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Victor "Red" Atkins
VICTOR "RED" ATKINS
Place of Birth: Selma, Alabama
Selma native and pianist Victor "Red" Atkins left the Manhattan School of Music one semester shy of completing his Master's Degree in Jazz Performance. After recording Delfeayo Marsalis' "Pontius Pilate's Decision," he had to make a decision: continue his formal education or pursue a career as a professional musician. Music won and before long the pianist was jet-setting around the Americas and Europe with Elvin Jones, Mark Whitfield, Nnenna Freelon and Leroy Jones.
He has been documented on CDs with Joshua Redman along with Wynton and Bradford Marsalis. Atkins has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Good Morning America" and Black Entertainment Television's "Jazz Notes," and he has worked with such artists as Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison and Ray Anderson. He served as an adjunct professor for Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans, and is now on full time faculty there.
He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998.
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Spodie's Back
by Jim Trageser
Still a teenager when signed to Quincy Jones' Warner Bros. subsidiary, Qwest, trumpeter Derrick Shezbie was nonetheless a veteran on this debut as leader--having been playing in the traditionalist Rebirth Brass Band for several years already. Produced by fellow Crescent City native Delfeayo Marsalis, “Spodie's Back" is a much more modernistic outing than anything he would have tackled in Rebirth. But unlike the throwback neo-bop so popular with other young jazz lions in the 1990s, this is more ...
Continue ReadingJazz Arts Project Celebrates Its 20th Year With 'A Summer Of Jazz' In Red Bank, NJ
Source:
Jazz Arts Project, Inc.
Celebrating its 20th year the nonprofit Jazz Arts Project is gearing up for a busy summer in Red Bank, NJ. This year, a non-stop array of world-class jazz artists will perform in dozens of events, including park concerts, café nights, masterclasses, and jam sessions. There will also be several weeks of music camps and training programs for young musicians in the area. All of this is presented in honor of America’s music—jazz. The organization is thrilled to announce an exhilarating ...
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The Sicilia Jazz Festival Set For June 22 to July 6 with Cecile McLorin, Eliane Elias, Victor Wooten, Jazzmeia Horn, John Pizzarelli and more
Source:
All About Jazz
The Sicilia Jazz Festival 2025, now in its fifth edition, reaffirms its status as a major cultural event, showcasing an impressive lineup of 85 concerts: eight orchestral productions, 61 performances in the Village area, 14 regional concerts, and two in community-based venues. The festival engages 385 musicians, features five world premieres with artists like Village People, Nina Zilli, Piero Pelù, Jazzmeia Horn, and Victor Wooten, and presents three national exclusives with John Pizzarelli, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Eliane Elias. Representing ...
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Red Rodney, Before Charlie Parker
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Before joining the Charlie Parker Quintet in late 1949, trumpeter Red Rodney (Robert Chudnick) had quite an illustrious and prolific career in big bands. Born in Philadelphia, Rodney turned pro at 15 and played in the horn section of major bands, from 1944 to 1949. Here's the list in order: Jimmy Dorsey, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Claude Thornhill, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman. But sifted in between these big band live broadcasts was a series of small-group sessions. ...
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Perfection: Red Garland & Eddie Lockjaw Davis (1960)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
I've long wondered what was going through the mind of producer Esmond Edwards when he teamed the Red Garland Trio with tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis. My surprise hasn't been about the pairing. Bringing them together was a stroke of genius. My problem is they only released three tracks—We'll Be Together Again, Softly Baby and When Your Lover Has Gone. The rest were by the trio. A fourth track, called Untitled Blues, was recorded but remained unreleased until 1995, when ...
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King Crimson 'Red 50th Anniversary Edition' 2 CD / 2 Blu-ray & 2 LP 200-gram Audiophile Vinyl Available October 25, 2024
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - Keith James
50th Anniversary editions of King Crimson’s classic 1974 album 4 disc boxed set with 2 x Blu-ray & 2CDs 2 x Blu-rays featuring completely new mixes of the album in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS-HD MA Surround & Hi-Res Stereo by Steven Wilson, New Elemental Mixes in Hi-Res Stereo by David Singleton, a number of extra tracks drawn from the existing sessions reels mixed by David Singleton, all three mixes of the live album USA in Hi-Res Stereo, 5 audio restored ...
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Perfection: Dexter Gordon's Society Red, 1961
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In her memoir, Sophisticated Giant, Maxine Gordon writes this about her late husband, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon: “Dexter Gordon was known as 'Society Red.' He got this name when he was with the Lionel Hampton band as a 17-year-old in 1940—just about the same time Malcolm X (then Malcolm Little) was being called Detroit Red. Dexter wrote a tune with that title and, decades later, when he began working on his autobiography, he decided to name it The Saga of ...
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Red Garland: Groovy, 1956-57
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Pianist Red Garland's Groovy was released by Prestige in mid-December 1957. It was an album comprised of songs left behind on three different recording sessions, but they were hardly scraps. All of the tracks were excellent, and the trio throughout featured Garland's working group at the time—Paul Chamber on bass and Art Taylor on drums. The album was reflective of Garland's work with the Miles Davis Quintet since 1955. His debut record for Prestige under his own name was A ...
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Buddy Rich’s 'Birdland' Lp To Be Re-released On Limited Edition Translucent Red Vinyl July 21, 2023
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - Keith James
Lightyear Entertainment and Lobitos Creek Ranch, in association with Scabeba Entertainment and the Buddy Rich Estate, have announced the release of a special limited-edition version of the best-selling live album Birdland featuring Buddy Rich and his Killer Force Band at the peak of their performing years. The new release will be a 180-gram audiophile translucent red vinyl collector’s edition. It will be released July 21 through Virgin/Universal Music Group and will temporarily replace the original black vinyl version, which has ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Red Garland
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Red Garland's birthday today!
Largely self-taught, Red Garland established a reputation as a solid post-bop mainstream player in the 50s, playing with many of the most famous jazz musicians of the time. He achieved international fame in the late 50s as part of the Miles Davis quintet. He went on to lead his own groups, but then retired in 1968, a victim the declining demand for jazz. He reemerged in 1976 and performed regularly until ...
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Backgrounder: Red Garland's A Garland of Red
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The centenary of Red Garland's birth is on Saturday. The pianist was born on March 13, 1923 and died on April 23, 1984. To celebrate Garland, I selected his tasty 1956 debut trio album A Garland of Red (Prestige) as a Backgrounder—the full album without ad interruption. The album features Garland, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums. I saw Garland just once, at the Village Vanguard, in early 1978 and remained for all three sets. At the ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
