Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Teddy McRae was born in Waycross, Georgia on January 22, 1908 but was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Playing with local ensembles, including one composed of family members, when he was young. He played with June Clark in 1926 before his move to New York City to form his own band.
Through the Thirties he played with Charlie Johnson, Elmer Snowden, Stuff Smith, Lil Armstrong, and Chick Webb, the last as both a soloist and arranger. After Webb’s death he was musical director for the orchestra during its tenure under the leadership of Ella Fitzgerald from 1939 to 1941. He recorded in the decade with Benny Morton, Teddy Wilson, and Red Allen.
In the 1940s McRae worked in the orchestras of Cab Calloway, Jimmie Lunceford, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Armstrong; he also served as Armstrong’s musical director during his period with that band. He wrote tunes for Artie Shaw and formed his own band in 1945.
He and Eddie Wilcox formed their own short~lived R&B label, Raecox, in the 1950s. Teddy recorded with Champion Jack Dupree in 1955-56, and recorded a few sides for Groove Records in 1955 and Moonshine Records in 1958.
Tenor saxophonist and arranger Teddy McRae, who was also known as Teddy (Mr. Bear) McRae, or simply as Mr. Bear, passed away on March 4, 1999.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Steven Dirk Gilmore was born January 21, 1943 in Trenton, New Jersey and picked up bass when he was twelve years old, playing locally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a teenager. At age 17 he enrolled at the Advanced School of Contemporary Music, run by Oscar Peterson.
Later in the 1960s Steve played with Ira Sullivan and the Baker’s Dozen Big Band. In 1967 he joined Flip Phillips’s group and remained until 1971, after which he worked with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Mose Allison, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Phil Woods, Richie Cole, and the National Jazz Ensemble.
The 1980s saw him performing with John Coates, Meredith D’Ambrosio, Dave Frishberg, Hal Galper, Tom Harrell, and Toshiko Akiyoshi, as well as with Woods. Gilmore and Woods would remain collaborators well into the 1990s.
In 1988 he began working with Dave Liebman, with whom he would work intermittently through the late 1990s. Other performing and recording associations included Carol Sloane, Susannah McCorkle, Bill Charlap, and Jim Hall, Tony Bennett, Michele LeGrand, Tom Waits, Susannah McCorkle, and Eddie Jefferson.
An experienced clinician, he has recorded eight jazz Play-along teaching recordings with Jamey Aebersold. In addition he has produced two transcribed bass line books and has received three Best Of The Year Grammy Group Awards in 1977, 1982, 1983 as part of the Phil Woods Quartet. Bassist Steve Gilmore continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ray Anthony was born Raymond Antonini on January 20, 1922 into an Italian family in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania but moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he studied the trumpet. From 1940~1941 he played in Glenn Miller’s band and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he formed his own group and the Ray Anthony Orchestra became popular in the early 1950s with The Bunny Hop, Hokey Pokey, and the theme from Dragnet. He had a No. 2 chart hit with a remake of the Glenn Miller tune At Last in 1952, the highest charting pop version of the song in the United States.
The following year his orchestra was featured when Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly headlined a summer replacement program for Perry Como’s CBS television show. From 1953–1954 Ray was musical director of the television series TV’s Top Tunes.
After appearing as himself in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs and starring in a short-lived television variety show, The Ray Anthony Show. Anthony he revved up his acting appearing in films during the late 1950s. In 1957, Anthony and his orchestra recorded the music score for the film This Could Be The Night, with vocals performed by Julie Wilson.
After his marriage to Mamie van Doren ende so did his brief film career. He continued his musical career and had another hit record with the theme from Peter Gunn, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Among his pianists was Allen “Puddler” Harris, and Kellie Greene, who also played the vibraphone. As a composer he wrote Thunderbird, The Bunny Hop, Trumpet Boogie, Big Band Boogie, and Mr. Anthony’s Boogie. Trumpeter Ray Anthony remains active today.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Streamline Ewing was born John Richard Ewing on January 19, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas and began his career when he was seventeen. Four years later he was with Horace Henderson, then with Earl Hines live and on record from 1938 to 1939 and from 1941 to 1942. He worked for short spans with Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton in the 1940s, in addition through the 1940 decade he worked with Jimmie Lunceford, Cab Calloway, Jay McShann, Cootie Williams, Louis Jordan, and Earl Bostic.
Moving to California in the early 1950s Ewing played with George Jenkins and in the studio with T-Bone Walker and Gerald Wilson. He began playing with Teddy Buckner in 1956 and the two would play together on and off into the 1980s. He led his band the Streamliners for recording sessions in 1958 and 1960. In 1962 he toured with Henderson again and with Rex Stewart in 1967. Late in the 1960s he played in the Young Men of New Orleans band.
In 1983 he played with the Eagle Brass Band and recorded with Johnny Otis in 1990. In the 1990s he played on two Willy DeVille albums: Backstreets of Desire and Big Easy Fantasy.
A prolific session player he recorded with Hoyt Axton, David Bromberg, Roy Brown, Bobby Bryant, Teddy Buckner, Red Callender, Papa John Creach, Willy DeVille, Judy Henske, Earl Hines, Diana Ross, Ike & Tina Turner, and Bob Thiele among others. Trombonist Streamline Ewing passed away on February 1, 2002 in Pasadena, California.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Al Foster was born on January 18, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia and grew up in New York City. He began playing drums at the age of 13 and made his recording debut on Blue Mitchell’s The Thing to Do at age 20.
He joined Miles Davis’s group when Jack DeJohnette left in 1972 and stayed with Davis until 1985. Foster began composing in the 1970’s, and has toured with his own band, including musicians such as bassist Doug Weiss, saxophonist Dayna Stephens, and pianist Adam Birnbaum.
He played with Miles Davis during the 1970s and was one of the few people to have contact with Davis during his retirement from 1975 to 1981. Al also played on Davis’s 1981 comeback album The Man with the Horn. He was the only musician to play in Davis’s band both before and after his retirement.
Other artists Foster has performed and recorded with include Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Randy & Michael Brecker, Bill Evans, George Benson, Kenny Drew, Carmen McRae, Stan Getz, Toots Thielemans, Dexter Gordon and Chick Corea.
Drummer Al Foster, who has toured extensively with Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, and Joe Henderson continues to engage in jazz.
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