Daily Dose Of Jazz…
George Andrew Tucker was born on December 10, 1927 in Palatka, Florida. He studied bass at the New York Conservatory of Modern Music in the late 1940s. Early in his career, he played with Earl Bostic, John Coltrane, and Jackie McLean. He worked in the house bands of several lauded New York jazz venues and played and recorded with Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Horace Parlan, Booker Ervin, Jerome Richardson, and Junior Mance during this time.
In 1958, he recorded with Melba Liston on her jazz classic Melba Liston and Her ‘Bones. 1960–61 saw him recording with Stanley Turrentine, Horace Parlan, Ervin, Dexter Gordon, and Shirley Scott. Over the next two years he toured and recorded with the trio of Dave Lambert, John Hendricks and Yolande Bavan. Near the end of his life Tucker recorded with Coleman Hawkins and Jaki Byard.
He recorded at total of fifty-eight albums as a sideman with Ted Curson, Walt Dickerson, Lou Donaldson, Booker Ervin, Curtis Fuller, Bennie Green, Slide Hampton, John Handy, Willis Jackson, Etta Jones, Gildo Mahones, Charles McPherson, Jackie McLean, Oliver Nelson, Dave Pike, Pony Poindexter, Sonny Red, Freddie Redd, Zoot Sims, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Buddy Tate, Lucky Thompson, Jimmy Witherspoon and Jimmy Woods.
Double-bassist George Tucker transitioned from a cerebral hemorrhage while performing with guitarist Kenny Burrell on October 10, 1965 in New York City.
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MILESTONES
Jeremy Pelt – trumpet | Vincent Herring – alto saxophone | Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone | Eric Reed – piano Buster Williams – bass | Al Foster – drums
The two nights before New Year’s Eve are dedicated to Countdown Festival Sextet III, which includes two more special guests who also happen to be two of the all-time greats: Bassist Buster Williams and drummer Al Foster. These two masters join esteemed co-musical directors Eric Reed and Vincent Herring along with the powerful duo of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery. It is a stunning group to close out the year, to say the least. The Guardian calls Williams “one of the great acoustic bassists,” and JazzTimes adds, “Williams’ résumé ranks with that of any bassist in the modern era.” JazzTimes also says that Al Foster—well-known for his work with Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, and many more—“is a not-so-secret special groove ingredient enlivening performances and sessions by a long list of heavy hitters,”
~ Please Note: All 7PM and 9PM shows at Smoke are Dinner Shows
~ Friday & Saturday Shows Only: 10:30pm
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Harvie S was born Harvie Swartz on December 6, 1948 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He learned piano as a child and did not begin playing bass until 1967, when he was nineteen years old. He attended Berklee College of Music and played in and around Boston, Massachusetts with Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Mose Allison, and Chris Connor.
Moving to New York City in 1972 he worked with Jackie Paris, Thad Jones, Gil Evans, Lee Konitz, Barry Miles, David Friedman, Double Image, David Matthews, Steve Kuhn and Paul Motian. He has recorded extensively as a duet with Sheila Jordan, and has released numerous albums as the leader of his own ensembles, including Urban Earth and the Harvie S Band.
He has recorded fiteen albums as a leader, co-led two sessions with Sheryl Bailey, thirteen as a sideman, and has performed and produced music exclusively as Harvie S since 2001. He has recorded with Alan Broadbent, Sinan Alimanović, Art Farmer, Urbie Green, Jackie and Roy, Eric Kloss, Steve Kuhn, Anders Mogensen and Roseanna Vitro. In 2008, he released a duo album with pianist Kenny Barron, Now Was The Time, on HighNote/Savant Records.
Double bassist Harvie S has been a member of the Westchester Jazz Orchestra since 2007 and continues to produce, compose, arrange and educate.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Adelhard Roidinger was born on November 28, 1941 in Windischgarsten, Austria into a musician familyand first learned piano, violin and guitar. When he was 16 he started to play double bass. From 1960 to 1967, he studied architecture at the Graz University of Technology, simultaneously studying double bass and jazz composing at the University of Music and Performing Arts.
Since 1969, Roidinger has played double bass with Joachim Kühn, Eje Thelin, and Karl Berger. From 1971 to 1975 he played in Hans Kollers Free Sound, then founded the European Jazz Consensus with Alan Skidmore, Gerd Dudek and Branislav Lala Kovačev. They recorded two albums. A new band, the International Jazz Consensus was formed by him along with Kovačev, Allan Praskin and John D. Thomas. He went on to perform with Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner, Herbert Joos, Albert Mangelsdorff, Yosuke Yamashita, George Russell, Maria João, Anthony Braxton, Tone Janša and Melanie Bong.
Roidinger started to teach at Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance in Linz in Upper Austria. He was the director of its jazz department and the director of the Music and Media Technology department. He wrote lessons for double bass and bass guitar as well as a detailed publication about jazz improvisation and pentatonic scale.
Bassist, composer and computer graphic designer Adelhard Roidinger, who was awarded Ernst Koref Composition Prize for his computer composition Siamesic Sinfonia, transitioned on April 22, 2022 in Vienna, Austria at 88 years old.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Neil James Sinclair Swainson was born November 15, 1955 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He started his career in his hometown when he supported visiting American musicians Herb Ellis, Barney Kessell, and Sonny Stitt, among others. In 1976 he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia and after playing with the Paul Horn Quintet, he led a band for two years. He moved to Toronto, Quebec in 1977
In the 1980s he played with local and visiting acts including Tommy Flanagan, Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert, Slide Hampton, James Moody, Jay McShann, Moe Koffman, Lee Konitz, Joe Farrell, George Coleman, and Woody Shaw. He went on to collaborate with Woody Shaw appearing on two of his recordings: In My Own Sweet Way and Solid. He toured with Shaw often in New York City and on many European tours.
A collaboration between Swainson and pianist George Shearing would form in 1986, after he replaced Don Thompson in 1988. Their relationship continued until Shearing’s passing in 201 and during their time together they toured across North America, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan. They played with musicians including Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Diana Krall, Robert Farnon and Mel Tormé.
Together the two recorded eight recordings and he recorded his own album; 49th Parallel on Concord Jazz in 1987. His recordings feature Woody Shaw on trumpet, and Joe Henderson on saxophone along with numerous other musicians such as Jay McShann, Geoff Keezer, Doc Cheatham, Sam Noto, Don Thompson, Peter Leitch, Pat LaBarbera, Joe LaBarbera, Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert, Lorne Lofsky, Kirk MacDonald and JMOG, a cooperative band featuring, Kevin Dean and Pat LaBarbera.
Swainson has also recently toured worldwide with the singer Roberta Gambarini and as well with pianist Gene DiNovi in Japan. As an educator he works at Humber College as a professor in the Bass department after receiving a music degree. Bassist Neil Swainson continues to compose music and freelance in Toronto.
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