Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bill Easley was born in Orlean, New York on January 13, 1964 and began playing saxophone professionally with his parents at the age of thirteen. He moved to New York City in 1964 and was a part time student at the Julliard School of Music while getting his feet wet in the uptown Jazz Scene. The U.S. Draft Board had other plans and Bill did his military service with the 9th Army Band in Fairbanks Alaska.
He worked with George Benson in the late 60s closing out the decade playing such legendary jazz spots as Minton’s Playhouse, the Plugged Nickel, The jazz Workshop and The Hurricane. He would move to Memphis working and recording with Isaac Hayes in the 70s, and performing other studio work at Stax and Hi Records, big bands, show bands and jazz clubs during which he continued his formal education at Memphis State University.
It was in the mid 1970s that Easley first toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington. By 1980 he was back in New York City with the promise of a job on Broadway. His Broadway credits include; Sophisticated Ladies, The Wiz, Black and Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, Swingin’ On A Star, Play On, Fosse, and most recently, The Wild Party.
The move to return to New York City provided recording sessions for Sunnyside and Milestone playing with the likes of Sir Roland Hanna, Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith, Ruth Brown, James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Grady Tate and Billy Higgins among others. Saxophonist, Flautist and clarinetist Bill Easley continues his legacy of recording and performing.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Haywood Henry was born Frank Haywood Henry on January 10, 1913 in Birmingham, Alabama. He began on clarinet before choosing baritone saxophone as his primary instrument, but continued to play clarinet on occasion throughout his career. In 1930 he was a member of the Bama State Collegians, then returned to play with them again from 1934 under Erskine Hawkins, playing with him with Hawkins into the 1950s.
Following Hawkins, Haywood worked with Tiny Grimes, Julian Dash, the Fletcher Henderson Reunion Band, and occasionally stood in for Harry Carney in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1960s he played with Wilbur DeParis, Max Kaminsky, Snub Mosley, Louis Metcalf, Earl Hines, Sy Oliver and the New York Jazz Repertory Company.
During the 1950s and ‘60s he played, mostly anonymously, on over 1000 rock and roll records. He also worked in the orchestras of Broadway shows in the 1970s. He participated in an Erskine Hawkins reunion ensemble in 1971, and performed well into the 1980s.
Henry recorded three albums as a leader: one for Davis Records in 1957, one for Strand early in the 1960s, and the last for Uptown in 1983. Baritone saxophonist Haywood Henry was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1978 and passed away on September 15, 1994.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joe Marsala was born on January 4, 1907 in Chicago, Illinois and learned to play the clarinet as a youth. He became professionally active during the big band era but he was far more adventurous than his fellow “dixielanders” owing much of his rich and graceful playing to Jimmy Noone.
Marsala led his groups “His Chosen Seven” and “His Delta Four” and was one of the first leaders to employ drummer Buddy Rich. Over the course of his career he played with a host of musicians such as Joe Buskin, Jack Lemaire, Carmen Mastren and Etta James among others.
Marsala also was at the forefront of helping to break down race segregation in jazz working with Dizzy Gillespie and others in the 1940s. However, as the bebop era came into full swing, Joe experienced difficult times finding work playing or recording, as clarinetists were less in demand.
Adjusting to this phenomenon Marsala began composing and writing songs for what is now referred to as classic pop. We wrote primarily for Frank Sinatra and Patti Page with songs like “Don’t Cry, Joe” and “And So To Sleep Again”.
Joe Marsala suffered from chronic colitis and he died on March 4, 1978 in Santa Barbara, California.
More Posts: clarinet