Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Francis Craig was the son of a minister born on September 10, 1900 in Dickson, Tennessee. He studied mathematics and political science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While he was at Vanderbilt, he formed an orchestra, the Vanderbilt Jazz Band. When the university’s chancellor told him to change the name of the group, disband it, or leave Vanderbilt, he dropped out and changed the orchestra’s name.

Craig went on to have three stints on WSM radio in Nashville and his Francis Craig Orchestra played on the station from 1926 to 1928 and again in 1935~1939. He returned to the station in 1947 to work as a disc jockey on the program Featured by Francis Craig. He also worked on WGN in Chicago, Illinois, in 1940.

The recording of his own composition Near You was released by Bullet Records and reached the Billboard Best Seller chart in 1947, peaked at #1 and lasted 21 weeks on the chart. It was the first pop hit record ever to come out of Nashville. His other compositions were Dynamite, Beg Your Pardon and Red Rose, among others.

Songwriter, pianist and dance band leader Francis Craig, who played honky~tonk transitioned at age 66 on November 19, 1966, in Sewanee, Tennessee.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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EDDIE HENDERSON QUINTET

Witness to History Record Release!

“His musical wisdom, gleaned during decades spent on the best jazz bandstands, informs every unerring note.” – Downbeat. Eddie Henderson – trumpet Donald Harrison – alto saxophone George Cables – piano Gerald Cannon – bass Lenny White – drums Trumpeter Eddie Henderson celebrates the release of a highly anticipated new recording, Witness to History, that reflects on his incredible life in music and whose arrival coincides with the 50th anniversary of his 1973 recording debut as a leader, Realization.

Joining Henderson for these release performances is the spectacular quintet of his closest collaborators that he convened for the recording, including alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, pianist George Cables, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Lenny White. Henderson’s “deft feel and plush sound made him a central figure in the worlds of jazz-funk and hard-bop in the 1970s,” according to The New York Times. The Chicago Reader adds, “His progressive, assured, and imaginative improvisations roll out in a glorious sun-splashed tone… he seems to dance through his solos, balancing his quick clockwork technique with bursts of bluesy soul.” The eternally youthful Henderson has proven again that he is still making some of the most important music of his career into his 80s.

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DEVIN PHILLIPS QUARTET

Devin Phillips, Saxophones | Kiran Raphael, Piano | Eric Gruber, Bass | Tyson Stubelek, Drums
Born and reared in New Orleans, Devin Phillips’s intense affair with the saxophone began at the age of eight. At 14, he was accepted into the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, whose alumni include Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr. and Nicholas Payton. There, trained in music theory and multi-styles composition, he graduated in 2000 with top honors. He has also tutored under clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste. Like many budding young horn players form the Big Easy, he put his time in playing with the local brass bands in a traditional process of initiation in the musical process. Devin Phillips has paid his dues performing, touring and recording with top jazz artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, The Headhunters, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, musician Lenny Kravitz, and Los Hombres Caliente, with whom he recorded two award-winning albums.
His reputation as a sax man with intricate and rhythmically innovative sounds made him a popular feature at jazz festivals: France’s Jazz de Vien Festival; Tokyo’s JVC Jazz Festival; Itanbul’s The Ruins; Spain’s Barcelona Jazz Festival; the Netherlands’ North Sea Jazz and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. In 2005, Phillips formed New Orleans Straight Ahead. But in August, Hurricane Katrina muted the music. With all gone, save his sax, and his family scattered throughout the U.S., Phillips evacuated to Portland and reformed New Orleans Straight Ahead with other musician evacuees. Phillips and took advantage of a program created by the PDXJazz Festival in partnership with Azumano Travel, which invited jazz musicians affected by the hurricane to come to Portland with their families, either for temporary shelter or for good. The invitation included free transportation to Portland, temporary housing, and access to an active jazz network with performance and workshop opportunities. Over the course of six months, more than 50 New Orleans musicians traveled to Oregon, a dozen musicians, including Phillips, have decided to remain in Portland. Since arriving, Phillips has performed at a number of local clubs and appreciated the opportunity to be part of the Portland Jazz Festival. Phillips says that opening the festival with “Amazing Grace,” talking with McCoy Tyner and being asked to stand in for one of Eddie Palmieri’s frontline players were high points for him.

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PABLO RIVAROLA QUARTET

A true visionary. Trumpeter and composer, Pablo Rivarola is bringing his band back to The 1905 for an evening of all new original music featuring Portland’s most forward-thinking musicians at his side. True improvisation is at the core of his ethos in this unique experience.

Pablo Rivarola, Trumpet | Kerry Politzer, Piano | Garrett Baxter, Bass | Alan Jones, Drums

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DE ANDRÉ: I SAW NINA FLY

If there was still a need to say or sing something that has not yet been said or sung, here is a tribute to the music and words of one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, Fabrizio de Andre’. The four musicians, important exponents of the Italian jazz and world scene, meet to interpret with emotion and refinement some of the most beautiful songs by Fabrizio de Andrè, from the best known ones (bocca di rosa, the song of marinella, song of lost love, creuza de ma, a judge) to those left a little more in the shadows (prayer in January, khorakhanè, I saw nina fly), using different and only apparently distant languages ​​such as jazz.

Raffaela Siniscalchi • Vocals
Gabriele Coen • Clarinet
Stefano Saletti • Buzuki oud – Guitar
Mario Rivera • Bass

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