July 29, 2011

This Week in Jazz History: July 29 to August 4

July 29
  • Pianist/composer John Lewis records The Wonderful World of Jazz, 1960.
  • Guitarist Charlie Christian born 1916 in Dallas, TX.
  • Arranger/saxophonist Don Redman born 1900 in Piedmont, W.VA.
July 30
  • Saxophonist James Spaulding born 1937 in Indianapolis, IN.
  • Drummer Vernel Fournier born 1928 in New Orleans, LA.
  • Charles Mingus records solo piano album, 1963.
July 31
  • Pianist Hank Jones born 1918 in Vicksburg, MS.
  • Guitarist Kenny Burrell born 1931 in Detroit, MI.
  • Clarinetist Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five with trumpeter Roy Eldridge and pianist Dodo Marmorosa record “Scuttlebutt,” 1945.
August 1
  • Pianist/vocalist Fats Waller records “Until The Real Thing Comes Along,” 1936.
  • Glenn Miller records “In The Mood,” 1939.
  • Drummer/composer Max Roach records “Percussion Bittersweet,” 1961.
August 2
  • Tenor saxophonist Big Nick Nicholas born 1922 in Lansing, MI.
  • Trumpeter Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach record “Parisian Thoroughfare,” 1954.
  • The Benny Goodman Quartet records “Smiles,” 1937.
August 3
  • Alto saxophonist Greg Osby born 1960 in St. Louis, MO.
  • Trumpeter/arranger Charlie Shavers born 1917 in New York, NY.
  • Tenor saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter records JuJu with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones, 1964.
August 4
  • Louis Armstrong born 1901 in New Orleans, LA.
  • Guitarist Herb Ellis born 1921 in Farmersville, TX.
  • Count Basie’s band records “Song of the Islands,” featuring trumpeter Buck Clayton and tenor saxophonist Lester Young, 1939.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz

July 22, 2011

This Week in Jazz History: July 22 to July 28

July 22
  • Pianist Al Haig born 1924 in Newark, NJ.
  • Bassist Keter Betts born 1928 in Port Chester, NY.
  • Duke Ellington records “Harlem Airshaft,” 1940.
July 23
  • Trumpeter Emmett Berry born 1915 in Macon, GA.
  • Pianist/composer Thelonious Monk records Criss-Cross, 1951.
  • Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy born 1934 in New York, NY.
July 24
  • Pianist Billy Taylor born 1921 in Greenville, NC.
  • Alto saxophonist Charles McPherson born 1939 in Joplin, MO.
  • Duke Ellington records “Sepia Panorama,” 1940.
July 25
  • Vocalist Annie Ross born 1930 in Surrey, England.
  • Trumpeter/bandleader Don Ellis born 1934 in Los Angeles, CA.
  • Saxophonist Johnny Hodges born 1907 in Cambridge, MA.
July 26
  • Only live recording of A Love Supreme, 1965, at the Festival Mondial du Jazz Antibes.
  • Drummer/bandleader Charlie Persip born 1929 in Morristown, NJ.
  • Count Basie records “Alright, OK, You Win” with vocalist Joe Williams, 1955.
July 27
  • Trumpeter Miles Davis records Quiet Nights with arranger Gil Evans, 1962.
  • Tenor saxophonist Jean Toussaint born 1960 in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
  • Helen Merrill records with Gil Evans (Hank Jones, Art Farmer, Oscar Pettiford), 1956.
July 28
  • Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis born 1965 in New Orleans, LA.
  • Duke Ellington records “Sherman Shuffle,” 1942.
  • Tenor saxophonist Don Byas records Free and Easy with trumpeter Charlie Shavers and pianist Clyde Hart, 1944.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz

July 15, 2011

This Week in Jazz History: July 15 to July 21

July 15
  • Harlan Leonard’s Big Band records Tadd Dameron’s “A-La-Bridges,” 1940.
  • Drummer Philly Joe Jones born 1923 in Philadelphia, PA.
  • First Newport Jazz Festival opens, 1954.
July 16
  • Drummer Bobby Previte born 1957 in Niagara Falls, NY.
  • Saxophonist/bass clarinetist/flutist Eric Dolphy and trumpeter Booker Little record at the Five Spot, 1961.
  • Vibraphonist Cal Tjader born 1925 in St. Louis, MO.
July 17
  • Drummer Joe Morello born 1928 in Springfield, MA.
  • Drummer Ben Riley born 1933 in Savannah, GA.
  • Creole Pianist/composer Jelly Roll Morton records with The New Orleans Rhythm Kings, 1923, one of the very first integrated recording sessions.
July 18
  • Trombonist Carl Fontana born 1928 in Monroe, LA.
  • Charles Mingus records Tijuana Moods, 1957.
  • Trumpeter Erskine Hawkins’ Big Band records “Tuxedo Junction,” 1939.
July 19
  • Clarinetist Buster Bailey born 1902 in Memphis, TN.
  • Trumpeter Bobby Bradford born 1934 in Cleveland, MS.
  • Bud Freeman and his Summa Cum Laude Orchestra record “The Eel,” 1939.
July 20
  • Arranger/saxophonist Ernie Wilkins born 1922 in St. Louis, MO.
  • Bassist Peter Ind born 1928 in Uxbridge, England.
  • Stan Kenton’s band records Bill Holman’s arrangement of “What’s New,” 1955.
July 21
  • Vocalist Helen Merrill born 1930 in New York, NY.
  • Louis Armstrong records “I’m Confessin’,” 1930.
  • Benny Carter arranges and plays on an all-star session for Lionel Hampton, 1938, including trumpeter Harry James and drummer Jo Jones.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz

