Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Chauncey Morehouse was born on March 11, 1902 in Niagara Falls, New York and was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania where he learned and played drums from an early age. He also played piano and banjo and while in high school led a group called the Versatile Five. He landed a job with Paul Specht’s orchestra in 1922, touring with him through Europe in 1923.
Through the Roaring Twenties Chauncey played with The Georgians, Jean Goldkette, Adrian Rollini and Don Voorhees. He recorded with Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers, Joe Venuti and many others.
By 1929 Morehouse was active for the next decade chiefly as a studio musician, working in radio and television in and around New York City. In 1938, he put together his own percussion ensemble which played percussion tuned chromatically.
Morehouse invented a set of drums called the N’Goma drums, which were made by the Leedy Drum Company who endorsed Morehouse during his career. His career in the studios continued into the 1970s when he retired from studio work and began playing jazz again, mostly at festivals.
In his later years Morehouse made appearances at Carnegie Hall for the Tribute to Bix concert for the Newport Jazz Festival, and at one of the early Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festivals in Davenport, Iowa. Chauncey Morehouse passed away on October 31, 1980 in Medford, New Jersey, aged 78.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Martin France was born on February 29, 1964 in Rainham, Kent, England and began performing at the age of twelve backing singers in working men’s clubs with organ trios in and around Manchester. He studied under Geoff Riley, Kenny Clare, Joel Rothman, and principal percussionist Richard Smith of The Hallé, the Manchester orchestra.
In 1983 Martin began his recording career performing as a sideman on several records for ECM Records, toured with several of the labels roster during the 80s and 90s and subsequently led several sessions as a leader.
The turning point in his early career was as a member of the 1980s big band Loose Tubes, where he began working on projects that included film soundtracks, jazz theatre and cross cultural collaborations with other big bands and orchestras.
France formed his own band Spin Marvel, that showcased more electronic and sequence drumming, and would be an integral rhythm backbone on more than 60 albums working with some of the world’s finest musicians including Kenny Wheeler, Elvis Costello, Bob Mintzer, Steve Swallow, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, Marc Johnson and Dave Holland to name a few and is currently a regular performer with the NDR Radio Orchestra in Hamburg.
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Requisites
Love Lifted Me, recorded in 1962, is the debut album of Ron Jefferson as a leader and is infused with gospel flavoring on the title track to the classic “Flamingo” that features some wonderful work by Bobby Hutcherson. Add up-tempo swingers like “Little One” and “George’s Dilemma” makes for a delightful mix of tunes. However, Leroy Vinnegar’s contribution of timekeeping and soloing gives the listener an opportunity to be enthralled especially on his composition “For Carl Perkins”.
Personnel: Ron Jefferson – drums, Laurence “Tricky” Lofton – trombone, Wilbur Brown – tenor saxophone, Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone, Frank Strazzeri – piano, Leroy Vinnegar – bass
Recording/Release Date: Hollywood, California – 1962
Label: Pacific Jazz ST 36 CD: Toshiba-EMI PJ0036 (Japan only)
Songs: Love Lifted Me, For Carl Perkins, Little One, Ivy League Blues, Flamingo, George’s Dilemma
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Requisites
The Cats: In the Fifties, Tommy Flanagan was one of the most highly valued pianists in jazz. His appearance on record was primarily as a sideman, well appreciated by his fellow musicians but not recognized for their display of his superior abilities by a wider audience.
This album contains a Flanagan trio track “How Long Has This Been Going On?” surrounded with the choice, empathetic soloists as Coltrane, Burrell and Sulieman. It is still a delight to hear their interaction to this day with Tommy and the all-Detroit rhythm section of Doug Watkins and Louis Hayes. Flanagan penned all of the originals on this album.
Personnel: Tommy Flanagan – piano, John Coltrane – tenor saxophone, Idrees Sulieman – trumpet, Kenny Burrell – guitar, Doug Watkins – bass, Louis Hayes – drums
Record date: Hackensack, New Jersey – April 18, 1957
Supervised by: Bob Weinstock
Songs: Minor Mishap; How Long Has This Been Going On; Eclypso; Solacium; Tommy’s Tune
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Review: Ernest Coleman | Her Eyes At Sunset
The title Her Eyes At Sunset ambiguously defines the listener’s journey. At first glance, Mr. Coleman’s choice of tunes appears to be indiscriminate, however, upon closer inspection one finds a carefully crafted playlist to delight the ear.
Ernest’s point of embarkation is a driving tempo with the title theme from the 1948 film The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and yet, it is not surprising that he follows with the Gershwin’s They Can’t Take That Away From Me from the 1937 Astaire/Rogers vehicle Shall We Dance, done refreshingly as a quiet ballad. Combining the Latin rhythms of Jobim’s Waters of March, Romero’s Quinta Anauco and his original title track with the delivery of Chantae Cann on Estrada Branca is a happy madness.
The arrangement of Blue In Green is unprecedented as is the well-executed bass on the Bricusse/Newley composition Pure Imagination. If homework is a prerequisite for testing the musicianship of this excellent assemblage of players and voices, this project raises the bar of the listening experience, and thus, is no stranger to my Serenade To The City playlist.
carl anthony |serenade to the city | jazz 91.9fm wclk | july 28, 2011
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