Results for "Jimmy Forrest"
Jimmy Forrest
Big-toned tenor saxophonists were nurtured, as a rule, in the big bands of the Thirties and Forties. Jimmy Forrest, known for his huge hit “Night Train,” was featured in the orchestras of Andy Kirk and Duke Ellington, and then struck out as prolific bandleader. He was a popular performer in the R&B circuit throughout the 1950s. Born and raised in St. Louis, Forrest worked in the Midwest with pianist Eddie Johnson, Fate Marable, the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra, and Don Albert. Respected for his tone and his swinging style, Forrest worked with the Jay McShann Orchestra and the Andy Kirk big band (1942-1948)
read moreSchapiro 17: New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60
2019 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Miles Davis sextet's acclaimed album, Kind of Blue (Columbia). While the tributes didn't exactly pour in, New York-based composer / arranger Jon Schapiro took it upon himself not only to revisit that classic session but to re-orchestrate it for a large ensemble (the Schapiro 17) and flesh it out ...
read more8 Clips: Boss Tenors
Boss tenors take charge. I don't know how else to put it. When a boss tenor plays a ballad, a mid-tempo tune or a barn-burner, the saxophone's sound is assertive and commanding, with a deep, forceful push in the lower register and a bluesy wail up top. Let me illustrate with eight clips: Here's Ben Webster ...
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BIG January Birthday Salutes!
BIG, I mean BIG January birthday salutes on Gifts & Messages this week: 120th birth anniversary for trombonists Juan Tizol and Wilbur De Paris; 110th for Django Reinhardt; 100th for vocalist Betty Roché and saxophonist Jimmy Forrest; 90th for saxophonist Jack Nimitz, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and pianist/vibraphonist Buddy Montgomery. And special birthday greetings to bassist Eberhard ...
read moreStLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Riding the "Night Train" with Jimmy Forrest
What's the most performed song ever written by a jny: St. Louis jazz musician? While it's probably impossible to ever know with absolute certainty, at first one might guess that it's something from Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. After all, it is the best-selling jazz album of all time, and tunes from it such as “All ...
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Daniel Smith: Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues
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 ...
read moreNathan Hook's Mobiustrip at Somethin' Jazz Club
Nathan Hook's Mobiustrip Somethin' Jazz Club New York, NY Tenor saxophonist Nathan Hook's Mobiustrip opened their set at Somethin Jazz Club in Midtown East, NYC with a tune called “You Probably Thought This Would Be Fun," and it was appropriate. This is not to say that Hook's music was unenjoyable or ...
read moreJimmy Forrest: Sit Down and Relax
On the Prestige Records' thermometer, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest sat roughly halfway between Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Forrest had Ammons' bulldog gospel attack but he also had Stitt's glossy slipperiness. Forrest, of course, had his own distinct swinging style that sounded like the blues mounted on a roller skates. He could be both intimate and ...
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Mike Wofford / Holly Hofmann Quintet: Turn Signal
Holly Hofmann is an energetic, swinging, straight-ahead jazz flautist who has been performing for over 30 years. Mike Wofford, her husband, a recognized piano master, co-leads on Turn Signal, playing with an understated, intuitively rhythmic style. The two now live in San Diego, California, but travel extensively for performances. Recording her first disc ...
read moreMike Wofford / Holly Hofmann Quintet: Turn Signal
Down in out-of-the-way San Diego, California (that's out-of-the-way in a New York-centric jazz world), flautist Holly Hofmann and pianist Mike Wofford have been steadily making world-class jazz for a couple of decades. Wofford--who has spent much of his career in supporting roles, backing vocalists Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, saxophonists Zoot Sims and Benny Carter, and ...
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