Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Peck Morrison was born John A. Morrison on September 11, 1919 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was classically trained, and in addition to bass, being competent on trumpet and percussion was also his talent.
During World War II he played in military bands in Italy and after the war he moved to New York City to play professionally. He played with Lucky Thompson in the early 1950s, and then recorded with Horace Silver, Gigi Gryce, and Art Farmer. He played and toured Europe with Gerry Mulligan.
He was a noted accompanist and sideman with Carmen McRae, Tiny Bradshaw, King Pleasure, Zoot Sims, Dave Bailey, Betty Carter, Eddie Jefferson, the J. J. Johnson/Kai Winding Quintet, and Duke Ellington in the Fifties and the latter in the 1960s.
He performed or recorded in the Sixties with Lou Donaldson, Johnny Smith, Mal Waldron, Randy Weston, Babs Gonzales, the Newport Rebels, Shirley Scott, Red Garland, Charles McPherson, and Sy Oliver. In 1986 he performed as a member of the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band.
Bassist Peck Morrison, who never recorded as a session leader, died on February 25, 1988.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Vinnie Cutro was born in New Jersey on September 9, 1953 and received his formal musical training throughout his formative years. He continued his education at New Jersey University, receiving his B.A in Music Education, then got his Masters in Jazz Performance from New York University. He furthered his studies in jazz composition, classical studies, jazz arranging and counterpoint with Dr. Tom Boras and Jim McNeely.
His working education began as a freelance musician in the New York City area. During the past 30 years Vinnie has performed with Horace Silver, Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton. During his tenure with the latter he performed guest appearances with various American symphonic orchestras.
He has traveled extensively throughout the world appearing at jazz festivals and concerts in Europe, Japan, Africa, Canada, South America and the U.S.A. Cutro’s debut release as a leader, Blues for the Optimist, came in 1995 and featured Bob Mintzer, Jim McNeely, Victor Jones, and Mike Richmond. His sophomore release, Aberration, features guitarist Mike Stern, trombonist Bob Farrel, bassist Martin Wind, Sarah Jane Cion on piano, Victor Jones on drums and pianist Mitch Schechter.
Trumpeter Vinnie Cutro continues to compose, record and perform in the New York City area with his new ensemble New York City Soundscape.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bronisław Suchanek was born August 30, 1948 in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. During his studies at the Secondary Music School he was a member of the Andrzej Zubek Quartet and from 1967 to 1971 he studied at the Academy of Music. In 1969, while still a student, he began collaborating with Tomasz Stańko’s quintet and recorded two albums and were among the first musicians to inaugurate the first Music Workshop in Chodzież, Poland.
He made his debut on the music scene playing in the Silesian Jazz Quartet, which he co-founded with pianist Andrzej Zubek, trumpeter Bogusław Skawina, Jerzy Jarosik on flute and saxophone, and drummer Kazimierz Jonkisz.
At the end of 1972, Bronisław went with the Klan Band to Finland where he took part in a concert as part of the Helsinki Festival and presented the premiere of free-jazz and rock. In 2016, GAD Records released an album titled Live Finland 1972 with a recording of this concert. In the 1970s he was a member of the Polish Radio Jazz Studio Orchestra.
He has performed and recorded both in Poland and abroad with American jazz musicians such as Don Cherry and Rick Stepton. In the second half of the decade he emigrated to Sweden, where he played in the Swedish Jazz Radio Group. He operated in Scandinavia for over a dozen years, collaborating with the bands Sound of Flowers and Birka.
The 1980s saw him giving concerts and recording albums in Germany and Austria with different formations. In 1995 Suchanek moved to the United States where he taught at the Maine School of Music and played in the Woody Herman Big Band and the Artie Shaw Orchestra.
He recorded an album titled Sketch in Blue in a duet with Dominik Wania. In 2010 he recorded an album titled Jerzy Wasowski Songbook together with Bogdan Hołownia, Jerry Veimola and Joe Hunt. He collaborated with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.
Double bassist Bronisław Suchanek, who was awarded the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis, continues to perform and record in the free jazz and straight-ahead mediums.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Gordon “Gordy” Johnson was born July 31, 1952 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was quickly immersed in the world of music as his father Clifford was in the bass section of the Minnesota Orchestra for 47 years and his mother Thelma taught piano. His main instrument growing up was the flute, however, he also played bass, keyboards and guitar, and sang rock and roll.
Graduating in 1974 from Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York, Gordy played flute in the Eastman Wind Ensemble and bass in the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, Studio Orchestra and Arrangers Workshop Orchestra.
Johnson spent a year breaking into the New York City music scene often playing with pianist and college classmate Phil Markowitz. In 1975, Gordy hit the road for a three-year stint with the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, alongside drummer Peter Erskine. World tours followed with Gene Bertoncini, Roy Buchanan, the Paul Winter Consort and Chuck Mangione. He was also busy with studio recordings.
Moving back to the Twin Cities in 1989 where he became one of the most in-demand bass players in town ever since. He has performed, toured and/or recorded with Joanne Brackeen, Herb Ellis, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Michael Johnson, Jay McShann, Dewey Redman, Jim Rotondi, Diane Schuur, Marlena Shaw, Stacey Kent and Toots Thielemans, among others.
Double bassist and bass guitarist Gordy Johnson, who has recorded five albums as a leader and fourteen as a sideman, continues to play an average of 250 gigs a year, which keeps quite busy.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alan Dawson was born on July 14, 1929 in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951 to 1953. During his service, Dawson explored the post-bop era by performing with pianist Sabby Lewis. After being discharged from the army, Dawson toured Europe with Lionel Hampton.
In early 1960, he resided in Boston, Massachusetts for a regular engagement with bassist John Neves and pianist Leroy Flander. He was an early teacher of drummers Tony Williams, Joseph Smyth, Terri Lyne Carrington, Julian Vaughn, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Kenwood Dennard, Gerry Hemingway, Jeff Sipe, Billy Kilson, Joe Farnsworth, Bob Gullotti, and many others.
Dawson began teaching at Berklee College of Music in 1957. He suffered a ruptured disc in 1975 which led to him halting his touring schedule, to leave Berklee and limit his teaching to his home in Lexington, Massachusetts.
While teaching, Dawson also maintained a prolific performing and recording career. He was the house drummer for Lennie’s on the Turnpike in Peabody, Massachusetts, from 1963 through 1970. Throughout the 1960s he recorded almost exclusively with saxophonist Booker Ervin on Prestige Records. In 1968, he replaced Joe Morello in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and continued until 1972. His performance credits also included stints with Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Jaki Byard, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, Lee Konitz, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, and Tal Farlow.
Drummer Alan Dawson died of leukemia on February 23, 1996. He was 66.