Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Theodore G. Brown was born into a musical family on December 1, 1927 in Rochester, New York. He learned banjo and violin from his father who also taught him to read music at six, and clarinet and tenor sax from his uncle. After playing in army bands from 1945 to 1947 and then in Hollywood, California for the following year, he moved to New York City.
He worked with Lennie Tristano and fellow pupils and associates Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh for two years beginning in 1955. During that time Ted recorded a session for Vanguard, worked with Ronnie Ball, and played a date in Hollywood with Warne Marsh.
>Returning to New York City he worked extensively in clubs. Brown recorded with Konitz in 1959, and again in 1976, while leading his own group in the late Seventies. He also worked and recorded with Art Pepper and Hod O’Brien.
Cool jazz tenor saxophonist Ted Brown, who recorded as a leader or co-leader thirteen albums and as a sideman was a part of five albums with Tristano, Marsh and Konitz, is 97 years old.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tom Archia was born Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. on November 26, 1919 in Groveton, Texas, and moved with his family as a child to Rockdale and then Baytown, near Houston, Texas. He played saxophone in the Wheatley High School orchestra. Known during childhood as Sonny, but took the name Tom when he decided that neither his first or middle names were appropriate for a musician.
After graduating from Prairie View A&M University in 1939, he joined Milt Larkin’s band which included Eddie Vinson, Arnett Cobb, and Illinois Jacquet in the reed section and Cedric Haywood as pianist and arranger. 1942 saw Archia arrived in Chicago, Illinois with Larkin for a nine-month residency backing T-Bone Walker at the Rhumboogie Club.
The following year he joined the Roy Eldridge orchestra alongside Ike Quebec, Ted Sturgis, and Doc West that recorded in Chicago for the Brunswick label. He moved to the Rhumboogie Dream Band until mid 1944. Unfortunately he frequently disrupted band discipline and was fired by Marl Young who took over as bandleader.
In 1945 Tom went to Los Angeles, California and joined Howard McGhee’s combo, with Teddy Edwards, among others. Shortly afterwards, he was recording with the brothers Illinois and Russell Jacquet, as well as Helen Humes.
Returning to Chicago in 1946, Archia became a headliner at the Macomba Lounge, recorded extensively for Aristocrat Records during the late Forties, and recorded with Wynonie Harris and Hot Lips Page. He would go on to participate in tenor saxophone duels with Buster Bennett, Gene Ammons, Claude McLin, Hal Singer, Harold Ashby, Porter Kilbert and Lucius Washington.
By the Sixties he was struggling to find gigs and he retired to Houston in 1967, after being temporarily disabled by a broken jaw. After recovering, he played the Houston club circuit for the rest of his life. Tenor saxophonist Tom Archia died on January 16, 1977 at the age of 57.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Gus Bivona was born on November 25, 1915 in New London, Connecticut. He got his musical start under the close eye of his musician parents, his mother was a pianist, and his father was a guitarist. His first instrument was violin, but he switched to a combination of alto saxophone and clarinet at the age of 16.
He began his professional debut in the Spider Johnson Band, followed by performing around New England in Leo Scalzi’s Brunswick Orchestra. 1935 saw Gus begin a lengthy stint with the Jimmy Monaco Orchestra and worked with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra, He went on to spend several months with Bunny Berigan in 1938. Through the end of the decade he worked with bandleaders Will Hudson and Teddy Powell.
In 1940 he put his name on his first band but work as a sideman in more established bands appeared to be what he was after. He spent a period with Benny Goodman in 1940 through the spring of 1941 alongside Charlie Christian. Prior to joining the Naval Air Force Band, Bivona gigged with Jan Savitt and Les Brown & His Band of Renown. He went on to have a series of gigs with Tommy Dorsey and Bob Crosby post World War II.
Signing on with MGM In 1947 he performed numerous studio sessions and on freelance recordings into the 1950s. He connected with Steve Allen, the two would occasionally hit the concert trail, including a lengthy club residency at the Roundtable in New York City. Their collaboration rendered Music for Swingers: Gus Bivona Plays the Music of Steve Allen in 1958 followed by many other West Coast jazz recordings. They were in the company of top studio players and arrangers, such as Skip Martin, Henry Mancini and Pete Rugolo.
Clarinetist Gus Bivona, who also palys saxophone and flute, died on January 5, 1996 in Los Angeles, California.
