Results for "Billy Kerr"

Billy Kerr

University of Kentucky Mega-Sax Ensembles: Stinkin' 3.0

by Jack Bowers
December 20, 2017

If you dig the sound of a saxophone (alto, tenor and / or baritone), you've come to the right place. Unless we've miscounted, no less than nineteen saxophonists are present and accounted for on Stinkin' 3.0, which, it stands to reason, is the third CD recorded by the University of Kentucky's (well-named) Mega-Sax Ensembles. That includes ...

Ali Ryerson Jazz Flute Big Band: Game Changer

by Jack Bowers
September 3, 2013

Yes, the idea seems rather implausible: a big band comprised of sixteen flutes and rhythm. Flutist Ali Ryerson is the catalyst and guiding hand behind the Jazz Flute Big Band (JFBB), which was formed in 2005 and has been performing at various events across the country ever since. Before dismissing it out of hand, give the ...

Swingin' on a Riff . . . Hangin' by a Thread?

by Jack Bowers
June 14, 2013

Betty and I returned to Albuquerque on Memorial Day after attending Swingin' on a Riff, the latest in a series of marvelous semi-annual events presented by Ken Poston and the Los Angeles Jazz Institute for more than twenty years at venues in and around L.A. This one was held May 23-26 at the Los Angeles Marriott ...

"Modern Sounds," or: Running a Marathon in Full Body Armor

by Jack Bowers
November 8, 2011

From October 19-25 Betty and I were at the Los Angeles Marriott Airport Hotel to attend Modern Sounds, the L.A. Jazz Institute's four-day salute to West Coast jazz, followed by a day-long tribute to Stan Kenton on the hundredth anniversary of the legendary bandleader's birth. We arrived a day early to be primed and ready for ...

Gold Medalists Abound at Big Band Olympics

by Jack Bowers
June 15, 2011

As this is being written, Betty and I are just back from a ten-day visit to California, the first six days of which would be of absolutely no interest to readers of this column. The last four, however, were spent at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel attending the L.A. Jazz Institute's “Big Band Olympics," which ...

The Eagle Has Landed... Eh?

By Billy Kerr

Label: Productions Bilanci/Universal
Released: 2006
Track listing: I

Billy Kerr: The Eagle Has Landed... Eh?

by Jack Bowers
August 3, 2006

If you keep a record of insignificant data, file Billy Kerr under “N, for “names you should know but probably don't. There's a saying about musicians (one that I've never bought into) that goes something like this: “If you haven't lived it, you can't play it. On the other hand, it's an undeniable fact that Billy ...

The Eagle Has Landed...eh?

By Billy Kerr

Label: Productions Bilanci/Universal
Released: 1999

Billy Kerr: The Eagle Has Landed...eh?

by John Sharpe
May 1, 1999

Billy Kerr was a member of the New York Saxophone Quartet for 18 years. He is one of many talented journeymen jazz musicians who carry on a lifelong affair with the music, yet never gain widespread public acclaim. On The Eagle Has Landed...eh? this Brooklyn-born tenor/clarinetist, who now lives in Montreal, showcases his considerable composing, arranging ...