Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Born on September 21, 1927 Ward Lamar Swingle grew up in Mobile, Alabama and studied music, particularly jazz, from a very young age. He learned clarinet, oboe and the piano as a child and played in Mobile-area big bands before he was out of high school. He continued his music studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, graduating summa cum laude in 1950.

Moving to France in 1951 on a Fulbright scholarship, he studied piano with Walter Gieseking and worked as a rehearsal pianist for Les Ballets de Paris. He met a French-born violin student, Françoise Demorest, and got married in 1952. 1959 saw Swingle as a founding member of Les Double Six of Paris, which specialised in scat singing of jazz standards.

This concept of scatting to Johann Sebastian Bach was the foundation for The Swingle Singers, which became fully established by 1962. They released their albums Jazz Sebastian Bach and Bach’s Greatest Hits in 1963 and their early recordings won five Grammy Awards. Disbanding the original Swingle Singers in 1973 he moved to London, England and formed a new group, and expanded their repertoire to include classical and avant-garde works along with the scat and jazz vocal arrangements.

Returning to live in America in 1984 he remained musical advisor for his London-based group, but devoted most of his time to workshops, guest conducting and the dissemination of his printed arrangements through his publishing company, Swingle Music. He went on to conduct several chamber and philharmonic choirs, and conduct workshops and seminars at universities in Europe and North America.

In 1994 he moved back to France, where he continued his work in arranging, composing and guest conducting. He wrote an autobiography and treatise titled Swingle Singing, in which he defined ‘Swingle Singing’ techniques with illustrations from his arrangements and compositions.

Vocalist, pianist and arranger Ward Swingle, who was named Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture and Information, transitioned in Eastbourne, England, on January 19, 2015.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ralph Simon Sharon was born in London, England on September 17, 1923 to a British mother and Latvian-born father. He emigrated to the United States in early 1954 and became a naturalized citizen five years later.

By 1958, Ralph was recording with Tony Bennett as accompanist. That was the start of a more than 50 year working relationship. He found the song I Left My Heart in San Francisco for Bennett, which became his signature song.

A jazz pianist in his own right, Sharon recorded nineteen albums as a leader, 15 with Bennett and two with Johnny Hartman. However, he also accompanied the likes of Robert Goulet, Chris Connor and nemerous others. Retiring to Boulder, Colorado, from on-the-road work when he reached 80, he continued to perform in the Denver metropolitan area until shortly before his death.

Pianist and arranger Ralph Sharon, best known as one of the finest accompanists who backed up popular singers, transitioned from natural causes on March 31, 2015.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bengt Hallberg was born on September 13, 1932 in Gothenburg, Sweden and studied classical piano from an early age. He wrote his first jazz arrangement at the age of 13. By 15 he recorded his first record as a member of a group led by bassist Thore Jederby and in 1949 he recorded with the Swedish alto saxophonist Arne Domnérus for the first time. The two musicians continued to play together for several decades.

During the Fifties, Bengt played with leading visiting American musicians tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and altoist Lee Konitz in 1951, and trumpeters Clifford Brown and Quincy Jones in 1953. During the same period he worked with Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin.

Hallberg had a versatile style and in his later years he wrote music for film and television, as well as choral arrangements. With Domnerus and Georg Riedel among others, he participated in the Jazz at the Pawnshop sessions in 1976.

Pianist, composer and arranger Bengt Hallberg, who also played accordion, transitioned on July 2, 2013 from congestive heart failure at the age of 80 in Uppsala, Sweden.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jan Savitt was born Jacob Savetnick on September 4, 1907 in Shumsk, Russian Empire and reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He showed musical ability at an early age and began winning conservatory scholarships in the study of the violin. He was offered the position of concertmaster in Leopold Stokowski’s Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, but turned it down, preferring to continue his studies at Curtis Institute. About a year later, believing himself ready, he joined Stokowski and the association continued for seven years, during which time he gained further laurels as a concert soloist and leader of a string quartet.

By  1938, Jan Savitt & His Top Hatters broadcasted as the KYW staff orchestra at KYW/NBC in Philadelphia coast-to-coast. The group also played at the Earl Theatre and performed with The Andrews Sisters and The Three Stooges.

Getting his start in popular music some time later as music director of KYW, he evolved the unique “shuffle rhythm” which remained his trademark. Numerous sustaining programs created such a demand for the “shuffle rhythm” that Jan left KYW to form his own dance crew.

His band was notable for including George “Bon Bon” Tunnell, one of the first Black singers to perform with a white band. Tunnell’s recording with Savitt included Vol Vistu Gaily Star co-composed by Slim Gaillard and Rose of the Rio Grande. Helen Englert Blaum, known at the time as Helen Warren, also sang with Savitt during the war years. His orchestra had a bit role in the 1946 film High School Hero.

Shortly before arriving in Sacramento, California with his orchestra in 1948 he was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage and taken to Sacramento County Hospital. Bandleader, arranger, and violinist Jan Savitt, known as The Stokowski of Swing, transitioned on October 4, 1948 with his wife at his bedside.

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DEMETRIUS NABORS

Pianist, composer, producer and arranger Demetrius “Krayon” Nabors is well known and in demand in the Detroit area and on the national contemporary jazz scene. He is a two-time Detroit Music Award Winner in the Outstanding Gospel/Christian Musician category.

His considerable talents caught the attention of numerous high-profile national artists, including R&B singer KEM, flutist Althea Rene, guitarist Tim Bowman and trumpeter Willie Bradley.Demetrius’ productions for these artists have garnered Billboard chart successes: #1 for KEM’s single “Nobody” (2014), #2 for Willie Bradley’s “It’s On Now” (2020) and #5 for Althea Rene’s “Barbara Mae” (2019). In addition, “Nobody” was nominated for the Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2014. Demetrius’ discography includes four critically acclaimed releases, “The Journey Within Part I” (2011), “Christmas with Krayon” (2012), “The Journey Within Part II” (2014) and “Perseverance” (2021). His latest, “Evolution” is set to be released in September of 2022 and was inspired by his graduate studies at the University of Michigan.

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