Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mace Hibbard was born and raised in Waco, Texas on October 22, 1976. His early music lessons included piano and voice until settling on the saxophone at age ten. Through his teen years he played with his father, trumpeter Dave Hibbard, attaining a firm grasp of jazz history and its standard repertoire.
Hibbard attended the University of Texas in Austin, earning a Bachelor’s in Musical Performance and a Masters in Jazz Studies. While in Austin, he developed as a composer and formed “Odd Man Out”, releasing their self-titled debut on Viewpoint Records in 2000. Developing his reputation as an outstanding performer in all genres, playing in ensembles as diverse as The Austin Symphony, singer-songwriter Drew Smith, The Creative Opportunity Orchestra, and The Stingers.
After 10 years of being one of the most sought after woodwind players in Austin, Mace relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. This led to his association with The Derek Trucks Band and Soul Stew Revival with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi in 2005, with this union culminating in his winning a 2010 Grammy Award for his playing and horn arrangements on Already Free. He has performed at the 2008 Atlanta Jazz Festival, 2009 Battle Royale celebration concert at the Savannah Music Festival where he was a featured soloist alongside such jazz luminaries as the Marcus Roberts Trio, The Clayton Brothers, Terrell Stafford, Scotty Barnhart, Jeff Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon and Andre Hayward.
Mace released his debut album as a leader, “When Last We Met” in 2007 to critical acclaim and worldwide airplay, his sophomore project “Time Gone By” was released in 2011. His playing and compositions can be found on recordings by Melvin Jones, Yonrico Scott, Ben Tucker, The Joe Gransden Big Band, Jennifer Holliday, Trey Wright, Bryant Thompson, and Marlon Patton, and is a featured saxophonist/composer on Atlanta Sax Allstars.
Saxophonist Mace Hibbard continues to perform leading his quintet while touring and sharing the stage with Marcus Printup, The Temptations, The O’Jays, The Four Tops, Kenny Rogers, Wayne Newton, Frankie Avalon, Frankie Valli, The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, and rock bands Scrapmatic and Son Volt and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
An educator in his own right Mace teaches jazz saxophone and improvisation at Georgia State University, has taught jazz studies at Jackson State University, and has conducted clinics throughout the United Staes and Canada. Soprano and tenor saxophonist, composer and educator Mace Hibbard continues to evolve his legacy in jazz.
More Posts: saxophone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Don Elliott was born on October 21, 1926 in Somerville, New Jersey. He played mellophone in his high school band and played trumpet for an army band. After study at the University of Miami he added vibraphone to his arsenal of instruments. He recorded with Terry Gibbs and Buddy Rich before forming his own band.
From 1953 to 1960 he won the Down Beat readers poll several times for “miscellaneous instrument-mellophone.” Known as the “Human Instrument”, Elliott additionally performed jazz as a vocalist, trombonist, flugelhornist and percussionist. He pioneered the art of multi-track recording, composed over 5000 jingles with a countless number being prize-winning advertising jingles, prepared film scores, recorded over 60 albums and built a thriving production company.
Don scored several Broadway productions, such as The Beast In Me and A Thunder Carnival, the latter of which he performed with the Don Elliott Quartet, provided one of the voices for the novelty jazz duo the Nutty Squirrels, and lent his vocal talents to such motion picture soundtracks as The Getaway, $ (Dollars), The Hot Rock and The Happy Hooker.
His album Calypso Jazz is considered by some jazz enthusiasts to be one of the definitive calypso jazz albums. He worked with Paul Desmond, Bill Taylor, Billy Eckstine, Bill Evans, Urbie Green, Michel Legrand, George Shearing and Mundell Lowe among others over his career. Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, publisher and producer Don Elliott, who was a longtime associate of Quincy Jones, passed away of cancer in Weston, Connecticut on July 5, 1984.
More Posts: flugelhorn,mellophone,percussion,trombone,trumpet,vibraphone,vocal
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Red Richards was born Charles Coleridge Richards on October 19, 1912 in New York City and began playing classical piano at age ten. After hearing Fats Waller at age 26 he concentrated on jazz. His first major professional gig was with Tab Smith at the Savoy Ballroom in New York from 1945 to 1949. He went on to play and record with Pee Wee Russell, Bob Wilber, Sidney Bechet, Buck Clayton, Big Chief Moore, Muggsy Spanier, Fletcher Henderson through the Fifties.
