Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bill Frisell was born William Richard Frisell on March 18, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, but spent most of his youth in the Denver, Colorado area. He studied clarinet with Richard Joiner of the Denver Symphony Orchestra as a youth, graduated from Denver East High School, and went to the University of Northern Colorado to study music. His original guitar teacher in Denver was Dale Bruning, then after studying with Johnny Smith and graduating from Northern Colorado, Bill went to Berklee College of Music and studied with Jon Damian and Jim Hall.

Frisell’s major break came when guitarist Pat Metheny was unable to make a recording session, and recommended Frisell to Paul Motian who was recording Psalm in 1982 for ECM Records. This led to his becoming ECM’s in-house guitar player, and worked on several albums. His first solo release was In Line, featuring solo guitar and duets with bassist Arild Andersen.

Frisell’s first group to receive much acclaim was a quartet with bassist Kermit Driscoll, drummer Joey Baronon and Hank Roberts on cello. Many other albums with larger ensembles were recorded with this trio as the core after the departure of Roberts.

In the 1980s he lived in Hoboken, New Jersey and his access to New York City had him active in the city’s music scene. He forged an early partnership with John Zorn, was a member of the quick-change band Naked City, and became known for his work in Motian’s trio, along with saxophonist Joe Lovano. By 1988 he moved to Seattle, Washington and in the early 1990s Bill made two of his best-reviewed albums: his survey of Americana with Have A Little Faith and This Land, a complementary set of originals.

Frisell has recorded with Jan Garbarek, Douglas Septemberon, Ryuchi Sakamoto, Rickie Lee Jones, Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega, Arto Lindsay, Loudon Wainwright III, Vic chestnut, Van dyke Parks, Buddy Miller, Ron Sexsmith, Chip Taylor, Fred Hersch, John Pizzarelli, Matt Chamberlain, Tucker Martine and Lee Townsend among others.

He has branched out by performing soundtracks to silent films of Buster Keaton, provided music for his friend Gary Larson’s TV version of The Far Side, contributed music to the 2000 film Finding Forrester, and has won a Grammy in 2005. Over the past decade guitarist Bill Frisell, who also plays clarinet and tenor saxophone, has continuously performed, recorded and toured.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jessica Williams was born on March 17, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland. She began her music career young, taking piano lessons at the age of four and began classical training at the Peabody Conservatory of Music when she was seven. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during her teens and began playing with the quintet of former Miles Davis drummer, the Philly Joe Jones.

In 1977, moving to San Francisco, California, she played in various house bands, such as Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Tony Williams and Stan Getz. She also became the house pianist for the Keystone Korner. Over the course of her career Williams has recorded for Candid, Fantasy, Timeless, Concord, Jazz Focus, Hep and MaxJazz record labels.

Jessica began her own record label in 1997, called Red and Blue Recordings, to release her own original material. In addition, she established her own publishing company, JJW Music, and runs her own Internet CD mail-order business.

She is a three-time Grammy nominated pianist, was awarded   a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for composition and has performed at the 2004 and 2006 Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Festivals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Pianist and composer Jessica Williams continues to perform, tour and record.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ike Carpenter was born Isaac M. Carpenter on March 11, 1920 in Durham, North Carolina. He began performing on piano with bands at a very young age, in the mid-1930s. After graduating from college, he performed with a number of successful musicians, including Johnnie Davis.

In 1944, Ike worked briefly as a pianist in Boyd Raeburn’s first influential jazz group, then put together his first band, working gigs on the East coast. In 1947 he relocated to Hollywood where he formed a popular 12-man band that played primarily in the Los Angles area, but touring up the West coast as far as Canada.

By the 1950s, Carpenter left the band scene, and worked as an accompanist for Ice Capades performers. Late in the decade he briefly returned as a bandleader with small groups, before retiring to his hometown in North Carolina.

Recording for the Modern Records label, much of his music was arranged by noted jazz arranger and composer Paul Villepigue. Over the years he played and recorded with Lucky Thompson, Gerald Wilson, Ted Nash, and George Weidler among others. His band was featured in two Hollywood musical films in the 1950s, Rhythm and Rhyme and Holiday Rhythm. Bandleader and jazz pianist Ike Carpenter, popularly active in the post-World War II years on the West Coast, passed away on November 17, 1998 in his hometown of Durham. He was 78.

Dose A Day-Blues Away

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Don Abney was born John Donald Abney on March 10, 1923 in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied piano and French horn at the Manhattan School of Music, playing the latter in an Army band during military service.

After being honorably discharged from the Army he played in ensembles with Wilbur de Paris, Bill Harris, Kai Winding, Chuck Wayne, Sy Oliver, and Louis Bellson. He had a sustained career as a session musician recording with Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter, Oscar Pettiford, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Eartha Kitt and Pearl Bailey. His studio work included playing on a large number of recordings for more minor musicians such as Marilyn Moore, as well as on R&B, pop, rock, and doo-wop releases.

After moving to Los Angeles, California and settling in Hollywood, he worked as musical director for Universal Studios/MCA. He appeared as a pianist in the film Pete Kelly’s Blues behind Ella Fitzgerald. Additional credits include recording and arrangements for the film Lady Sings the Blues.

After touring with Anita O’Day in the 1980s he moved to Japan in the early Nineties and toured there with considerable success, and playing weekly at Tokyo’s Sanno Hotel. Upon his return to the United States in 2000, pianist Don Abney, who never recorded as a leader, passed away of complications due to kidney dialysis on January 20, 2000 in Los Angeles, California.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Cy Touff was born Cyril James Touff on March 4, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. He started on piano at age 6 and went on to play xylophone and saxophone before settling on trumpet.

Serving in the Army from 1944 to 1946, while in the military Touff played trombone. After the war he switched to bass trumpet and worked with Woody Herman and Sandy Mosse among others. He joined Herman’s band in 1953 and in 1954-55 played with a reduced version of the band that also included Richie Kamuca.

Touff and Mosse co-led an octet called Pieces of Eight from the late 1950s into the next decade. He also recorded as a leader for Pacific Jazz, Argo and Mercury record labels. Though he spent most of his life in Chicago, he was also well associated with West Coast jazz.

One of the few jazz musicians known as a bass trumpeter, Cy Touff passed away in Evanston, Illinois on January 24, 2003.

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