Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mark Jay Levine was born on October 4, 1938 in Concord, New Hampshire and began playing the piano at the age of five, trombone in his early teens. Attending Boston University, graduating with a degree in music in 1960, he also studied privately with Jaki Byard, Hall Overton and Herb Pomeroy.
Moving to New York City in the Sixties he freelanced and then played with musicians Houston Person, Mongo Santamaría, and Willie Bobo from 1971 to 1974. Levine then moved to San Francisco, California and played with Woody Shaw for two years. His debut album was made as a leader for Catalyst Records in 1976.
He went on to play with the Blue Mitchell/Harold Land Quintet, Joe Henderson, Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson, Luis Gasca, and Cal Tjader. From 1980 to 1983, he concentrated on valve trombone, but then returned to playing mainly the piano. He then led his own bands, and recorded for Concord as a leader in 1983 and 1985. From 1992 Mark was part of Henderson’s big band. He created a new trio in 1996 and recorded it for his own, eponymous label. His Latin jazz group, Que Calor, was formed in 1997.
He put on his educator hat in 1970, teaching in addition to private lessons at Diablo Valley College, Mills College, Antioch University in San Francisco, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Sonoma State University, and the JazzSchool in Berkeley. Levine wrote two method books: The Jazz Piano Book, and The Jazz Theory Book.
Pianist, trombonist, composer, author and educator Mark Levine, whose album Isla was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album, died of pneumonia on January 27, 2022 at the age of 83.
Get a dose of the musicians and vocalists who were members of a global society integral in the making and preservation of jazz for over a hundred and twenty-five years…
Mark Levine: 1938~2022 | Clarinet, Composer, Educator, Director, Producer
More Posts: author,bandleader,composer,educator,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,trombone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mick Pyne was born Michael John Pyne on September 2, 1940 in Thornton-le-Dale, England He learned piano from the age of three; then learned violin, and began playing cornet when he was 13.
Around 1957 he and his brother Chris formed their own band before Mick moved to London, England in 1959. He played briefly with Tony Kinsey in 1962, then played U.S. Army bases in France. In addition he worked with Alexis Korner, from 1962 to 1963.
Returning to London at the end of 1963, Pyne worked in the Sixties with John Stevens, Phil Seamen, and extensively with Tubby Hayes, He toured Europe with Stan Getz, Roland Kirk, Lee Konitz, Hank Mobley, and Joe Williams.
In the 1970s he worked with Hayes again as well as with Ronnie Scott, Humphrey Lyttelton, Jon Eardley and Cecil Payne. In the 1980s Pyne’s associations included Georgie Fame, Adelaide Hall, Keith Smith and Charlie Watts.
Pianist Mick Pyne died on May 23, 1995 in London.
More Posts: history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano
PAUL CORNISH
One of today’s most exciting emerging voices on piano, Paul Cornish and his trio make their Bop Stop debut as they tour to promote Cornish’s debut album as a leader, You’re Exaggerating! The album was released on Blue Note Records on August 22nd.
Every artist who records for Blue Note is part of a grand legacy, now in its 86th year. But pianist Paul Cornish is a torchbearer for several remarkable Blue Note legacies, all at once. Which makes You’re Exaggerating!, his powerfully lyrical trio debut for the label, a mission statement for Blue Note’s next generation.
To begin, Cornish is part of a great heritage of jazz piano that has unfolded at the label, from Blue Note’s first 78-rpm releases by Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons through Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Don Pullen, Geri Allen, Jacky Terrasson, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Renee Rosnes, Aaron Parks, Gerald Clayton and beyond.
Then, he’s part of a lineage of Blue Note artists, past and present, who hail from Houston, Texas, and developed at the city’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, a.k.a. HSPVA. That more recent hall of fame includes Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Chris Dave and James Francies and, now, Cornish, who was born and raised in Houston and has been based in Los Angeles for over a decade.
Featuring:
- Paul Cornish, piano
- Jermaine Paul, bass
- Jonathan Pinson, drums
Cover: $25 each in advance, $30 day of show.
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,club,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel
KEVIN BALES
By some measures, Kevin Bales was a latecomer to jazz, already 17 when he encountered the sounds and structures and became captivated by the freedom and corresponding challenges of the music. But if late to the party, he wasted no time in immersing himself in the celebration, declaring total commitment to what would be his life’s work and backing his announcement by resigning his job and designated career in computer programming. Kevin could commit to jazz with a reasonable degree of expectation. He was already an accomplished pianist, with classical chops refined since the age of 10. So accomplished he was invited to audition for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, then under the direction of its most storied conductor Robert Shaw, at age 16.
He has performed and/or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Louie Bellson, Eddie Daniels, James Moody, Ben Tucker, Ira Sullivan, Marcus Printup, Sam Rivers, Nat Adderley, Bunky Green, Nathen Page and Jack Petersen. He counts among his mentors bassist Ben Tucker, multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan. He has recordings on Blue Note/Capital records. Ten years touring and recording with vocal iconoclast Rene Marie culminated in a Grammy Nominated album.
Cover: $25.00
More Posts: bandleader,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Daniel Asbury Mixon was born August 19, 1949 in Harlem, New York City. He started off as a tap dancer, attending the Ruth Williams Dance Studio. Later, he attended the High School of Performing Arts with Dance as his major but soon switched to playing the piano after being inspired by visits with his grandfather to see jazz artists playing at the Apollo Theater.
In 1966, at the age of 17, Danny was invited to play with the trumpet player Sam Brown’s band backing Patti LaBelle & the Blue Bells in Atlantic City at Reggie’s Cocktail Lounge. After working with Joe Lee Wilsonfor three years beginning in 1967 then started to play regularly with Betty Carter during the years 1971–72.
Formed his own jazz trio, he recorded with the Piano Choir and worked with a variety of important jazz musicians including Kenny Dorham, Cecil Payne, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Frank Foster, Grant Green, Pharoah Sanders, and singers Joe Williams, Eddie Jefferson and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
1976 saw Mixon playing in Charles Mingus’ band. He then played with Dannie Richmond in the late 1970s, toured the U.S. with Yusef Lateef and played a few years with the Lionel Hampton Big Band. Since his twenties Mixon has worked continuously with Frank Foster as a pianist for the Big Band; Frank Foster’s Loud Minority, and his quartet the Non-Electric Company.
He plays piano on many recordings. He appears with Hank Crawford on Tight and After Dark and has also recorded with The Danny Mixon Trio and has recorded On My Way. In 2004 he was awarded as a legendary pianist by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem during their series Harlem Speaks honoring Harlem Heroes. He was also the musical director of the Lenox Lounge in Harlem, where he also regularly played with his trio, until it closed in 2012.
Pianist Danny Mixon, at 76, continues to perform and record.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano