Europe with Karl Berger, recorded with Mal Waldron for Enja, and with Albert Mangelsdorff. In 1976 Allen played with a German jazz rock group called Embryo and in France he collaborated with Bireli Lagrene.

By 1991 he recorded Life at the Montreux Music Festival in trio-formation with Günter Lenz and Uli Lenz. For over twenty years he played with saxophonist Olaf Schönborn and bassist Mario Fadani in Trio Variety. Since 2009 with tap dancer Kurt Albert and Olaf Schönborn in Melody Rhythm & Tap.

Drummer Allen Blairman was diagnosed with cancer in January and transitioned on April 29, 2022 in Heidelberg, Germany at 81 years of age.

More Posts: drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music