Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Art Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on December 5, 1934 where he began studying the piano at the age of five, switched to tuba, and finally settled on the bass while attending high school. He studied at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music, but graduated from Hunter College.
Davis earned a Ph.D in clinical psychology from New York University in 1982 and four years later he moved to Southern California, where he balanced his teaching as a professor at Orange Coast College and practicing of psychology with jazz performances.
Art recorded three albums as a leader with Herbie Hancock, Hilton Ruiz, Greg Bandy, John Hicks, Idris Muhammad, Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, and Marvin Smith.
As a sideman he performed and recorded with Joe Albany, Gene Ammons, Count Basie, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Curtis Fuller, Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Harris, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Etta Jones, Clifford Jordan, Roland Kirk, Abbey Lincoln, Booker Little, Lee Morgan, Tisziji Munoz, Dizzy Reece, Max Roach, Lalo Schifrin, Shirley Scott, Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner and Leo Wright.
He also launched a legal case that led to the current system of blind auditions for orchestras. Double bassist Art Davis passed away from a heart attack on July 29, 2007.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Johnny Mbizo Dyani was born on November 30, 1945 and grew up in the township of Duncan Village in East London, South Africa. In the early 1960s, the bassist was a member of South Africa’s first integrated jazz band, The Blue Notes with trumpeter Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana on alto saxophone, Nikele Moyake on tenor saxophone, Chris McGregor on piano, and Louis Moholo on drums. Though the first integrated band they had to flee South Africa In 1964 to seek musical and political freedom.
In 1966, Dyani toured Argentina with Steve Lacy’s quartet and recorded with Lacy and Moholo The Forest and the Zoo. He moved to Copenhagen, Denmark in the early 70’s, and about ten years later to Sweden and recording many albums under his own name. He recorded with Dolar Brand aka Abdullah Ibrahim, Don Cherry, David Murray, Joseph Jarman, Clifford Jarvis, Don Moye, Han Bennik, Brotherhood of Breath, Mal Waldron, Pierre Dorge, Jukka Syrenius, Leo Smith and numerous others.
After his death of double bassist and pianist Johnny Dyani on October 24, 1986 in West Berlin, Germany, the remaining members of The Blue Notes reunited to record a moving tribute album, entitled Blue Notes for Johnny.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joris Teepe was born in the Hague, Netherlands on November 27, 1962. He studied the bass at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and in 1992 the left-handed bassist moved to New York City. He recorded his debut album as a leader the following year, with co-leader tenor saxophonist Don Braden, trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Cyrus Chestnut and Carl Allen on drums.
A second album was released in 1996 followed by his playing and recording with the Intercontinental Jazz Trio, with Shingo Okudaira and Tim Armacost, with Randy Brecker and Chris Potter and groups that almost always included Don Braden.
In the past years he started working with larger big bands like the Groningen Art Ensemble, Brian Lynch and trombonist Conrad Herwig, and the Joris Teepe Big Band. He composes, plays and records are original compositions, but also arranges other people’s material, such as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and John Coltrane and has written for larger ensembles and symphonic orchestras.
Teepe has collaborated with Joey Berkley, Ron Jackson, Darrell Grant, Antonio Ciacca, Mathilde Santing, Deborah Brown, and Fay Claassen. Active in jazz-education heading up the jazz department at the Prins Claus Conservatory in Groningen, teaches bass at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and continues to compose, arrange, perform, record and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ben Allison was born November 17, 1966 in New Haven, Connecticut and began guitar lessons at age nine at the Neighborhood Music School and privately with guitarist George Raccio. In the mid-Eighties he studied West African, Haitian and Cuban drumming traditions with Richard Hill and attended the ACES Educational Center for the Arts and Wilbur Cross High School. His senior high school year saw him studying with bassist Steve Swallow and too classes in 20th Century Music and Early Childhood Development at Yale University. In 1985 he attended New York University as a University scholar and pursued a degree in jazz performance and bass studies. During this period he studied with Joe Lovano, Dennis Irwin, Jim McNeely and Steve LaSpina.
By 1992, Allison and several colleagues formed the Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the creation and performance of new music and building audiences for jazz. The Collective ran for 12 seasons, featured works of 50 composers, participation of more than 250 musicians and premiered more than 300 new works.
1996 saw the release of Ben’s debut album Seven Arrows as a leader, followed two years later with Medicine Wheel, Third Eye in 1999 and the rest is history as he has accumulated 11 albums under his name. Recording with the Collective members Frank Kimbrough, Ron Horton, Michael Blake, and Ted Nash, he would also record another dozen as co-leader or sideman with Lee Konitz, Jeremy Pelt, Larry Goldings, Mamadou Diabate, Curtis Stigers and Steve Bernstein.
As an educator, Allison began working as an adjunct professor and bass instructor at the New School University in 1996, has taught instrumental lessons and ensembles at the Third Street Music School, was a guest instructor at the Siena Jazz Foundation in Italy, the Souza Lima Ensino de Musica in Sao Paulo, Brazil and is a member of the Teaching Artists Collaborative at the Weill Music Center at Carnegie Hall, teaching music fundamentals to Harlem public school children..
Bassist, composer, bandleader, educator and activist Ben Allison is a three time Down Beat Critics Poll Rising Star, received the Bird Award, and serves on the board of the New York chapter of NARAS as VP and chairs Advocacy while continuing to perform and tour.
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Matthew Parrish was born on October 14, 1969 in central California into a family that loved music that listened to jazz, rock and classical music. He started playing trumpet in middle school but switched to bass just prior to an audition at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts. Accepted into the music program as a n acoustic bass student in jazz studies.
Matthew’s career began in Philadelphia during his teens and early twenties playing with Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, Bobby Durham, Cecil Payne, Johnny Cole, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Jimmy Oliver, Danny turner and fellow youngsters Orrin Evans and Byron Landham. He went on to tour with Al Grey and performing with Clark Terry, Marion McPartland, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lou Donaldson, Joe Cohn, Savion Glover and Bill Charlap.
He has continued to pursue his career playing and/or recording in the bands of Greg Osby, Jon Jang, James Newton, Stefon Harris, and Regina Carter. A gifted composer and arranger Parrish has recorded his own compositions on his debut album Circles on the Hipnotic Records label as well as on the recordings by David Leonhardt, Denise Montana, Ben Schacher and Carter.
With several milestones under his belt having performed with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis, James Williams, Paquito D’Rivera and Etta Jones to name a few more, he currently tours around the world with Freddy Cole, Houston Person and Vana Gierio. With his own band he gives concerts in Philadelphia, featuring Amazonian performers and is no stranger to the club scene in New York, Boston and DC. As an educator he teaches and mentors young children through adult age in assemblies, master classes and lectures throughout the United States.
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