Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Earl Klugh was born September 16, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of six he started training on the piano but switched to the guitar at ten. By 13, he was captivated by the guitar of Chet Atkins when he made an appearance on the Perry Como Show.
His first recording was at age 15 on Yusef Lateef’s Suite 16. He played on George Benson’s White Rabbit album and two years later, in 1973, joined his touring band. He has performed as a guest on several of Atkins’ albums, who has reciprocated as well, joining Klugh on his Magic In Your Eyes album.
He and Bob James received a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1981 for their album One on One. Klugh has recorded over 30 albums, including twenty-three top ten charting records, with five hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s Jazz Album chart.
Each spring, Klugh hosts an event called Weekend of Jazz, featuring jazz musicians at the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The weekend attracts a host of famous musicians and vocalists.
Guitarist and composer Earl Klugh, who was influenced by Bob James, Ray Parker Jr, Wes Montgomery and Laurindo Almeida, has received 13 Grammy nominations, continues to compose, perform and record.
More Posts: bandleader,guitar,history,instrumental,jazz,music
BOBBY BROOM: TRIBUTE TO RUSSELL MALONE
Born in Harlem and raised on the Upper West Side of NYC, Bobby Broom took up guitar at 12 and five years later, in 1977, made his first appearance with Sonny Rollins at Carnegie Hall. Even prior to that auspicious start, he had dedicated himself to the art, culture, and life of jazz, with the goals of learning to express himself within the idiom, while honoring its historical traditions and spirit.
Nearly 50 years later, Bobby has amassed a formidable jazz pedigree, working closely with historic figures such as Rollins, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Stanley Turrentine and Kenny Burrell, as well as many of his contemporaries. To date he has made fifteen leader recordings and has traveled to perform, as an accompanying musician and with his own ensembles, in countries on five continents.
Broom is a tenured Associate Professor at Northern Illinois University and has devoted much of his career to jazz education. He began teaching at the tertiary level under the direction of NEA Jazz Fellow and saxophone great Jackie McLean at University of Hartford. Bobby has also worked with high school students through the Herbie Hancock (formerly Thelonious Monk) Institute and currently, with the Ravinia Jazz Mentor Program.
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,club,genius,guitar,history,instrumental,jazz,music,preserving,travel
OLATUJA
Acclaimed vocalist Alicia Olatuja and bassist Michael Olatuja come together for this groove-heavy mix of Afro-Beat, jazz, funk, and soul, as heard on their new self-titled album. “A singer with a strong, lustrous tone and an amiably regal presence onstage” (The New York Times), Alicia Olatuja has been held up by no less than Dianne Reeves as one of the finest singers on the scene today.
The St. Louis native first gained national attention as a featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at Barack Obama’s 2013 presidential inauguration ceremony.
But in the past few years she’s created a powerful buzz in jazz circles through her work with GRAMMY Award-winning pianist/arranger Billy Childs and the late legendary Hammond B-3 organist Dr. Lonnie Smith. Increasingly visible as a bandleader, Olatuja led three increasingly accomplished sessions including her most recent project celebrating women composers, Intuition: Songs From the Minds of Women.
Born in London and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Michael Olatuja is a first-call bassist on the New York scene who has lent his inventive musicianship to Stevie Wonder, Terence Blanchard, José James, Kurt Elling, and Shakira. His newest solo release, Lagos Pepper Soup, features guests Angelique Kidjo, Brandee Younger, Joe Lovano, and Dianne Reeves, among others.
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,genius,guitar,history,instrumental,music,preserving,travel,vocal
MARC RIBOT 70TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
with special guests James Brandon Lewis & Mary Halvorson & more…
Guitarist extraordinaire Marc Ribot follows his muse wherever it leads, resulting in a career path that has ranged across free jazz and no wave, rock and Cuban rumba. In some circles he’s best known as a key collaborator with singular artists such as Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, Diana Krall, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, contributing to their 2007 hit album Raising Sand.
The last time the mind-bogglingly eclectic checked into the SFJAZZ Center he played eight solo shows in the JHL, alternating between freely improvised sets, extended medleys of Haitian-American composer Frantz Casseus, Cuban maestro Arsenio Rodríguez and John Coltrane, and his gorgeous score for the 1924 Soviet silent film Aelita: Queen of Mars.
Celebrating his 70th birthday, Ribot joins forces with two of the most celebrated and searching jazz artists on the contemporary scene, guitarist Mary Halvorson and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, along with bassist Hilliard Greene and longtime collaborator Chad Tayloron drums.
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,genius,guitar,history,instrumental,jazz,music,preserving,travel
CLIFF RICHMOND & THE CLIFFNOTES
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,club,genius,guitar,history,instrumental,music,preserving,travel,vocal