Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Isabel Hernandez-Cata was born on December 9 and raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She completed undergraduate studies in music at University of Rochester, a Masters degree in Music Education from Boston University and Jazz Studies – Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas.
She founded the Isabel Hernandez-Cata quintet featuring a fluid lineup with guitarist Greg Loman. They met while working at a community theatre. They have performed with numerous DC jazz musicians Ricky Loza, Eric Byrd, Alison Miller, and Marcus Johnson.
A classical contralto, Isabel has sung in choirs, among them the National Philharmonic Chorale and Singers. Her diverse musical interests always return her to a love of the jazz art form to perform standards and jazz treatments of tunes from other modern music genres.
As an educator she teaches vocal music and piano in Montgomery County Public Schools. She has also served as vocal director, pit conductor keyboardist, and choreographer for dozens of school and community musical productions. She has been a choral director, combo leader, and teacher of Piano & AP Music Theory in Maryland Public Schools since 2001.
Hernandez-Cata composes, arranges, and performs as a jazz vocalist and bandleader. Her choirs have performed for US Presidents fifty times and she has had backing vocal stints for Al Green and Lionel Richie.
Vocalist Isabel Hernandez-Cata continues to perform, compose, conduct and educate.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alan Plachta was born on November 30, 1981 and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Recently recorded in NYC his last album “Un viaje” in collaboration with Richard Nant, featuring Luis Perdomo on piano, Sam Sadigursky on reeds, Satoshi Takeishi on drums and Matt Pavolka on bass.
As a composer, arranger and conductor he has worked with the Boris Big Band, Orquesta Sudamericana, Kai de Raiz, and Orquesta de Cuerdas Elvino Vardado in collaboration with Juan Pollo Raffo.
Alan has played and/or recorded with numerous South American musicians such as Roberto Taufic, Hugo Fattoruso, Urbano Moraes, Daniel Maza, Robert Vincs, Alex & Nilusha, Alexandre Ribeiro, Ana Luiza and Luis Felipe Gama, Nicolás Ospina, Celeste Carballo, Ligia Piro, Liliana Herrero, and Cecilia Pahl among others.
A leader or co-leader, he has recorded five albums, the first in 2005. A prolific arranger and producer Nussbaum has collaborated as guitarist and guest arranger for Cambrio de Estacion, Roma, Soy Una Tarada, Desmesura, Este Tiempo, Ensamble Real Book Argentina, and Y De Amor No Supe Nada.
As a guitarist he has recorded ninetten albums and his compositions are included in Real Book Argentina. His educator role has Adam teaching ear training, arrangement, harmony and guitar. He is in charge of the Musical Language´s Technichs at the Tecnólogo en Jazz y Música Creativa career at UTEC.
Guitarist, composer, arranger and educator Alan Plachta continues to explore his music and his teaching.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rainer Brüninghaus was born on November 21, 1949 in Bad Pyrmont, Lower Saxony, Germany. From the age of nine he was educated in classical piano and founded his first jazz trio when he was 16. He studied sociology at the University of Cologne and music during the same time. In 1970, he founded the experimental jazz rock group Eiliff, which recorded two albums and one single.
In 1973, he joined the band of German jazz guitarist Volker Kriegel. From 1973 until 1985, he was a frequent guest in the jazz ensemble and the big band of Hessian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1975, with bassist Eberhard Weber and Charlie Mariano, he formed the band, Colours. Rainere played duo concerts with Manfred Schoof and in his quintet and big band.
In 1976, Brüninghaus first played a piano solo concert at the Heidelberg Jazz Days Festival. At the German Jazz Festival Frankfurt of 1978, he performed a suite of pieces lasting 50 minutes, which he composed as commissioned work for the festival.
The Eighties saw Brüninghaus working mainly as a bandleader, putting effort into his own projects, Freigeweht with Kenny Wheeler and Jon Christensen. He alsoe founded his own trio in which Markus Stockhausen and Fredy Studer played until the end of 1984.
John Abercrombie and Trilok Gurtu joined the band in 1985, and for some of the performances, Charlie Mariano, Hugo Read, and Jo Thönes played in the band. In 1988, Rainer began a long association with Jan Garbarek. He has written music for symphony orchestras, big bands, small ensembles, and solo piano, as well as for film and television.
He has also worked with Carla Bley, Bob Brookmeyer, Gary Burton, Bobby McFerrin, Jim Hall, Manu Katché, Albert Mangelsdorff, Paul McCandless, Alphonse Mouzon, Archie Shepp, and Steve Swallow.
He taught piano and music theory at the Akademie Remscheid, at the University of Cologne, and from 1990 to 1993 at the Hochschule (University) for Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He has published essays on music theory and was a member of the artistic advisory board for the Union of German Jazz Musicians.
>Pianist, composer and university teacher Rainer Brüninghaus, who has performed solo Grand Piano conerts, continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Gordon Brisker was born on November 6, 1937 in Cincinnati, Ohio and began on piano as a child. He studied reed instruments at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Before enrolling in the Berklee College of Music he played with Ralph Marterie Following this he worked with Al Belletto, Bill Berry, and Woody Herman.
Moving to New York City he played with Louie Bellson and Gerry Mulligan. After a short time Brisker returned to Cincinnati, then moved to Los Angeles, California where he worked extensively as a studio musician.
From 1983 to 1985, Gordon taught at Berklee College of Music and during this time also arranged for Herb Pomeroy. After 1985 he returned to Los Angeles, recording extensively with Anita O’Day and Bobby Shew among others. He recorded several albums under his own name.
In the 1990s, Brisker moved to Australia and taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Tenor saxophonist Gordon Brisker died of pancreatic cancer on September 10, 2004 at the age of 66.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bernard Peiffer was born on October 23, 1922 in Épinal, France and was raised in a musical family, with his father and uncle playing the violin and the organ, respectively. Learning piano at age nine, he studied under Pierre Maire and quickly demonstrated his abilities by repeating long sections of classical works by ear. He won the 1st Prize in Piano at the Paris Conservatory and began his professional career at the age of twenty. playing with André Ekyan and Django Reinhardt.
During World War II, he joined the French resistance after witnessing the execution of a friend by the Gestapo in the streets of Paris. Soon afterwards he was captured, and was incarcerated for over a year. By the early 1950s, he began a successful career, playing with Django Reinhardt, leading his own quintet, composing film soundtracks, and achieving notice in the clubs of Paris, Monte Carlo and Nice, and eventually became nationally known.
He moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1954 with his wife Corine and daughter Rebecca. The subsequent loss of his third daughter profoundly affected him, resulting in Poem for a Lonely Child. During his first years in America, Bernard achieved considerable success, performing at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, and the Newport Jazz Festival. He recorded for the EmArcy, Decca and Laurie labels.
Peiffer released his last commercial album in 1965 and, after having kidney surgery a few years later, restricted himself to performing and teaching, mainly in Philadelphia. His students included Uri Caine, Sumi Tonooka, Tom Lawton, and Don Glanden. His last major appearance was at the 1974 New York/Newport Festival at Carnegie Hall. Pianist, composer and teacher Bernard Peiffer, whose nickname was Le Most for his piano skills, died on September 7, 1976. He was 53.
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