Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Toni Ballard was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 12, 1946 and sang in the school choir during her primary years. She learned to play the guitar in college, then formed a band with her husband.
From 1981 to 1984 Ballard hosted Tasteful Blend on WICN Radio and recorded a children’s jazz album the following year. During the Nineties she collaborated with Larry Coryell and recorded I’m Your Pal, and produced and hosted CAble Ace nominated Studio 3 Jazz for seven years.
As the publicist for Berklee School of Music from 1998 to 2004 she was responsible for forming the relationship between the school and Black Entertainment Television, and worked on Jazz Scenes and Impressions.
Toni has performed with the Silvefr Bullet Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Boston Big Band, the White Heat Swing Orchestra, Ryles Jaz Orchestra, Worcester Jazz Orchestra, and the Benny Goodman Tribute Band.
Vocalist Toni Ballard is currently a freelance publicist and is involved with benefit concerts for Pancreatic Cancer Alliance.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Akua Allrich was born on July 11th in Washington, D.C., the child of a musical family with a home that held such a wealth of jazz recordings that she did not buy any albums until her second year in college. One of the first jazz albums she bought was John Coltrane’s Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes.
Educated at Howard University, she obtained her BM in jazz vocals and a master’s degree in social work. She was taught, coached and mentored by talented musicians such as world-renowned singer Kehembe V. Eichelberger, singer/drummer Grady Tate, and pianist Charles Covington.
Her musical roots run deeply into blues, soul and rhythm and blues, with a clear grounding in jazz and pan-African music. She launched her independently produced album A Peace of Mine in 2010, which created a significant buzz with critics and music-lovers alike. She sings in many languages including Portuguese, French, Spanish, English, Xhosa, and Twi.
Vocalist, composer and teacher, Akua Allrich continues to electrify audiences and is likened to such legendary artists as Oscar Brown, Jr., Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jyrki Sakari Kukko was born July 8, 1953 in Kajaani, Finlan and started his career in the early 1960s as a singer participating in several singing contests and performing in radio stations, TV programs and other venues. At the age of 7, he began taking piano lessons and soon after started playing guitar and flute, then saxophone. The mid-1960s saw him forming bands, constructing a school band, playing mainly rock and roll, before forming a group of local dance bands.
He embarked his career at sixteen playing with the Kajaani Big Band, Kisu & Uniset, Markku Suominen’s Monopol, Tapiola Big Band, Oulunkylä Big Band, Maarit & Afrikan Tähti, Kalevala, SIMO Big Band, Jukka Tolonen’s band, Heikki Sarmanto’s band, Sensation Band of Addis Ababa, Mahmoud Ahmed’s Ibex Band, Etoile de Dakar, and Espoo Big Band through the Seventies. He founded the group Piirpauke in 1974.
He has performed with Youssou Ndour, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Bob Mose, Lester Bowie, Charlie Mariano, Thad Jones, Paquito d’Rivera, Ted Curson, Walter Bishop Jr., Herbie Hanckock’s HeadHunters, Richie Cole, Juan Carlos Romero, and numerous Finnish musicians.
Working as a studio-musician Kukko performed as a freelancer with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Finnish National Opera. He has composed music for his own bands, EBB, Koiton Laulu and several films and theaters.
Pianist, flutist, guitarist, saxophonist, vocalist and composer Sakari Kukko continues to perform with over forty countries around the globe.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Maria Speight was born in Savannah, Georgia on July 4, 1958 and got a head start in the world of jazz, as her birthplace is the home of kindred brother, lyricist Johnny Mercer. The oldest of five siblings, her mother thrust her onstage at her local church when she was six. From that moment on she was hooked.
Her dad was exposed to everything from opera to jazz and her mother taught Maria about Gospel music, and was exposed to so many influences of music, and have found they are part of her style. In college she studied operatic voice for four years, however, after her last recital she realized opera wasn’t for her. It was at this point six years later that she found jazz.
Touring professionally fourteen years with a gospel band and paid her dues for her life in jazz. Her style is in the vein of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Peggy Lee and the standards she performs endure.
Now based in Perth, Scotland she is new on the jazz scene. She weaves rich colours and textures into every swinging note with the Maria Speight Quintet.
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The Jazz Voyager
Back in the States this Jazz Voyager has landed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Getting in early gives me time to visit friends in Slidell and get beignets in the French Quarter. Then I’ll be on my way to the 7th Ward’s three-block entertainment district of Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny. The final destination is the intimate 86 seat jazz venue called Snug Harbor.
This Thursday I will have the pleasure of experiencing longtime New Orleans jazz vocalist, visual artist and educator Betty Shirley who has come full circle in her life and is now reaping the benefits of her hard-earned endeavors. The Big Easy Award winner has released several acclaimed albums including Unveiled, Close Your Eyes, and With The Red Organ Trio, solidifying her legacy as a vital force in the city’s jazz scene.
The Band:
Betty Shirley – vocals
Will Thompson – piano
Quinn Sternberg – bass
Simon Lott – drums
Snug Harbor is located at 626 Frenchmen Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70116. For more information contact the venue at https://snugjazz.com.
Showtimes ~ 7:30pm & 9:30pm
Cover: $41.30
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