Richards toured Italy and France with Mezz Mezzrow, accompanied Frank Sinatra while in Italy, became a solo performer for a year in Columbus, Ohio, and played with Wild Bill Davison in the late 50s and again in 1962.
In 1960 Red formed Saints & Sinners with Vic Dickerson, playing with this ensemble until 1970. He joined jazz drummer Chuck Slate’s band in 1971, recorded an album with him called “Bix ‘N All That Jazz”. Through the mid-Seventies he worked with Eddie Condon, put together his own trio for two years, played with Panama Francis’s Savoy Sultans touring with them from1979 through the Eighties.
Pianist Red Richards recorded nine albums as a leader, recorded with Bill Coleman in 1980 and continued to tour nearly till the time of his death on March 12, 1998 in Scarsdale, New York.
More Posts: piano
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Esperanza Spalding was born October 18, 1984 in Portland, Oregon. Raised in a single parent household she was greatly influenced by her mother who was a singer, though she attributes cellist Yo-Yo Ma as her inspiration to make music her life. By the time Spalding was five, she had taught herself to play the violin and was playing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon, staying with them until fifteen and left as concertmaster.
While homeschooled through elementary years Esperanza gleaned lessons from her mother’s guitar instructor when she was eight and would return home and play what she learned. She played oboe and clarinet before discovering the bass at 14 while attending The Northwest Academy. Bored with the ease of high school when she was 15 or 16 years old, Spalding dropped out and started writing lyrics for music for the local indie rock/pop group Noise for Pretend, touching on any topic that came to mind.
Spalding had begun performing live in Portland with her first gig at 15 in a blues club, when she could play only one line on bass and was soon learning from seasoned professionals during the band’s rehearsals. She went on to get her GED, enroll in Portland State University, then left with full scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music.
Almost immediately after graduation Esperanza was hired by her alma mater at age 20, becoming one of the youngest instructors in the institution’s history. In 2006 she released her debut album “Junjo” followed by her sophomore project “Esperanza” in which she sings in English, Spanish and Portuguese. These two projects were followed up with “Chamber Music Society” and her fourth album “Radio Music Society”.
She was personally chosen by President Obama to perform at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies and concert, she has won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2011, Jazz Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards, has collaborated with Tineke Postma, Nicholas Payton and Teri Lyne Carrington among others, performed at the 84th Academy Awards and has donated a portion of her 2012 tour proceeds from merchandise sales to the non-profit organization “Free The Slaves” that combats worldwide human trafficking.
She has gone on to record an album in 77 hours while streaming the process live on Facebook, compose and record her 7th album 12 Little Spells, due out this October 2018 and has received an honorary Doctorate of music from Berklee. Bassists and vocalist Esperanza Spalding continues to compose, record, perform and tour.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bill Charlap was born William Morrison Charlap on October 15, 1966 in New York City. Coming from a musical background and a distant cousin to famed jazz pianist Dick Hyman. His mother, singer Sandy Stewart had the hit “My Coloring Book”, his father, Broadway composer Moose Charlap.
Charlap began playing piano at age three. He later studied classical music but remained most interested in jazz. Over his career he has worked with Gerry Mulligan, Benny Carter, Tony Bennett and others. In the mid-90s, he was the musical director of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, A Celebration of Johnny Mercer, part of New York’s JVC Jazz Festival. In 1995 he joined the Phil Woods Quintet.
Charlap has recorded seven albums as a leader or co-leader for Blue Note, has had two Grammy nominated CDs: “Somewhere” and “The Bill Charlap Trio, Live At The Village Vanguard”. He has recorded two albums as a leader for Venus Records, as well as eight albums as a member of the New York Trio.
Bill appears at least twice a year for lengthy runs at some of the world’s major jazz clubs with his rhythm section, consisting of Peter Washington and Kenny Washington. He became the Artistic Director of New York’s 92nd Street Y “Jazz in July” six program series in 2004. In 2008, the pianist became part of The Blue Note 7, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the label, recording Mosaic with promotion tour around the world. He continues to compose, record and tour.
More Posts: piano