Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Richard Enos “Butch” Thompson was born on November 28, 1943 in St. Croix, Minnesota, began playing piano at the early age of three, and began taking lessons at age six. At Stillwater Area High School, he played clarinet in the band and in 1962 he joined the Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band in Minneapolis, Minnesota and remained with them for twenty years.
>From 1974 to 1986, he was a regular and the original pianist on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion. From its inception in the 1960s he led the Butch Thompson Trio.
The 1970s saw Thompson’s recordings gaining popularity in Europe and he toured the continent extensively during the decade and into the 1980s, both as a solo artist and as a band leader or member.
He wrote for jazz publications and produced a radio show, Jazz Originals, for KBEM-FM in Minneapolis. Pianist and clarinetist Butch Thompson, best known for his ragtime and stride performances, died on August 14, 2022.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Michel Portal was born on November 27, 1935 in Bayonne, France into a musical family and home filled with several instruments growing up. His interest in jazz began after hearing it on the radio after World War II. He studied clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris and conducting with Pierre Dervaux.
Gaining experience in light music with the bandleaders Henri Rossotti and with Perez Prado in Spain in 1958, Michel performed with drummer Benny Bennett, Raymond Fonsèque, Aimé Barelli and for many years, the singer Claude Nougaro.
Portal co-founded the free improvisation group New Phonic Art. During 1969, he played on a recording of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Aus den sieben Tagen.
He began scoring music for films in the 1980s. He won the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film three times. Playing both jazz and classical music and is considered to be “one of the architects of modern European jazz.
Composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist Michel Portal continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jon De Lucia was born on November 26, 1980 in Quincy, Massachusetts. He is predominantly a student of jazz, but also has a deep interest in the folkloric music and instruments of Cuba, Japan, Ireland and Italy. He has performed on a variety of ethnic flutes, drums and stringed instruments.
Having led his groups and played as a sideman in Boston, Massachusetts, New York City and all over Japan, he has worked with Tommy Crane, David Tronzo, Bob Moses, Bob Gullotti, John Lockwood and Thomas Morgan among others.
He leads the Jon De Lucia Group, and the baroque improvising Luce Trio. Saxophonist and composer Jon De Lucia, now based in Brooklyn, New York, continues to compose, perform and teach full time at BMCC in Tribeca, New York.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rusty Bryant was born Royal Gordon Bryant on November 25, 1929 in Huntington, West Virginia and grew up in Columbus, Ohio where he became a fixture of the local jazz scene.
He worked with Tiny Grimes and Stomp Gordon before founding his own ensemble, the Carolyn Club Band in 1951. Signing with Dot Records in 1954 Rusty released several albums as a leader in the second half of the 1950s. In 1953, his live recording All Nite Long which was a faster version of Night Train, became a hit R&B single in the U.S.
With his Dot contract ending in 1957 he returned to Columbus to do mostly local engagements, playing often with pianist-organist Hank Marr and a young Nancy Wilson also sang in his group. It was not until his appearance on the 1968 Groove Holmes album That Healin’ Feelin’ that he resurfaced beyond regional acclaim, and soon after he began leading dates for Prestige Records.
Bryant recorded extensively for the label from 1969 through the middle of the 1970s, being a sideman with Ivan “Boogaloo Joe” Jones, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Charles Kynard, and Sonny Phillips. His 1970 release Soul Liberation was his most commercially successful, reaching No. 35 on the U.S. Black Albums chart and No. 15 on the Top Jazz Albums chart.
Tenor and alto saxophonist Rusty Bryant, who recorded into the early 1980s before returning to Columbus and played mostly local dates, died on March 25, 1991.
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RUSSELL GUNN & BLACKHAWK
Russell Gunn is a titan of contemporary jazz, takes the stage for a two-night run that promises to be the highlight of your holiday. Whether you are looking to impress out-of-town guests with Atlanta’s world-class music scene or simply need a sophisticated escape from the family chaos, this is the place to be.
The project’s name, Blackhawk, is a nod to the legendary 1961 album Miles Davis In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk. That record is famous for capturing Miles Davis at his most raw and hard-swinging, performing in a gritty San Francisco club with no rehearsals and no safety net.
Russell Gunn taps directly into that spirit. He isn’t just playing Miles Davis covers; he is channeling the fearless, high-wire energy of that era. Expect a set that swings hard, takes risks, and captures the visceral excitement of 1960s post-bop jazz.
Blackhawk:
Russell Gunn ~ Trumpet
Kevin Smith ~ Bass
Kevin Bales ~ Piano
Jeremy Clemons ~ Drums
Andre Hayward ~ Trombone
Kendrick Smith ~ Saxophone
Tickets: $54.00
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