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Denis Charles

Denis Charles was a jazz drummer. Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945 he moved to New York, and gigged frequently around town. In 1954 he began working with Cecil Taylor, and the pair collaborated through 1958. Following this he played with Steve Lacy, Gil Evans, and Jimmy Giuffre. He befriended Ed Blackwell, and the two influenced each other. He recorded with Sonny Rollins on a calypso-tinged set, and then returned to time with Lacy, with whom he played until 1964. He worked with Archie Shepp and Don Cherry in 1967 and then disappeared from the record until 1971. In the 1970s and 1980s he played regularly on the New York jazz scene with Frank Lowe, David Murray, Charles Tyler, Billy Bang, and others, and also played funk, rock, and traditional Caribbean music. He released three discs as a leader between 1989-1992, and died in New York City in 1998. Denis Charles died four days after a five-week European tour with the Borgmann/Morris/Charles (BMC) Trio, with Wilber Morris and Thomas Borgmann. His last concert with this trio took place at the Berlin Willy-Brandt-Haus. With the BMC Trio he recorded in his last two years about four CDs. The fifth CD was released after he died: The Last Concert - Dankeschön, Silkheart Records, 1999. In 2002 Veronique N. Doumbe released a film documentary Denis A. Charles: An Interrupted Conversation about the life of Denis Alphonso Charles.


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9
Album Review

Kenny Dorham: Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco

Read "Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco" reviewed by Jack Kenny


The vagaries of the jazz life are all over this release. Why Kenny Dorham should be underappreciated is a mystery. For the gig at the Blue Morocco he had assembled a great super group with a deep well of experience. Drummer Denis Charles had worked with Cecil Taylor. Kenny Dorham had accompanied Charlie Parker, at Parker's peak. Bassist Paul Chambers had supported both Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. Pianist Cedar Walton had been in the Jazz Messengers. alto sax man ...

14
Album Review

Kenny Dorham: Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco

Read "Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco" reviewed by Thierry De Clemensat


Another remarkable chapter in contemporary music comes to life once again, thanks to Resonance Records. It was from 1967 that Blue Bossa In The Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco emerged, an unreleased performance by the legendary jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham, recorded live at the Blue Morocco jazz club in the Bronx, NY. The session features Sonny Red, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Denis Charles. Transferred from the original tape reels captured by the renowned engineer Bernard Drayton, ...

11
Album Review

Kenny Dorham: Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco

Read "Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Trumpeter Kenny Dorham's stature in jazz history is undeniable, yet he remains one of music's most under-appreciated masters. Despite being a vital presence among the great innovators of his era, Dorham never achieved the star power his talent deserved. In conjunction with Record Store Day, Resonance Records is releasing Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco as a deluxe CD edition that captures Dorham in fiery form during a never-before-heard live performance. The package includes Bob Blumenthal's ...

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Album Review

Kenny Dorham: Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco

Read "Blue Bossa in the Bronx: Live from the Blue Morocco" reviewed by Troy Dostert


On their 1955 live recording At the Cafe Bohemia (Blue Note), the Jazz Messengers' Art Blakey introduced his trumpet player, Kenny Dorham, as the “Uncrowned King," a title that was perhaps fitting at the time given Dorham's still-rising trajectory. But even in his prime, Dorham arguably never received his proper accolades, and he would typically be regarded as more of a “musician's musician" than some of the more celebrated trumpeters like Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan or Freddie Hubbard. Hence, the ...

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Recording

John Blum Astrogeny Quartet and Farewell Denis Charles

John Blum Astrogeny Quartet and Farewell Denis Charles

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

John Blum played piano on several cuts of Sunny Murray's excellent Perles Noires Eremite two-CD set. Beyond that his Astrogeny Quartet (Eremite 049) is my first exposure to his playing in depth. The album has a classic free-new thing ring to it, thanks to all involved. William Parker centers the music with his usual very strong and personal approach. Denis Charles. a drummer who has not been given the recognition he deserves, fleshes out the freetime barrage with shifts in ...

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