Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jerome Darr was born on December 21, 1910 in Baltimore, Maryland. His first major professional affiliation was a jug band, the Washboard Serenaders. As a member of this group from 1933 through 1936, the guitarist enjoyed a well-received European tour.

During the 1940s he focused on work as a studio musician showing up on sessions from blues to bebop. His incredibly versatile and prolific career had him playing behind Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers.

Between 1935 and 1973 Jerome participated in roughly twenty jazz recording sessions. in total for this artist. Such a thin statistic indicates that the hefty, complete list of recordings Darr appears on include many other styles besides jazz.

He recorded and/or performed with the Marlowe Morris Trio, Paul Quinichette All-Stars and his Quartet, Rex Stewartand the Charlie Parker Quintet. In his final years, Darr was mostly swinging in the busy band of trumpeter Jonah Jones, in a sense coming full circle with the type of playing he had started out with.

Guitarist Jerome Darr died October 29, 1986 in Brooklyn, New York.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

More Posts: ,,,,

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Graham Leslie Lionel Clark was born on December 16, 1959 in England. He plays the violin as his first instrument, sings and also the electric guitar. As a freelance violinist he is adept in most styles of jazz, rock, blues and pop, however, he specializes in improvisation.

He worked with Daevid Allen from 1988 to 2014, and has also worked with Andy Sheppard, Keith Tippett, Tim Richards, Phil Lee, Paz, Brian Godding, Elbow, Lamb, Bryan Glancy, Little Sparrow, Jah Wobble, Graham Massey, Louis Gordon and Liz Fletcher.

Violinist Graham Clark, who has been featured on seven albums, continues to perform and record.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

More Posts: ,,,,,,

JOHN PIZZARELLI

World-renowned guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli has dedicated many of his albums to the great songwriters and performers who have helped to establish the Great American Songbook and the pop music canon: Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers, and Duke Ellington, to name a few. With his new album, Pizzarelli and his remarkable new trio cast a wider net to explore other sources for the most immortal songs of the past century: the Broadway stage and the silver screen.

Cover: $48.05

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,

HOLIDAY JAZZ VESPERS

Come celebrate the holiday season with the timeless sounds of jazz at the 2025 Holiday Jazz Vespers at historic First Congregational Church in downtown Atlanta. The Holiday Jazz Vespers has become a highly anticipated treat and an annual favorite among jazz enthusiasts.

All Proceeds benefit the Education and Outreach Programs of the First Church CDC.

Featured Guest Artists:
Kathleen Bertrand ~ Vocal
Doc Powell ~ Guitar
Will Scruggs ~ Bariton Saxophone
Phil Davis ~ Piano
Dwight Andrews ~ Flute
Atlanta Jazz Chamber Chorus

Tickets: $28.52

 

 

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,,,

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on December 5, 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, however, the family moved to Bangkok, Thailand where she briefly attended Mater Dei school. In 1933 his mother took the family to Switzerland, where he continued his education at the École nouvelle de la Suisse romande in Lausanne. In 1934 he was given his first camera, which ignited his lifelong enthusiasm for photography.

Before he became King of Thailand, titled Rama IX, in 1942, Bhumibol became a jazz enthusiast, and started to play the saxophone, a passion that he kept throughout his life. He received his high-school diploma with a major in French literature, Latin, and Greek from the Gymnase Classique Cantonal de Lausanne, and by 1945 had begun studying sciences at the University of Lausanne, when World War II ended and the family was able to return to Thailand.

Adulyadej became an accomplished jazz baritone saxophone player and composer, playing Dixieland and New Orleans jazz. He also played the clarinet, trumpet, guitar, and piano. It is widely believed that his father may have inspired his passion for artistic pursuits at an early age. Initially focusing on classical music exclusively for two years but eventually switched to jazz since it allowed him to improvise more freely. It was during this time that he decided to specialize in wind instruments, especially the saxophone and clarinet. By 18 he started composing his own music with the first being Candlelight Blues.

He continued to compose even during his reign following his coronation in 1946. Bhumibol performed with Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Carter. Throughout his life, Bhumibol wrote a total of 49 compositions, much of it is jazz swing but he also composed marches, waltzes, and Thai patriotic songs.

He initially received general music training privately while he was studying in Switzerland, but his older brother, then King Ananda Mahidol, who had bought a saxophone, sent Bhumibol in his place. King Ananda would later join him on the clarinet. On his permanent return to Thailand in 1950, he started a jazz band, Lay Kram, whom he performed with on a radio station he started at his palace. The band grew, being renamed the Au Sau Wan Suk Band and he performed with them live on Friday evenings, occasionally taking telephoned requests.

Many bands such as Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Claude Bolling Big Band, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band recorded some of his compositions and can still be heard in Thailand. A 1996 documentary, Gitarajan, was made about his music. Adulyadej still played music with his Au Sau Wan Suk Band in later years, but was rarely heard in public. In 1964, Bhumibol became the 23rd person to receive the Certificate of Bestowal of Honorary Membership on behalf of Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts.

Baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, guitarist, pianist and composer and King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years and 126 days and is the longest of any Thai monarch, died on October 13, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

More Posts: ,,,,,,,,,,

« Older Posts       Newer Posts »