Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Steve Holt was born on May 9, 1954 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and exhibited musical ability in early childhood, playing piano at the age of four. By the time he was a teenager he was a regular on the Montreal club scene.
He was self-taught until he entered McGill University where he was taught by pianist Armas Maiste, whose bebop playing influenced him. Becoming a student of Kenny Barron he regularly traveled to New York City for private lessons. Holt graduated from McGill in 1981 with that university’s first Bachelor of Music major in Jazz Performance, and went on to teach jazz improvisation there.
His 1983 debut album, The Lion’s Eyes, was nominated for a Juno Award. He has worked with jazz musicians Larry Coryell, Eddie Henderson, and Archie Shepp. He moved to Toronto, Canada in 1987 and worked as an equity analyst and for a while Steve continued playing clubs at night.
In the Nineties he released three albums then decided to concentrate on music full-time. Three years later, his fifth album, The Dream, was released. Moving into music production he stopped performing jazz live until 2014. Following a move to the countryside, his interest in jazz performance returned.
In 2017, he opened a health food store in Warkworth, Ontario, Canada that operates as a jazz venue once a week. After a twenty year absence from the recording field, pianist Steve Holt released Impact, his new album in 2025 under the new band, The Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano
The Jazz Voyager
Cross country flights can be tiresome when you have to fly around storms but are also very rewarding especially when a jazz concert is in store in the City by the Bay. The destination is SFJazz Center. Opened in 2013, the SFJAZZ Center is located on the corner of Franklin and Fell Streets in the heart of San Francisco’s arts district. With two performance spaces, multiple music practice rooms, a digital lab, and the B-Side restaurant and bar allows the non-profit to explore the full spectrum of jazz, from its origins in the African American and Afro Caribbean communities, to its diverse and evolving expressions around the world today.
Pianist, composer, and in-demand sideman Javier Santiago is one of the most promising voices in the international music scene. As an accomplished producer, beatmaker, arranger and educator, he has become a notable force in both the beat and hip-hop scenes as well as in the jazz world. His newest album is the 2024 release Warrior Energy. This jazz voyager is anticipating hearing this music
SFJazz Center is located at 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, California 94102. For more information contact the venue at https://www.sfjazz.org.
Tickets: $25.00
More Posts: adventure,club,composer,genius,jazz,museum,music,piano,preserving,travel
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Denys Justin Wright, known professionally as Denny Wright, was born on May 6, 1924 in Deptford, London, England. He grew up in Brockley with frequent forays to the Old Kent Road and the Elephant and Castle. His first instrument was the piano. His older brother was a semi-professional guitarist and soon he was trying to play his brother’s guitar. He began playing professionally before the Second World War, while at school.
A session musician for many years, he frequently acted as arranger and fixer for recording sessions. As a prolific jazz and orchestra composer Wright led many bands, from small ensembles and night club bands to orchestras. He worked with Latin American and Jamaican bands, Afro-Cubists and the Decca Records house band.
In the Forties Wright played in jazz clubs in the West End of London, doing session work, performed in bands on radio shows, and medically unfit to serve due to a childhood injury, he entertained the troops. In 1945 he started the first bebop club in London.
He went on to form several bands, tour the Soviet Union, and continued his work as a session musician, producing Tribute To The Hot Club as The Cooper-Wright Quintet. Denny gave private lessons and at London comprehensive schools, and he lectured at the Royal College of Music on the life of a session musician.
During his career he worked with Stéphane Grappelli, Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Duncan, Digby Fairweather, Ella Fitzgerald, Ken Snakehips Johnson, Billy Eckstine, Fapy Lafertin, Russ Conway, Biréli Lagrène, Humphrey Lyttelton, Marie Bryant, Nigel Kennedy, and George Shearing.
Guitarist and pianist Denny Wright, who was voted the 1980 BBC Jazz Society Musician of the Year, died on February 8, 1992.
More Posts: bandleader,guita,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano
ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL
The 48th annual Atlanta Jazz Festival will take place in Piedmont Park, Midtown Atlanta, on Memorial Day Weekend from May 24th ~ 26th. The festival is free and open to the public, offering a celebration of jazz music, culture, and art.
1:00pm ~ Kenny Banks Jr. | Piano
3:00pm ~ Jarrod Lawson | Vocal, Piano
5:00pm ~ Ravi Coltrane | Tenor & Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet
7:00pm ~ Andromeda Turre | Vocal
9:00pm ~ Russell Gunn & Blackhawk | Trumpet
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,saxophone,travel,trumpet,vocal
JAVIER SANTIAGO
Pianist, composer, and in-demand sideman Javier Santiago is one of the most promising voices in the international music scene. As an accomplished producer, beatmaker, arranger and educator, he has become a notable force in both the beat and hip-hop scenes as well as in the jazz world. His newest album is the 2024 release Warrior Energy. This jazz voyager is anticipating hearing this music
Tickets: $25.00
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,composer,genius,instrumental,music,piano,preserving,travel