Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Arthur Francis Rollini was born February 13, 1912 in New York City into a musical family of Italian descent and grew up in Larchmont, New York with his multi-instrumentalist older brother Adrian. In 1929 he played in England for Fred Elizalde and worked for the California Ramblers and big band pioneer Paul Whiteman.
From 1934 to 1939 he was a member of the Benny Goodman Orchestra. The highlight of that period was a breakout performance for big band jazz at Carnegie Hall in 1938. He worked with Richard Himber and from 1941-1942 with Will Bradley. From 1943 to 1958 he worked as a studio musician for the American Broadcasting Company.
Rollini’s work can be found on recordings with the bands of Wingy Manone, Adrian Rollini, Benny Goodman, Joe Venuti, Bobby Hackett, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, Louis Armstrong and Brad Gowans. In 1939, he starred in an Allstar band of Goodman, Bunny Berigan and Jack Teagarden with Blue Lu.
In 1987, he published his autobiography Thirty Years With the Big Bands. Arthur Rollini, who played tenor saxophone and clarinet, and was nicknamed Schneeze, passed away on December 30, 1993 in Florida.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mel Powell was born Melvin Epstein on February 12, 1923 in The Bronx, New York City to Russian Jewish parents. He began playing piano at age four, taking lessons from, among others, Nadia Reisenberg. His passion for baseball was shattered with a hand injury that turned him to music. His dream of being a concert pianist was also shattered when his older brother took him to see jazz pianist Teddy Wilson play and later to a concert featuring Benny Goodman. By 14, he was performing jazz professionally around New York City.
As early as 1939, he was working with Bobby Hackett, George Brunies, and Zutty Singleton, as well as writing arrangements for Earl Hines. In 1941 he changed his last name from Epstein to Powell, shortly before joining the Benny Goodman band. His style was rooted in the stride style that was the direct precursor to swing piano. His composition The Earl, dedicated to Earl Fatha Hines, one of hi’s piano heroes, was recorded sans drums. Two years with Goodman, led to a brief stint with the CBS radio band before Uncle Sam came calling in 1943 for World War II where he played with Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band to the end.
In Paris, France he played with Django Reinhardt, returned briefly to Goodman, then moved to Hollywood and ventured into providing music for movies and cartoons, played himself in the movie A Song Is Born, appearing along with many other famous jazz players, including Louis Armstrong. After developing muscular dystrophy his traveling musician career ended, so he devoted himself to composing.
During the Fifties, he enrolled at the Yale School of Music, recorded the jazz album Thigamigig, became an educator, and was a founding dean of the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. After serving as Provost of the Institute from 1972 to 1976, he was appointed the Roy O. Disney Professor of Music and taught at the institute until shortly before his death. The Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer, pianist, and educator Mel Powell passed away on April 24, 1998 in Sherman Oaks, California.
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Three Wishes
The Baronnes inquired of Hazel Scott if she had three wishes what would they be, and she responded:
- “For more people to really be unafraid of the truth~beginning with myself.”
- “For real freedom from fear of reprisals because of the fact that I am as God made me: different.”
- “For more love and patience: between us all and for us all.”
*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…
Brian Lemon was born on February 11, 1937 in Nottingham, England to parents who were semi-professional dance-band violinists who both worked for the cigarette manufacturer John Player & Sons. Inspired by Fats Waller and later by Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson, he studied the piano with Reg Conroy, a local teacher, and was soon proficient enough to perform in palais bands in his home city.
By the mid-1950s, at 19, he moved to London and joined Freddy Randall’s group. After that, he worked with George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. Over the years, Brian worked with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, and Digby Fairweather. He led an octet that played songs by Billy Strayhorn.
For 10 years from 1994 Lemon recorded a sequence of 27 albums for Zephyr, with seven as leader. Zephyr was set up by retired businessman John Bune to record Lemon’s work. Adelaide Hall recorded an album with The Brian Lemon Half-Dozen. A rare copy is at the British Library.
After the development of severe osteoarthritis in his handsLemon retired from music around 2005. Pianist and arranger Brian Lemon passed away on October 11, 2014.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Walter “Baby Sweets” Perkins was born on February 10, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. Starting out in his hometown, he began his professional career drumming with Ahmad Jamal in 1956–57. He recorded as a leader for Argo Records in 1957 under the name MJT+3 with trumpeter Paul Serrano, Nicky Hill on tenor saxophone, Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, and bassist Bob Cranshaw.
1959 witnessed the regrouping under the same name with Willie Thomas on trumpet, Frank Strozier on alto saxophone, pianist Harold Mabern, and Cranshaw on bass. They recorded four albums for Vee-Jay in 1959 and 1960 and played in Chicago until 1962 when Walter made his move to New York City.
Perkins played with Sonny Rollins in 1962 and accompanied Carmen McRae in 1962–63. By 1964 he was playing with Art Farmer and Teddy Wilson, however, following this he recorded with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, George Shearing, Gene Ammons, Charles Mingus, Billy Taylor, Etta James, J.J. Johnson, Johnny Coles, Booker Ervin, Jaki Byard, Lucky Thompson, Pat Martino, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Criss, Ray Bryant, Duke Pearson, Bobby Timmons, and Charles Earland. And that’s the shortlist as he recorded some 44 albums throughout his career as a sideman.
Drummer Walter Perkins passed away on February 14, 2004 in Queens, New York.
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