Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jeffery Smith was born on September 14, 1955 in Queens, New York and began honing his voice at a very early age, under the influence of his mother, a classical singer. At the age of 18, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a singer, actor and artist, landing several bit parts in television, and film, while performing in the local clubs.
In 1980 he starred in the production of “Hollywood & Highland” and was awarded the coveted 1981 Drama Critic’s Award, from Drama Logue Magazine. Returning to New York in 1985, the baritone co-starred on stage in “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Hair” and “Capitol Cakewalk”, as well as performing in most of the city’s major clubs through 1991.
By 1991, Smith’s visit to Paris lasted for 7 years and while working with Claude Bolling, he recorded four albums, had two world tours with the big band, sang commercial jingles, and was signed with Universal/Verve for a 3-album deal, all of which received international acclaim. His 1995 debut recording “Ramona” was dedicated to his mother, and his U.S. debut came in 1998 with the release of “A Little Sweeter” on the Verve label.
Jeffery Smith has worked with Wynton Marsalis, the LCJ Orchestra, Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Ernie Watts, Pete Levin, Winard Harper, Joe Lovano, Dee Dee Bridgewater and TK Blue. He was the founder of the jazz cultivation not-for-profit Tri-Loxodonta Productions, a not-for-profit music organization cultivating jazz in upstate New York. Vocalist Jeffery Smith continued to perform internationally and record until he passed away on July 5, 2012..
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From Broadway To 52nd Street
In Dahomey opened on February 18, 1903 at the New York Theater and ran for 53 performances, then considered a successful run. It was a landmark American musical comedy, in that it was “the first full-length musical written and played by blacks significantly marked the first full-length Black to be staged in an indoors venue at a major Broadway house and the first black musical to have its score published, albeit in England. As one of the most successful musical comedies of its era, it propelled composer Will Marion Cook, lyricist Paul Lawrence Dunbar and leading performers Bert Williams, James Smith and George Sisay to become household names. It was “the first African American show that synthesized successfully the various genres of American musical theatre popular at the beginning of the twentieth century—minstrelsy, vaudeville, comic opera and musical comedy.
Though a jazz standard did not emanate from this musical either, the In Dahomey poster features the famous “cake walk” with the character portrayed by Bert Williams and prompted Percy Grainger to write a highly virtuosic concert “rag” titled In Dahomey (Cakewalk Smasher), that he completed in 1909.
The Story: A tale of a group of Blacks, who, having found a pot of gold, move to Africa and become rulers of Dahomey (present-day Benin).
Broadway History: One of the most influential sources of the American musical was one of its most shameful. The minstrel show got its start in the early nineteenth century when a number of white entertainers, mostly of Irish descent, found they could connect with their more raucous audiences by applying burnt cork to their skin and caricaturing black people in various songs, dances and skits. However, the portrayals by white entertainers created a dialogue that became very fashionable, even though they perpetuated negative stereotypes. Black entertainers knew they didn’t speak like that and formed a troupe, and out of that came comic duos on Broadway like Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles in the 20’s, William Gaxton and Victor Moore in the 30’s. But one man transcended minstrelsy’s denigration of his race and became not only the most popular comedian of his day, but the most famous African American since Frederick Douglass. He was Bert Williams, who denied entrance into Stanford University, worked as a banjo player in saloons and minstrels until he teamed up with George Walker. The team gained fame, which led them to head the cast of “In Dahomey” in 1903, the first full-length musical written and played by blacks performed at a major Broadway house.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Michael Jay Feinstein was born September 7, 1956 in Columbus, Ohio. At the age of five, he studied piano for a couple of months until his teacher became angered that he wasn’t reading the sheet music she gave him, since he was more comfortable playing by ear. As his mother saw no problem with her son’s method, she took him out of lessons and allowed him to enjoy music his own way.
After graduating from high school, Feinstein worked in local piano bars for two years, moving to Los Angeles when he was 20. He catalogued Ira Gershwin’s extensive collection of phonograph records, unpublished sheet music and rare recordings. This led to the development of a close relationship with Gershwin’s neighbor, Rosemary Clooney.
By the mid-1980s, Feinstein was a nationally known cabaret singer-pianist who dedicating himself to the Great American Songbook and recorded his debut titled Pure Gershwin in 1986. This led to more Americana with Irving Berlin, a live album from the Algonquin, “Over There” featuring music of the WWI era and “Pure Imagination” – a children’s album in 1992.
He has starred on Broadway, recorded several “composer” albums, and a series of “romance” albums and a Sinatra project. Michael was appointed by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Preservation Board to safeguard America’s musical heritage; he is the artistic director of The Center for the Performing Arts, which is home to the Michael Feinstein Initiative, and is the owner of a nightclub in Manhattan, “Feinstein’s” in the Regency Hotel.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Teri Thornton was born Shirley Enid Avery on September 1, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan. Encouraged by her mother to study classical music, as a teenager she turned to jazz, singing and playing piano. Thornton first performed in local Detroit clubs in the 1950s but her debut as a professional took place at the Ebony Club in Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Chicago and worked with Cannonball Adderley and Johnny Griffin. Her debut release of “Devil May Care” in 1961 for Riverside brought her national attention, with and a subsequent move to New York City where she established herself on the jazz and club scene.
Scoring her biggest hit with the theme to the television show Naked City “Somewhere In The Night” in 1963, she would next appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, get a recording contract from Columbia Records and receive a personal stamp of approval from Ella Fitzgerald as her favorite singer. Thornton also found work during this period singing for television ads and recording for several different labels.
By the late Sixties, Teri faded from public view, due to poor managers, alcohol and drugs. She moved to Los Angeles and it wasn’t until 1979 that she reemerged singing in small piano bars. It was decades later that she was discovered to have been singing on various song poem records in Los Angeles on the Preview label as “Teri Summers.”
Teri moved back to New York in 1983 and once again started performing on the club circuit. In 1998 she fully revived her career after a surprise win at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Vocal Competition. Thornton signed with Verve Records, releasing I’ll Be Easy to Find. Fame short-lived however, diagnosed with bladder cancer, jazz vocalist Teri Thornton passed away of the disease on May 2, 2000 in Englewood, New Jersey.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jewel Brown was born on August 30, 1937 in Houston, Texas and her first professional performance was at the age of 12 in the Manhattan Club in Galveston, Texas. Before she graduated from Jack Yates High School Lionel Hampton heard her sing and offered the opportunity to tour professionally in Europe.
In 1957 while on a vacation in Los Angeles, California, Jewel sat in with organist Earl Grant at the Club Pigalle and he hired her that night. Their collaboration lasted for a year. She went on to work for nightclub owner Jack Ruby in Dallas, Texas.
In the Sixties she was offered singing positions with Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, and she chose the later, appearing with Armstrong in the films, “Louis Armstrong and All Stars” and “Solo”.
Brown recorded an exuberant solo of “Jerry” and vocal backup and “twist choreography” on “When the Saints” on the 1962 live performance “Jazz Festival, Vol. 1 with ‘Louis Armstrong All Stars”, “With Louis Armstrong: Best Live Concert 1: Jazz In Paris” and also recorded with Milton Hopkins.
She retired in 1971 to care for ailing members of her family, establishing a successful hair salon in Houston. In recent years she has revived her career, singing in the Heritage Hall Jazz Band.
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