Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Conny Bauer was born Konrad Bauer on July 4, 1943 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. While in senior high school in 1957 he became interested in modern music and dance genres such as swing, boogie-woogie, blues and rock and roll. He taught himself to play guitar and piano and after graduation while trying to play in several bands was nicknamed “Conny” by his friends.
Recognizing his lack of musical knowledge to become a professional Bauer studied modern dance music from 1964 to 1968 taking up the trombone. In 1968 he left for Berlin to improve his skills with private lessons. From 1969 until 1971 he started his career as guitarist and singer in the band of Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, while doubling as a trombone soloist.
During the second half of the 1970s Bauer became a prominent jazz player in European free jazz, helping to found numerous groups that influenced the development of jazz in East Germany. By 1986 he was touring Japan, went on to direct the National Jazz Orchestra of the former East Germany, worked with artists such as Tadashi Endo, Sheryl Banks, Tony Oxley, Barry Altschul and George Lewis to name a few.
He has recorded two-dozen albums, received the German SWR jazz prize for his solo recordings Hummelsummen, and continues to perform, tour and record.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alvino Rey was born Alvin McBurney on July 1, 1908 in Oakland, California but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Showing very early signs of his mechanical and musical aptitude, he built his first radio at the age of 8, becoming one of the youngest licensed ham operators in the country. Received a banjo at 10, he began studying guitar at age 12 and by 15 he invented an electrical amplifier for the guitar.
In 1927, Rey played banjo with Cleveland bandleader Ev Jones while still in high school. After graduation Rey went to New York and signed with Phil Spitalny Orchestra, playing electric guitar. He changed his name to Alvino Rey to coincide with the Latin music craze in the late Twenties.
Two years later he was in California playing with Horace Heidt in San Francisco. From 1932 to 1939, Alvino played steel and Spanish guitar and in Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights, pioneering the instrument, as well as becoming known for his unique sound and one of the best-known and best-paid sidemen in the country,
Rey formed his own group with the King Sisters and Frank DeVol, that became the Mutual Broadcasting house band that had Johnny Mandel, Neal Hefti, Mel Lewis, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims playing and Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Ray Conniff arranging among others.
Alvino performed well into his eighties after moving to Salt Lake City, Utah and retired from music in 1994 but retained his interests in music and electronics into his mid-nineties. Alvino Rey, swing era musician, pioneer and father of the pedal steel guitar, passed away on February 2, 2004.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Grant Green was born on June 6, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri. He first performed as a guitarist in a professional setting at the age of 12, first playing boogie-woogie before moving to jazz. His influences were Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker, Ike Quebec, Lester Young, Jimmy Raney, Jimmy Smith and Miles Davis.
Grant first recorded in St. Louis with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest on the Delmark label alongside Elvin Jones. But it was Lou Donaldson who discovered the young talent and after touring together, by 1959 Green had moved to New York. An impressive introduction to Alfred Lion led to his bypassing the sideman audition and recording as a bandleader, a relationship that lasted throughout the Sixties.
Grant’s first issued album as a leader was in 1961 with Grant’s First Stand, followed by Green Street, Grantstand and being named Down Beat critics’ poll best new star in 1962. He would often play the sideman for Hank Mobley, Ike Quebec, Stanley Turrentine, Harold Vick and Larry Young among others at the label.
Though he had an impressive catalogue of recordings many were not released during his lifetime though Grant always carried off his more commercial dates with artistic success during this period. Towards the late 60s he left Blue Note for Verve Records and other labels into the Seventies but was relatively inactive due to personal problems and heroin addiction.
The guitarist spent much of 1978 in the hospital, but against doctors’ advice, went back on the road to earn some money and collapsed in his car of a heart attack in New York City on January 31, 1979 at age 47.
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Requisites
The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery is a dazzling display of the unorthodox technique and emotional power that combined to make Wes a literally “incredible” artist. Ever since its initial release in 1960, this album has been a consensus choice of musicians, critics and knowledgeable listeners as a matchless example of the talents of one of the finest jazz instrumentalists of all times.
Personnel: Wes Montgomery – guitar, Tommy Flanagan – piano, Percy Heath – bass, Albert “Tootie” Heath – drums
Producer: Orrin Keepnews
Record Date: New York City – January 26 & 28, 1960
Cover Art: Produced and designed by Paul Bacon, Ken Braren and Harris Lewine
Songs: Airegin, D-Natural Blues, Polka Dots & Moonbeams, Four On Six, West Coast Blues, In Your Own Sweet Way, Mr. Walker (Renie), Gone With The Wind
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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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