Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John McLevy was born on January 2, 1927 in Dundee, Scotland. He played in Europe with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in the 1970s, alongside George Masso, Hank Jones and Slam Stewart.
He performed with artists such as Max Bygraves, Roy Williams, accordionist Jack Emblow and later in a duo with veteran trumpeter Tommy McQuater.
Trumpeter John McLevy transitioned on November 27, 2002.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joe McPhee was born November 3, 1939 in Miami, Florida and grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. He began playing trumpet when he was eight, before learning other instruments. He played in various high school and then military bands before starting his recording career. His first recording came in 1967 when he appeared on the Clifford Thornton album titled Freedom and Unity.
McPhee taught himself saxophone at the age of 32 after experiencing the music of John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and Ornette Coleman. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he lectured on jazz music at Vassar College.
In 1975, Werner Uehlinger started the Swiss label Hathut Records with the specific intent of showcasing McPhee’s music. In the 1980s, he met Pauline Oliveros, began studying her musical theories, and worked with her Deep Listening Band.
Not having been signed with any major label in his native United States, Joe was better known throughout Europe until the 1990s. His 1996 album As Serious As Your Life, which takes its title from the jazz book by Val Wilmer, has been said to arguably be the finest of his solo recordings, according to the AllMusic review.
He has recorded or performed with Ken Vandermark, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Mats Gustafsson, Jeb Bishop, The Thing, Clifton Hyde, Jérôme Bourdellon, Raymond Boni, and Joe Giardullo. Since 1998, he, Dominic Duval, and Jay Rosen have performed and recorded as Trio X. In the 1990s Dominique Eade and McPhee had a jazz ensemble called Naima.
He has written reviews and commentary for Cadence magazine and was awarded the Resounding Vision Award by Nameless Sound. Multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, who plays tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone, is most notable for his free jazz work done from the late 1960s to the present day.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Thomas Mossie McQuater was born on September 4, 1914 in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. Showing early signs of musical talent and largely self-taught, he began on the cornet but by the age of 11 was a regular member of the Maybole Burgh Band. The brass band won several competitions in the late 1920s and they played at local events and dances.
Turning professional in his teens, Tommy got a regular position with Louis Freeman’s Band, which played at Greens Playhouse in Glasgow. In 1934, at 20, he was offered a job with one of London, England’s most renowned bands, the Jack Payne Orchestra, playin in London and Paris, France. His next stint was with the Lew Stone Band and made the classic recording of Pardon Me, Pretty Baby.
In the 1940s, after joining The Squadronaires, he worked with the BBC Showband in 1945. He often performed with John McLevy in the 1970s and 1980s. In his later years, he concentrated his energy playing around the Ealing Jazz Festival. Trumpeter, flugelhornist and cornetist Tommy McQuater passed away on January 20, 2008 in London, England at the age of 93.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Horst Konrad “Conny” Jackel was born on August 30, 1931 in Offenbach am Main, Germany. Initially working as a steel construction fitter, he attended the conservatory in 1951 and from 1952 played in the clubs of the US Army in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
In 1955 he became a member of the Helmut Brandt Combo, contributing to its success. In 1959 he went on to perform the equally demanding arrangements of the Media Band of Harald Banter in Cologne. 1961 saw Jackel moving to the Erwin Lehn Orchestra in Stuttgart, where he performed with Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Sinatra.
From 1964 to 1969 he was a member of the Hessischer Rundfunk Jazz Ensemble led by Albert Mangelsdorff, then became first trumpet of the orchestra in 1967 under Willy Berking and the HR Big Band under Heinz Schönberger. He would go on to perform with Joki Freund, Rudi Sehring, Attila Zoller, Charly Antolini and the Sugar Foot Stompers among other traditional bands.
Suffering from cancer, he lost his lower jaw to amputation forcing him to give up the trumpet. Occasionally he was active as a drummer with The Bookreaders. After a long illness as a result of an operation, trumpeter and flugelhornist Conny Jackel, whose motto was “No beer – no music!”, passed away on April 28, 2008 in Bad Nauheim, Germany.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
William Franklin Hardman, Jr. was born on April 6, 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio and growing up there worked with local players including Bobby Few and Bob Cunningham. While in high school he played with Tadd Dameron, and after graduation he joined Tiny Bradshaw’s band.
Hardman’s first recording was with Jackie McLean in 1956 and following this he played with Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, and Lou Donaldson. He led a group with Junior Cook and as a leader recorded Saying Something on the Savoy label, receiving critical acclaim in jazz circles, but was little known to the general public.
He had three periods in as many decades with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, however, his misfortune was not to be with him during their popular Blue Note recording years. Bill would go on to record three albums for Muse and one for Steeplechase record labels. He recorded forty-three albums as a sideman between 1956 and 1987 working with among others Hank Mobley, Charles Earland, Walter Bishop Jr., Curtis Fuller, Eddie Jefferson and Benny Golson.
On December 5, 1990 hard bop trumpeter and flugelhornist Bill Hardman, whose most prolific recording period as a sideman was with Blakey, passed away of a brain hemorrhage in Paris, France at the age of 57.
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