RODNEY JONES
Jazz guitarist Rodney Jones and his quartet perform.
With a musical journey that began at age 6, Rodney has recorded for Blue Note, toured globally, and collaborated with icons like Dizzy Gillespie and Stevie Wonder. He’s also been a prolific composer, a musical director, and a respected educator at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music.
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MICHAEL WOLFF
Michael Wolff ~ piano, Ben Allison ~ bass, Allison Miller ~ drums.
In the summer of 2015, the renowned pianist-composer battled a rare cancer, defying the odds to make a remarkable recovery. His sons Nat and Alex, known from The Naked Brothers Band, played by his side during his darkest moments. Today, he is completely cancer-free, and his outlook on life and music has transformed profoundly.
His latest album, “Swirl,” is a radiant piano trio masterpiece featuring bassist Ben Allison and drummer Allan Mednard. This new work reflects Wolff’s newfound appreciation for life’s joys, focusing on creating beautiful music that resonates deeply.
Michael Wolff’s storied career spans decades, with collaborations with jazz legends like Cannonball Adderley and Tom Harrell. He’s also known for his role as the musical director of Arsenio Hall’s late-night talk show. Additionally, Wolff is an avid fan of blackjack and has shared his insights into the game.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eddie Benitez was born on November 12, 1956 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and his family moved to Europe soon after his birth for his father’s work. Raised in Italy and Spain, the family returned to the U.S. when he was nine and settled in Brooklyn, New York. He formed his first band at age twelve and began competing and winning local battles of the bands in Brooklyn. It was at one such battle of the bands where he was discovered by an AR person from Fania Records. Soon after the teenage guitarist was signed to the label.
Playing his first concert at Marcala la paz Honduras in front of 20,000 fans soon after joining the label in 1976, his performance with his band Nebula and the Fania All Stars marked the beginning of his early rise to fame as a guitarist. His debut release Nightlife was followed six months later with Essence of Life. He would later perform with such stars as Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaría.
His musical style began with Latin jazz as part of the Fania family, and would later incorporate smooth jazz and world music styles. His performing career came to a sudden halt at the age of 23 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, changing his life forever. Surviving cancer he took time off to reflect on life and spirituality and throughout his life Benitez has claimed to have had many spiritual visions, including those that occurred while overcoming a heart attack and an unexplained three-day coma.
He returned to performing with a private concert in Phoenix, Arizona in 2003 and it was there that reports that some in attendance saw mysterious beings, some would claim they were angels, on the stage with Benitez when he performed. That event gave rise to the title of his book and his tour.
Guitarist Eddie Benitez transitioned on January 17, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Hubert Fol was born in Paris, France on November 11, 1925 and learned piano from an early age through lessons from his mother. He also took lessons in violin and clarinet in his teens and early twenties.
As a saxophonist, Hubert worked with Claude Abadie and Boris Vian and co-founded the Be Bop Minstrels with his brother in 1947. In 1949~1950, he toured Europe and recorded with Coleman Hawkins, then worked with Kenny Clarke and Django Reinhardt before embarking on another European tour with Dizzy Gillespie and Rex Stewart.
In the 1960s his health deteriorated, leading to his playing far less frequently.Saxophonist and bandleader Hubert Fol transitioned on January 19, 1995 in Paris.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Gray Hall was born November 10, 1992 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Learning to play the guitar as a youth, by the time he was in high school he was playing lead with Nathaniel’s jazz quartet and with Donnie in their modern blues group called Edens Unknown.
He and his high school classmates Alex Plye and Mike Haldelman while working with Marilisa Cook-Simmons on vocals, creating an electro-future-soul odyssey that blends the art of soul, production, and instrumentation that demonstrates the art of cool.
After graduating from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina he rejoined his fellow musicians Pyle and Haldeman to produce and record tracks for the neo-soul jazz group Space Captain. Splitting his time between performing and recording in New York City and recording at the Great Time Studio in suburban Philadelphia.
Other studio work by Hall features original beats and soundtrack mastering for So Far Productions (NYC). He has studied guitar with Daniel Sheriff, Greg Hyslip, and Rory Stewart; and interned as an studio production assistant with Eddie Motilla of Universal Studios, NYC and The Record Room in Miami, Florida.
Guitarist Gray Hall, who works in genres ranging from modern jazz, jazz fusion, modern blues, and neo-soul, continues to perform, record and produce.
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