Daily Dose Of Jazz…

William Crickett Smith was born on February 8, 1881 in Emporia, Kansas, the child of Tennessee Exodusters. His professional career began in childhood, performing in Nathaniel Clark Smith’s Picaninny Band before moving into minstrel troupes, vaudeville and cabaret.

In 1913-1914, he made several early recordings with James Reese Europe’s group, the Clef Club Society Orchestra. Between 1914 and 1919, he performed in the Ford Dabney Orchestra, the resident band at Florenz Ziegfeld’s Broadway cabaret, Midnight Frolics. Between 1917-1919, they produced several dozen phonographs.

By 1919 Smith had relocated to Paris, France playing with Louis Mitchell’s Jazz Kings until 1924. The group recorded for Pathe Records. He became the leader of Mitchell’s group in 1923. He went on to tour France, Spain and Russia with his own bands from 1925 to 1933. However, during the Depression, he spent nine years in Southeast Asia, working with Herb Flemming, Leon Abbey, and Teddy Weatherford, mostly in Bombay and Batavia. In 1936, he recorded with a group called the Symphonians.

Around 1943 cornetist and trumpeter Crickett Smith, who played jazz blues and ragtime, returned to New York City and the following year transitioned on August 30, 1944.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Conrad Joseph Gozzo was born in New Britain, Connecticut on February 6, 1922. His father played trumpet, and he began learning the instrument around the age of 5. He played in his junior and senior high school bands, but left school around the age of 16 at the recommendation of Isham Jones to join bandleader and clarinetist Tommy Reynolds in Boston, Massachusetts.

Quickly noted for his exceptional technical ability and style, Conrad played with Reynolds for nine months, then left to play with Red Norvo in 1939. Staying in the band for two years he went on to play with trumpeter Johnnie Davis, then performed and recorded with the Bob Chester Orchestra, and with Claude Thornhill’s band.

By 1942 he had a short stint with Benny Goodman before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where clarinetist Artie Shaw had formed a band, the Rangers No. 501. Their first assignment was San Francisco, California and then Hawaii before touring in the South Pacific, the U.K. and the mainland States. After his discharge in 1945, Gozzo briefly rejoined Goodman along with fellow trumpet players from Shaw’s band.

By the Fifties Gozzo was sitting in the lead trumpeter chair on the Glen Gray, Stan Kenton, and Harry James “remakes”, and in Dan Terry’s 1954 Columbia sessions. He recorded extensively with arrangers Van Alexander, Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Ray Conniff, Jerry Fielding and Shorty Rogers, and also with performers Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. He played first trumpet on all of the recordings of composer Henry Mancini.

He performed on many major live television shows broadcast on the NBC network, including the Dinah Shore Show, and performed on motion picture soundtracks including The Glenn Miller Story, The Benny Goodman Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Call Me Madam, Ben-Hur and Cleopatra. He played on the two-record set on Verve, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook. In 1955, Gozzo released his own album, Goz the Great!, signed with RCA Victor and played by “Conrad Gozzo and his Orchestra”, directed by Billy May. Three of the twelve tracks were written together by Gozzo and May.

Conrad Gozzo, whose nicknames were Goz and Gopher because of his resemblence to the animal when playing,  transitioned on October 8, 1964 from liver disease in Burbank, California. Jazz composer Sammy Nestico dedicated Portrait of a Trumpet to Gozzo.

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JOE GRANSDEN

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Joe Gransden returns to Serenbe with his quintet and all the sultry and romantic songs we love to hear. Avoid the crowds and book an early dinner reservation and then join us in an intimate fireside setting at the Lakeside Pavilion. Bring your special Valentine and enjoy the classic sounds of Sinatra, Bennett, Connick and Cole as you warm up for this special holiday.

This night of amazing music and drinks will get you in the Valentine’s spirit.

Complete with pre-purchase champagne option, this is an event that you and the special people in your life should not miss. This event will feature cabaret seating. Grab your spot before it is too late.

