Daily Dose Of Jazz…
George Mesterhazy was born April 8, 1954 in Hungary and came to the United States with his family when they fled Hungary following their country’s 1956 revolution. Settling first in upstate New York, they later moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey where he first played guitar and trumpet.
Switching to piano he became a professional musician, relocated to Los Angeles, California but eventually became well known in the area of Cape May, New Jersey.
Mesterhazy had recently released a new album with singer Paula West, Live at Jazz Standard, and the pair was scheduled to play the New York club together in May.
He was nominated for a Grammy for his arranging work on Shirley Horn’s 1997’s Loving You album, on which he also played. George also played with Les Paul, Bernadette Peters and others.
At Rowan University he ran the jazz piano program, taught privately and managed Cape May’s Merion Inn. Pianist and composer George Mesterhazy died quietly in his sleep at his home in Cape May on April 11, 2019 of natural causes. He was 59.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tony Vella was born on April 4, 1937 in Terrasini, a Sicily commune in the metropolitan city of Palermo, Itlay. In 1957 he gained immense experience working with big and small configurations. In Italyhe was the main arranger, for numerous important record houses.
From 1972 he dedicated his efforts to cultural activities and the formation of young talents holding theory courses, and practical instrumental and ensemble music applied to jazz music. By 1975 Tony participated in the Pescara the Jazz Festival with the New Jazz Society of Palermo, the only Italian group invited to perform along with the Zoot Sims Quartet, Antony Braxton, Elvin Jones Quintet, Red Norvo Trio, Chet Baker Quartet, Charles Mingus Group, Roland Kirk Quintet and Don Cherry Organic Music Theatre.
Three years later he formed and directed L’Orchestra in collaboration with the Reinhardt Center for their concert season. Organized by the Associazione Siciliana Amici della Musica and introduced to Auditorium SS. Salvatore of Palermo.
In the Eighties Vella was a partr of the Messina Jazz Meeting with the Brass Group Big Band, as orchestra director and arranger. With the band he has collaborated with international musicians Archie Shepp, Hernie Wilkins, Mel Lewis, Sam Rivers, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Paolo Lepore, Franco Cerri, and Danilo Terenzi.
The next decade he established The Tony Vella Fusion Jazz Band entirely composed from young Sicialian musicians. A big band, modeled on some of the great American orchestras like Quincy Jones. The Fusion Jazz Band presented remarkable arrangements of a repertoire that includes Brazilian and popular jazz. They accompanied singers Beppe Vella, Gaetano Riccobono, and Tony Piscopo, as well as numerous musicians such asCalderone Ignazio, Aldo Oliveri, Benedetto Modica, Giovanni Mazzarino, Sergio Munafò, Aldo Messina, and Sebastiano Alioto, among others.
Pianist, organist, composer, arranger and orchestra director Tony Vella continues to perform, conduct and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sonny Burke was born Joseph Francis Burke on March 22, 1914 in Scranton, Pennsylvania and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He attended St. Ambrose High School, where he was All-State fullback. After one year at the University of Detroit, he transferred to Duke University, where he formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke Ambassadors.
During the Thirties Burke was a big band arranger in New York City, worked with Sam Donahue’s band, and in the 1940s and 1950s worked as an arranger for the Charlie Spivak and Jimmy Dorsey bands, among others. In 1955 he wrote, along with Peggy Lee, the songs to Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, and with John Elliot for Disney’s Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, which won the 1953 Oscar for Best Short Subject – Cartoons.
He wrote the music for a number of popular songs, including Black Coffee and Midnight Sun, co-written with jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. The song’s lyrics were added later by Johnny Mercer. He was an active arranger, conductor and A&R man at major Hollywood record labels, especially Decca Records where he worked with Charles “Bud” Dant.
Sonny would go on to become musical director of Warner Bros. Records / Reprise Records, and was responsible for many of Frank Sinatra’s albums, producing Sinatra’s My Way, Petula Clark’s This Is My Song, written by Charles Chaplin for his movie, A Countess From Hong Kong.
Burke was the bandleader for recordings of leading singers that included Dinah Shore, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, The Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé and Billy Eckstine.
Arranger, composer, big band leader and producer Sonny Burke died from cancer on May 31, 1980, in Santa Monica, California, aged 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Antonio Ciacca was born in Wuppertal, Germany March 14, 1969 and raised in Italy. He began playing the piano at the age of seven and studied with Steve Grossman, Jaki Byard, Bruce Barth and Barry Harris.
Ciacca toured Europe with the Larry Smith Quartet in 1995 and 1996, played in Japan with the Eiji Nakayama Quartet in 1998, and toured Europe with Wes Anderson and Steve Lacy in 1999. His study with Jaki Byard in 1998–99, and dedicated the album Hollis Avenue to him.
He founded the Detroit Gospel Singers, and toured Europe with them in 2000. He earned his undergraduate Diploma at the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna, Italy. He became Director of Programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center from 2007 to 2011. Earning his master’s degree in jazz studies at City College in New York City and his DMA, Doctor of Musica Arts at Stony Brook University.
Pianist Antonio Ciacca is currently the adjunct professor of Jazz History at Marymount Manhattan College, and Professor of Jazz Arranging and Composition at the G. Nicolini Conservatory in Piacenza, Italy.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Layla Angulo was born March 12, 1976 to a Greek mother and an Irish-American father and started playing the piano at age 6. However, it was her grandfather’s upright bass playing that inspired her to learn the saxophone at age 10. She began playing in jazz clubs during high school. After graduation, she played in various funk, jazz, and pop and groups and performed as the horn section leader of various salsa bands around the Northwest.
Developing the idea to write her own music. Soon after Layla released her debut album, Live at The Triple Door, was recorded at the noted Seattle theater in 2005. The album’s first single Que Te Vaya Bien was Top 10 for three months. Mientras, her sophomore album, was recorded in New York with Arturo O’Farrill, Oscar Estagnaro, Tony Escapa, and Dario Escanazi and released in 2008.
Moving to New York City in 2009, she subsequently spent a year on tour with reggaeton artist Don Omar. Her third album TriAngulo gave up a single, No Se Como Olvidarte that rose to #16 on the Billboard Tropical Charts. Another song from TriAngulo, La Pelicula, reached #1 in the National Latin Record Pool.
On March 24, 2015, the International Songwriting Competition announced its 2014 Finalists, including Layla’s song Dame Todo.
Alto saxophonist, composer, singer, band director, and recording artist known professionally by the mononym Layla, continues to specialize in Latin music.
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