Daily Dose Of Jazz…
David Sanchez was born on September 3, 1968 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and from an early age took up the conga when he was eight His earliest influences were Afro-Caribbean, danza, European and Latin classical. By age 12 David began playing the saxophone, attending La Escuela Libre de Musica, which emphasized formal musical studies.
Around the time he turned 14 he heard Miles Davis’ Basic Miles and Billy Holiday’s Lady In Satin. A few years later faced with college he chose Rutgers over Berklee for a better scholarship and nearer to New York City. While at Rutgers he studied with Kenny Baron, Ted Dunbar and John Purcell.
After a period freelancing in New York with many top Latin players including Paquito D’Rivera and Claudio Roditi, Sanchez joined Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra in 1990 and Dizzy became his mentor. With Dizzy’s group he toured 27 countries and 100 U.S. cities in 31 states.
Leaving the United Nation Orchestra, Sanchez continued to play in Dizzy’s trio until Dizzy’s death in 1993. He has toured with the Philip Morris Superband, recorded with Slide Hampton and his Jazz Masters, Roy Hargrove, Kenny Drew Jr., Ryan Kisor, Danilo Perez, Rachel Z and Hilton Ruiz.
The tenor saxophonist is well known as a leader with seven albums under his belt for Columbia Records. He won a Grammy for the “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” in 2004 for Coral. David Sanchez continues to compose, record, perform and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Clifford Laconia Jordan was born on September 2, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois and began his musical studies on the piano at an early age. While still in his hometown he took up the saxophone and had the opportunity to play with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt and a few rhythm and blues groups into the 50s. By 1957 at the age of 26, he made his move to New York City where he recorded three albums for Blue Note.
Over the course of his career Clifford recorded with Horace Silver, J. J. Johnson, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Max Roach and Paul Chambers. In 1964 he joined the Charles Mingus Sextet along with Eric Dolphy for the European tour. For a while he lived in Belgium, performed in Paris and toured Africa with Randy Weston.
Jordan’s later years saw him leading his own groups, performing with Cedar Walton’s Eastern Rebellion and even led his own big band. He recorded eighteen sessions as a leader and another 28 as a sideman. Saxophonist Clifford Jordan passed away on March 27, 1993 in Manhattan.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Gene Harris was born on September 1, 1933 in Benton Harbor, Michigan where he was first drawn to music at the age of four. He was attracted to the music of local bandleader Charles Metcalf’s group and was inspired to try to pick out songs on the piano. He also enjoyed the music he heard in church and the boogie-woogie records of his parents.
Gene quickly developed as a pianist, having many opportunities to play music while serving in the Army from 1951 – 54. Following his discharge, he originally formed The Four Sounds, but by 1956 abandoned their original plan to include a tenor-saxophonist and renamed themselves The Three Sounds. Joining Harris in the original line up of the band was bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy.
For the next 15 years, the trio made many notable recordings for Blue Note and other labels as well as supporting such musicians as Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O’Day, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt, among others. In 1973, The Three Sounds disbanded, leaving Harris to pursue a solo career until he semi-retired in 1977, playing sometimes only in Boise, Idaho.
In the early eighties Ray Brown convinced Gene to tour with his trio and then led his own groups once again, recording mostly on Concord. Gene Harris was one of the most accessible jazz pianists and his soulful sound was immediately likable as he returned to the spotlight. He was widely associated with the Philip Morris Super Band for many years. The Grammy winning artist, whose music was infused with blues and gospel, left a legacy of sixty albums as a leader, 34 as a sideman and nine compilations before his passing away on January 16, 2000 of kidney failure at the age of 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Wilton Lewis Felder was born August 31, 1940 in Houston, Texas and is both saxophonist and bass player. He is best known as an original member of The Jazz Crusaders, founded while still in high school, along with Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson and Stix Hooper.
The Jazz Crusaders evolved from a straight-ahead jazz combo into a pioneering jazz-rock fusion group, with a soul music influence. They dropped jazz from the name and became simply known as The Crusaders. Felder worked with the original group for over thirty years, and continues to work in its current versions, which often features other founding members.
Felder also worked as a west coast studio musician, mostly playing electric bass, for various soul and R&B musicians. He was one of the in-house bass players for Motown Records when the label opened operations in Los Angeles in the early 70s working with The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, America, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell and Michael Franks.
Wilton worked with Dizzy Gillespie, John Klemmer, Richard Groove Holmes, Grant Green and Milt Jackson among others during his studio years. His solo release titled “Secrets” featured vocalist Bobby Womack singing the hit “(No Matter How High I Get) I’ll Still Be Looking Up To You”. Wilton Felder continues to perform and record.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Kenneth Sidney Drew was born on August 28, 1928 in New York City. He first recorded with Howard McGhee in 1949, and over the next two years recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Coleman Hawkins, Milt Jackson, Charlie Parker, and Dinah Washington. He then led many recording sessions throughout the 1950s, and appeared on John Coltrane’s “Blue Train”.
Along with several other American jazz musicians who went to Europe, in 1961 Kenny moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. While he sacrificed much of the interest of the American jazz audience, he gained a wide following across Europe. He became a well-known figure on the Copenhagen jazz scene, recording many sessions with the Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson.
Drew along with Dexter Gordon appeared on screen in Ole Ege’s theatrically released hardcore pornographic film Pornografi – en musical in 1971), for which they composed and performed the score. He recorded for Blue Note, Xanadu, Steeplechase, Riverside, Verve, Soul and Storyville record labels leaving a catalogue of forty albums as a leader and another 34 as a sideman performing with the likes of Toots Thielmans, Sonny Rollins, Ben Webster, Chet Baker, Grant Green, Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon among others.
His touch has been described as “precise” and his playing a combination of bebop-influenced melodic improvisation and block chords, including “refreshingly subtle harmonizations”. Pianist Kenny Drew He passed away on August 4, 1993 in Copenhagen, leaving his son Kenny Jr. to carry on the family’s jazz piano legacy.
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