Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Hal McKusick was born on June 1, 1924 in Medford, Massachusetts. Hal moved with his family at age 3 to nearby Newton and at age 8, Hal’s mother bought him a clarinet as a Christmas present, insisting first on a vow of daily practice sessions and weekly lessons. With clarinet in hand, Hal practiced relentlessly and took lessons from schoolteacher Frank Tanner, who used him in the school band on clarinet and alto saxophone at age 9. Sight-reading came quickly to Hal, and by age 15, he was playing Boston’s burlesque house, the Old Howard Theater.
By the 40s and WWII McKusick was playing with Les Brown and moved through the decade playing with Boyd Raeburn and then Claude Thornhill. In the early 1950s he worked with Terry Gibbs and Don Elliott and in 1957 released his first album as a leader for Prestige titled Triple Exposure. As a sideman he sat in on recording sessions with groups led by George Russell and Jimmy Giuffre; worked with Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Paul Chambers, Connie Kaye, Lee Konitz and John Coltrane.
During the 60s he joined the CBS orchestra playing alongside the likes of Hank and Thad Jones, playing Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center behind Judy Garland, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole and Barbara Streisand. In the 70s he moved east to New York and throughout the 70s and 80s he produced weekend performances at Jazz At Moon in Easthampton that led to forming his nonet featuring Clark Terry, Art Farmer, Percy Heath, Jim Hall, Mike LeDonne, Hank Jones, Jim McNeely Jerry Dodgion and others.
Hal McKusick, alto saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist, composer and educator taught at the Ross School in East Hampton, New York and also restored and sold antiques, restored and built Shaker furniture both for Bloomingdales and private commissions. On April 11, 2012 he passed away of natural causes at the age of 87.
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Hollywood On 52nd Street
A Second Chance comes from a 1962 film Two For The Seesaw adapted from the Broadway play written by William Gibson. Robert Wise directed and Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine played the lead roles. Andre Previn composed the music with lyrics by Dory Langdon.
The Story: Nebraska attorney Jerry Ryan (Mitchum) recently separated from his wife gets away from it all by moving into a shabby New York apartment. While struggling with the divorce, he meets struggling dancer Gittel Mosca (MacLaine) at a party. They instantly get along, begin to fall in love but the relationship is rocky and hampered by their differences in background and temperament. Gittel has a fling and Jerry can’t separate himself from his ex though the divorce is final. He decides to move back to Nebraska.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eric Revis was born on May 31, 1967 in Los Angeles, California. He grew up listening mostly to funk and rock music and it was not until when he was 14 years of age that he picked up an electric bass and taught himself how to play. He attended Southern University as biology major for a year, Eric relocated to San Antonio, TX where he got a regular gig playing 6 nights a week.
While working the gig Revis got turned onto jazz, notably Kind Of Blue, which influenced him to switch to acoustic bass. He studied under Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans but came to prominence attending the legendary school of Betty Carter in the mid-1990s.
In 1997, Eric met Branford Marsalis at a recording session with Russell Gunn. So impressed with the young bassist asked he Eric to join him on his recording, Bug Shot along with Kenny Kirkland and Jeff “Tain” Watts. The rest is history and the jazz bassist and composer has been a member of Branford Marsalis’s ensemble since 1997.
He released his debut album as a leader in 2004 titled Tales of the Stuttering Mime, has a sideman catalogue of thrity albums performing with Branford Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Joe Locke, Ralph Peterson, Orrin Evans, Frank McComb, J.D. Allen, Winard Harper, Sherman Irby and Russell Gunn among others. He has directed the Jazz Ensemble at Trinity University, in San Antonio, Texas from 2007/2008. He continues to perform, record and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sidney De Paris was born on May 30, 1905 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, the younger brother of trombonist Wilbur De Paris. A distinctive trumpeter who fit into both New Orleans jazz and swing settings, he was particularly expert with mutes. He was also a versatile musician, playing tuba, cornet, flugelhorn and singing from time to time.
From 1926 on into the Sixties, Sidney worked with Charlie Johnson’s Paradise Ten, Don Redman, Zutty Singleton, Benny Carter, Art Hodes, Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet. He recorded on the famed Panassie sessions of 1938 and as a leader recorded some highly enjoyable and freewheeling sessions in the Forties for Commodore and Blue Note.
He played with his brother Wilbur’s New New Orleans Jazz Band through the ’50s before ill health forced his retirement in the 1960s. Trumpeter Sidney De Paris passed away on September 13, 1967 in New York City.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sean Jones was born on May 29, 1978 in Warren, Ohio. Among his first musical experiences were the gospel music he heard in church where he sang and performed with the Saint James’ Church of God in Christ choir. As a beginning musician, Jones started on the drums and switched to trumpet in the fifth grade after his grandmother told him about his grandfather playing that instrument during World War II. He developed an interest in jazz around the same time, after receiving two albums by Miles Davis from his band instructor, namely Kind of Blue and Tutu.
By the time he entered high school Sean had decided to pursue a career as a professional musician, and studied classical trumpet as well as jazz. In 2000, Jones obtained an undergraduate degree in classical trumpet performance from Youngstown State University and later a master’s degree from Rutgers University.
As a session musician he has performed with several notable ensembles and musicians, including Tia Fuller, Gerald Wilson, Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Heath and Frank Foster. He has had a six-month stint with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, after which Marsalis offered him a position with the ensemble as lead trumpeter, became a music professor at Duquesne University.
Sean is featured on Nancy Wilson’s Grammy winning “Turned To Blue”, has released five albums for Mack Avenue Records as a bandleader, has played the Monterey, Detroit International and Montreal International Jazz Festivals and currently holds the position of Interim Artistic Director for the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and held a position as Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet at Oberlin Conservatory for the 2012-13 academic year. He continues to perform, record, teach and tour.
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