Results for "John Swana"

John Swana

John Swana is one of the most exciting trumpeters to arrive for a decade," declares Mark Gardner, co-author of Blackwell's Guide to Recorded Jazz. Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Swana took up Trumpet at the age of 11. He was drawn to jazz at the age of 17 after hearing Dizzy Gillespie, and the interest developed into a passion while he was in college. There he began transcribing the solos of Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, and Tom Harrell. Swana has performed and toured with the Mingus Big Band. He has also played with well known jazz names such as Don Patterson, Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, Stanley Turrentine, Harold Mabern, Cecil Payne, Johnny Coles, Ralph Peterson, Charles Fambrough, Bobby Watson, Trudy Pitts, Bootsie Barnes, Craig Handy, Chris Potter, Stephen Scott, Tim Warfield, Eric Alexander, Sam Newsome, Brad Mehldau,Vincent Herring, Uri Caine, Tim Armacost, Peter Leitch, Peter Bernstein, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Bowen, Terrel Stafford, Seamus Blake, and Robin Eubanks

Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, John Swana and the Philly All-Stars: Chris’ Jazz Cafe

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, John Swana and the Philly All-Stars Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA February 22, 2020 This first set on the second night of a two night stand with a packed house featured three superb and well-known hard bop masters backed by a local rhythm section ...

In The Moment

By DAVID A. ORTHMANN

The trail of splendid hard bop influenced recordings extends well beyond the genre's heyday of the 1950s and '60s. A case in point is trumpeter John Swana's appropriately titled In The Moment. The 1996 release on the Criss Cross Jazz imprint merits the exalted status of its celebrated predecessors. Captured in a one-day studio session, despite ...

Channels

By JOHN SWANA

Label: 1K Recordings
Released: 2019
Track listing: Lost; Drift; Caravan; Out to Sea; Ashes; Channel; Oasis; Suspended.

Joey DeFrancesco: From Musical Prodigy to Jazz Icon

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

Joey DeFrancesco is a true master of the jazz organ, the one others look up to as the standard bearer, as was his inspirational hero, Jimmy Smith. Arguably, he could be dubbed the Mozart of the jazz organ, since like Mozart, he seemed to have been born with all the music already in him. By four, ...

Alex Delcourt: To My Brothers

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

This album by bassist Alex Delcourt is a treasure of a recording, a contemporary mirror of the hard bop movement of the past. It's as if that music awakened from its sleep years later and is as fresh today as it was then. Except for seasoned valve trombonist and trumpeter John Swana, the personnel consists of ...

John Swana / Tim Motzer / Doug Hirlinger: Channels

By GENO THACKARA

It's a jungle in here. The atmosphere is thick and close, even when things are still. Strange creatures keep flitting through the trees and rustling the bushes. The air never stays quiet for very long amidst the eerie calls of strange birds. The here in this case is a landscape that is imaginary, but that makes ...

Vince Tampio: The Nook

By GENO THACKARA

There's always something reassuring about the pleasingly familiar, whether it's a favorite shirt, a nice helping of comfort food or the coziness of a frequent neighborhood hangout. jny: Philadelphia's Tattooed Mom Bar fits the bill for Vince Tampio and a few good friends. Besides evoking that welcoming atmosphere with its title and cover, The Nook's classic-sounding ...

Dan Monaghan: The Man Behind The Swing

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

Dan Monaghan is a working drummer who makes an indispensable contribution to the music by being the one who provides the swing and support that allows the other musicians to achieve their diverse objectives. He performs so often in the Philadelphia area that if you go to a jazz show, there's a fair chance he'll be ...

Mary Ellen Desmond with the Victor North Quintet at Chris’ Jazz Café

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

Mary Ellen Desmond with the Victor North Quintet Chris' Jazz Cafe Philadelphia, PA February 3, 2018 It was the Saturday night before the Superbowl kickoff, and the crowds were out and about in Philadelphia with a “Go Eagles" attitude. A full house crowded into Chris' Jazz Café to hear their vocalist ...