Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Tim Warfield, Jr. was born in York, Pennsylvania, began studying the alto saxophone at age nine. He switched to tenor saxophone during his first year at William Penn Sr. High School and participated in various musical ensembles. He won many jazz soloist awards including coming in second out of forty competitors at the Montreal Festival of Music in Canada. After high school, Warfield attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. After two years of matriculation he left to lead and co-lead several groups in the Central Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Washington area.

In 1990 he was chosen to be a member of trumpeter Marlon Jordan in his quintet. The following year he was selected to record Tough Young Tenors on the Island/Antilles label, joined George Wein’s Jazz Futures, Also in 1991, Warfield placed third at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. From 1994 to 1999, he was a member of bassist Christian McBride’s group, and then began a six-year collaboration with Nicholas Payton.

Warfield has recorded eight albums on the Criss Cross label as a beginning with his debut release of A Cool Blue, selected as one of the top ten recordings of the year in a 1995New York Times critic’s poll. as was his 1998 recording Gentle Warrior (featuring Cyrus Chestnut, Tarus Mateen, Clarence Penn, Terell Stafford, and Nicholas Payton.

Tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield is currently serving as a board member and Chair of the Music Committee for the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz as well as an artist-in-residence at Messiah College. He continues to record, tour and perform in the hard bop, Neo-Bop,, post bop and straight-ahead jazz genres.

Inspire A Young Mind

More Posts: saxophone

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Karl Latham, born on June 9, 1961 is currently based in New York. He received a B.S.S. from Ohio University and studied music performance at Rutgers University, Ohio University and Berklee College of Music, including private studies with drumming greats Gary Chester and Joe Morello.

Latham is known for his exceptional ability to dig into a variety of musical styles, playing straight-ahead jazz, avant-garde, funk, rock, Latin, and more. As a freelance performer he has performed with wide spectrum of notable artists such as Bernie Worrell, Dave Valentine, Dave Samuels, Chuck Loeb, Ali Ryerson, Claudio Roditi, Clark Terry, John Lee, Andy Snitzer, The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, Slide Hampton; Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Yotam Silberstein, Charlie Elgart, Michal Urbaniak, The Real Deal Big Band and for the Broadway hit musical “Bring it On” just to name a few of his drumming exploits.

Karl is widely recognized as a veteran of the modern European Jazz scene since 1993, has released 7 CDs with Atilla Zoller, Randy Brecker, Cameron Barnes, Seamus Blake, Joel Frahm, Joe Lovano and others. He is a member of the electric jazz jam group, Unit1, with Mark Egan and John Hart, was ranked 7th drums, in the 2013 35th Annual Jazz Station Poll. He is also a member of “Constellations” with Ryan Carniaux and Mark Egan and is co-leader of Big Fun(K) with saxophonist/composer Don Braden and has released two CD’s as a leader. In addition to performing, recording and touring he is a long-standing adjunct professor at several New Jersey colleges and teaches workshops, master classes and clinics in the USA and abroad.

Put A Dose In Your Pocket

More Posts: drums

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Royce Campbell was born on June 7, 1952 in Seymour, Indiana the son of a career navy man. Growing up in several U.S. cities and abroad including Asia, Europe and the West Indies he was exposed to different music genres as a child. These added to his musical style and approach in jazz composition and playing. Though mainly associated with mainstream jazz, his first love was rock and roll that connected him at age nine to the guitar and Chuck Berry, followed by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton..

By the time Royce finished high school in the early 1970s, he was certain he wanted to pursue a professional career in music. His uncle, Carroll DeCamp, an arranger/pianist who arranged for Stan Kenton and Les Elgart invited the young guitarist to live with him and study in Indiana, providing most of his musical education in theory and composition. By age 21, he had begun touring with R&B artist Marvin Gaye and developing his talents for stage performance. In 1975 he was hired by a local music contractor to do three concerts with award-winning film composer Henry Mancini in Indianapolis. Soon after Royce became the touring guitarist with Mancini’s orchestra, holding that positing until Mancini’s death in 1994.

