Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Tamm E. Hunt was born into a musical family in New York City, New York on June 19, 1954. The niece of jazz and blues singer Hannah Sylvester and record company owner Benny Clark, she is the daughter of K.D. Searcy, a tap dancer who danced at the Apollo Theater with Tip Tap & Toe. Growing up around music when she heard Dakota Staton’s The Late Late Show, she knew early on that she wanted to sing jazz.

Despite that prophetic introduction, Hunt started out singing other styles of music. In her childhood she sang with a variety of R&B girl groups. She had some commercial success in the early ’80s singing disco, but then switched to jazz. Inspired by Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and pianist Dorothy Donegan, she has sung with such notables as alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, pianists Ronnie Matthews and Larry Willis, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer T.S. Monk among others.

She has performed throughout the U.S. in addition to Europe, Canada, and Japan. Hunt has thus far recorded one CD, Live @ Birdland, for her New Jazz Audience label. She founded the Harlem Jazz Foundation, and has written jazz education programs including Adopt a Kid 4 Jazz and Jazz 4 the Beginner.

She starred in and produced the off-Broadway show Billie Holiday: The Legend, and appeared in a short dramatic film with Bartz called A Jazz Story.  Moving to Baltimore, Maryland she has been an important force in the city’s jazz community, both as a singer and behind the scenes. Vocalist Tamm E. Hunt, who is also the executive/artistic director of the Maryland Center for the Preservation of Jazz & Blues, continues to sing, educate and promote jazz.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Thore Swanerud was born June 18, 1919 in Stockholm, Sweden. He started out his professional career playing extensively with major Swedish dance bands in the 1940s, such as those of Simon Brehm, Miff Görling, and Stan Hasselgård.

In 1949-1951 Thore led his own six-piece ensemble, then led smaller groups in the 1950s and 1960s. His associations include work with Ernestine Anderson and James Moody.

He is best remembered for an eight-bar improvised solo he made during a 1949 recording of I’m In The Mood For Love, in a quintet headed by Moody while touring Sweden. Eddie Jefferson created the 1952 song Moody’s Mood For Love in vocalese style by adapting lyrics to Moody’s song. The song later became a jazz standard, covered by many singers.

Pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, conductor, and composer Thore Swanerud, who scored three films, appeared in two and recorded five albums and five singles, transitioned in Stockholm on December 8, 1988.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Dominick Buono was born on June 17, 1917 in North Park, California and started playing trumpet at age 11 with the music group at Nazareth Home, near to the North Park Mission. He would go on to play as a member of the 110-piece Bonham Brothers Greater North Park Boys Music Group, which performed concerts at Balboa Recreation area.

In his early professional career Buono performed trumpet in a variety of west coast-based dance and golf swing rings, including those led by Ken Baker, Cally Holden, Bobby Grain and Vido Musso. In 1939 he experienced fellow trumpeter Harry Wayne. At that time, Musso’s music group was fronted by well-known entertainer Johnny ‘Scat’ Davis and playing engagements at Chicago’s Blackhawk cafe. Buono joined Wayne and remained with the group until the innovator’s death more than 40 years later.

During the 1940s, Harry James, while working the Sherman Resort’s Panther Space with his first music group, invited Nick to be his lead trumpeter. He loved the obvious sound and stage presence of the trumpeter and hired him.

Over the years, Nick recorded and toured with Wayne, playing all over America with extended residencies in Nevada, where he and Wayne both had homes. They toured internationally to the United Kingdom and several other European countries. Happy with his anonymity, he sometimes played solos on radio broadcasts, on songs such as Ciribiribin and Sing, Sing, Sing. 

The lead trumpeter inside a big music group is vital, certainly, he could well be considered the key guy. Trumpeter Nick Buono, whose charisma and skill often led to solos in the Wayne group, transitioned on October 14, 1993 in his hometown of North Park.

Bestow upon an inquiring mind a dose of a North Park trumpeter to motivate the perusal of the genius of jazz musicians worldwide whose gifts contribute to the canon…

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Thomas “Bones” Malone was born June 16, 1947 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He began playing professionally as lead trumpeter for Brenda Lee at a club in Jackson, Mississippi while enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi. In response to a call from Warren Covington, leader of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, he began contracting musicians. After transferring to North Texas State University, Malone continued working as both a player and a contractor for groups. He graduated from North Texas State University with Lou Marini, and both were members of the One O’Clock Lab Band at North Texas.

After graduation, he worked in bands of Woody Herman in 1969, and during the early Seventies he worked with Duke Pearson, Louie Bellson, Doc Severinsen, Frank Zappa, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. In 1973, Malone began a close, fifteen-year association with Gil Evans, whom he has called a mentor. He recorded albums with Evans and toured Europe, Japan, and the Far East. In 1975 Malone toured with Billy Cobham and in 1976 with The Band.

From 1975 to 1985 he worked as arranger for Saturday Night Live and from 1981 to 1985 as musical director. He wrote the chart for the skit that introduced John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers and worked on the film score for Blues Brothers 2000. He joined the CBS Orchestra in 1993, and contributed more than 1,600 arrangements to the Late Show with David Letterman.

As a studio musician, he has been heard on more than 1,000 records, more than 3000 radio and television commercials, and over 4,000 live television shows. In 2007 Bones was invited by music director Geoffrey Moull to arrange and perform a concert with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 Malone was a guest artist with the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

Trombonist, arranger, and producer Tom Malone, who also plays saxophone, trumpet, tuba, flute, and bass guitar, continues to expand his creative reach.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Nancy King was born June 15, 1940 in Springfield, Oregon. She started gigging in 1959 with fellow University of Oregon music students. After moving to San Francisco in 1960, her accomplished scat singing landed her many gigs with various bebop artists. Performing the Playboy Club circuit and Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1960s, it was during Monday night hits at the Jazz Workshop where she met her future husband Sonny King. By the Seventies she took a break from touring, settled in Eugene, Oregon and raised her three sons while doing weekend gigs at Portland’s Benson Hotel.

Known for her masterful scatting and elastic range, Nancy has performed in worldwide tours and recordings, as well as collaborations with such artists as Jon Hendricks, Vince Guaraldi, Ralph Towner, Karrin Allyson and Dave Friesen among others.

King has released ten albums beginning with her 1991 debut release of Impending Bloom and including her 2004 recording of her performance Live At Jazz Standard with pianist Fred Hersch. In 2011 she released her Prennia project on the Ornry Diva label.

Vocalist Nancy King would occasionally pop into jazz loving cities to perform but by 2014, suffering from degenerative hips has limited her ability to travel and perform. Though Covid had postponed the operation he is looking forward to replacement surgery, recovery and getting back onto the stage and recording studio.

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