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Valaida Snow was born on June 2, 1903 in Chattanooga, Tennessee into a family of musicians where her mother taught her and sisters Alvaida and Hattie, and brother Arthur Bush how to play multiple instruments. She was taught to play cello, bass, violin, banjo, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet, saxophone and trumpet. By the young age of fifteen she was already a recognized professional singer and trumpeter and while her beauty attracted audiences, it was her incredible talent as a jazz trumpeter which truly captivated them. Obtaining the nickname, “Little Louis” due to her Louis Armstrong-like playing style, hitting those high C’s just like Louis.
Snow toured and recorded frequently in the United States, Europe and the Far East both with her own bands and other leaders’ bands. She took part in a session with Earl Hines in New York in 1933 and also performed with Count Basie, Teddy Weatheford, Willie Lewis and Fletcher Henderson at various places and times.
Not limiting herself to jazz she branch out to the stage and as an actress she debuted on Broadway in 1924 as Mandy in Eubie Blake and Noble Sissles’s musical ‘Chocolate Dandies.’ Later, she appeared on Broadway in Ethel Waters’ show, ‘Rhapsody in Black’ in 1934; she appeared in the London production of ‘Blackbirds’ in 1935 with Johnny Claes and also in its Paris production. She could be seen in ‘Liza’ across Europe and Russia in the 30’s and was also in the Hollywood films ‘Take It from Me’ in 1937, ‘Irresistible You,’ ‘L’Alibi’ and ‘Pieges’ in 1939 with her husband Ananais Berry. Valaida Snow shocked people in the USA, with her eccentric behavior. She traveled in an orchid colored Mercedes, dressed in an orchid suit, her pet monkey rigged out in an orchid jacket and cap, with the chauffeur in orchid as well.
Snow’s incarceration has been written about several times and debunked by a few that while touring through Denmark in 1941, she was arrested by the Nazis during the German occupation and kept at Vestre Faengsel (Western Prison), a Danish prison in Copenhagen that was run by the Nazis. She was released on a prisoner exchange in May 1942. What is know is that Snow stayed in wartime Denmark by choice, that she survived the Nazis and was never shy about using and stretching the truth to suit her purposes.
By the early 1950s Valaida recorded for the Derby label with the Jimmy Mundy Orchestra. The result was “Tell Me How Long The Train’s Been Gone” and “When A Woman Loves A Man”. The record does nicely in certain areas, especially Philadelphia and St. Louis. The Derby release is her first real effort since her tragic imprisonment and it does well. She embarked on a tour of the Northeast and is a particular favorite at the Monte Carlo in Pittsburgh. In the fall she is at the 845 Club in New York and is held over. In a bit of a surprise she leaves Derby Records and signs with Apollo Records late in the year.
In February of 1951 she records “Porgy” and “The More I Know About Love” for Apollo with the Bobby Smith Orchestra. She continues her many in person appearances throughout the country, and in early 1952 embarks on a true R & B tour with Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers up and down the West coast. Her records are sporadic, and after a well-attended stay at Chicago’s Crown Propeller Lounge in late 1953, Snow signed with that city’s Chess label. “I Ain’t Gonna Tell” and “If You Mean It” are released by Chess. The next two years are spent mostly appearing in the musical revues that have always been her first love.
It is just at this time that the final curtain descends on Valaida Snow, who spoke seven languages, was billed as “Queen Of The Trumpet”, performed in the top theatrical productions of her day, wrote and recorded her theme song, “High Hat, Trumpet and Rhythm” and was the toast of Paris and London, passed away on May 30, 1956 of a cerebral hemorrhage backstage at the Palace Theater in New York. She left this world doing what she loved most, entertaining the public with her great talents.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Wycliffe Gordon was born May 29, 1967 in Waynesboro, Georgia and was heavily influenced musically by the church music his organist father played at several churches in Burke County as well as being a classical pianist and teacher.
It wasn’t until 1980 that Gordon became particularly inspired in jazz at age thirteen, listening to jazz recordings inherited from his great aunt. The collection included a five-LP jazz anthology produced by Sony-Columbia and was drawn in particular to Louis Armstrong and the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens.
Wycliffe attended, at that age, Sego High School in Augusta, Georgia and played in the band under direction from Don Milford. He graduated from Butler High in 1985, performed in New York City as part of the McDonald High School All-American Band, went on to study music at Florida A&M where he played in the marching band.
His early works as a professional were with Wynton Marsalis but in recent years he expanded beyond swing and experimented with new instruments, notably the indigenous Australian wind instrument, didgeridoo. In 1995, Gordon arranged and orchestrated the third version of the theme song for NPR’s All Things Considered, the widely recognized melody composed in 1971 by Donald Joseph Voegeli.
In 2006 he founded Blues Back Records, his was an independent jazz label and released his Rhythm On My Mind album, a collaboration with bassist Jay Leonhart. His desire for full artistic control was the impetus for creating Blues Back. Blues Back had produced other artists in Wycliffe’s universe who met Gordon’s criteria for originality, however, since 2011 has been inactive.
Jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, bandleader and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level, Wycliffe Gordon also plays didgeridoo, trumpet, tuba, piano, and sings. To date he has a catalogue of 19 albums as a leader and another eight as a sideman performing with John Allred, Marcus Roberts, Randy Sandke, Maurice Hines, Ron Westray, and Chip White. He continues to perform, tour, record and educate.
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Miles Dewey Davis III was born May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois into an affluent family, father a dentist and his mother a blues pianist. They owned a substantial ranch in the Delta region of Pine Bluffs, Arkansas. When he was one years old the family moved to East St. Louis and it was between there and Pine Bluffs that his appreciation for music came out of the Black church.
His musical studies began at 13, when his father gave him a trumpet and arranged lessons with local musician Elwood Buchanan. He learned to play with out vibrato which gave him his clear signature tone. By age 16, Davis was a member of the music society and, when not at school, playing professionally first at the local Elks Club. At 17, he spent a year playing in Eddie Randle’s band, the Blue Devils and during this time, Sonny Stitt tried to persuade him to join the Tiny Bradshaw band, then passing through town. His mother insisted that he finish his final year of high school and he graduated from East St. Louis Lincoln High School in 1944.
In 1944, the Billy Eckstine band visited East St. Louis with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker in tow. Miles was brought in on third trumpet for a couple of weeks because the regular player, Buddy Anderson, was out sick. Even after this experience, once Eckstine’s band left town, Davis’ parents were still keen for him to continue formal academic studies.
However, In the fall of 1944, following graduation from high school, Davis moved to New York City to study at the Juilliard School of Music. His arrival marked a new chapter and he spent his first weeks attempting to contact Charlie Parker, against all advice even from Coleman Hawkins. Finally locating his idol, he became one of the cadre of musicians who held nightly jam sessions at Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s, both Harlem nightclubs. He was among future leaders of bebop Fats Navarro, Freddie Webster, J. J. Johnson as well as the established Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke.
Dropping out of Juilliard after asking permission from his father, Miles began playing professionally, performing in several 52nd Street bands led by Coleman Hawkins, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. By 1945, he entered a recording studio for the first time, under the leadership of Herbie Field. This was the beginning of his many sideman recordings until 1946 when he recorded as a leader with the Miles Davis Sextet plus Earl Coleman and Ann Hathaway. Though a member of the groundbreaking Charlie Parker Quintet, he can be heard accompanying singers. He would play with Max Roach, Al Haig, Sir Charles Thompson, Duke Jordan, Curley Russell, Tommy Potter and Leonard Gaskin. This gave him numerous recording sessions and the beginning of what would become his cool jazz style.
After Parker’s breakdown and committal to Camarillo State Mental Hospital while on tour in Los Angeles, Davis, found himself stranded. He roomed and collaborated for some time with Charles Mingus, got a job with Billy Eckstine and eventually got back to New York. He would freelance and sideman in some of the most important combos on the New York jazz scene.
By 1948 Davis grew close to Canadian composer and arranger Gil Evans and his basement apartment had become the meeting place for several young musicians and composers such as Davis, Roach, John Lewis and Gerry Mulligan who were unhappy with the bebop scene. Together they created the tuba band sound that included French horn and tuba in the nonet line-up. The objective was to achieve a sound similar to the human voice, through carefully arranged compositions and by emphasizing a relaxed, melodic approach to the improvisations.
A contract and recording sessions between 1949-1950 with Capitol Records brought about the release of Birth Of The Cool in 1956, which gave its name to the cool jazz movement. Though met with resistance, years later it was co-opted by white musicians like Mulligan and Dave Brubeck and the critics who hailed it as a success.]
By the first half of the 1950s Davis was on tour in Paris with Tadd Dameron, Kenny Clarke and James Moody, and living the life of a black musician abroad. He was involved with French actress and singer Juliette Greco for a time and then returned to the States to be underappreciated by the critics and a liaison with the mother of his two children unraveled. This is when his heroin addiction began, with subsequent arrests. But iwas during this period that he became acquainted with Ahmad Jamal’s music and his elegant approach and use of space influenced him deeply and he definitely severed all ties to bebop.
Through the decade he would record for Prestige, work with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, began using the Harmon mute creating a signature sound and phrasing. The most important Prestige recordings of this period were Dig, Blue Haze, Bag’s Groove, Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants and Walkin’. This placed him in the center of the hard bop movement. It also hailed his period of withdrawal, being distant, cold, contempt for critics, and his quick temper.
His first great quintet included John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. This group brought forth such titles as Relaxin’, Steamin’, Workin’ and Cookin’ all with The Miles Davis Quintet. From 1957 to 1963 Davis recorded a series of albums with Gil Evans playing often trumpet and flugelhorn on Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Quiet Nights. In 1959 with Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb he recorded his magnus opus Kind Of Blue.
