Home Archive by category "Jazz-EKR" (Page 13)

Category: Jazz-EKR

Today in Music – Dec 16, 1933 – Johnny “Hammond Smith was born!

When I started writing these birthday pieces my jazz world was limited. Since then I have added a lot more artists to my music library, today’s artist will be another. Born on this date in 1933 was Johnny “Hammond” Smith. From Wikipedia: John Robert Smith (December 16, 1933 – June 4, 1997), also known as Johnny “Hammond” Smith, was an American soul jazz and hard bop organist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was a renowned player of the Hammond B-3 organ so earning “Hammond” as a nickname,[1] which also avoided his being confused with jazz guitarist Johnny Smith. Full Biography…

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This Day in Music – Dec 14, 1920 – Happy Birthday, Clark Terry!

Clark Terry passed away in 2015 at the age of 95. From Wikipedia: On February 13, 2015, it was announced that Terry had entered hospice care to manage his advanced diabetes.[20] He died on February 21, 2015.[21][22] Writing in The New York Times, Peter Keepnews said Terry “was acclaimed for his impeccable musicianship, loved for his playful spirit and respected for his adaptability. Although his sound on both trumpet and the rounder-toned flugelhorn (which he helped popularize as a jazz instrument) was highly personal and easily identifiable, he managed to fit it snugly into a wide range of musical contexts.”[23]…

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The Safari finds NYC Jazz from Brian Lynch Unsung Heroes Vol. 1 and Vol. 2!

The other day I was reviewing the Weekly Jazz Chart   and there at No 19 just below Dr Lonnie Smith was an Brian Lynch and his latest album Unsung Heroes Vol. 2. The tagline on the album is “a tribute to underappreciated trumpet masters” sounds like my kind of album! I went to Spotify found the album sat back and listened to some damn good trumpet playing. So now I needed to find out some more about Brian Lynch a trumpeter that I have not come across yet! From Wikipedia… Brian Lynch (September 12, 1956, Urbana, Illinois) is a Grammy Award-winning New…

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The Safari visits Ethiopia and finds the Music of Mulatu Astatke – Sketches of Ethiopia

This afternoon the Music Safari took a little trip of the most populous landlocked country in the world Ethiopia. The reason for the trip was to explore the music of Mulatu Astatke. The genesis of the trip  was a review of the World Music Charts – Europe – where his most recent release Sketches of Ethiopia was spotted at No 4! A trip to Wikipedia revealed that Mulatu  is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz. From Wikipedia:   Born in the western Ethiopian city of Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he combined his jazz and Latin music interests with traditional Ethiopian…

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This Day in Music – December 11, 1938 – McCoy Tyner’s Birthday!!

Today McCoy Tyner celebrates his 75th birthday, Happy Birthday, McCoy. From his biography at Facebook, It is not an overstatement to say that modern jazz has been shaped by the music of McCoy Tyner. His blues-based piano style, replete with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand has transcended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music. His harmonic contributions and dramatic rhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.  Alfred McCoy Tyner  was born on December 11, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, He wad the oldest of three children and  encouraged to study piano by…

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On this Date in Music – December 8, 1928 – Organist Jimmy Smith was born!!

    On this date in 1928 the master of the Hammond B3, Jimmy Smith was born. I have been listening to Jimmy Smith’s music since he late 60s when I discovered Wes Montgomery and then Jimmy & Wes an album by the two masters that they released in 1966. I love to put on a Jimmy Smith album at work and well just let it flow!! So let’s have some morning music to start our Sunday and to honor Jimmy on his birthday. But first some background….. from AllMusic Jimmy Smith wasn’t the first organ player in jazz, but no…

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Today in Music – Dec 5, 1947 – Happy Birthday, Egberto Gismonti !!

Somewhere over the last several weeks I came across the name of Egberto Gismonti and even listened to his 1980 release Circense. From AllMusic guide…. This excellent release by Egberto Gismonti was conceived under the concept of a circus, an institution that has the ambivalent quality of being at the same time universal and regional; the “circense” tradition exists in almost all parts of the globe, but it is enriched by the smaller companies that keep struggling to survive in poorer setups, adding regional elements to the whole. It fits like a glove for the music of Gismonti, which also aims to…

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2013 Jazz from Cuba’s Roberto Fonseca – Yo! (that resonates here in the Philly Area)

                (Twin Sons of Different Mothers and times?) (tangentially speaking – about the headline the Yo – is usually followed by Adrian ….. here (ADD strikes again) Checking out the Roots Music Reports Jazz Chart this afternoon, I saw a name that interested me at number 12, right after the Duduka Da Fonseca Trio, was Roberto Fonseca and his latest album Yo. So the question before the house was who is this Roberto Fonseca and what does he play!! I download the album from Spotify and only got to listen to it on the…

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Today in Music – Dec 2, 1931 – Jazz Pianist Wynton Kelly was born!

On this day in 1931 jazz pianist Wynton Kelly was born in Jamaica. According to Wikipedia Wynton is maybe best know for the years he spent working with Miles Davis from 1959 to 1962. While that may be true for many listeners it’s not for me. I remember Wynton as a sideman for Wes Montgomery. If Jimmy Smith and Wes were the Dynamic Duo. Wynton and Wes were the Dynamic Duo 2 in my eyes and ears!! The son of Jamaican immigrants, Kelly was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1][2][3] He started his professional career in 1943, initially as a member…

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Chuck Mangione Feels So Good!

Chuck Mangione – Flugelhorn – Born November 29, 1940 So today’s list of birthdays contains many artists who appear in my music library. First, John Mayall celebrates his 83th birthday. Man, it seems like just yesterday I we were celebrating his 70th birthday. His 70th birthday concert album is a great concert album, Next, Felix Cavaliere turns 74 (The Rascals) I have a couple of albums he recorded with Steve Cropper in my collection, Then there’s Jesse Cook, one of my favorite acoustic guitarists, Jesse Cook turns birthday 52 today! Finally there’s Chuck Mangione. I only have one Chuck Mangione…

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