Though appearing on recordings as a sideman, and a couple as leader, during the early years of his career, Campbell started recording and touring more on his own during the 1990s, focusing at first on mainstream or straight-ahead jazz. Although he cites Wes Montgomery as his main influence, the horn of Dexter Gordon, and Chet Baker also had a great impact.

In 1993, he produced Project G-5: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery which also featured guitarists Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Herb Ellis and Cal Collins. His 1994 album 6×6 featured guitarists Pat Martino, John Abercrombie, Larry Coryell, Dave Stryker and Bucky Pizzarelli. A follow-up Project G-5: A Tribute to Joe Pass, in 1999, Royce brought together the talents of Charlie Byrd, Gene Bertoncini, Mundell Lowe and John Pisano.

During his career guitarist Royce Campbell has released more than 30 CDs as leader or co-leader among various sideman projects. Fifteen of these CDs have made it onto the US national jazz radio charts. His soloing is documented among other jazz guitarists of the era, in Mel Bay’s Anthology of Jazz Guitar Solos: Featuring Solos by the World’s Finest Jazz Guitarists!  He has been inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame and continues to record, perform and tour.

Give A Gift Of Jazz – Share

More Posts: guitar

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Toshiyuki Honda was born on April 9, 1957 in Tokyo, Japan. A professional saxophonist while still a university student, he released his debut album in 1978 as a leader titled “Burnin’ Wave”.

Honda is one of Japan’s best-known saxophonists and has since recorded with a host of world-celebrated musicians including Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, and Christopher Cross among others. He is widely known for his composing and arranging, having scored for television dramas, commercials, movies, and classical music genres.

He has received the Japan Academy’s highest honors for his work on the soundtrack for the movie, Marusa no onna. Toshiyuki’s “Concerto du vent”, a work commissioned by classical saxophonist Nobuya Sugawa, was recorded with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The album was subsequently released on Chandos, a label for classical masterpieces.

Honda has released numerous original albums and soundtracks. One of his latest releases is with the Hyper Chamber Music Unit, “SMILE!” and has composed a work commissioned by Band Restoration 2012. Composer, arranger and producer Toshiyuki Honda continues to perform, record and tour in between utilizing his other talents.

Dose A Day – Blues Away

More Posts: saxophone

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Leron Thomas was born on April 8, 1979 in Houston, Texas and his musical journey began with inspiration fro his family rich with respect and understanding of quality music. He graduated from Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and ventured to New York City to develop as a trumpet player and composer, enrolling in Manhattan’s The New School.

While studying, Leron’s own music was evolving and maturing and began performing professionally with various artists including Bilal, Billy Harper, Charles Tolliver and Roy Hargrove. The quality of his original compositions was enhanced when playing live alongside talented peers Robert Glasper, Damion Reid, Vicente Archer, Marcus Strickland, Harold O’Neal, Isaac Smith, Reggie Quinerly and Omer Avital.

After matriculation through The New School in 2003 he remained in Manhattan to pursue his professional career as a writer and trumpeter. Thomas expanded his scope of playing and has worked with many artists from a variety of genre’s including Michael Stipe, Lauryn Hill, Bobby Watson and Mos Def, to name a few. Subsequently he found ways to liberate himself through a natural, fluid progression into writing and performing ‘other music’. These compositions required his personal trumpet tone along with his vocals to emphasize the diverse sound.

Since 2004 he has developed this genre-crossing music incorporating jazz, blues, pop, country, electro-pop and rock. With eight independently released projects and critical acclaim, he explores a range of artistic media. Having composed for film, he is featured in an independent short film 2010 and appears on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Bubblers Eight. Trumpeter Leron Thomas continues to compose, perform and record.

Inspire A Young Mind

More Posts: trumpet