Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Connee Boswell was born Constance Foore Boswell on December 3, 1907 in Kansas City, Missouri but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With sisters Martha and Helvetia “Vet”, she performed in the 1920s and 1930s as the trio The Boswell Sisters. They came to be well known locally while still in their early teens, making appearances in New Orleans theaters and on radio. The girls started their career as instrumentalists but became a highly influential singing group via their recordings and film and television appearances.
They made their first recordings for Victor Records in 1925, which featured Connee singing in the style of her early influence, Mamie Smith. The sisters became stage professionals that year when they were tapped to fill in for an act at New Orleans’ Orpheum Theatre. This led to a gig in Chicago, Illinois and then on to San Francisco, California. The desk clerk at the recommended hotel was Harry Leedy was part owner of Decca Records, became their manager on a handshake and later Connee’s husband.
The next stop was Los Angeles, California where they performed on local radio and “side-miked” for the soundies. National attention came with a move to New York City in 1930 and the making of national radio broadcasts. After a few recordings with Okeh Records, they recorded for Brunswick Records from 1931 to 1935.
Connee recorded as a solo artist and had several successful singles. In 1935, the sisters had a No. 1 hit with The Object of My Affection, and the group signed to Decca Records, but after just three releases two sisters called it quits in 1936. Connee, however, continued to have a successful solo career as a singer for Decca but also later recorded for the new Apollo label, RCA Victor, and Decca subsidiary, Design.
During the Forties she was a co-star on NBC Radio’s Kraft Music Hall, starred in her own radio show on the NBC Blue Network, The Connee Boswell Show, and featured on CBS Radio’s Tonight On Broadway, among numerous other radio appearances and films. She was a favorite duet partner of Bing Crosby, and they frequently sang together on radio, as well as recording several hit records as a duo in the 1930s and 1940s.
Vocalist Connee Boswell, who recorded ten albums as a leader and had fifteen hits reach the top 12 on the Billboard list, died on October 11, 1976 from stomach cancer at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City at age 68.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,vocal
Daily Dose Of Jazz
George Robert Swope was born December 2, 1926 in Washington, D.C. By 1947 he was playing with Buddy Rich, recording with Jerry Wald, and followed with a two year stint with Chubby Jackson in 1948. He closed out the decade working with Gene Krupa in 1949-50, then with Elliot Lawrence in 1950-51.
He led his own trio in the D.C. area in the early Fifties, and also was a member of The Orchestra, the band which accompanied Charlie Parker in 1953 and Dizzy Gillespie in 1955. Spending time in New York City in the latter half of the decade, he played alongside Larry Sonn, Boyd Raeburn, Claude Thornhill, Jimmy Dorsey, and Louie Bellson.
In the 1960s he worked in Washington, D.C. often as a leader. On January 9, 1967 trombonist Rob Swope, the younger brother to trombonist Earl, died in his hometown.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,trombone
ROBERT HURST
A Detroit Native, Robert Hursts boasts a distinguished 30+ year career as a composer, bassist, educator, and entrepreneur. Renowned for his work with icons like Sir Paul McCartney, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Diana Krall, Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Ravi Coltrane, Kris Davis, and the legendary Pharaoh Sanders, Hurst’s talent shines on over 250 recordings, earning him seven GRAMMY® Awards and numerous RIAA® certifications. Notably, he was the inaugural bassist for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, garnering four EMMY® Awards from his performing, directing, acting, arranging, and composing on the NBC program. Hurst’s musical prowess extends to 30+ major motion picture scores for hits like The Wood, Good Night and Good Luck, and Ocean’s Eleven series.
Currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, Hurst received an NEA Grant for groundbreaking programming at The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. In 2024, he continues to shape the music landscape through curated performances, acclaimed releases, and global tours. Recognized in Detroit’s jazz legacy film, “The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit,” Hurst remains an integral figure in contemporary music and cultural movements.