Through the Sixties he recoded with a number of musicians, Hank Mobley, Sonny Stitt, Jimmy Heath, George Coleman, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock and Sam Rivers. But it was Hancock, Williams, Carter and Wayne Shorter that became the nucleus of his second great quintets.
He would work with Chick Corea and Dave Holland, enter into his electric period playing with Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Airto Moriera, Bennie Maupin and recorded the landmark Bitches Brew. He would create the Cellar Door Band before retiring in 1975. By 1979, he overcame his cocaine addiction and regained his enthusiasm for music and put together new smaller combos playing up until his death.
Miles Davis is regarded as one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in the history of music. He has received numerous Grammy Awards, and according to the RIAA, the album is the best-selling jazz album of all time, having been certified as quadruple platinum (4 million copies sold. In 2009, the US House of Representatives voted 409–0 to pass a resolution honoring the album as a national treasure. On September 28, 1991 he passed away in Santa Monica, California.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Al Porcino was born on May 14, 1925 in New York City. He began playing trumpet professionally in 1943 in many of the big bands over the next two decades including those of George Auld, Louis Prima, Jerry Wald, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa and Chubby Jackson.
Porcino played with Woody Herman in 1946, 1949-1950, and again in 1954. He also did two stints with Stan Kenton in 1947-48 and 1954-55. By the 1950s, he was playing with Pete Rugolo, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Elliot Lawrence and Charlie Barnet.
In 1957 he moved to Los Angeles and started working in the studios. Al played in the Terry Gibbs Dream Band for three years starting in 1959. Throughout the Sixties he often played in orchestras backing vocalists, performed on two soundtracks The Cincinnati Kid and Music from Mission Impossible with Lalo Schifrin, played with Buddy Rich, Gil Fuller, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and again with Woody Herman in 1972.
Al formed his own big band and recorded behind Mel Torme in addition to their own work. During the Seventies he moved to Germany playing on Al Cohn’s final recordings in 1987 and led big bands there until his death in Munich on December 31, 2013.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Creed Taylor was born May 13, 1929 in Bedford, Virginia and played trumpet in the high school marching band and symphony orchestra. He grew up surrounded by country music and bluegrass but gravitated more toward the sounds of jazz after listening to Dizzy Gillespie in high school. He spent countless evening listening to Symphony Sid broadcast live from Birdland in New York City. He went on to attend Duke University, perform with the Duke Ambassadors and The Five Dukes.
After graduation, a couple of years in the Marines, and a year of graduate school, he made his way to New York City to pursue becoming a record producer. Convincing the Duke alum running Bethlehem Records to allow him to record vocalist Chris Connor with the Ellis Larkins Trio and the album becoming a success, led Taylor to become head of A&R. He was at Bethlehem during its two most significant years, recording Oscar Pettiford, Ruby Braff, Carmen McRae, Charles Mingus, Herbie Mann, Charlie Shavers and the J.J. Johnson/Kai Winding Quintet.
Creed went on to join ABC-Paramount, founded the subsidiary Impulse label four years later dubbing it “The New Wave In Jazz”. He recruited John Coltrane and released gatefold albums by Ray Charles, Gil Evans, Kai Winding, J.J. Johnson and Oliver Nelson. His use of photographers for cover art that blurred the lines of jazz and popular music would set him apart and come in handy in later years.
By 1961 Taylor left and went to Verve Records introducing bossa nova to the US through recordings such as “The Girl From Ipanema” with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Stan Getz. The music was picked up by Dizzy Gillespie, and caught the ear of jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd and the sound exploded through the jazz community. Never leaving jazz, he also produced albums by Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith, Bill Evans and many others.
From Verve Creed went to A&M Records in 1967 and formed his own label, CTI (Creed Taylor Inc.), the following year. A&M distributed CTI releases until 1969, when he left to establish CTI as an independent record company. CTI became one of the most popular and successful jazz record companies of the 1970s, achieving fame for his unrivalled ability to balance the artistic with the commercial. He recorded Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Nina Simone, Paul Desmond, Art Farmer, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter as well as forming the Kudu label and recording the likes of Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr. and Esther Phillips.
Facing financial problems in 1974 Taylor caused by setting up his own network to distribute CTI labels and made a new distribution deal with Motown. This, however, was the beginning of the end with litigation, losing artists and bankruptcy. Finally Columbia agreed to distribute but he gave up his rights to the masters.
Record producer Creed Taylor has won numerous Grammy Awards for his decades of production work including sessions by Stan Getz’s Focus 1961, Desafinado by Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd, 1962, Bill Evans’ Conversations With Myself 1963, The Girl from Ipanema by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto 1964, Willow Weep For Me by Wes Montgomery in 1969 and First Light by Freddie Hubbard in 1972. His CTI label changed the way music was produced for the decade of the 70s and forever left an indelible stamp on the genre of jazz.
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