Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Reynold David Philipsek was born December 8, 1952 in Richmond, Minnesota and at the age nine began playing guitar and by 14 joined the American Federation of Musicians labor union. At sixteen, he wrote and recorded the single Oval Portrait with the band Cure of Ares. At 18, he was exposed, through a radio broadcast, to gypsy jazz through Django Reinhardt.
In 1975, he took a lesson and two workshops from jazz guitarist Joe Pass, studied jazz guitar and The Complete Johnny Smith Approach to Guitar with Mike Elliott.. Post Cure of Ares, he played in bands in the midwest and in 1989, Philipsek became primarily a solo act recording albums in pop, rock, jazz, and gypsy jazz on his label, Rephi Records.
He began to concentrate on gypsy jazz with All the Things You Are and Tales from the North Woods, that includes elements of gypsy jazz, bebop, Latin folk, modal jazz, and Slavic folk music informed by his burgeoning interest in his Czech and Polish heritage. Along with appearing at gypsy jazz festivals, jazz clubs, and concert venues, he composed the score for the children’s short film. St. Cloud Sleep, wrote a book of poetry Journey to the Middle Ages, and released Three Piece Suite/Munsinger Gardens on DVD.
He went on to produce Live at The Times recorded with the Twin Cities Hot Club and the documentary A Life Well Played in 2016. Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and poet Reynold Philipsek continues to explore his music.
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Three Wishes
More girl talk between Nica and Miriam Makeba produced the following answers to the three wishes question:
- “First in life. I want to live as long as I can”
- “Freedom for my countries. Africa, as a whole, is my country. I like freedom for all men.”
- “I like continued success.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Herman Autrey was born into a musical family on December 4, 1904 in Evergreen, Alabama. He played alto horn before taking up trumpet as a teenager and performed locally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Florida. After Florida, he went on to work in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City, where he played with Charlie Johnson in 1933.
He became well known through Fats Waller, who hired him in 1934 after signing a contract with Victor Records. He played with the drummer Harry Dial, guitarist Al Casey, and reedist Gene Sedric. Autrey went on to record extensively with Waller, Fletcher Henderson, and Claude Hopkins.
Into the 1940s Herman worked as a sideman with Stuff Smith, Sammy Price, and Una Mae Carlisle and his ensembles sometimes included pianist Herbie Nichols. By the early 1950s he was hurt in a car crash, sidelining his career for a year. He played with Saints & Sinners in the 1960s, including on their 1968/69 tours of Europe. In 1969, he played with Buzzy Drootin’s Jazz Family, which included Benny Morton, Herb Hall, pianist Sonny Drootin, and bassist Eddie Gibbs.
In the Seventies, he began to lose his playing capacity and spent more time as a vocalist. Trumpeter Herman Autrey passed away on June 14, 1980 in New York, at the age of 75.
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
Songs Of An Unknown Tongue
With the ever-mutating virus now spreading the Omicron variation, I am watching the detection and rise of this more contagious variants in South Africa, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Israel, Denmark, Botswana, Italy, Canada, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. Suspecting that it is already in America, I am getting my booster as precaution, not necessarily to ward off, and continuing my vigilance in remaining socially distant and wearing my mask.
This week I have selected a talented British vocalist Zara Mcfarlane. Her fourth album, Songs Of An Unknown Tongue, was produced by Kwake Bass and Wu-lu, and released on July 17, 2020 on Brownswood Recordings.
This album pushes the boundaries of jazz meshed with folk and spiritual traditions of ancestral Jamaica. Zara is a part of the British echelon that is converging young and older audiences still seeking the future of jazz.
Tracks | 48:27
Side One
- Everything Is Connected ~ 3:39
- Black Treasure ~ 3:38
- Broken Water ~ 3:54
- Run Of Your Life ~ 3:11
- Saltwater ~ 6:22
Side Two
- My Story ~ 6:37
- Native Nomad ~ 6:07
- State Of Mind ~ 4:52
- Roots Of Freedom ~ 7:35
- Future Echoes ~ 4:32
Players
- Zara Mcfarlane ~ Vocals
- Kwake Bass ~ Percussion, Drums, Drum Machine, Synths, Synth Bass, Guitar, Bass Guitar
- Wu~Lu ~ Percussion, Synths, Guitar, Bass Guitar
- Camilo Tirado ~ Percussion
- Lyle Barton: Rhodes, Biscuit Flute
- Idris Rahman ~ Tenor Saxophone
- Robin Hopcraft ~ Trumpet
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Dick Vance was born on November 28, 1915 in Mayfield, Kentucky, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He learned violin before concentrating on trumpet and by 1932 was playing with J. Frank Terry before joining Lil Armstrong’s band in 1934.
He moved to New York City and played with Willie Bryant, Kaiser Marshall, and Fletcher Henderson between 1936 to 1938. In Henderson’s band he was lead trumpeter and occasionally sang. By 1939 he joined Chick Webb’s orchestra, remaining in the group when Ella Fitzgerald took over leadership. His next move had him becoming the staff arranger for Glen Grey’s band and, in 1942, joined the Lucky Millinder Orchestra.
From 1944–45 he worked with Charlie Barnet, Don Redman, Eddie Heywood and Ben Webster. From 1944 to 1947 he studied at Juilliard, and moonlighted as a pit orchestra musician and an arranger for Harry James, Cab Calloway, Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. During this time Dick played on notable Broadway productions including Pal Joey, Beggar’s Holiday, and in the off-stage band for Streetcar Named Desire.
In 1950, Vance reunited with Fletcher Henderson, playing in his New York sextet. 1951 to 1952 saw him as a member of Duke Ellington’s trumpet section where he arranged most of the items for the album Ellington ‘55. In 1958 he co-composed Jazz Festival Suite with Ellington for performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. He led Sonny Stitt’s trumpet section on the 1962 album Sonny Stitt & The Top Brass. He toured abroad with his own band in 1969, which later appeared in the film L’aventure du jazz.
He toured with Redman in 1953 and was a regular at the Savoy Ballroom throughout the 1950s. He released two albums in the 1960s and toured with Eddie Barefield in 1969. He appears briefly in episode 9 of the music documentary series All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music. In 1979, he composed for the documentary film No Maps On My Taps, starring Lionel Hampton and Howard Sims.
Trumpeter, vocalist, composer and arranger Dick Vance passed away on July 31, 1985 in New York City at the age of 69.
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