Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joseph Samuel Thomas was born on May 31, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey. As a child, he learned to play alto and soprano saxophone, trombone, flute and piano, and also taught himself how to write music. Encouraged by his older brother, he began performing in clubs from the age of fifteen and was ultimately noticed by James Moody.
After enlisting in the United States Army he received a Purple Heart during combat in the Korean War. Returning to the States, Joe performed with Specks Williams and joined Rhoda Scott’s Trio in the early 1960s.
Thomas recorded with organist Jimmy McGriff and released a dozen albums under his own name in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a sideman he also recorded five albums with Scott, and one each with Ambersunshower, Beck, Buddy Terry and Joe Tex.
Flutist, tenor saxophonist and bandleader Joe Thomas passed away in Orange, New Jersey at the age of 84 on July 26, 2017.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Bernard Gordon was born May 30, 1939 in New York City, New York. He studied at Juilliard School and played with Buddy Johnson and Ray Draper in the 1950s.
Gordon worked with Lionel Hampton in 1961 and 1962 and with Lloyd Price and Sam Rivers later in the 1960s. By the 1970s, he was playing with Charles Tolliver, Clark Terry, Count Basie, Howard McGhee, and Frank Foster.
John led his own ensembles in the late 1970s, and his sidemen included Tolliver, Roland Alexander, Lisle Atkinson, Stanley Cowell, and Andrew Cyrille. During this decade he rejoined Hampton again, with whom he continued working until 1989.
After his Hampton residency Gordon played in Al Grey’s ensemble, Trombone Summit, and founded a group called Trombones Incorporated with Fred Joiner. When Joiner left the group in the early 1990s, he became its leader and changed its name to Trombones Unlimited. The late 1990s had him playing with Slide Hampton, Josh Roseman, Lafayette Harris, Martin Winder, Curtis Fuller, and Thilo Berg.
Gordon worked for several decades as a session musician for recordings and has also performed in pit orchestras for Broadway musicals. At 83, trombonist JOhn Gordon continues to play.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jon-Erik Kellso was born on May 8, 1964 in Dearborn, Michigan and began playing jazz music very young in life, while receiving some formal training in classical idioms.
He moved from Detroit, Michigan to New York City in 1989 to join Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. He has recorded many movie and TV soundtracks with the group, including the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack for Boardwalk Empire, The Aviator, Bessie, Ghost World, and Revolutionary Road.
He has performed and/or recorded with J.C. Heard, Catherine Russell, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Kat Edmonson, Milt Hinton, Ruby Braff, Marty Grosz, Bob Haggart, Dick Hyman, Wynton Marsalis, Ken Peplowski, Bucky Pizzarelli, Bob Wilber, Howard Alden, Wycliffe Gordon, and Kenny Davern among other jazz musicians.
Not limited to the genre he has also played and recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Leon Redbone, Maria Muldaur, Elvis Costello, Dave Van Ronk, and many others, appearing on over one hundred records. Since 2007 Kellso has led The EarRegulars at the historic Ear Inn in Manhattan on Sunday nights, and has recorded two acclaimed albums. Trumpeter Jon~Erik Kellso, who is a prolific session player, continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Marc Buronfosse was born on May 6, 1963 in Paris, France. His musical training commenced with classical guitar studies at the age of ten, then he began lessons on the upright bass in 1982 with Thierry Barbé while achieving studies in sound engineering and musicology. After receiving a prize at the Conservatoire de Paris XII, he started playing more and more jazz, working with bass players such as Cesarius Alvim, Charlie Haden, Reggie Workman and Henri Texier. He also worked with symphonic orchestras such as the Opéra de Paris and chamber music orchestras on a tour in Japan with the Solistes de Versailles.
1991 saw him obtaining a grant from the French Ministry of Culture and attending for one year in New York at The New School of Music. During this time he worked regularly with Gary Peacock, Marc Johnson and Mark Dresser. He also met and played with Jimmy Cobb, Steve Kühn, John Abercrombie, Lew Soloff, Jim Hall, Tim Berne, Dave Liebman, and Billy Harper and numerous others.
Returning to Paris he plays with Stéphane Guillaume Quartet + Brass Project, René Aubry Septet, Michel Elmalem Quartet, and Gueorgui Kornazov “Horizons” Quintet. As an educator he teaches jazz at the Conservatoire National de Région of Paris. Bassist Marc Buronfosse presently leads a quartet with musicians Benjamin Moussay, Jean Charles Richard and Antoine Banville.
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The Jazz Voyager
This Jazz Voyager is on his way to NOLA to investigate for you a new spot for jazz that I’ve never been to called Chickie Wah Wah. This intimate club is a revered local place for live jazz, roots and funk music while serving up creative sandwiches.
This week I’ll be listening to native trumpeter, pianist and composer Terence Blanchard featuring the E~Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet. They will be performing two shows at 8:00 and 10:00pm. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed on more than fifty. So we’ll be celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Jazz Fest on the same night.
Located in Mid~City, it’s just a short ride from the French Quarter to 2828 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119. One can always get more information at https://chickiewahwah.com/.
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