Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Will Hudson was born Arthur Murray Hainer on March 8, 1908 in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. His parents immigrated to the United States when he was nearly two years old. Growing up in Detroit, Michigan he graduated from Southeastern High School in 1926. He changed his name sometime between 1931 and 1933 and put together his first big band in Detroit in the early 1930s. Hudson became a United States citizen on April 14, 1941.
In 1934 Hudson joined ASCAP in 1934. At some point during the early 1930s, he became a staff arranger for Irving Mills, writing stock arrangements. Mills was notable in various roles in the development of swing and jazz — was as much a promoter of songwriters, arrangers, and big bands as he was a publisher.
Hudson was a dance-band arranger, and co-leader with Eddie DeLange of the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra. Singers with the orchestra included Ruth Gaylor, Mitchell Ayres, Georgia Gibbs, and Nan Wynn. When the orchestra was at the height of its popularity, around 1940, Hudson had to withdraw for health reasons.
Hudson also led his own band, the Will Hudson Orchestra, from 1939 to about 1941. His vocalists included Kay Kenny, Elisse Cooper, Jayne Dover and Ruth Gaylor.
DeLange and Hudson wrote the lyrics to several songs composed by Hudson and in 1941 he began focusing on arranging, full-time. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1943, serving in the U.S. Army Air Force. He became the arranger for the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band until his discharge in 1945.
1948 saw Will enrolled at Juilliard where he studied orchestration and composition, earning a diploma in 1952 and post-grad diploma the following year. He also studied composition privately. His compositions include Moonglow, Tormented, Sophisticated Swing, Mr. Ghost Goes to Town, Devil’s Kitchen, You’re Not the Kind and Witch Doctor.
Composer, arranger, and big band leader Will Hudson, active from the mid-1930s through the mid-Fifties, transitioned on July 16, 1981.
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Three Wishes
Nica asked Howard McGhee if he was given three wishes what would he want grated and he told her:
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- “I wish, I wish, I wish.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mahlon Clark was born on March 7, 1923 and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. He started out in vaudeville as a child, however, as a teenager he became a big band musician playing for the Ray McKinley and Will Bradley bands, among others.
Relocating to California during World War II and after serving in the armed forces, found employment at Paramount Pictures where he performed music on many movie soundtracks.
In 1962 Mahlon was hired by Lawrence Welk to join his orchestra and his television show. For six years he played both the clarinet and saxophone on the weekly show and on stage when the Musical Family went out on tour.
Leaving the Welk organization in 1968, Clark continued to perform on many more movie soundtracks and with numerous artists such as Frank Sinatra and Madonna.
Clarinetist and saxophonist Mahlon Clark transitioned on September 20, 2007 at the age of 84.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Peter Brötzmann was born on March 6, 1941 in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement but grew dissatisfied with art galleries and exhibitions. He experienced his first jazz concert when he saw Sidney Bechet while still in school at Wuppertal, and it made a lasting impression.
He taught himself to play clarinets, then saxophones and finally the tárogató. Among his first musical partnerships was with double bassist Peter Kowald. His debut recording, For Adolphe Sax, released in 1967 featured Kowald and drummer Sven-Åke Johansson. In 1968 Machine Gun, an octet recording, was released and self-produced under his BRO record label which he sold at concerts. Atavistic reissued the album in 2007.
His 1969 album Nipples, wasn’t followed with another recording as a leader until 1976 which was followed by sixty-one more releases through 2020. Brötzmann was a member of Bennink’s Instant Composers Pool, a collective of musicians who released their own records and that grew into a 10-piece orchestra.
The logistics of touring with the ICP tentet or his octet resulted in Peter reducing the group to a trio with Han Bennink and Fred Van Hove. Bennink was a partner in Schwarzwaldfahrt, an album of duets recorded outside in the Black Forest in 1977 with Bennink drumming on trees and other objects found in the woods.
In 1981, Brötzmann made a radio broadcast with saxophonists Frank Wright and Willem Breuker, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, trombonists Hannes Bauer and Alan Tomlinson, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, drums Louis Moholo, and bassist Harry Miller. This was released as the album Alarm.
During the Eighties, Brötzmann flirted with heavy metal and noise rock, recording with Last Exit and the band’s bass guitarist and producer Bill Laswell. His has released over fifty albums as a bandleader and has appeared on dozens more. His Die Like a Dog Quartet (with Toshinori Kondo, William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake) is loosely inspired by saxophonist Albert Ayler, a prime influence on his music. Since 1997, he has toured and recorded regularly with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet which he disbanded after an ensemble performance in November 2012 in Strasbourg, France.
He has recorded or performed with Cecil Taylor, Keiji Haino, Willem van Manen, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Conny Bauer, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love and Brötzmann’s son, Caspar Brötzmann.
Saxophonist and clarinetist Peter Brötzmann, who has not abandoned his art training and has designed most of his album covers, continues to perform and record.
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Requisites
Miles In Berlin ~ Miles Davis | By Eddie Carter
This morning’s album is a recent addition to the library by Miles Davis. Miles in Berlin (CBS SBPG 62976/S 62967) captures the trumpeter and his quintet of Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums in concert before an enthusiastic audience at the Berliner Jazztage ’64. It was initially released in Germany in 1965, and my copy is the 2017 Speakers Corner European Mono audiophile reissue (CBS 62976). The set opens with Milestones by Miles Davis. The quintet establishes the melody quickly; then, Miles takes off with a swift opening solo. Wayne follows in rapid succession with a spirited reading, and Herbie closes with a speedy resolution leading to the ensemble’s finale and the audience’s approval.
Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert, and Johnny Mercer starts with a muted introduction and a delicately gentle melody by Miles and the trio. The leader’s opening statement tells a touching story. Shorter builds the next solo efficiently, then Hancock follows with a charming presentation. Carter has the final word with a concise comment before the quintet regroups for the finale. Side Two soars into the stratosphere with Herbie and Ron introducing Miles’ So What, ahead of the quintet’s Theme. Miles takes the lead and gives a spirited performance. Wayne launches into the following interpretation with enthusiastic vitality, then Herbie proceeds joyously into the closing chorus before the ensemble takes the song out.
The quintet sets Richard Carpenter’s Walkin’ in motion with a rapid-fire opening chorus. The lead solo by Miles bursts with energetic passion. Williams propels the second statement with vigorous brushwork; Shorter enters next with an electrically charged interpretation. Hancock states his case effectively in the finale ahead of the reprise and climax. Miles’ Theme gives Ron the spotlight in a concise reading before the trumpeter returns, and the set ends to thunderous applause. Rudy Wolpert produced the album, and S.F.B. (Sender Freies Berlin) Radio recorded the concert. Speakers Corner has beautifully remastered the original analog tapes. This excellent recording has an impressive soundstage that places the listener’s sweet spot in the audience.
The record is pressed on 180-gram audiophile vinyl and is quiet until the music starts. This was the second quintet’s debut live album, and it set the stage for what would come in their following six studio releases. If you’re a fan of Miles Davis and enjoy his early live recordings or his bandmates’ music, I submit for your consideration Miles in Berlin on your next vinyl shopping trip. It highlights his group in a terrific live performance and should become a welcome addition to your jazz library!
~ E.S.P. (Columbia CL 2350/CS 9150), Filles De Kilimanjaro (Columbia CS 9750), Miles in The Sky (Columbia CS 9628), Miles Smiles (Columbia CL 2601/CS 9401), Nefertiti (Columbia CL 2794/CS 9594), Sorcerer (Columbia CL 2732/CS 9532) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Autumn Leaves – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter
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