Daily Dose Of Jazz…
James “Plunky” Branch was born on July 20, 1947 in Richmond, Virginia and educated in the city’s segregated schools. He then attended Columbia University in New York City, but by 1971 he had moved to San Francisco, California. It was here that he formed Juju, a musical group that combined rhythm and blues, jazz, soul, and African musical influences.
He founded the band Plunky & Oneness, which began as Juju in 1971 which he renamed twice, Oneness of Juju and Plunky & the Oneness of Juju, before it was given its current name in 1988. One of Plunky & Oneness’ songs, Every Way But Loose, is featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, playing on fictional radio station Paradise FM.
Branch is the president and founder of the independent record label N.A.M.E. Brand Records, through which he has released 25 albums. As a studio musician Plunky has worked for The Cosby Show and has appeared on several avant-garde jazz albums.
As an educator he has been Director of the Jazz Ensemble at Virginia Union University as well as an instructor of Afro-American Music History at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He has been the recipient of two NEA Jazz Fellowships and was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force for the Promotion of the Arts in Virginia. In 1999 he was recognized by Richmond Magazine as Musician of the Year for 1999. J. Plunky Branch continues to perform, record, compose and produce.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Abraham Laboriel López was born on July 17, 1947 in Mexico City, Mexco into a talented family with a rock singer brother and a sister who is a singer, film and television actress. A classically trained guitarist, he switched to bass guitar while studying at the Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1972.
It was during this time that he learned the importance of versatility as a musician. Henry Mancini encouraged Laboriel to move to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a recording career, which he did in 1976. Though he struggled to find work for two years, he found his first gig on a road tour with Olivia Newton-John. After a consequent European tour with Al Jarreau, he settled into a full-time studio career in Los Angeles.
He would go on to work and record with Al Jarreau, Billy Cobham, Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Lalo Schifrin, Gary Birton, Stan Getz, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Quincy Jones, Randy Crawford, Dave Grusin, and Umberto Tozzi as well as Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Barbra Striesand, Madonna, Andre Crouch, Herb Alpert Minnie Riperton, Barry Manilow, and many others.
Abraham was a founding member of the bands Friendship and Koinonia. With the latter he recorded four albums. In addition he recorded several solo albums on which he recruited a cast of musicians that included Alex Acuña, Al Jarreau, Jim Keltner, Phillip Bailey, Ron Kenoly, his son Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums, and others.
In 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the Berklee College of Music. Electric bassist Abraham Laboriel has played on over 4000 recording sessions, is ranked No. 42 on Bass Player magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time, and continues to record and perform as a member of the band Open Hands with Justo Almario, Greg Mathieson, and Bill Maxwell.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Brenda Hopkins Miranda was born July 14th, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her childhood was filled with sounds from all over the world and from an early age her profound sensibilities led her to intuitively reject stylistic boundaries. She began her musical path at the age of five with piano, ballet and painting lessons at Bonneville School. Her remarkable talent got her admission to the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico to begin undergraduate studies in Classical Piano at 16 while still attending high school.
Holding a Bachelors Magna cum Laude degree in Classical Piano from the Conservatorio, she was awarded a Berklee School of Music scholarship, received a Masters degree with honors in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory, and completed Doctoral Studies in Musicology at the Universidad de Granada in Spain.
As a bandleader Hopkins Miranda has released six recordings between 1998 and 2017 with her last four albums making the top 20, with three of them in the top 10 and two in the top 5 album list. A recognized composer and artist on several short films and documentaries, throughout her professional career she has been active as a first call pianist on international tours for a host of Latin American artists like Ricardo Montaner, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Pandora, Ednita Nazario, Glenn Monroig, Yolandita Monge and many others.
In 2006 Brenda moved to Granada, Spain for two years to pursue a PHD in musicology at the Universidad de Granada. She successfully auditioned. Brenda is also a groundbreaking pioneer in education. She was the winner of the Gilles Boulet 2014 first prize and medal awarded in Florianopolis, Brazil by the Interamerican Organization for Higher Education and has created over 300 creativity exercises for musicians. Brenda gives music creativity workshops all over the world.
Pianist, composer, arranger, improviser, bandleader, and producer Brenda Hopkins Miranda currently is a professor at the Universidad Interamericana Recinto Metropolitano Music Program. She continues to perform.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Hector Rodriguez was born on July 11, 1965 in Mexico City, Mexico. He began playing guitar at 14, which led to him playing rock covers in high school bands. By 18 he started privately studying with renowned Mexio City musicians and immersing himself in jazz and other genres.
After several years of studying and playing professionally in his hometown, he ventured to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, majoring in performance. With financial assistance from the World Scholarship Tour award, there he studied with a host of the faculty, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in performance in 2008.
Another scholarship led him to the New Egland Conservatory of Music in Harford, Connecticut studying with the likes of Jerry Bergonzi, Danilo Perez and Jason Moran among others. He graduated in 2011with a Masters in Jazz Performance.
Since then has performed at festivals in Central America, Mexico and the United States. Guitarist Hector Rodriguez continues to perform and conduct workshops and masterclasses.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Milton Brent Buckner was born July 10, 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri to parents who encouraged him to learn to play piano, but they both died when he was nine years old. Milt and his younger brother Ted were sent to Detroit where they were adopted by members of the Earl Walton band, trombonist John Tobias, drummer George Robinson fostered Milt and reedplayer Fred Kewley fostered Ted. He studied piano for three years from the age 10, then at 15 began writing arrangements for the band. He and his brother went on to become active in the Detroit jazz world in the 1930s.
He first played in Detroit with the McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and then with Cab Calloway. In 1941, he joined Lionel Hampton’s big band, and for the next seven years served as its pianist and staff arranger. Buckner was part of a Variety Revue of 1950 organized by Lionel Hampton at the Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California. He led a short-lived big band of his own for two years, but then returned to Hampton’s in 1950.
In 1952, Milt formed his own trio and pioneered the use of the electric Hammond organ. He often played in Europe in the late 1960s. His last studio session took place in Paris. France on July 4, 1977. He is also known for the use of his song The Beast in the title menu of the video game, Battlefield: Bad Company.
Pianist and Hammond B3 organist Milt Buckner, who pioneered the parallel chords style that influenced Red Garland, George Shearing, Bill Evans, and Oscar Peterson, transitioned from a heart attack on July 27, 1977, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 62.
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