JEFF “TAIN” WATTS:
Jeff “Tain” Watts is one of the most in demand jazz drummers in the world today. Jeff Watts majored in classical percussion at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University, where he was primarily a timpanist, followed by enrollment at the Berklee School of Music, where he pursued jazz studies alongside such talented players as Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Greg Osby, Aimee Mann, Steve Vai and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. Jeff joined the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981 and proceeded to win three Grammy Awards with the ensemble. Watts left Wynton Marsalis in 1988. After working with George Benson, Harry Connick. Jr. and McCoy Tyner, he joined the Branford Marsalis Quartet in 1989. Jeff has worked in the film and television industry as both a musician on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as an actor, Rhythm Jones in Spike Lee’s “Mo Better Blues”. Jeff joined Kenny Garrett’s band after returning to New York in 1995 after three years in LA on the Tonight Show. Watts also continued to record and tour with Branford Marsalis as well as Danilo Perez, Michael Brecker, Betty Carter, Kenny Kirkland, Courtney Pine, Geri Allen, Alice Coltrane, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Ravi Coltrane.
ORRIN EVANS:
During his kaleidoscopic quarter-century as a professional jazz musician, pianist Orrin Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist who pushes the envelope in all directions. Never supported by a major label, Evans has ascended to top-of-the-pyramid stature on his instrument, as affirmed by his #1-ranking as “Rising Star Pianist” in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll. Grammy nominations for the Smoke Sessions albums The Intangible Between and Presence, by Evans’ raucous, risk-friendly Captain Black Big Band, stamp his bona fides as a bandleader and composer. In addition to CBBB, Evans’ multifarious leader and collaborative projects include the Eubanks Evans Experience (a duo with eminent guitarist Kevin Eubanks); the Brazilian unit Terreno Comum; Evans’ working trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr.; and Tar Baby (a collective trio of 20 years standing with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits). One of Tar Baby’s two 2022 releases will be released on Evans’ imprint, Imani Records, which he founded in 2001 and relaunched in 2018.
The Band: Robert Hurst – Bass | Jeff “Tain” Watts – Drums | Orrin Evans – Piano
Tickets: $95.00 Dinner & Show
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,bass,club,drums,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel
STRAIGHT AHEAD
Out of Detroit’s lively jazz scene, which has produced some of the best musicians in the world, comes the ground breaking jazz group Straight Ahead. A group of strong, inventive instrumentalists and vocalists, they have shown themselves to be powerful and imaginative composers and arrangers.
Widely recognized for their eclectic and soulful approach to creating music, the Straight Ahead sound ranges comfortably from mainstream jazz, latin jazz and jazzy neo-soul. Their live performances are a dynamic celebration of power and joy with a wide range of musical textures, moods and tempos.
Straight Ahead was introduced to the world as finalist in the “Sony Innovators” competition. A national competition recognizing exceptional performers in the jazz field. They received international exposure when they were invited to open for the legendary Nina Simone at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland. They were the first all woman jazz ensemble signed to Atlantic Records. The ensemble has shared the concert stage with a who’s who of the music world including: Kem, Jean Luc Ponty, Nancy Wilson, Roy Ayers, Tony Bennett, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Max Roach, the Yellowjackets and Dianne Reeves.
Straight Ahead has established itself as an enduring and prolific ensemble. Recognized for its creativity, musicianship and dedication to making great music, the band was inducted into the Detroit Music Awards Hall of Fame.
These Grammy-nominated recording artists have travelled extensively in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe garnering rave reviews. Joy, Power, Love, Wisdom…..Magic! This is the sound of what is to come. This is Straight Ahead!
THE BAND:
Alina Morr- Piano
Marion Hayden – Bass
Gayelynn McKinney- Drums
Kymberli Wright – Vocals
Ingrid Racine – Trumpet
Tickets: $40.00 Prepaid Cocktail Bar | $75.00 Prepaid Dinner & Show
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,bass,club,drums,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel,trumpet,vocal
JAZZMEIA HORN
The Grammy-nominated vocalist from Dallas, Texas, won the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition. Known for her powerful voice and message of love and social change, she has released three critically acclaimed albums, including A Social Call, Love and Liberation, and Dear Love, while also conducting global outreach through her Jazz Horn International Vocal Initiative.
Tickets: $85.00 Pre-Dinner & Show ~ paid credit for any items from our Dinner menu, which is designed by award winning Creative Culinary Director JJ Johnson.
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,club,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,preserving,travel,vocal