Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Hamid Drake was born Henry Lawrence Drake on August 3, 1955 in Monroe, Louisiana but his family moved to Evanston, Illinois, when he was a child. There he started playing with local rock and R&B bands, which eventually brought him to the attention of Fred Anderson, an older saxophonist who had also moved to Evanston from Monroe as a child decades before. Drake worked with Anderson from 1974 to 2010 including on his 1979 The Missing Link.

At Anderson’s workshops, he met Douglas Ewart, George E. Lewis and other members of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Percussionist Ed Blackwell had a great influence on Drake, during this period. His flowing rhythmic expressions and interest in the roots of the music drew like-minded musicians together into a performance and educational collective named the Mandingo Griot Society, which combined traditional African music and narrative with distinctly American influences.

During the Seventies he met Don Cherry and with Adam Rudolph toured Europe and worked extensively with him from 1978 until Cherry’s death in 1995. It was during this period where they explored the interior landscape of percussion and shared deeply in Mr. Cherry’s grasp of music’s spiritually infinite transformational possibilities.

By the close of the 1990s, Hamid was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and African percussion instruments and influence, in addition to using the standard trap set, Drake has collaborated extensively with top free jazz improvisers, performed world music and reggae during his career.

Drummer and percussionist Hamid Drake, who also plays the tabla, continues to perform.

SUITE TABU 200

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Danny Barcelona was born on July 23, 1929 in Waipahu, a community of Honolulu, Hawaii. A self taught percussionist, by the age of 18 in his final year in high school, he was already playing music with trombonist, singer, and bandleader Trummy Young, joining his Hawaii All-Stars in the early Fifties. When Young left to join Louis Armstrong’s combo in 1952, he assumed leadership of the band, a sextet known as the Hawaiian Dixieland All-Stars. They would tour the Hawaiian Islands, Japan and the rest of the Far East.

Danny was introduced to Louis Armstrong by Young in 1956 and upon his recommendation, in 1958 at the age of 27 became Armstrong’s drummer for 15 years. As a Filipino-American, Armstrong would frequently introduce him to audiences as The Little Filipino Boy, then follow up by calling himself the Little Arabian Boy.

He appears on more than 130 of Armstrong’s recordings including Hello, Dolly! and What a Wonderful World. He toured with Armstrong and Young around the world until illness took Armstrong and he returned to Hawaii. There he became a longtime performer at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel, and worked for many years at Harry’s Music Store and the Easy Music Center.

In 1979, he returned to the mainland and settled with his family in Monterey Park, California. Drummer Danny Barcelona transitioned in Monterey Park on April 1, 2007, due to complications from cancer at the age of 77.

GRIOTS GALLERY

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bobby Previte was born July 16, 1951 in Niagara Falls, New York. He started playing early but went on to earn a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, New York where he also studied percussion.

Moving to New York City in 1979 he began professional relationships with John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, and Elliott Sharp. While Previte is a talented drummer he has also received critical acclaim for his exceptional abilities as a composer and orchestrator. His compositions are often tightly arranged, although they leave room for significant amounts of improvisation. Additionally, Previte often uses unusual instrumentation and also draws on many non-jazz musics for his compositions.

As a performer much of his work is also improvisational. He has recorded three dozen albums as a leader or co-leader and as a sideman played on 85 recording sessions across numerous genres of music. Drummer, composer and orchestrator Bobby Previte, who has delved into the jazz, avant~garde and rock genres as a leader, continues to expand his career.

GRIOTS GALLERY

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

As the virus is continuing to evolve the Jazz Voyager is staying close to home, especially since the country has lifted the masking mandate and it appears that everything is “back to normal”, even though it is not yet. Supply chain is still limiting production and delivery of items. As you travel around your city, state, country, and internationally please continue to be careful and protect yourself and others.

Carnaval is an album recorded Live Under The Sky in Denen Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan on July 30, 1978 by bassist Ron Carter, pianist Hank Jones, saxophonist Sadao Watanabe and drummer Tony Williams. The album was produced by Ed Michel and released five years later in 1983 on the Galaxy record label.

he art direction for the album was performed by Phil Carroll, the recording engineer was Jim Stern, mastered by George Horn, and the remix was done by Allen Sudduth.

Tracks | 43:18
  1. Chelsea Bridge (Billy Strayhorn) ~ 10:12
  2. Manhã de Carnaval (Luiz Bonfá, Antônio Maria) ~ 9:01
  3. I’m Old Fashioned (Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer) ~ 8:18
  4. Confirmation (Charlie Parker) ~ 6:40
  5. Moose the Mooche (Parker) ~ 8:05
Personnel
  • Ron Carter ~ bass
  • Hank Jones ~ piano
  • Sadao Watanabe ~ alto saxophone
  • Tony Williams ~ drums

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL

LACKAWANNA BLOCK PARTY

FAMILY JAZZ DISCOVERY ZONE | 12:00 pm~5:00 pm

 Get in the zone for an afternoon of family fun! Bring your wee be-boppers to the zone, a special place where kids and their families can gather to play, improvise, create, make new friends and of course, share our passion for jazz! 

 JAZZ HOUSE WORKSHOP STUDENT ENSEMBLES | 1:00 pm~4:00 pm

Keeping in the 13 year tradition of the Montclair Jazz Fest, student ensembles from the Jazz House Summer Workshop will take the Lackawanna Block Party stage throughout the afternoon starting at noon on Saturday.  Directed by trumpeter and educator Ted Chubb, the award-winning workshop continues on the campus of Montclair State University for two sessions.

NICOLE GLOVER QUARTET | 4:00 pm~7:00 pm

Saxophonist and bandleader Nicole Glover grew up in Oregon, where she was introduced to the music through her father’s record collection and studied in programs dedicated to learning jazz and priming students for touring and performing, such as the award-winning American Music Program and Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. She moved to the East Coast to attend William Paterson University, where she studied with Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern and Rich Perry. Assuming permanent residence in NYC in 2015, soon establishING herself as a rising star.

WINARD HARPER + JELI POSSE | 4:00 pm~7:00 pm

Winard Harper was born in Baltimore in 1962 and started like most drummers by beating on cans just after learning to walk. A child prodigy, a five-year-old Winard would sometimes sit in and play his drums in older brother Danny’s rock n roll band after the family moved to Washington D.C. Winard and his younger brother Philip, a trumpeter, would busk in the streets of Georgetown and sit in at jam sessions around the city. For more than a year, Winard worked in a trio with pianist Reuben Brown and bassist Steve Novosel, veterans of the DC jazz scene. 

DJ BROTHER MISTER | 7:00 pm~10:00 pm

Dance with DJ Brother Mister who will be capping off the summer series. Join us for an old school funk + soul party featuring DJ Brother Mister aka 7x Grammy winner Christian McBride.

~ Rain Date: August 13, 2022

~ No Tickets Required | Suggested Donation: $10

~ Beach and Lawn Chairs: Welcomed

~ Pop-Up Tents: Prohibited

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