Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Horace Parlan was born on January 19, 1931 in Pittsburgh, PA who became an influential hard bop and post-bop pianist. Stricken with polio as a child that partially crippled his right hand, Parlan turned this would be handicap into what has been described as a “pungent left hand chord voicing style while complimenting highly rhythmic phrases with this right”.
He began playing in R&B bands in the 50’s until his move to New York where he joined Charles Mingus’ band from 1957 to 1959, a collaboration that greatly influenced Parlan’s career. Time would see him playing with Booker Ervin, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Johnny Griffin and Rahsaan Roland Kirk; was the house rhythm section for Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem with bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood while recording a strong series of sessions for Blue Note in the 60’s.
By 1973 Horace was on his way to Europe, settling in Copenhagen and gained international recognition through his Steeplechase recordings including exceptional duet dates with Archie Shepp. He also recorded with Dexter Gordon, Red Mitchell and in the 80’s with Frank Foster and Michael Urbaniak.
His later work, notably a series of duos with the tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, including the album Goin’ Home, is steeped in gospel music. He has recorded nearly two-dozen albums as a leader and more as a sideman. In 2000 he was a recipient of the Ben Webster Prize given by the Ben Webster Foundation. Horace Parlan, the hard bop/post-bop pianist who attributes Ahmad Jamal and Bud Powell as his major influences, resided and performed regularly in Copenhagen, Denmark until his passing on February 23, 2017 in Korsør, Denmark.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Cedar Walton was born Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. was born January 17, 1934 in Dallas Texas. After attending the University of Denver, he moved to New York in 1955. A two-year stint in the Army saw him performing in a jazz ensemble, whereupon his discharge he joined Kenny Dorham’s band. By the late 1950s Walton was playing with J. J. Johnson, the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet and Gigi Gryce. In 1959 he recorded as a member of John Coltrane’s group on his seminal work Giant Steps.
In the early 1960s, Cedar joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and for three years held the position of pianist/arranger, playing with Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard. He left the Messengers in 1964 and by the late Sixties was part of Prestige Records’ house rhythm section, where in addition to releasing his own recordings, he recorded with Sonny Criss, Pat Martino, Eric Kloss, and Charles McPherson.
Although he has been one of the finest interpreters of standards, Walton is considered one of the jazz world’s most underrated composers contributing “Bolivia”, “Fantasy in D”, Mosaic and “Ugetsu”.
During the mid-1970s, Walton led the funk group Mobius. He has recorded with Hank Mobley, Abbey Lincoln, Lee Morgan and led the group Eastern Rebellion with rotating members included Clifford Jordan, George Coleman, Bob Berg, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins.
In January 2010, he was inducted as a member of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters. Since first recording as a leader he has recorded some four-dozen albums and an equal amount as a sideman. Pianist Cedar Walton continued to lead his own groups and freelance until his death on August 19, 2013.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Drummer Aldo Romano was born in Belluno, Italy on January 16, 1941. As a child his family moved to France and was influenced by Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Ed Blackwell and Billy Higgins. By the 50’s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in Paris. It wasn’t until 1963 that his career took off when he started working with cornetist Don Cherry. He recorded with Steve lacy and go to tour with Dexter Gordon among others. In the 70’s his playing evolved into rock-influenced jazz-fusion and in 1978 he formed his own group.
During the 1980s Aldo returned to his earlier style of playing for several albums. Although he has lived most of his life in France, he retained affection for Italy and has set up a quartet of Italian jazz musicians. Romano also played a role in starting the career of the late Italian-French pianist Michel Petrucciani. In 2004 he won the Jazzpar Prize, in Copenhagen from among five nominees of internationally recognized performers of jazz. Considered to be the Nobel Prize of jazz, it was at the awards concert that he wowed the audience with his vocal rendition of Estate.
Over the course of his career Aldo Romano has performed or recorded with Joe Lovano, Baptiste Trotignon, Philip Catherine, Keith Jarrett, Johnny Griffin, Jackie McLean, Chet Baker, Steve Kuhn and Steve Swallow, just to name a few. He continues to pursue his life in jazz.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Osie Johnson was born James Johnson in Washington, DC on January 11, 1923. He started his drumming career in 1941 in Boston with the Sabby Lewis band and then during the war years in the Navy Band. Upon discharge from the service he freelanced around Chicago until he joined the Earl Hines band from 51-53.
He played stints with Dorothy Donegan and Illinois Jacquet prior to becoming one of the most in-demand drummers in the 50’s and first half of the 60’s in New York. As a busy session musician working with the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Dinah Washington, Wes Montgomery and Sonny Stitt, Paul Gonsalves, Zoot Sims and Mose Allison among the many who’s who list of musicians he kept time for.
On February 10, 1966 drummer, composer, arranger and singer Osie Johnson, who made a countless recordings as a leader and studio musician, passed away in New York City at the age of 43.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Max Roach was born Maxwell Lemuel Roach into the musical family of Alphonse and Cressie Roach on January 10, 1924 in the township of Newland in Pasquotank County, North Carolina. At the age of 4 the family moved to Bedford–Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, New York and few years later he was playing bugle and by 10 he was drumming in gospel bands. Upon graduation from Boy’s High School in 1942, the eighteen year old was called up to the majors filling in for Sonny Greer in the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Roach’s most significant innovations came in the 1940s, when he and jazz drummer Kenny Clarke devised a new concept of musical time. By playing the beat-by-beat pulse of standard 4/4 time on the “ride” cymbal instead of on the thudding bass drum, Roach and Clarke developed a flexible, flowing rhythmic pattern that allowed soloists to play freely. The new approach also left space for the drummer to insert dramatic accents on the snare drum, “crash” cymbal and other components of the trap set. By matching his rhythmic attack with a tune’s melody, Roach brought a newfound subtlety of expression to his instrument.
Max along with Kenny Clarke were the first drummers to play bebop and performed in the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. He played on many of Parker’s most important records including the Savoy 1945 session, a turning point in recorded jazz.
Roach went on to lead his own groups, and made numerous musical statements relating to the Black civil rights movement. He once observed, “In no other society do they have one person play with all four limbs.” Jazz percussionist, drummer, composer and innovator Max Roach left the jazz world on August 16, 2007.
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