Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Vernel Anthony Fournier, was born July 30, 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana, into a Creole family. He left college to join a big band led by King Kolax, however, after Kolax downsized to a quintet, he moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1948. There he played with Buster Bennett, Paul Bascomb and Teddy Wilson. As house drummer at the Bee Hive club on Chicago’s South Side from 1953 to 1955, he accompanied many visiting soloists, including Lester Young, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, J.J. Johnson, Earl Washington and Stan Getz.
From 1953 to 1956, Vernel worked many recording sessions with Al Smith, Red Holloway, Lefty Bates, and others. He joined Ahmad Jamal’s trio in 1957, along with bass player Israel Crosby, and remained with the group until 1962, appearing on a series of recordings on the Chess label. The best known of these, At the Pershing: But Not for Me (1958), became one of the best selling jazz records of all time, remaining on the Billboard jazz charts for over two years.
After leaving the Jamal trio, Fournier joined George Shearing for two years before rejoining Jamal briefly in 1965–66. He then took a long-running gig with a trio at a restaurant owned by Elijah Muhammad. Converting to Islam in 1975, he took the Muslim name of Amir Rushdan.
He worked with Nancy Wilson, Clifford Jordan, Billy Eckstine and Joe Williams, John Lewis and Barry Harris. He was a drumming teacher and worked at Barry Harris’s Jazz Cultural Theater, the New School, and the Mannes College of Music.
Suffering a stroke in 1994 left him unable to use his legs and confined him to a wheelchair. Although he was unable to play drums professionally, after his stroke, he continued his teaching activities. Never leading a recording date, Vernel recorded twenty-eight albums as a sideman with Lorez Alexandria, Gary Burton, Billy Eckstine, Benny Carter, Ahmad Jamal, Etta Jones, Sam Jones, Clifford Jordan, Houston Person, Jimmy Reed, George Shearing, and Frank Strozier.
Drummer Vernel Fournier, transitioned from a cerebral hemorrhage in Jackson, Mississippi on November 4, 2000.
More Posts: drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Clifford Arthur Edgehill, originally spelled Edghill, was born July 21, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. His first professional work was touring with Mercer Ellington in 1948 and by 1953 was touring with Ben Webster. He played with Kenny Dorham’s Jazz Prophets and Gigi Gryce in 1956 and the following year toured with Dinah Washington.
He was a member of the Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis Quartet with George Duvivier and/or Wendell Marshall and Shirley Scott. He appears on several of Scott’s recordings, including her 1958 debut album, Great Scott!. as well as on Very Saxy with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Buddy Tate, Coleman Hawkins, and Arnett Cobb.
As well as recording he also played in quartets led by Horace Silver, Cecil Payne, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, Charlie Parker and Annie Laurie. Edgehill remained active through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, appearing on several of the Prestige recordings on Mal Waldron’s 1956 debut album, Mal-1, and with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Shirley Scott.
Drummer Arthur Edgehill retired from music in the Seventies.
More Posts: drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Irv Kluger was born in New York City, New York on July 9, 1921 and early in life he played violin before settling on drums. His first professional gigs came at age 15 and by the time he was 17 he played with Georgie Auld, then with Bob Chester and Freddie Slack. The mid Forties saw him playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Boyd Raeburn, Bobby Byrne and Herbie Fields. Following this he played with Stan Kenton, Artie Shaw, then for a short time in 1950 with Tex Beneke.
He played less jazz after 1950, working in the pit orchestras of Broadway shows such as Guys and Dolls. He returned to play with Artie Shaw again in 1953–54 as a member of the Gramercy Five. In the middle of the 1950s he moved to California and played at the Moulin Rouge in Hollywood as the house drummer.
He played with Dave Pell in 1956, and with Benny Goodman and Woody Herman later in life, doing much freelance work through the 1960s and 1970s. As a studio musician he played with Johnny Cash.
Drummer Irv Kluger, never led a recording session and transitioned on February 28, 2006.
More Posts: drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sue Evans was born on July 7, 1951 in New York, New York and played piano, violin and clarinet as a young child before switching to drums. She studied under Warren Smith and Sonny Igoe, and graduated in 1969 from The High School of Music & Art. She went on to earn a BA in Music from Columbia University, as well as a Master of Music and Doctorate from the Juilliard School.
Becoming one of the top recording percussionists in New York she has recorded jingles, movie scores, and numerous albums with many jazz, folk and pop artists. She was Judy Collins’s touring drummer from 1969 to 1973 and worked with Gil Evans from 1969 to 1982. During the Seventies she worked with Steve Kuhn, Art Farmer, Bobby Jones, George Benson, Urbie Green, Yusef Lateef, Idris Muhammad, Lalo Schifrin, Jeremy Steig and Roswell Rudd’s Jazz Composers Orchestra. In addition Sue played with The New York Pops, the New York Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
The 1980s saw her working with Michael Franks, Mark Murphy, Suzanne Vega, Tony Bennett, and Morgana King. Other associations include touring or recording with Aretha Franklin, Sting, Spike Lee, James Brown, Billy Cobham, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Philip Glass, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Don Sebesky, Sadao Watanabe, Hubert Laws, Randy Brecker, David Sanborn and Terence Blanchard.
For several years she played at the Tony Awards and the Grammy Awards. She won National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Most Valuable Awards in 1984, 1987 and 1989. Drummer and percussionist Sue Evans continues to perform and record.
More Posts: drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music,percussion
MONTY ALEXANDER
Monty Alexander O.J.: “Honoring Harry Belafonte” with Luke Sellick & Jason Brown
From Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammy nominated pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. A perennial favorite at Jazz festivals and venues worldwide and at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has appeared 23 times since 1976, his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.” In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies those aesthetics to a repertoire spanning a broad range of jazz and Jamaican musical expressions—the American songbook and the blues, gospel and bebop, calypso and reggae. Documented on more than 75 recordings and cited as the fifth greatest jazz pianist ever in The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time (Hal Leonard Publishing), the Jamaican government designated Alexander Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2000 and in 2018 The University of The West Indies bestowed him with an honorary doctorate degree (DLitt) in recognition of his accomplishments. For this engagement, Monty, along with bassist Luke Selick and drummer Jason Brown, commemorates his long friendship with Harry Belafonte, Jr. in stories and song.
Showtimes: 7:00pm | 8:30pm | 9:30pm | 10:30pm
More Posts: adventure,bass,club,drums,festival,genius,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel