Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sanford Gold was born on June 9, 1911 in Cleveland, Ohio and played locally in Cleveland and led regional bands. Moving to New York City in the 1930s he collaborated with Babe Russin and Raymond Scott in 1935, and formed a trio with Dave Barbour in 1941.
In 1942 he worked as a studio musician for CBS before serving in World War II until 1946. After being discharged Sanford worked with Don Byas, Mary Osborne and others before he went to work for CBS rival NBC, from 1949-1954. An album was recorded under his name on the Prestige label in 1955 titled Piano d’Or.
A sideman, Gold worked with Johnny Smith, Al Cohn, Vic Dickenson, Coleman Hawkins and Sally Blair. He was one of the premier jazz piano teachers of his time. He self-published a book, A Modern Approach to Keyboard Harmony and Piano Techniques. Pianist Sanford Gold passed away on May 29, 1984.
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
Politics, unfortunately, are an integral ingredient in getting their idea of bringing financial stability back to America. Let us continue to practice the use of common sense when it comes to the future of society. As I observe, public companies are following the suggestions of governors to allow entry without masks and without checking. I can’t get with the honor system.
So in maintaining social distancing, this week I have selected the 1998 album Pure Imagination by pianist and composer Eric Reed, released through Impulse! Records. The album contains reinterpretations of traditional songs from classic Broadway and Hollywood productions.
Reed recorded the album on July 28~29, 1997 and was produced by Tommy LiPuma. The musicals from which the songs were taken are (2) West Side Story, (3) The King & I, (4) Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, (5) 42nd Street, (6) A Little Night Music, (7) Porgy & Bess, and (9) Carousel.
It peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Top Jazz Album charts. All songs are written by famous songwriters of said productions except for the opening and closing tracks that were composed by Reed.
Track Listing | 49:52
- Overture ~ 2:02
- Maria (Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers, & Stephen Sondheim) ~ 6:35
- Hello, Young Lovers (Rodgers and Hammerstein) ~ 5:16
- Pure Imagination (Leslie Bricusse, & Anthony Newley) ~ 4:04
- 42nd Street (Harry Warren & Al Dubin) ~ 4:07
- Send in the Clowns (Stephen Sondheim) ~ 4:54
- My Man’s Gone Now/Gone, Gone, Gone (DuBose Heyward, George & Ira Gershwin) ~ 8:15
- Nice Work If You Can Get It (George & Ira Gershwin) ~ 3:58
- You’ll Never Walk Alone (Rodgers and Hammerstein) ~ 2:18
- I Got Rhythm (George & Ira Gershwin) ~ 5:05
- Finale (Last Trip) ~ 3:40
- Eric Reed – Piano
- Brian Bromberg – Bass
- Reginald Veal – Bass
- Gregory Hutchinson – Drums
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Three Wishes
Nica spoke with Toshiko Akiyoshi and made the inquiry of her three wishes were she blessed with them and she replied with the following:
- “I want to be a pianist who can play everything in my mind. If I had this wish, I think two and three… I know they will come.”
*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…
Joe Springer was born on May 22, 1916 in New York City, He played locally on Coney Island from about 1931. His first major gig was with Wingy Manone in 1935.
He first recorded in 1940 with Louis Prima and soon after worked with Buddy Rich in 1942, followed by a year with Gene Krupa until 1943. Joe went on to work with Oscar Pettiford, Tiny Grimes, Ben Webster, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy McPartland, Charlie Shavers, Roy Eldridge, and Raymond Scott.
Accompanying Billie Holiday regularly in the 1940s, Springer also worked with Anita O’Day. He continued working in New York City into the 1960s before retiring to Florida that decade.
Pianist Joe Springer passed away on October 24, 2004 in Miami, Florida.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Born May 18, 1894 in North Buxton, Ontario, Canada, Louis Stanley Hooper was raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He attended the Detroit Conservatory, where he played locally in dance orchestras in the 1910s. He then moved to New York City around 1920, recorded with Elmer Snowden and Bob Fuller frequently in the middle of the decade, and performed with both of them in Harlem as well as with other ensembles.
Hooper served for some time as the house pianist for Ajax Records and accompanied many blues singers on record, including Martha Copeland, Rosa Henderson, Lizzie Miles, Monette Moore, and Ethel Waters. He participated in the Blackbirds Revue of 1928.
In 1932 returning to Canada he played in Mynie Sutton’s dance band, the Canadian Ambassadors. Lou did local work solo and in ensembles for the next two decades, then was brought back into the limelight by the Montreal Vintage Music Society in 1962. He released an LP of ragtime piano tunes in 1973 entitled Lou Hooper, Piano.
As an educator he taught at the University of Prince Edward Island late in his life and appeared regularly on CBC television in Halifax. His papers, which include unpublished compositions and an autobiography, are now held at the National Library of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. Pianist Lou Hooper passed away on September 17, 1977, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
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