Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Irene Reid was born on September 23, 1930 in Savannah, Georgia, singing in church and in high school in Georgia. In 1947 after her mother passed, she moved to New York City. Toward the end of the year she tried out for an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and won the competition for five straight weeks. Soon after she was offered a slot as the featured vocalist with Dick Vance at the Savoy Ballroom, which she held from 1948 to 1950.
In 1961–62, Reid sang with Count Basie‘s orchestra, and recorded for Verve Records. She would later perform in a Broadway production of the musical The Wiz She sang with Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King.
Irene receded from fame in the 1970s and 1980s, but launched a comeback near the end of that decade. She appeared at the Savannah Jazz Festival in 1991, 1994, and 1996, and continued releasing albums on Savant Records in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2002, British DJ duo Beginerz sampled Reid’s vocals to make the club hit “Reckless Girl” and in 2003 Lil’ Kim sampled Reid’s vocals to make the hit “I Came Back For You”.
On January 4, 2008 jazz singer Irene Reid passed away, leaving for posterity more than a dozen albums.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ray Wetzel was born on September 22, 1924 in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He played lead trumpet for Woody Herman from 1943 to 1945 and for Stan Kenton from 1945 to 1948. He recorded in 1947 with the Metronome All-Stars, Vido Musso, and Neal Hefti before marrying bass player Bonnie Addleman in 1949.
While with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra in 1949, he played trumpet alongside Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, and Rolf Ericson.. He played with his wife in Tommy Dorsey‘s ensemble in 1950 and with Kenton again in 1951.
Never recording as a leader, he did however compose the Stan Kenton tune “Intermission Riff”. While touring with Dorsey in 1951, trumpeter Ray Wetzel was killed in a car crash at the age of 27 on August 17, 1951 in Sedgwick, Colorado.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Helen Ward was born September 19, 1913 in New York City and was taught her piano by her father, appeared on WOR and WNYC radio broadcasts and also worked as a staff musician at the latter. Helen started singing in Benny Goodman ’s first band in 1934 and became one of the first popular swing “girl singers”, as they were then called, and among Goodman’s most popular.
Ward and Benny had a brief romance and he came very close to proposing marriage to her in either 1935 or 1936. However, according to Ward in the documentary, Adventures in the Kingdom of Swing, he called it off at the last minute, citing his career. She married financier Albert Marx the following year and left the band. She moonlighted during her time with Goodman with other bands including the Teddy Wilson orchestra in 1936 and Larry Kent and his Orchestra in November of that same year (under the name “Vera Lane”).
In 1938, Marx arranged for Goodman’s Carnegie Hall concert to be recorded for her as an anniversary present. That recording was later released as a dual LP set by Columbia Records in 1950. During the 1940s, Ward worked with the bands of Matty Malneck and Harry James and became a radio show producer for WMGM in 1946-1947. In 1952, she recorded an album of Dixieland tunes with “Wild” Bill Davison and also made several appearances with Larry Clinton and Peanuts Hucko in 1956.
Following her divorce to Marx, Ward later married the audio engineer William Savory, who was part of the team that invented the 33⅓ rpm long-playing record. She sporadically did studio work, occasionally toured with Goodman, worked briefly with Peanuts Hucko but effectively retired in 1960. A brief return in the late 70s and early 80s saw her singing in New York clubs and released her final album The Helen Ward Song Book Vol. I. Vocalist Helen Ward died April 21, 1998 in Arlington, Virginia.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jeffery Smith was born on September 14, 1955 in Queens, New York and began honing his voice at a very early age, under the influence of his mother, a classical singer. At the age of 18, he moved to Los Angeles, California and worked as a singer, actor and artist, landing several bit parts in television, and film, while performing in the local clubs.
In 1980 he starred in the production of “Hollywood & Highland” and was awarded the coveted 1981 Drama Critic’s Award, from Drama Logue Magazine. Returning to New York in 1985, the baritone co-starred on stage in “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Hair” and “Capitol Cakewalk”, as well as performing in most of the city’s major clubs through 1991.
By 1991, Smith’s visit to Paris lasted for 7 years and while working with Claude Bolling , he recorded four albums, had two world tours with the big band, sang commercial jingles, and was signed with Universal/Verve for a 3-album deal, all of which received international acclaim. His 1995 debut recording “Ramona” was dedicated to his mother and produced by Shirley Horn, and his U.S. debut came in 1998 with the release of “A Little Sweeter” on the Verve label.
Jeffery Smith has worked with Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Joe Lovano, Dee Dee Bridgewater and TK Blue.. He was the founder of the jazz cultivation not-for-profit Tri-Loxodonta Productions, a not-for-profit music organization cultivating jazz in upstate New York. Vocalist Jeffery Smith continued to perform internationally and record until he passed away on July 5, 2012..
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SHAYNA STEELE
Shayna Steele is a dynamic vocalist whose powerful blend of soul, jazz and blues has made her one of the industry’s most sought-after singers. She has performed at major festivals including Monterey Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival, and with more than 100 North American symphony orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, she debuted her solo symphony show, American Diva, with the Rochester Philharmonic, featuring arrangements by Grammy-winning conductor and composer Jeff Tyzik.
Steele has collaborated with artists including Chris Botti, Moby and Snarky Puppy, and her voice appears on soundtracks for Wicked, Hairspray, The Bourne Identity and Sex and the City 2. Her theater credits include RENT, Jesus Christ Superstar and Hairspray. A Berklee College of Music graduate, Steele has released four studio albums and teaches vocalists through private lessons, masterclasses and workshops.
Cover: Free | Performances are livestreamed, except for the student ensembles.
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