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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Daily Dose OF jazz…
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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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jerry Coker was born on November 28, 1932 in South Bend, Indiana and picked up the clarinet and tenor saxophone long before going to study at Indiana University.
At the beginning of the 1950s he played tenor saxophone in the Fred Dale Big Band, but in 1953 he interrupted his studies to become a member of the Woody Herman Orchestra. During this time he also played in the Nat Pierce / Dick Collins Nonet and was a part of the formation of The Herdsman with Cy Touff and Ralph Burns in 1954. Jerry followed this musical relationship with joining the septet of Mel Lewis two years later and then with other musicians in the West Coast Jazz movement.
Coker also worked as a freelance musician and led his own bands in the second half of the 1950s. His first recordings made under his own name were recorded in Bloomington, Indiana, San Francisco, California and Paris, France.
The early 1960s saw his return to his studies and by the middle of the decade a return to Indiana University as a lecturer and active in the jazz field. With his educator hat on he headed the Duke Jazz Ensemble at Duke University from 1976 – 77 and later taught at the University of Miami, North Texas State University and the University of Tennessee .
He has written several books on improvisation, jazz keyboard and jazz history. Clarinetist, saxophonist, lecturer and author Jerry Coker continues to perform, record, tour and educate.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Chas Burchell was born Charles Burchell on October 30, 1925 in London, England. Originally a George Formby fan, he began learning the ukelele and then guitar, before hearing an Artie Shaw record that inspired him to take up the clarinet and play jazz.
Switching to alto saxophone, he started his own quintet in 1943. He tried the tenor saxophone before being drafted into the Royal Air Force, and then was transferred to the army in 1944. During the next three years he played in Greece with the British Divisional Band and following his discharge in 1947, worked in London with the Toni Antone Big Band.
By 1949 he gave up full-time musicianship and worked in a factory so that he would not have to perform music he did not like in order to make a living. A disciple of Lennie Tristano and a devoted admirer of Warne Marsh, Burchell continued to play part-time, leading his own quintet for more than 20 years, guesting with distinguished visitors such as Clark Terry, Emily Remler and Nathan Davis.
He recorded for Peter Ind’s Wave label and played with Ind in the group that backed Lennie Tristano’s only UK concert at Harrogate in 1968. Tenor saxophonist Chas Burchell, a supple, lyrical musician whose unpredictable twists and turns of phrase recall the style of his idol Marsh, died of a heart attack on June 3, 1986.
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