Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alan Littlejohn was born Albert John Alan Littlejohns on January 4, 1928 in Highgate, London, England. Taking up the trumpet in 1946, he trained as an accountant after the War but also played semi-professionally with bands such as the Blue Note Swingtet and the Galleon Jazz Band. In 1952 he joined Cy Laurie and then a year later moved to play with Eric Silk. Moving to Manchester for eight months he worked with Ron Simpson and the Saints Jazz band in 1954, but then returned to London to work with Eric Silk again.
1955 saw Littlejohn taking a residency at the Putney Jazz Club and a further residency in Chelsea in 1960. In 1963 he led a quintet with trombonist Tony Milliner, pianist Mat Mathewson, bassist Bucky Cowman and Terry Cox on drums, emulating the style of the Bob Brookmeyer/Clark Terry band. Cox and Cowman were soon replaced by Max Cutlan and Dave Holland, respectively.
Over the course of his career Alan would play with Mal Cutlan, Lew Hooper, Jimmy Hamilton, Matt Methewson, Cat Anderson, Peanuts Hucko, Earl Warren, Sonny Dee, the Georgia Jazz Band and to be the support band for Dave Brubeck at his Festival Hall gig. From 1973 to 1978, he played with Alvin Roy’s Band which had a residency at The Prospect of Whitby in London.
When not in residency at clubs in London Littlejohn toured Spain and Germany, guest appeared with the Merseysippi Jazz Band and during the Eighties played as a full-time professional musician for a short period. From 1990 he worked with Laurie Chescoe’s Good Time Jazz until a month before his death. Trumpeter, flugelhornist and bandleader Alan Littlejohn, most notable for his work with artists such as Ben Webster, Earl Hines, Billy Butterfield and recording with Bill Coleman, passed away on November 12, 1995 in Barnet in Hertfordshire.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jack Montrose was born December 30, 1928 in Detroit, Michigan. After attending university in Los Angeles, California he worked with Jerry Gray, then Art Pepper and did arrangements for Clifford Brown. He became known for cool jazz and/or West coast jazz.
Beginning in the mid-1950s Montrose’s heroin addiction became a liability and by the time he had kicked his habit, his style of jazz was no longer popular. For a while he played in strip joints until relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada where he worked in the casinos. He returned to recording in 1977 and in 1986 found some success collaborating with Pete Jolly.
He recorded with Clifford Brown, Bob Gordon, Red Norvo, Ron Stout, Ross Tompkins, Richard Simon, Paul Kreibich, Chet Baker, Elmer Bernstein, Frank Butler, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers and Mel Torme. Tenor saxophonist and arranger Jack Montrose aka West Coast Jack, passed away on February 7, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Walter Norris was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on December 27, 1931 and first studied piano at home with his mother. Lessons with John Summers, a local church organist followed. During his junior high and high school years his first professional performances were with the Howard Williams Band in and around Little Rock.
After graduating from high school, Norris went on to briefly play with Mose Allison, then did a two-year tour in the US Air Force. After the military he played with Jimmy Ford in Houston, Texas, then moved to Los Angeles, California and became an integral part of the West Coast Jazz scene. He was enlisted to play on Jack Sheldon’s first album as well as on the 1958 Ornette Coleman’s first album, Something Else! The Music of Ornette Coleman on the Contemporary Records label.
1960 saw Walter relocating to New York City and forming a trio with guitarist Billy Bean and bassist Hal Gaylor. The group made one album before he took a job at the New York City Playboy Club in 1963 and in time became the club’s Director of Entertainment, remaining there until 1970. After Playboy, for the next four years he became a freelance performer and taught in the New York area.
In 1974, he replaced Roland Hanna in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band and after a tour of Scandinavia, he remained in Europe to record a duo album with double bassist George Mraz, titled Drifting.
Returning to the states, he joined the Charles Mingus Quintet in 1976, however, he left the band after an unintentional calling him Charlie instead of Charles with Mingus narrowly escaped confrontation in the dressing room prior to a performance, Norris quit the band. He accepted a job in Berlin, Germany, as pianist with the Sender Freies Berlin-Orchestra, insisting it was his fear of Mingus that was the primary reason for the move to Europe.
Signing a five-album contract with Concord Records in 1990, Walter released three significant albums, Sunburst with saxophonist Joe Henderson, Hues of Blues with George Mraz, and the solo piano album Live at Maybeck Recital Hall. In 1998, he self-financed the album From Another Star, recorded in New York with bassist Mike Richmond, pressing 1,000 copies. He also recorded with Ronnie Bedford, Aladár Pege, Larry Grenadier, Mike Heyman, Larance Marable, Leszek Możdżer.
His autobiography, In Search of Musical Perfection and a method book Essentials for Pianist Improvisers were released in 2005. In July 2006, Norris recorded at his Berlin home with bassist Putter Smith and in 2010 he had a documentary film produced titled Walter Norris, a documentary. Pianist and composer Walter Norris passed away on October 29, 2011 at his home in Berlin, Germany.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Monty Rex Budwig was born on December 26, 1926 in Pender, Nebraska and began playing bass while in high school. He continued after enlisting in the Air Force as a member of the military band.
In 1954 he moved to Los Angeles, California and went on to record and perform with Carmen McRae, Barney Kessel, Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Scott Hamilton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Chet Baker, Bud Shank, Gary Burton, Frank Butler, Conte Candoli, Betty Carter, June Christy, Rosemary Clooney, Sonny Criss, Herb Ellis, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Stan Kenton, Junior Mance, Charles McPherson, Art Pepper, Shorty Rogers, Bola Sete and Sarah Vaughan, to name a few.
Monty spent a decade with Shelly Manne from 1957 to 1967 and recorded fifteen albums with him, including the live Blackhawk sessions. He is most notably known for his playing and recording with the Vince Guaraldi Trio tour in the1960’s along with drummer Don Joham, and on the seminal work Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus that contained the classic version of Cast Your Fate To The Wind. However, controversy surrounds whether it was bassist Fred Marshall or Budwig heard on the Charlie Brown Christmas Album.
His only release as a leader during his career is the recording Dig on the Concord label. Double bassist Monty Budwig, who mainly performed in the West Coast jazz genre, passed away on March 9, 1992 at the age of 65.
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Nicholas Mathew Ceroli was born December 22, 1939 in Niles, Ohio. 1963 was an important year for his career as he went on a Central and South America tour with Ray Anthony, recorded with Jack Teagarden and performed with Gerald Wilson at the Monterey Jazz Festival.
By 1965 he was playing with Stan Kenton, then spent four years from 1965 to 1969 in Herb Alpert’s group, the Tijuana Brass. Moving to Hollywood, Nick became a prolific studio musician and found himself working closing the decade and into the Seventies with Pete Jolly, Richie Kamuca, Irene Kral, Warne Marsh, Ross Tompkins, Bill Berry, Mundell Lowe, Monte Budwig, Lou Levy, Bob Summers, Dave Frishberg and Pete Christlieb. In the 1980s he performed and recorded with Bob Florence, Milt Jackson and Zoot Sims.
Drummer Nick Ceroli passed away on August 11, 1985 from a heart attack at the age of 45 at his home in Studio City, California.
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