Results for "Detroit"

Jeff Haas

Born: May 9, 1949

Jeff Haas learned to crawl in the organ loft of Temple Israel in Detroit, listening to his dad play. He grew up surrounded by classical cats rehearsing chamber music with his dad, Karl Haas. At five, he was at the piano under his dad’s watchful eye. In his early teens, Jeff stumbled upon his first live Motown review (Marvin, Martha, The Temps, Four Tops, Supremes and Little Stevie Wonder) at the Michigan State Fair. He had gone rogue. The Motown music scene became Jeff’s playground, hanging out at the Grande Ballroom, Easttown and the back door of Bakers Keyboard Lounge, where Jeff could catch the jazz vibe even though he wasn’t old enough to get in.

Chris Pitts

Born: November 14

Steeped in Post Bop and Blues, Detroit Saxophonist, Chris Pitts made Manhattan, San Francisco and Paris, his homes before moving to Boston. His bands have always featured energetic rhythm sections and adventurous music. He performs regularly in the Boston area and released a recording titled "42". Active as a music producer, he produces the annual Newton Piano Summit and music for several local fairs. He also serves as Festival of the Arts Chair in Newton and Co-chair of the Newton Cultural Council.

He has performed at major jazz festivals and clubs in North America and Europe and played with jazz notables; Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Thad Jones, Phil Woods, Jon Faddis, Regina Carter, James Carter, Betty Carter, Geri Allen, Robert Hurst, Kenny Garrett, Roy Brooks, Johnny O’Neil, Ralph Armstrong, Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, Danny Spencer, Rick Margitza, Kim Nalley, Eula Lawrence, John Handy, Madeline Eastman, Kitty Margolis, Bruce Forman, Mike Clark, Grover Washington Jr., Ronnie Cuber, Steve Slagel, Winard Harper, Marvin Stamm, Herb Geller, Wes Wirth, John Lockwood, Sean Skeete, Yuron Israel, Charles Boles, Sam Sanders, Jaribu Shahid, Ralph Peterson, and Warren Gale.

Joe Syrian: Secret Message

by Richard J Salvucci
April 14, 2025

A title like Secret Message does make a listener wonder what it might be. Is it deeply subversive, like the Zimmerman Telegram, or apocalyptic, like Fatima? Of course, as someone is reputed to have said, 'Sometimes, a cigar is just a smoke.' So it is possible to over-interpret a title, which may, in the final analysis, ...

Charles Greene

Charles Greene is a veteran Pianist, Keyboardist, Composer, and Producer who is originally from Detroit Michigan.

He has toured on keys with several Motown acts (the Spinners, Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin), and also worked with Vic Damone, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Ernestine Anderson, Laura Lee, Marcus Belgrave, Jerald Daemyon, and many other artists.

Currently, Greene is recording new music projects.

Jauron Perry

Born: August 5, 2004

Jauron Perry is an upcoming Detroit trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator in jazz studies at Michigan State University. Recognized with the Next Generation of Talent award, Jauron has gained extensive experience working with Detroit jazz masters like Rodney Whitaker, Regina Carter, Wendell Harrison, as well as sensations such as Jazzmeia Horn, Marquis Hill, and Wynton Marsalis, and performing as a current Geri Allen Gathering Orchestra Fellow. He has been featured in prominent events such as the Detroit Jazz Festival and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jack Rudin Jazz Championship. Jauron recently won the 2024 Michigan Jazz Festival Rising Horn Competition, and also toured Japan at just 19 years old

Kasan Belgrave: Dual Citizen

by Paul Rauch
March 10, 2025

Detroit born and raised multi-reedist Kasan Belgrave offers his first album bearing a name with a tremendous legacy. His father, the late Marcus Belgrave, was a prime mentor to generations of musicians from Detroit, one of the world's great jazz cities. His impact as a jazz trumpeter, as a major contributor to classic Motown Records hits ...

Microplastique: Blare Blow Bloom!

by Lawrence Peryer
December 6, 2024

Chicago's experimental music scene welcomes a new voice as Microplastique, four multi-instrumentalists, release their debut album, Blare Blow Bloom! (Irritable Mystic Records), on December 6, 2024. Formed in April 2023, the group includes Ben Zucker, Molly Jones, Josh Harlow and Adam Shead, with Shead composing and leading. Blare Blow Bloom! documents Microplastique's July 2024 ...

Planet D Nonet

The PD9 performs Harlem Jive by Fats Waller, swing era tunes by Duke Ellington, Benny Moten, Count Basie and Fletcher Henderson as well as the jumpin' jive of Louis Jordan. Cofounded by RJ Spangler & James O'Donnell in 2007, this band is about to celebrate 15 years of bringing swing music to SE Michigan listeners and swing dancers. In that time the band has performed in 10 states including some memorable gigs in New Orleans. In addition to the vocals of trumpeter James O'Donnell, the band also features the vocals of trombonist John "Tbone" Paxton and often featured artist Camille Price.

Kasan Belgrave Takes Off

by Paul Rauch
August 4, 2024

As a jazz journalist, attending summer festivals is almost a rite of passage, a journey to a place where so many pieces of the international jazz community are gathered in one spot to sample, or to indulge oneself. Over the years, accompanied by repeated visits, the sights and sounds of the festival locations become clearer and ...

Albert "Tootie" Heath: Class Personified

by R.J. DeLuke
April 13, 2024

This article was first published on All About Jazz on March 9, 2015. Albert “Tootie" Heath is among the drummers who lived--and thrived--during what many call the golden age of jazz, the '40s, '50, early '60s. He's enjoyed the fruits of a varied and historic career, but never stayed put. Just kept working. He ...