July 8, 2011

This Week in Jazz History: July 8 to July 14

July 8
  • Arranger Bill Challis born 1904 in Wilkes Barre, PA.
  • Vocalist Billy Eckstine born 1914 in Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Duke Ellington records At Newport, 1956 with the extended version of “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue,” 1956.
July 9
  • Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie records “Things to Come,” 1946.
  • Saxophonist Frank Wright born 1935 in Grenada, MS.
  • Trumpeter Miles Davis records Blue Moods, with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Elvin Jones, 1955.
July 10
  • Trumpeter Cootie Williams born 1910 in Mobile, AL.
  • Vocalist Ivie Anderson born 1905 in Gilroy, CA.
  • Pianist/arranger/trumpeter Dick Cary born 1916 in Hartford, CT.
July 11
  • Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane records The Stardust Session, with flugelhornist Wilbur Harden, 1958.
  • McKinney’s Cotton Pickers record their first session, including “Crying and Sighing,” 1928.
  • Blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson born 1897 in Couchman, TX.
July 12
  • Tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves born 1920 in Boston, MA.
  • Trumpeter Conte Candoli born 1927 in Mishawaka, IN.
  • Drummer Roy Haynes records Vistalite with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, 1976.
July 13
  • Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler born 1936 in Cleveland, OH.
  • Art Tatum records “Willow Weep for Me,” 1949.
  • Benny Goodman records “Body and Soul,” 1935.
July 14
  • J.J. Johnson records Tangence, an orchestral album with Robert Farnon, in London, 1994
  • Drummer Alan Dawson born 1929 in Marietta, PA.
  • Pianist Billy Kyle born 1914 in Philadelphia, PA.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz

July 3, 2011

Jazz News: Coltrane's House in Trouble

John Coltrane's Long Island house, where he composed A Love Supreme, needs some major renovations. Check out the New York Times editorial...

A Love Still Supreme, But a House in Ruins

There is a ranch house out in the middle of Long Island, just south of the expressway in Dix Hills, where the saxophonist John Coltrane lived, started a family and composed “A Love Supreme” in the spare bedroom. More...

July 1, 2011

This Week in Jazz History: July 1 to July 7

July 1
  • Drummer Leon ‘Ndugu’ Chancler born 1952 in Shreveport, LA.
  • Drummer Rashied Ali born 1935 in Philadelphia, PA.
  • Benny Goodman records “King Porter Stomp” featuring trumpeter Bunny Berigan, 1935.
July 2
  • Drummer Gene Krupa’s band and Roy Eldridge record “Rockin’ Chair,” 1941.
  • Thelonious Monk records “Misterioso” and “Evidence,” 1948.
  • Pianist Ahmad Jamal born 1930 in Pittsburgh, PA.
July 3
  • Trumpeter Johnny Coles born 1926 in Trenton, NJ.
  • Art Tatum records “Too Marvelous for Words,” 1955.
  • Trombonist Lawrence Brown born 1907 in Lawrence, KS.
July 4
  • Louis Armstrong’s “birthday” 1900 in New Orleans, LA.
  • Pianist/composer Randy Weston records Earth Birth with the Orchestre du Festival de Jazz de Montreal, 1995.
  • Drummer Butch Miles born 1944 in Ironton, OH.
July 5
  • Vocalist Billie Holiday records “Them There Eyes,” 1939.
  • Saxophonist Arthur Blythe born 1940 in Los Angeles, CA.
  • Vocalist Ella Fitzgerald records Carnegie Hall, ’73, 1973
July 6
  • The bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie record “For The First Time,” 1961.
  • Benny Goodman records “Sing, Sing, Sing” featuring drummer Gene Krupa, 1937.
  • Drummer/composer/bandleader Louie Bellson born 1924 in Rock Falls, IL.
July 7
  • Guitarist Tiny Grimes born 1916 in Newport News, VA.
  • Count Basie records “One O’Clock Jump,” 1937.
  • Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley born 1930 in Eastman, GA.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz