Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Claus Ogerman, born Klaus Ogermann on April 29, 1930 in Ratibor (Racibórz), Upper Silesia, Germany is now part of Poland. He began his career with the piano but became one of the most prolific arrangers of the 20th century.
In the 1950s, Ogerman worked in Germany as an arranger-pianist with Kurt Edelhagen, saxophonist and bandleader Max Greger, and Delle Haensch. He also worked as a part-time vocalist and recorded several 45 rpm singles under the pen name of Tom Collins, duetting with Hannelore Cremer. He also recorded a solo vocal with the Delle Haensch Jump Combo.
Moving to the United States in 1959, Claus joined producer Creed Taylor at Verve Records, working on recordings with many artists. During this time he also arranged many pop hits, and in 1967 joined Creed Taylor on the A&M/CTi label. Ogerman charted under his own name in 1965 with the RCA single Watusi Trumpets.
In 1980 Ogerman won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for Soulful Strut and the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists for Quiet Nights. He composed music for seventeen movies, recorded fifteen albums, and released a compilation in 2002.
He arranged and conducted an impressive 58 albums with George Benson, Solomon Burke, Donald Byrd, Betty Carter, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Evans, Connie Francis, Michael Franks, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, João Gilberto, João Donato, Lesley Gore, Stephane Grappelli, Al Hirt, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, Freddie Hubbard, Willis Jackson, Cal Tjader, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Dr. John, Wynton Kelly, Ben E. King, Diana Krall, Wes Montgomery, Danilo Perez, Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Smith, Barbra Streisand, Cal Tjader, Mel Tormé, Stanley Turrentine, and Kai Winding.
Having worked in the jazz, top 40, rock, pop, R&B, soul, easy listening, Broadway and classical music fields, it has never been determined the exact number of recording artists for whom he has either arranged or conducted during his career. Arranger, conductor, and composer Claus Ogerman,transitioned on March 8, 2016
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Norma Louise Teagarden was born in Vernon, Texas on April 28, 1911 into a musical family that consisted of her mother Helen, who played ragtime piano and taught; her brothers Charlie, a trumpeter, Clois, a drummer, and Jack, a trombonist. She performed with the latter in the 1940s and 1950s.
She performed on piano and violin during the early part of her career, which began in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In the 1920s she moved to New Mexico and worked in territory bands, returning to Oklahoma City in the 1930s. After another stint there she moved to California in the 1940s touring with her brother Jack from 1944–1947 and from 1952–1955.
Outside the Teagarden family, Norma worked with Ben Pollack, Matty Matlock, and Ray Bauduc. Eventually settling in San Francisco, California she often performed on solo piano and with bandleader Turk Murphy.
Pianist and violinist Norma Teagarden transitioned on June 6, 1996.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rüdiger Carl was born on April 26, 1944 in Goldap, Poland ( formerly East Prussia) and has been involved in improvised music since 1968. He recorded his first record in 1972 and then began playing with a wide range of musicians including Arjen Gorter, Makaya Ntshoko, Louis Moholo, Maarten van Regteren Altena, Tristan Honsinger, Johnny Dyani and Han Bennink.
He maintains a long-standing partnership with Irene Schweizer that began in 1973 and continues to the present day. For a three year period, from 1973 to 1976 Carl was a member of Globe Unity Orchestra. He started giving solo performances in 1977 and the following year started two other long-term professional partnerships, with Sven-Åke Johansson and Hans Reichel.
Rüdiger’s most striking change in improvised music came when he gave up the saxophone and began performing with the accordion in duets with Hans Reichel. Though he continued to play the two instruments virtually side-by-side, adding clarinet to his arsenal, recorded Vorn which featured a version of the McCartney tune Those Were The Days. The COWWS Quintet was formed, continuing his musical relationship with Schweizer along with Philipp Wachsmann, Jay Oliver and Stephen Wittwer.
In addition to the COWWS, he performs with the Canvas Trio, in duos with Mayo Thompson of the Red Crayolas and Joëlle Léandre. During the Eighties he organized concerts of Musik im Portikus and beginning in 1994 has led the F.I.M. Orchester in Frankfurt/M.
Accordionist Rüdiger Carl is also an arranger and composer and continues to record and perform.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Willis “Gator” Jackson was born on April 25, 1928 in Miami, Florida and educated at the University of Miami. In 1948 he joined the Cootie Williams band as a teenager, and was part of it on and off until 1955.
Under his own name, Willis Jackson and His Orchestra, he recorded various rhythm-and-blues instrumentals for Atlantic Records. His most famous record for Atlantic is Gator’s Groove in 1952, with Estrellita as the B-side.
He toured as leader of the backing band for singer Ruth Brown. Publicly they were married, but privately they never were but lived together from 1950 to 1955. Joining Prestige Records in 1959, he made a string of albums with Pat Martino, Brother Jack McDuff, and Johnny “Hammond” Smith among many others. He also recorded for Atlantic, Muse, Trip, Big Chance, Verve, and Argo record labels.
Tenor saxophonist Willis “Gator” Jackson transitioned in New York City one week after heart surgery on October 25, 1987 at the age of 55.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Reuben Bloom was born April 24, 1902 in New York City, New York to Jewish parents. During the 1920s he wrote many novelty piano solos, recorded for the Aeolian Company’s Duo-Art reproducing piano system various titles including his Spring Fever. His first hit came in 1927 with Soliloquy; his last was Here’s to My Lady in 1952, which he wrote with Johnny Mercer. In 1928, he made a number of records with Joe Venuti’s Blue Four for OKeh, including five songs he sang, as well as played piano.
He formed and led a number of bands during his career, most notably Rube Bloom and His Bayou Boys, which recorded three records in 1930. The Bayou Boys consisted of Benny Goodman, Adrian Rollini, Tommy Dorsey, Mannie Klein and Frankie Trumbauer in the Sioux City Six.
His I Can’t Face the Music, Day In Day Out, Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread) and Give Me The Simple Life has become a part of the Great American Songbook and jazz standards.
During his career, he worked with many well-known performers, including those mentioned above and Ruth Etting, Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey and collaborated with a wide number of lyricists, such as Ted Koehler, and Mitchell Parish.
Pianist, arranger, bandleader, recording artist, vocalist, and author Rube Bloom published several books on piano method before he transitioned on March 30, 1976 in his home city.
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