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Requisites
Rifftide ~ Al Cohn | By Eddie Carter
Submitted for your approval this morning is an excellent album by Al Cohn. Rifftide (Timeless Records SJP 259) was recorded during the tenor saxophonist’s 1986 European tour. He’s joined on this date by three Danish musicians: Rein De Graaff on piano, Koos Serierse on bass, and Eric Ineke on drums. My copy is the 1987 Netherlands Stereo release. Side One opens with a popular song by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash, Speak Low. The trio takes off with a lively introduction leading to the quartet’s theme. Al gets everybody in the mood with a spirited opening statement. Rein swings into action next with an energetic reading. Eric has a vigorous conversation with the saxophonist ahead of the theme’s restatement and fadeout.
Blue Monk by Thelonious Monk is a slow blues that was the pianist’s favorite and one of his most recorded songs, a testament to its enduring appeal. The foursome begins the melody gently, leading to Cohn’s gorgeous interpretation. De Graaff is equally graceful on the following solo, and then Serierse shows his tender side in a pretty presentation preceding the reprise and finale. The tempo for the quartet’s quick melody moves upward to begin the 1945 jazz standard, Hot House by Tadd Dameron. Al takes the lead and crafts an exciting solo. Rein meets the challenge with a fiery passion in the following interpretation. Al reappears for the closing chorus and leads the group to the finish line.
The Thing by Al Cooper starts the second side with the foursome’s medium melody. Cohn cruises comfortably into the opening interpretation. De Graaff follows with a silky smooth statement, and then Serierse provides the exclamation point until the closing chorus. We’ll Be Together Again by Carl T. Fischer, and Frankie Laine is a beautiful ballad from the forties, and the group begins with a gentle melody. The saxophonist opens his first of two solos with an intimate story. Rein caresses each note of the following solo with tranquil tenderness. Al returns for his second reading, complemented by the rhythm section’s hauntingly beautiful support before the song’s summation.
The album ends with the title tune Rifftide by Coleman Hawkins. It’s a pretty tune that the quartet opens at a slow tempo for the melody. Cohn’s opening solo is particularly stirring; De Graaff has the next spot and draws the listener into the second statement. Serierse has a short reflective moment closer, leading to the theme restatement and climax. Al’s career, which lasted nearly five decades, was marked by numerous achievements. He recorded thirty-five albums as a leader, including fourteen years co-leading a quintet with Zoot Sims. He was also a successful arranger for several big bands and worked on Broadway. Al Cohn passed away from liver cancer on February 15, 1988, at age sixty-two.
Wim Wigt produced Rifftide, and Max Bollerman, who owns and still operates Studio 44, was the man behind the dials of the recording. The album’s sound quality is stunning, with a stellar soundstage transporting the quartet to your listening room with crystal-clear fidelity. If you’re a fan of cool jazz and post-bop, I invite you to check out Rifftide by Al Cohn the next time you’re on a record-shopping trip. It’s a terrific album that’s sure to please even the most discriminating jazz fan, and I highly recommend it for a spot in your library!
~ Blue Monk, Speak Low, We’ll Be Together Again – Source: JazzStandards.com
~ Al Cohn – Source: Wikipedia.org
~ © 2024 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mornington Edward Lockett was born in Stepney, London, United Kingdom on November 19, 1961. He began playing clarinet at the age of 14 while he was a student at Cowes High School, then switched to tenor saxophone. He studied at Dartington College of Arts, graduating in 1981, then undertook further study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1984–85, under the tutelage of Lionel Grigson.
In the Eighties and ‘90s Lockett played in the bands of Jim Mullen, Ronnie Scott, Arturo Sandoval, Ian Shaw, and Andrea Vicari. During the mid ‘90s into the new century he performed with Martin Drew, Stan Tracey, Don Weller, Sarah Jane Morris, and Jimmy Smith, to name a few.
In February 1996, Mornington’s album Late Night Sax: After Dark reached No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart. From 2000 until 2004 he was involved in a group co-led by Martin Drew called Celebrating The Jazz Couriers. They played the music of Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes and won the British Jazz Award for Best Small Group in 2002. The band was reformed in 2004 as The New Jazz Couriers.
In 2008 in conjunction with fellow tenor saxophonists Art Themen and Don Weller, Lockett released the album The 3 Tenors at the Appleby Jazz Festival.
As an educator he now works at St. Paul’s Girls’ School, and the Royal College of Music in London, teaching jazz saxophone and improvisation. He has taught at Trinity College of Music, Leeds College of Music and has been a visiting tutor at the Dordogne Jazz Summer School.
He led a monthly residency at the 606 Club in Chelsea with saxophonist Peter King until a year before King’s death. Tenor saxophonist Mornington Lokett has since run an annual tribute, the Peter King Memorial Sax Summit. Invited guests have been saxophonists Graeme Blevins, Simon Allen and Alex Clarke, among others.
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