Requisites
Jazz At The Blackhawk: The quartet that Cal Tjader kept together during 1956-57 was devoted to straight-ahead jazz. His Latin fans found ample consolation in the enjoyment of one of the most swinging groups the vibra-harpist ever led. This set was captured at The Blackhawk in San Francisco with an audience that actually got the sound and inspired the players.
Personnel: Cal Tjader – vibes, Vince Guaraldi – piano, Gene Wright – bass, Al Torre – drums
Record Date: Live at the Blackhawk, San Francisco / January 20, 1957
Songs: Bill B., Land’s End, I’ll Remember April, Blues In The Night, Thinking Of You, MJQ, I’ve Never Been In Love Before, Two For Blues Suite, When The Sun Comes Out, Lover, Come Back To Me
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joe Roland was born May 17, 1920 in New York City and began as a clarinetist, attending the Institute of Musical Art (The Juilliard School) from 1937 to 1939. He started playing the xylophone in 1940 and then the vibraphone in the middle of the decade, playing in the New York jazz clubs. Influenced by the nascent bebop movement, Roland put together his own ensembles late in the decade.
By the 1950s he was playing with Oscar Pettiford, George Shearing, Howard McGhee, Mat Mathews, Aaron Sachs, and with Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five alongside Hank Jones, Tal Farlow, and Tommy Potter. Mat Mathews and Aaron Sachs. Roland recorded occasionally as a leader releasing albums for Rainbow, Savoy, Seeco and Bethlehem records.
In the early sixties Joe moved to Miami Florida and became an influential part of a thriving South Florida jazz scene. While working the Coconut Grove he was credited for having trained many young musicians from the University of Miami. Vibraphonist Joe Roland would work steadfastly throughout his life until his death of natural causes at the age of 89 in Jupiter, Florida on October 12, 2009.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bob Leatherbarrow was born on May 3, 1955 in Buffalo, New York. He studied drums with Charlie Lorigo, orchestral percussion with John Rowland of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the vibraphone with Dave Samuels. He began working professionally at age 14, attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts before moving to Los Angeles in 1978 to further pursue a career in music.
Throughout his career in jazz, Bob has been a member of Ernie Watts Quartet for over 25 years, has performed and recorded with Joe Farrell, Victor Feldman, Horace Silver, Rosemary Clooney, Natalie Cole, The Bill Holman Band, the Bob Florence Jazz Orchestra and Howard Roberts among others. He has also recorded in other genres with Gordon Lightfoot, Bette Midler, Placido Domingo, Dolly Parton and Henry Mancini.
Leatherbarrow has appeared of film and television soundtracks for The Simpsons, Family Guy, Austin Powers, Bruce Almighty, The Cleveland Show and The Life Aquatic to name a few, and drummed the iconic snare rolls that begin the sound signature of 20th Century Fox Studios.
Doubling on vibraphone, Bob Leatherbarrow has backed singers like Peggy Lee, Greta Matassa, Lorraine Feather and Nelly Furtado along with Stanley Clarke, Bill Perkins and his own group Polychrome, with whom he continues to compose and perform.
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Requisites
The Last Concert: The Modern Jazz Quartet broke up after this concert documented on this two-fer, double LP recording. After a glorious 22-year career, it would be nearly seven years before the group would come back together but it certainly went out on top. Mostly revisiting their greatest hits, MJQ is heard playing inspired versions of Softly As In A Morning Sunrise, Bag’s Groove, Skating In Central Park, Confirmation, The Golden Striker and Django. This set is a real gem and an essential addition for all serious jazz collections.
Personnel: Milt Jackson – vibraphone, John Lewis – piano, Percy Heath – bass and Connie Kay – drums
Record Date: November 25, 1974
Songs: Disc 1 – Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise, The Cylinder, Summertime, Really True Blues, What’s New?, Blues in a Minor, Confirmation, ‘Round Midnight, A Night in Tunisia, Tears from the Children, Blues in H (B), England’s Carol
Disc 2 – The Golden Striker, One Never Knows, Trav’lin’, Skating in Central Park, The Legendary Profile, Adagio from the Guitar Concerto: Concerto de Aranjuez, The Jasmine Tree, In Memoriam, Django, Bag’s Groove
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