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Omar Clay
Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Wild Horses Rock Steady
by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Born John Robert Smith on December 16, 1933 (in Louisville, KY), formerly known as Johnny Hammond Smith, and later as Johnnny Hammond, one of the all-time best jazz organists passed away on June 4, 1997, in Chicago, Illinois. For some of his early fans, some of the best albums he recorded were done for Prestige in the Sixties. A younger generation, who grew up listening to the hip-hop influenced jazz sounds of the 1990s, prefers Johnny's over-produced sessions for Milestone ...
Continue ReadingBob James: Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions
by Dan McClenaghan
Most people have heard the music of Bob James. He wrote “Angela," the theme song for the popular television comedy Taxi. The show ran from 1978 to 1983, and reruns are ongoing. The Bob James became one of the fathers and most successful purveyors of the smooth/fusion jazz sound, in recordings under his own name, with the group Foreplay and in teamings with saxophonist David Sanborn. Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions takes ...
Continue ReadingOmar Clay 1935 - 2008
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Omar Clay (pictured), a well-known jazz drummer, teacher and native of St. Louis, has died at age 73. His obituary was published today in the Marin (CA) Independent Journal:“Omar Clay, a renowned drummer/percussionist who played with some of the greatest names in jazz and was a popular instrumental music teacher at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, died Dec. 4.Mr. Clay died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at the San Francisco VA ...
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