LORI WILLIAMS
Acclaimed international Jazz vocalist Lori Williams has a most impressive resume as a performing artist, music educator, songwriter, producer, musical theater actress, radio host, business owner of PositiveMusicPM.org, and artist-in-residence with over 30 years of experience. Her annual vocal jazz tour and performance at music festivals have taken her to Europe to perform in Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Russia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Ukraine, Japan, The Caribbean in Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, Mexico, and across the USA. Her vocal jazz artist residencies have allowed her to work with and mentor students on college campuses in the United States and abroad.
As a veteran vocal music educator and private vocal coach, Lori’s received many honors for her contributions to the arts, including recognition from President Biden. With a B.A. in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University, she hosts a weekly radio program and produces/host events at St. James Live! Jazz club in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the years, Lori has collaborated with a multitude of notable artists and has released multiple CDs, along with singles like “Too Late (It’s My Time)” and “Take My Wings.”
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The Jazz Voyager
Heading upstate New York a day early to catch the early summer of nature on the upper Hudson River and ultimately sit in a little place called the Jazz Forum Arts for an evening of great music. Established in 1985, the club has consistently been bringing talent at the top of their game to Westchester County and they have been instrumental in elevating the community’s appreciation for this unique American art form.
This week they welcome the Bill Charlap Trio for a two-day residency with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington taking the stage with the pianist. It’s a jazz super-group that has dazzled audiences for years and they haven’t lost their touch with an interplay and near-telepathic communication ranking among the best. Not only have they received a Grammy Award but also multiple nominations.
The venue is located at 1 Dixon Lane, Tarrytown, New York 10591. For more information you are invited to visit https://notoriousjazz.com/event/bill-charlap-trio-4.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Richard M. Jones, born Richard Marigny Jones on June 13, 1892 in Donaldsonville, Louisiana and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Suffering from a stiff leg he walked with a limp, causing fellow musicians to give him the nickname “Richard My Knee Jones” as a pun on his middle name. In his youth he played alto horn in brass bands. His main instrument, however, became the piano and by 1908 he was playing in Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans. A few years later, he often led a small band which sometimes included Joe Oliver and also worked in the bands of John Robichaux, Armand J. Piron, and Papa Celestin.
In 1918, Jones moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked as Chicago manager for publisher and pianist Clarence Williams. Jones began recording in 1923, making gramophone records as a piano soloist, accompanist to vocalists, and with his bands The Jazz Wizards and The Chicago Cosmopolitans. He recorded for Gennett, OKeh, Victor, and Paramount record labels in the 1920s.
He also worked for OKeh Records as supervisor of the company’s “Race” Records for most of the decade, separately the Caucasian artists from the Black. During this period he was the producer of Louis Armstrong’s influential Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. In the 1930s, Jones performed a similar management role for Decca.
Pianist, composer, band leader, and record producer Richard M. Jones, sometimes written Richard Mariney Jones and who had numerous songs bearing his name as author, including Trouble in Mind and worked for Mercury Records until his death on December 8, 1945 in Chicago, at the age of 53.
BILL CHARLAP TRIO
The Bill Charlap Trio – with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington – is a jazz super-group with three brilliant, accomplished talents. Their dazzling interplay and near-telepathic communication ranks among the best ever, resulting in a Grammy Award and multiple nominations, five-star album reviews and raves from audiences everywhere. The New Yorker called their latest album Street of Dreams “a zesty program of superbly played standards.” There may be no better jazz trio in the world.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Frank Fontaine was born June 12, in Los Angeles, California into a musical family, absorbing a great deal from his father Frank Sr., who is a ten year veteran of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. By age 16, he was performing with Harry Sweets Edison, Billy Higgins and Kenny Burrell. He has received his Bachelor degree from Seton Hall University, a Masters of Education from Boston University and is currently a Doctoral Candidate.
He released his debut album as a leader titled Wisdom Rising on the LifeForce Jazz Records label with John Beasley, Robert Hurst, and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. A saxophonist of choice for an array of artists, Frank is equally in demand as a flutist and arranger, while leading his organ trio or quartet.
The New York jazz scene has seen Fontaine become a favorite among elite jazz instrumentalists Francisco Mela, Ari Hoenig, George Garzone, Larry Harlow and Chembo Corniel. His collaboration with Chembo produced a Grammy Award Nomination for the album, Things I Wanted To Do. He has recorded as a sideman with Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Celia Cruz, Bobby Matos, Anita Baker, Gym Class Heroes, Charanga Cubana and Tyler Perry’s Soundtracks.
Saxophonist Frank Fontaine, who is an educator teaching music as well as leading band and orchestra at McAuliffe Middle School, continues to cultivate his musical prowess at The Manhattan School of Music, a conservatory second to none, in a city second to none.
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