Blog entries tagged Encyclopedia

Review: Big Easy R&B-jazz legend Toussaint showcased decades of hits at Herbst Theatre

Gary Duyanen — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:00:00 +0100

Allen Toussaint will be at the 20th AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 8th at 6pm at the Main stage! Only $15!

Read this article about him by Richard Scheinin for the Mercury News

"At any given moment, Allen Toussaint summons a world of piano: rumba-flavored blues, barroom trills, sonata ripples. He can't help it. Whether he is working the slow-drag beat of Sidney Bechet's "Egyptian Fantasy" or reworking one of his o...

Born on April 30 - COKE ESCOVEDO (1941-1986)

Lucie Paye — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

COKE ESCOVEDO (1941-1986)

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Coke Escovedo (born Joseph Thomas Escovedo) was as a member of the rock band Santana, and left the band to from his own group Azteca with his brother Pete Escovedo. Their high energy, cutting edge Latin Rock sounded produced two albums, a self-titled debut in 1972 and Pyramid of the Moon in 1973, under the Columbia l...

Born on April 29 - RAY BARRETTO (1929-2008)

Lucie Paye — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

RAY BARRETTO (1929-2008)

Congas, bandleader

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Ray Barretto (a.k.a. King of the Hard Hands), was a Grammy award-winning Puerto Rican jazz musician musician, widely credited as the godfather of Latin jazz. He was also the first Latino to record a Latin song which became a "hit" in the American Billboard Charts. Barretto (whose surname is really "...

Born on April 28 - MARIO BAUZA (1911-1993)

Lucie Paye — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

MARIO BAUZA (1911-1993)

WATCH A VIDEO.

Clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, arranger, composer, recording artist, music director, bandleader

Born in the Cayo Hueso section of La Habana, Cuba, Mario Bauza had a special musical talent, and began formal lessons as a child. He studied music at the Municipal Academy of Cuba, and by the age of nine was clarinetist at the Havana ...

Born on April 26 - TEDDY EDWARDS (1924-2003)

Lucie Paye — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

TEDDY EDWARDS (1924-2003)

Tenor saxophone

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A pioneer hard bopper on the tenor and recognized as one of the masters in the L.A. Central Avenue scene, Edwards leaves a huge legacy of recorded music, stretching from the Forties right through to his death in 2003.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, on 26th April 1924, Edwards moved to Los...

Born on April 23 - ALAN BROADBENT (1947-2008)

Lucie Paye — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

ALAN BROADBENT (1947-2008)

Piano, composer, arranger

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Born in Auckland, New Zealand, composer, arranger and jazz pianist Alan Broadbent began performing professionally at the age of 15, following classical studies. In 1966 he received a scholarship to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he studied composition and arranging...

Born on April 22 - CANDIDO CAMERA (1921- )

Lucie Paye — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

CANDIDO CAMERA (1921-)

Conga, percussion

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One of the great Cuban conga players and percussionists to come in the wake of Chano Pozo, he has been a constant source of authentic Afro-Cuban rhythms since his arrival in the early ‘50's.

Candido Camera, was born in Havana, Cuba has no formal musical training and is large...

Born on April 21 - SLIDE HAMPTON (1932- )

Lucie Paye — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

SLIDE HAMPTON (1932- )

Trombone

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Slide Hampton's distinguished career spans decades in the evolution of jazz. At the age of 12 he was already touring the Midwest with the Indianapolis-based Hampton Band, led by his father and comprising other members of his musical family. By 1952, at the age of 20, he was performing at Carnegie H...

Born on April 20 - TITO PUENTE (1923-2000)

Lucie Paye — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

TITO PUENTE (1923-2000)

Timbales, vibraphone, trap drums, congas, piano, vocalist

Watch a video.

Ernest Anthony Puente, Jr., Tito Puente is internationally recognized for his enormous and significant contributions to Latin music as a bandleader, composer, arranger, percussionist, and mentor. Popularly known as the "El Rey del Timbal" and the &q...

Born on April 19 - MAY LOUISE KNUTSON (1966- )

Lucie Paye — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

MAY LOUISE KNUTSON (1966- )

Piano

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Minneapolis-based jazz pianist and composer, Mary Louise Knutson, has been called "one of the most exciting and innovative artists to happen to jazz piano in quite some time." Her debut jazz trio CD, Call Me When You Get There, charted in the Top 50 in the United States and Cana...

