Home » Search Center » Results: Harry James

Results for "Harry James"

Advanced search options

Results for pages tagged "Harry James"...

Musician

Harry James

Born:

One of the most popular bandleaders of the wartime era, Harry James is best remembered today for his colorful trumpet playing and as the husband of pin-up girl Betty Grable. Born in a run-down hotel next to the city jail in Albany, Georgia, Harry's parents were circus performers -- his mother a trapeze artist and his father the bandleader.

James began playing drums at age seven and took up the trumpet at ten, performing for the Christy Brothers circus band. James' family later settled in Beaumont, Texas, and he began playing for local dance bands while in high school. In 1935 he joined Ben Pollack's orchestra, leaving in December 1936 for Benny Goodman. During his time with Goodman, James became very popular with the jazz crowd for his colorful, ear-shattering, trumpet playing. He became so popular that when he decided to leave Goodman in December 1938 to form his own band Goodman himself financed the outfit.

1

Article: Book Review

Monterey Jazz Festival: Forty Legendary Years

Read "Monterey Jazz Festival: Forty Legendary Years" reviewed by Joel Roberts


This article was first published at All About Jazz in December 1997. Monterey Jazz Festival: 40 Legendary Years William Minor and Bill Wishner 176 pages ISBN: 0-883318-40-8 Angel City Press 1997 The opening night of the first Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958 featured performances by Gerry ...

News: Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Claudio Roditi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Claudio Roditi

All About Jazz is celebrating Claudio Roditi's birthday today! This Brazilian composer/arranger and trumpet artist has fourteen critically acclaimed albums, a Grammy nomination, and a busy international touring schedule that includes the most prestigious jazz festivals in the world. Claudio Roditi was born May 28th, 1946 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He began his musical studies ...

1

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Harry James, Quentin Baxter & Enrico Pieranunzi

Read "Harry James, Quentin Baxter &  Enrico Pieranunzi" reviewed by Joe Dimino


Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi kicks off the 766th Episode of Neon Jazz with music from is release New Visions (2019). We follow that up with music from Pieranunzi's early collaborator, trumpeter Chet Baker. As 2022 marches on, many artists are releasing albums and touring post-COVID restrictions. We profile new music from Quentin E. Baxter, John Lee, ...

45

Article: Album Review

Dave Slonaker Big Band: Convergency

Read "Convergency" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While big-band albums generally differ, sometimes widely, in tone and temperament, there are definitive criteria by which every one may be evaluated--arrangements, performers, sound quality, sequencing and, above all, the elusive but imperative swing quotient. Dave Slonaker checks all those boxes and more on Convergency, a superlative successor to his excellent Grammy-nominated debut album, Intrada, released ...

6

Article: Live Review

Jazz At Juan-Les-Pins Festival 2022

Read "Jazz At Juan-Les-Pins Festival 2022" reviewed by Martin McFie


Pinède Gould Jazz à Juan Festival Juan les Pins, South of France July 6-19 2022 Juan-les-Pins is an elegant beach town near Antibes, in the South of France. The stage is set on the Mediterranean sea shore, surrounded by pine trees and sandy beaches. There is no backdrop, so the ...

467

Article: Take Five With...

Take Five With Sylvia Brooks

Read "Take Five With Sylvia Brooks" reviewed by AAJ Staff


The content of this article has been updated since its 2009 publish date. Meet Sylvia Brooks: Since the release of her captivating debut, 2009's Dangerous Liaisons, jazz vocalist Sylvia Brooks has displayed a gift for inhabiting different personas, with a subspecialty in film-noir inspired femmes fatale. On her fourth album, Signature, she embraces the ...

News: Video / DVD

Charlie Shavers v. Harry James

Charlie Shavers v. Harry James

Back in early May, I received an email from a reader, Jeremy Mushlin, who had an interesting point: “I will go toe to toe with any Harry James fan and argue that Charlie Shavers was his trumpet-playing equal. Charlie just did not get the same opportunities and also wasn't as well organized as James. Compare Harry ...

News: Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Claudio Roditi

Jazz Musician of the Day: Claudio Roditi

All About Jazz is celebrating Claudio Roditi's birthday today! This Brazilian composer/arranger and trumpet artist has fourteen critically acclaimed albums, a Grammy nomination, and a busy international touring schedule that includes the most prestigious jazz festivals in the world. Claudio Roditi was born May 28th, 1946 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He began his musical studies ...

30

Article: Album Review

The Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children

Read "Jump Children" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The best music, in jazz or any other genre, is and should be timeless. To prove the point, the Scott Silbert Big Band celebrates the songs of a bygone era on its debut album, Jump Children, refreshing a number of memorable themes from the '30s, '40s and '50s and underscoring their relevance in an ultra-modern twenty-first ...


Engage

Contest Giveaways
Enter our latest contest giveaway sponsored by Calligram Records
Polls & Surveys
Vote for your favorite musicians and participate in our brief surveys.
Publisher's Desk
How To Follow Staff Writers
Read on...

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.