The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is off to Akron, Ohio to Blue Jazz+ where I’ll be taking in a couple of sets of music. A stunning live music venue and photography gallery in the downtown of the city, it has been designed in mid-century retro with a modern feel and crafted with presentation of live jazz in mind.
This week I’ll be in the house to partake of vocalist Kathy Kosins who exemplifies the intersection of jazz and soul. She’s earned several top nominations for her duet with Frank McComb, has new material with Paul Randolph and the legendary Al Hudson and has written and released several new tracks during the making of her now-classic Uncovered Soul.
The venue is located 47 E Market Street, 44308. You can get more information by calling 330-252-1190 or by visiting blujazzakron.com.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joe Kayser was born St. Louis, Missouri on September 14, 1891 and at age 26 in 1917 he relocated to New York City to join Earl Fuller’s band, which played at a restaurant called Rector’s. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War I, forming a band which included Benny Kubelsky on violin. Following the war, the Meyer Davis Organization hired him to lead a dance band which played in North and South Carolina.
Forming his own self-named dance jazz band in 1921 and shortly after he attempted to tour across the Carolinas. Three years later he relocated to Chicago, Illinois where his band performed through 1936.
During those Chicago days Joe began in 1929 to take positions as musical director of theater orchestras with the Diversey Theater in Chicago, followed by the Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. He continued to tour with his orchestra while holding these positions.
He played at the 1933 World’s Fair, accompanying Sally Rand but by 1963 had dissolved the band to work for NBC. Afterwards Kayser became an executive for MCA in 1943, remaining there until his retirement in 1955.
Drummer and bandleader Joe Kayser transitioned on October 3, 1981 in Evanston, Illinois.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bengt Hallberg was born on September 13, 1932 in Gothenburg, Sweden and studied classical piano from an early age. He wrote his first jazz arrangement at the age of 13. By 15 he recorded his first record as a member of a group led by bassist Thore Jederby and in 1949 he recorded with the Swedish alto saxophonist Arne Domnérus for the first time. The two musicians continued to play together for several decades.
During the Fifties, Bengt played with leading visiting American musicians tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and altoist Lee Konitz in 1951, and trumpeters Clifford Brown and Quincy Jones in 1953. During the same period he worked with Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin.
Hallberg had a versatile style and in his later years he wrote music for film and television, as well as choral arrangements. With Domnerus and Georg Riedel among others, he participated in the Jazz at the Pawnshop sessions in 1976.
Pianist, composer and arranger Bengt Hallberg, who also played accordion, transitioned on July 2, 2013 from congestive heart failure at the age of 80 in Uppsala, Sweden.
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Three Wishes
Dexter Gordon was hanging out with Nica when the subject of three wishes came up and he shared with her his one wish:
- “The things I want you can’t put in your book.”
*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…
Joseph Shulman was born on September 12, 1923 in New York, New York. His first professional experience was with Scat Davis in 1940 followed with a stint alongside Les Brown in 1942.
Joining the military in 1943 he recorded with Django Reinhardt while a member of Glenn Miller’s wartime band. Upon his return to the States he played with Buddy Rich and Claude Thornhill, then he played with Miles Davis on the Birth of the Cool sessions.
He went on to work with Peggy Lee from 1948 to 1950 and with Lester Young in 1950. Shulman did a recording session with Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington that same year.
Marrying Barbara Carroll in 1954, the two toured together until his death. Bassist Joe Shulman transitioned from a heart attack on August 2, 1957 in New York City.
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