Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ron Affif was born on December 30, 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of mixed Lebanese and Italian origin. His father, a jazz fan, initiated him in music and his uncle, renowned jazz guitarist Ron Anthony, with whom he would study from age 12. He also studied with Jerry Conderata and Joe Negri.
Moving to Los Angeles he took lessons from the jazz guitarist Joe Pass, then worked with everybody from Al Martino to Roger Williams and learned a ton of Gershwin tunes before moving to New York City in late 1989. By the late 1990s, he recorded five albums under the Fantasy record label, of which the best known is “52nd Street”. In 1998, he formed the Ron Affif Trio alongside fellow musicians bassist Essiet Okon Essiet and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts.
Affif’s style is bop-based reminiscent of Wes Montgomery and George Benson. He has played with Dick Berk, Dave Pike, Pete Christlieb and Jack Sheldon. His singing quality is what distinguishes Ron from most of the other guitarists. He phrases with a sense of rhythm and pace allowing each note to blossom and recede with a breath-like purity and relaxation that belies his fiery chops. Hard bop guitarist Ron Affif continues to perform, compose, record and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
George Colligan was born on December 29, 1969 in New Jersey and raised in Columbia, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. He attended the Peabody Institute, majoring in classical trumpet and music education. In high school he learned to play the drums and later switched to piano.
Moving to New York City he quickly became an in-demand sideman working with Phil Woods, Billy Higgins, Gary Bartz, Nicholas Payton, Buster Williams, Don Byron, Vanessa Rubin, Christian McBride and Cassandra Wilson and many others.
George’s eclectic style incorporates everything from show tunes to funk, from free improvisation to modern classical music. He performs at festivals all over the world, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and the Cancun Jazz Festival.
As an educator, Colligan has taught at the Juilliard School of Music, the University of Manitoba, was the songwriter-in-residence at Aqua Books and has taught jazz history, piano, drums, trumpet, and led many different master classes. Continuing to perform and record, George Colligan is currently an Assistant Professor and Jazz Ensembles Coordinator at Portland State University in Oregon.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Woody Shaw born December 24, 1944 in Laurinburg, North Carolina with a photographic memory and perfect pitch. Growing up in Newark, New Jersey from the age of one, he began playing bugle at age 9 and performed in the Junior Elks, Junior Mason, and Washington Carver Drum and Bugle Corps. Though not his first choice of instrument, wanting to play the violin, he began studying classical trumpet at Cleveland Junior High School at the age of 11.
Shaw skipped two grades and began attending Newark Arts High School, pursuing an education at Julliard School and his interest in jazz, as his first influences were Louis Armstrong and Harry James. As a teenager, he worked professionally at weddings, dances, and nightclubs. He eventually left school but continued his study of the trumpet under the influence of Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Booker Little, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard.
In 1963, after many local professional jobs, Woody worked for Willie Bobo with Chick Corea and Joe Farrell before moving to Paris at age 19. There he gigged with Nathan Davis, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Johnny Griffin and Art Taylor. In England he played with Davis, and childhood friends Larry Young and Billy Brooks.
Returning to the States in 1964, Shaw began his career as one of Blue Note Records’ formidable “house” trumpet players. He replaced Carmel Jones in the Horace Silver Quintet, and made his first Blue Note debut on Larry Young’s famed Unity album (1965), upon which three of his compositions “Zoltan”, “Moontrane”, and “Beyond All Limits” would appear.
Over the course of his career he would collaborate frequently and record with Chick Corea, Jackie McLean, Booker Ervin, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Max Roach, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Mulgrew Miller, Steve Turre and others. He travelled all over Europe, performed with Max Roach in Iran in 1969, toured Japan, England, Italy, Germany Sweden, Switzerland, Egypt, Sudan, UAE, and India.
He would work as a studio musician and in pit orchestras and on Broadway musicals. He released several albums for Muse and Columbia record labels, was nominated for two Grammy Awards, and was voted Best Jazz Trumpeter of the Year among other accolades and honors. As an educator he taught countless clinics, master classes and private lessons to students around the world, was on the faculty of Jamey Aebersold’s jazz camp, taught Wynton Marsalis, Ingrid Monson, Chris Botti, Wallace Roney and Terence Blanchard among others.
Trumpeter Woody Shaw passed away at age 44 of kidney failure on May 10, 1989, leaving a memorable catalogue of more than sixty albums as a leader and sideman.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Frank Morgan was born on December 23, 1933 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and took after his father playing the guitar until he was seven, when he went to see Charlie Parker. Meeting him backstage, Parker suggested the clarinet for embouchure and two years later he switched to the saxophone.
Moving to California at age of 14, Frank entered and won a talent contest that provided him the opportunity to solo with Freddy Martin. But he hung out in the wrong circles and started taking heroin at 17, subsequently becoming addicted. He recorded with Teddy Charles in ’53 and Kenny Clarke in ’54 and touted as Charlie Parker’s successor, he would cut his first self-titled album “Frank Morgan” in 1955.
It would be three decades before his sophomore project due to his addiction and spending some twenty years in prison for various drug-related crimes. He would, however, form a small ensemble at San Quentin prison in the 1960s with another addict and sax player Art Pepper.
The Frank Morgan Quartet featured pianist Dolo Coker on piano, Flip Greene on bass and drummer Larance Marable. In 1985 he started recording again, releasing Easy Living in June 1985. This kicked off one of jazz’s most amazing comebacks. He recorded and toured vigorously but suffered a stroke in 1998. He subsequently recovered and once again began recording and performing.
Though mainly playing alto saxophone, Frank also played soprano and has recorded a string of excellent sets for Contemporary, Antilles, and Telarc, and has become an inspiring figure in the jazz world. Bebop alto saxophonist Frank Morgan passed away on December 14, 2007.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Pete Levin was born on December 20, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts and started his musical journey on the French horn under the direction John Corley, director of the MIT concert band. Inspired by his teacher, he enrolled at Julliard School of Music in New York City.
Moving to New York in the 70s, Pete began a 15-year association with the Gil Evans Orchestra as both a French horn and electric keyboardist, receiving two Grammy awards during his tenure. This he followed with eight years with Jimmy Giuffre.
As a bandleader, he signed his first record deal with Grammavision Records in 1990, releasing his solo jazz project “Party In The Basement” followed by “Solitary Man” the following year. He went on to release four new age albums and produced the album Deacon Blues in 2007.
He plays Hammond organ, clavinet and Moog synthesizer, has performed, composed or arranged for such film and television scores as Missing In Action, Lean On Me, The Color of Money, The Guiding Light, Spin City, America’s Most Wanted, Star Trek and the Discovery Channel’s Secret of the Humpback Whales among others.
As a sideman Levin has performed with Carla Bley, The Brubeck Brothers, Jimmy Cobb, Hiram Bullock, Rachelle Ferrell, Chuck Mangione, Gregory Hines, Wayne Shorter, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, Vanessa Williams, Lenny White, Lew Soloff and Gerry Mulligan on the short list. He continues to perform, record, arrange and tour.