**Please note the Lakeside Pavilion will be enclosed and heated.  

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ETIENNE CHARLES

A high-energy spectacle blending American jazz with the sights and sounds of Trinidadian Carnival. A multicultural celebration of life, freedom, and history

The Anglophone Caribbean is the subject of Etienne Charles’s Carnival: The Sound of a People, by Trinidad-born, Juilliard-trained trumpet player and composer Etienne Charles. Charles was fascinated by Jab Molassie (Molasses Devil), the blue-colored, horned, winged, pitchfork-carrying, fire-breathing carnival characters in Trinidad and Tobago – and the people who become them for Carnival. He went to the village of Paramin on Carnival Monday, to watch them compete – only to dive in and start playing the biscuit tin along with them, getting himself splattered with blue paint. A scholar of Caribbean music and conservator of traditions who also extends the traditions in everything he does, Charles explains Carnival: “It’s music. It’s dance. It’s costume. It’s improvisation. It’s history. It’s social commentary, political commentary. It’s all of that in one word. And the only way to do it in a show is to have as much of it as possible.” This show makes its Jazz at Lincoln Center debut, rescheduled from June of 2020.

You can purchase the 9:30 performances on June 9 and 10 as part of the 9:30 in The Appel Room series – three 9:30 Appel Room shows for $99 (including fees) for any seat in the house while seats are available. Your Appel Room ticket stub can be used for a free cover to that evening’s Dizzy’s Late Night Session

Friday & Saturday: 7:00pm~& 9:30pm

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Requisites

The Young Bloods ~ Phil Woods and Donald Byrd | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s choice from the library brings together two of my favorite musicians for a quintet jam session, Phil Woods and Donald Byrd. The Young Bloods (Prestige LP 7080) is a 1957 release reuniting altoist Phil Woods, trumpeter Donald Byrd and bassist Teddy Kotick who appeared together on Jazz For The Carriage Trade a year earlier. Al Haig on piano and Charlie Persip on drums round out the ensemble. My copy is the 2022 Analogue Productions US Mono Audiophile reissue (Prestige PRLP 7080).

The opener, Dewey Square by Charlie Parker, takes off right out of the gate with Haig’s introduction segueing into the ensemble’s melody. The song takes its title from the Harlem hotel where Parker and other musicians resided during the forties. Donald leads off with a cooking opening solo; then, Al continues swinging in the second reading. Phil blows up a storm with a lengthy statement, succeeded by Charlie’s enthusiastic exchange with the front line ahead of the climax. Dupeltook, the first of four from Phil Woods, begins with a danceable theme by the ensemble. Woods is up first and manages the opening statement efficiently. Byrd grabs us by the ears with an inspired improvisation, then Haig hits a scintillating groove. Persip, Woods, and Byrd share a final conversation leading to the ending.

Once More, a relaxing blues by Woods opens with the front line moving in unison on the melody. Phil leads off with a marvelous opening reading. Donald delivers a pleasant presentation of sheer enjoyment; next, Al says some exciting things in his statement. Teddy walks a few bass lines toward the quintet’s theme reprise and climax. House of Chan is Woods’ dedication to his wife, Chan Parker, who initially was the common-law wife of Charlie Parker. The horns establish the medium theme together; Woods gets a good thing going in the opening statement. Byrd takes a few fine choruses in the second solo. Haig responds with a gorgeous bounce in the third reading, and Persip wraps it up in a brief exchange with Woods and Byrd preceding the group’s exit.

Phil’s final tune is In Walked George, named for pianist George Wallington. The front line sets the stage for the ensemble’s collective melody. Byrd takes the opening solo with a delightful interpretation, and woods follows with a statement as light as a fall breeze. Al puts the joyously cheerful exclamation point on the song ahead of the closing chorus and climax. Lover Man, by Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez, and James Sherman, receives a warm tribute by the quintet. Al opens the standard with a tender introduction segueing into a lovely melody and lead solo by Phil that takes your breath away. Donald expresses care and thoughtfulness in the second reading, followed by Al, who delivers a delicately graceful finale before the ensemble takes the song out softly.

Bob Weinstock supervised the initial recording of The Young Bloods, and Rudy Van Gelder was behind the dials. Kevin Gray mastered this audiophile reissue, and the sound quality is fantastic. The musicians emerge from your speakers with superb clarity. The record is 180 grams of audiophile vinyl that’s silent until the music starts, and the album jacket has a high gloss worthy of displaying on the wall. The Young Bloods is an excellent album that one can enjoy any time of the day or evening. If you’re looking for a great Hard-Bop album and are a fan of Phil Woods and Donald Byrd, The Young Bloods is a title you should seriously consider for a spot in your library!

~ Lover Man – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter

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