Born on April 18 - CLARENCE BROWN (1924-2005)

Lucie Paye — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN (1924-2005)

Guitar, violin, multi instrumentalist, vocalist

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Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, born in Vinton, Louisiana, mastered the guitar, fiddle, drums, viola, harmonica, piano, mandolin and bass. Gatemouth's smooth blend of Texas style swing with Jazz, Country and Cajun music has altered ...

Born on April 17 - Buster Williams (1942 - )

Lucie Paye — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

BUSTER WILLIAMS (1942-), bass

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Buster Williams, born in Camden New Jersey is a prodigious artist whose playing knows no limits.

He has played, recorded and collaborated with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Am...

Born on April 16 - HERBIE MANN (1930-2003)

Lucie Paye — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

HERBIE MANN (1930-2003), flute, saxophone, composer, recording artist

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Herbie Mann, born in Brooklyn, New York, was a pioneer force in the evolution of the jazz flute. The world according to flutist and composer Herbie Mann was a utopian musical paradise where jazz is made up of Afro-Cuban, Middle-Eastern, R&B, and nearly every other kind of music...

Born on April 15 - BESSIE SMITH (1894-1937)

Lucie Paye — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

BESSIE SMITH (1894-1937)

Vocalist, composer, "Empress of the Blues"

Bessie Smith, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was a star on the vaudeville circuit by age 21 and within a few years she produced two iconicl recordings "Gulf Coast Blues" and "Down Hearted Blues. Ms.Smith's rendition "Down Hearted Blues" was a smashing success an...

Born on April 14 - GENE AMMONS

Lucie Paye — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

GENE AMMONS (1925-1974), tenor saxophonist

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Eugene "Jug" Ammons, born in Chicago, vaulted into the spotlight at 18 when he played tenor saxophone with King Kolax band. Soon after he hooked up with bands lead Billy Eckstine and Woody Herman and sparkled on duets with Sonny Stitt. But Ammons promising career was sidetracked by two pris...

Born on April 13 - FRANK EMILIO FLYNN (1921-2001)

Lucie Paye — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

Frank Emilio Flynn (1921-2001), piano, composer

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Frank Emilio Flynn, born and raised in Cuba, triumphed over his blindness (the result of birth trauma) and emerged as masterful pianist, fluent in elegant danzones, spicy mambos to free-wheeling descargas. As teenager Flynn played played with a danson ensemble and later perfected his cra...

Born on April 12 - HERBIE HANCOCK (1940 - )

Lucie Paye — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

HERBIE HANCOCK (1940- ), piano, composer, bandleader

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Herbie Hancock, a native of Chicago, was a child piano prodigy, who at 11 was already performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He grew up absorbing Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans and fascinated with electronic science. As a result, he pursued a double major in music and elect...

Born on April 11 - Jimmy Sabater (1936 - )

Lucie Paye — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

JIMMY SABATER (1936-), timbales, piano, percussion and vocals

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Jimmy Sabater, born in New York City, grew up in a Puerto Rican household filled with latin music by Tito Puente, Willi Bobo and Monchito Muñoz. Since 1957 Sabater's powerful vocals have set the standard for Latin music vocalists since he blasted out the salsa s...

Born on April 10 - OMAR SOSA

Lucie Paye — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

OMAR SOSA (1965- )
Pianist, percussionist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader

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Omar Sosa, born in Camagüey, Cuba, is renowned for his vibrant blending of jazz and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, combining percussive piano stylings with electronic effects and Afro-Cuban shadings. He studied marimba and piano at the music conservatory in Camag&...

Born on April 9 - DAVE ALLEN (1970 - )

Lucie Paye — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0100

DAVE ALLEN (1970- ), guitarist

WATCH A VIDEO of Dave Allen playing.

Dave Allen is one of the more distinctive voices on jazz guitar today. He has continually sought to forge a unique vision through his playing and writing, one that features lyrical melodies with lilting, complex rhythms.

At the age of 16, he was already recognized by Guitar P...