Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Charles Valdez “Truck” Parham was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 25, 1911 and was first a professional boxer and football player with the Chicago Negro All Stars. He played drums before settling on bass, and studied under Walter Page. From 1932~34 he was part of Zack Whyte’s band, playing primarily in Cincinnati, Ohio but was mostly a singer and valet for the band, the latter activity giving rise to his nickname.

Returning home he played through the Thirties with Zutty Singleton, Roy Eldridge, Art Tatum, and Bob Shoffner. 1940 saw Truck joining Earl Hines’s orchestra, remaining for two years;then on to be hired by Jimmie Lunceford for five years until 1947.

During the 1950s Parham continued to play revival gigs with Muggsy Spanier,, Herbie Fields, Hines again, and Louie Bellson. He spent much of the 1960s working with Art Hodes, and played in numerous Dixieland jazz groups later in his career. Recording profusely as a sideman, he continued playing into the 2000s, being a member of Franz Jackson’s band in 2000.

Double bassist Truck Parham, who never recorded as a leader transitioned in his hometown of Chicago on June 5, 2002.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bob Whitlock was born on January 21, 1931 in Roosevelt, Utah and began playing bass as a teenager. After relocating to Los Angeles, California was active as a session musician from the early 1950s. He was heard working with Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Buddy DeFranco, Joe Albany, Jack Sheldon, Warne Marsh, and numerous others.

Late in the Fifties decade Bob led his own small group while attending the University of California. He went on to work in France in the early 1960s, playing with Zoot Sims, Vi Redd, Curtis Amy, Peggy Lee and Victor Feldman. Towards the end of the Sixties he worked with Joe Pass and extensively with George Shearing. In the 1970s he worked with Albany once again.

Between 1957 and 1972 he recorded fourteen albums as a sideman, never as a leader. Double-bassist Bob Whitlock transitioned on June 20, 2015 in Long Beach, California

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Charles Louis Domanico, better known professionally as Chuck Domanico, was born on January 20, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. Settling in Los Angeles, California in the mid-1960s, for nearly forty years, he was a central jazz figure in Hollywood who contributed to many movies and TV programs.

Domanico worked with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Carmen McRae, Joni Mitchell, Taj Mahal, Diane Schuur, Natalie Cole, and The Manhattan Transfer. He participated in instrumental jazz performances by Chet Baker, Henry Mancini, Shelly Manne, Oliver Nelson, John Klemmer, Roger Kellaway, Barney Kessel, and Art Pepper.

His bass can be heard in themes for television shows like M*A*S*H, Cheers and Frasier, and he contributed to the soundtracks of more than two thousand films.

Double bassist and bass guitarist Chuck Domanico, who played on the West Coast jazz scene, transitioned from lung cancer on October 17, 2002 at the age of 58.

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Three Wishes

What Reggie Workman told Nica his three wishes would be were the following:

1. “Complete health, which includes peace of mind.”
2. “Everlasting happiness with my wife and family.”
3. “That the art of jazz will find its rightful place all over the world, which will be a sign of man’s disregarding things that have kept people unhappy.”

*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Arthur Shapiro was born on January 15, 1916 in Denver, Colorado, and began on trumpet at age 13, ultimately picking up bass as his prominent instrument at 18. By the late 1930s he was playing with Wingy Manone, Joe Marsala, Eddie Condon, and Chu Berry. From 1938 to 1940 he played with Paul Whiteman, then returned to play with Marsala in addition to working with Bobby Hackett.

Moving to Hollywood, California in the early 1940s, Artie started playing with Jack Teagarden and Joe Sullivan before serving in the United States Army. In 1947 he returned to music, playing with Benny Goodman.

As an accompanist, he worked with, among others, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Anita O’Day, Doris Day, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. His list of recording credits runs to more than 100 during his period of activity, stretching into the late 1960s. Bassist Artie Shapiro transitioned in Los Angeles, California on March 24, 2003.

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