Results for "Frank Senior"

Frank Senior

Frank Senior blind from birth, is a native New Yorker and was raised in Harlem where jazz played a major role in his musical career. His style of music is jazz, blues, standards and gospel, ranging from the 1930s to the present. Early on, he was influenced by artists such as Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, and Aretha Franklin. Prior to Frank’s professional career, he attended the High School of Music and Art, LaVelle School for the Blind, and New York University as a voice major. He eventually followed music a bit later in life, putting voice and acting aside to operate a newsstand, marry, and raise a family. In the early 1980s, after the birth of his daughter, he auditioned and received a small part in the movie “Turk 182.” As Frank said, “After earning this once in a life time opportunity to become a Screen Actors Guild member, I knew that this was the time to take advantage of my status and show my voice”. The Universal Jazz Center was the first of many venues throughout New York in which Frank Senior performed

Wild Is Love - Celebrating Nat King Cole's Centennial

By MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

We take a brief detour in the middle of Women's History Month to celebrate the centennial of Nat “King" Cole in the second hour and play some of the songs he was famous for. The show also includes new releases from guitarist/vocalists Camila Meza, John Pizzarelli, and trumpeter Samantha Boshnack with more birthday shout outs to ...

Funk in a Deep Freeze

By MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

For the Sunday of the Women's March we played new releases by pianist Judy Night, flutist Magela Herrara, Judy Bisantz, Bob Levy and saxophonist Carol Sudhalter with birthday shout outs to Eartha Kitt, Irene Kral, Jose James, Cheryl Bentyne, Peter Eldridge, Sade, and Dolly Parton, among others. Playlist Pam Fleming “Keep It Movin" from ...

Big Noise New York

By MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

The first broadcast of 2019 included a preview of some of the many artists performing in New York at the Winter Jazzfest and APAP annual convention, with new releases by Simone Kopmajer, Something Blue and Stacy Sullivan, plus birthday shout outs to Myra Melford, Carol Sudhalter, James Shipp, and vocalist Christine Tobin, among others.

Dinah Washington, Teri Thornton and a Cornucopia of New Releases

By MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

In this episode we celebrate some heavyweight jazz birthdays --Dinah Washington, Teri Thornton and Alice Coltrane, to name a few. Plus a bumper crop of new releases as summer winds down. Playlist The Diva Jazz Orchestra “The Rhythm Changes" from The Diva Jazz Orchestra: 25th Anniversary Project (ArtistShare) 00:00 Madeleine Peyroux “On a ...

Celebrate songwriters Abbey Lincoln and Bernice Petkere

By MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

Many special birthdays in this episode of A Broad Spectrum as we honor the great Abbey Lincoln and remember Bernice Petkere, named the “Queen of Tin Pan Alley" by Irving Berlin for her songs “Close Your Eyes" and “"Lullaby of the Leaves." Playlist Linda Dachtyl “A Late One" from A Late One (Chicken ...

Daniel Smith: Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues

By HRAYR ATTARIAN

It is rare that a jazz album comes with laugh out loud moments but bassoonist Daniel Smith's Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues is full of them. Unfortunately these do not appear to be intentional humorous attempts merely risibly poor performances. This is a shame as Smith is both an accomplished musician and a jazz connoisseur ...

Daniel Smith: Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues

By JACK BOWERS

All those who can resist reviewing--or reading a review about--a jazz / blues quartet led by a bassoonist, please raise your hands. No one? Very well, then, let us proceed. The bassoonist in question is Daniel Smith, and while his name may be unassuming, it would be good to report that there is nothing ordinary about ...

Jacob Melchior: It's About Time

By DAN BILAWSKY

The art of the trio often takes shape in a variety of ways. Many of today's leading three-piece groups rely on a difficult-is-better approach, reveling in rhythmic trickery, harmonic complexity and melodic fragmentation. Others choose to distill everything down to bare essentials but, in doing so, run the risk of playing dumbed-down lounge jazz that's generic ...

Jacob Melchior: It's About Time

By C. MICHAEL BAILEY

Tucked away in a very excellent piano trio offering, drummer Jacob Melchior's It's About Time, is a single vocal performance by Frank Senior of the Coots/Lewis standard, “For All We Know." Pianist Tadataka Unno and bassist Hassan JJ Shakur provide a very gentle undercurrent beneath Senior's smoky, Jon Hendricks-influenced vocals. Unno and Shakir, ...