Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ronnie Lang was born July 24, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. Sometimes spelled Ronny, his professional début was with Hoagy Carmichael’s Teenagers. He went on to play for a year with Earle Spencer in 1946, then with Ike Carpenter, and Skinnay Ennis the following year.
Gained attention during his two tenures with Les Brown’s Orchestra between 1949–50 and 1953 to 1956, he recorded with the Dave Pell Octet in the mid-1950s. During this time he moved to California and attended Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences studying music and woodwinds.
By 1958 he had become a prolific and busy studio musician in Los Angeles, often employed by Henry Mancini. Ronnie played the iconic sax melodic line in Bernard Herrmann’s score for the 1976 movie Taxi Driver. He also recorded with Pete Rugolo, Bob Thiele, and Peggy Lee.
Alto saxophonist Ronnie Lang, who also played flute and clarinet in the bop, progressive, big band, swing idioms, is now retired at 92.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Örjan Kjellin was born on July 21, 1944 in Ljungby, Sweden and didn’t pick up the clarinet until the age of 15 and two years later formed his first band in partnership with pianist Lars Edegran. The band played music in the New Orleans style. He made his first records in his native Sweden at the age of 17.
Moving to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1966 he became a regular performer at several leading jazz venues including Preservation Hall. In 1968 he was a founder member of the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra. He also led his own bands in the city including, in 1970, a band which held a residency at the Maison Bourbon Club. Two years later he formed the New Orleans Joymakers.
He recorded with several veteran New Orleans musicians including Josiah ‘Cié’ Frazier, Preston Jackson, Jim Robinson, Jabbo Smith, Zutty Singleton and Kid Thomas Valentine. In 1978, Örjan played with NORO for the soundtrack of the movie Pretty Baby. The following year he appeared in New York City as musical director, co-arranger and on-stage clarinetist with the stage musical One Mo’ Time.
In the early 80s he appeared with the same show during its long and successful run in London’s West End. Kellin has toured extensively with his own bands and with bands formed largely from New Orleans veterans. In 1992 he made his first solo tour of the UK.
Clarinetist Örjan Kjellin, a gifted and highly musical player who is known to the jazz world as Orange Kellin, continues to fan the flames of the music of New Orleans.
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Three Wishes
While hanging out at the Cathouse one evening Pannonica inquired of Rudy Powell as to his three wishes if they could come true and he told her:
- “I’d like to be equipped to further jazz.”
- “Through that I’d be able to promote a spotlight for musicians who’ve never had a chance and deserve some.”
- “I would try to effectuate a way to alleviate the cliques that have been developing through the years, and which have hindered some fine players from exploring their talents.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Three Wishes
When the Baroness asked Pee Wee Russell if he had the opportunity to get three wishes granted what would they be he responded with:
- “To make Monk happy on the stage at Newport.”
- “I’d like to become a better musician ~ providing I’m one now.”
- “To make enough to give my wife everything she desires.”
*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…
Robert Cameron Gordon was born June 29, 1941 in Hartford, Connecticut and taught himself by listening intently to the stylings of Jimmie Noone, Jimmy Dorsey and Frank Teschmacher, among others. He studied with Chicago clarinetist Joe Marsala. As a teenager he would go to Eddie Condon’s jazz club in New York’s Greenwich Village, sit at a table near the bandstand and nurse a Coke all night as he listened.
Early in his career, he played with Wild Bill Davison, Bobby Hackett, Zutty Singleton, Muggsy Spanier and had a long run with Jim Cullum’s Happy Jazz Band in San Antonio, Texas. Moving to San Diego, California in the 1970s, he played with numerous groups around the county. By the mid-1970s Gordon frequently recorded and toured with singer Leon Redbone, and appeared on the Johnny Carson Show. In 1979, the two survived injuries in a crash of a twin engine prop jet in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
In the late 1990s, Bobby joined the Roadrunners, a popular quintet on the West Coast festival circuit. During this time, he played with Marty Grosz, the Orphan Newsboys and Destiny’s Tots. His longest gig was at Milligan’s Bar & Grill in La Jolla, California leading a quartet.
Clarinetist and bandleader Bobby Gordon, who had been in poor health for years, transitioned from cardiopulmonary arrest on December 31, 2013.
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