Results for "Los Angeles"

Azar Lawrence

Born: November 3, 1952

Azar Lawrence led a very musical childhood and began playing drums at the age of five and moved onto violin and piano under the direction of his mother Ima Lawrence. Ima, a gifted musician and teacher from whom Azar received his acute flair for all things music has shaped many successful musicians. Azar began playing with the USC JR Orchestra at the age of five. He played violin until the age of 8. He performed vocals accompanied by his mother during elementary school where she taught sixth grade and music At age eleven he began hearing a different musical voice. He was an accomplished pianist, violinist and vocalist in his own right at the time. He thought it was time to learn viola

Julie Kelly

Born: October 28, 1947

The late, respected jazz critic Leonard Feather once said of jazz singer Julie Kelly, "Julie Kelly radiates a sense of joy and spontaneity. Listening to her, you are reminded that jazz singing is still alive and well!" Feather's successor at the Los Angeles Times, the veteran critic Don Heckman, referred to Kelly as having, "one of the finest vocal jazz instruments of the '90's". Born in Oakland, California, Kelly grew up absorbing herself in gospel, blues and jazz in addition to pop and classical music. "When I was 13," she remembers, "I was listening to Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, as well as Dave Brubeck, and those wonderful albums with Miles Davis and Gil Evans

Roger Kellaway

Born: November 1, 1939

Roger Kellaway’s discography runs to more than two hundred and fifty albums. He’s worked with everyone from Ellington to Elvis, Dizzy Gillespie to Yo-Yo Ma, Joni Mitchell to Mancini and Quincy Jones to Michael Tilson Thomas. Kellaway is not only a major pianist, he is a composer of protean ability, writing in the music fields of jazz, classical and “pop”, also scoring for films and television. His acclaimed “Cello Quartet” albums are described by some as “crossover”, “chamber jazz” and by others as the beginning of “New Age” music. They were the first in an eclectic array of projects beginning in the 1960’s

Toni Jannotta

Toni Jannotta, a native of Los Angeles, has been performing locally and abroad for the past 30+ years. She has three vocal jazz CD's ("Just Jazz," "Jazz at the Ranch," and "Is It Magic?"), one documentary film ("Voices of the Homeless"), and her original children's book with accompanying jazz suite with storytelling, ("My Little Heart, Ruthie") in 2017.

Her CDs are produced and recorded under her label, Aerie Records, with "Just Jazz" and "Jazz at the Ranch" distributed worldwide by TCB Music, The Montreux Jazz Label, in Montreux, Switzerland. "Is It Magic?" and "My Little Heart, Ruthie" can be found on the web via CD Baby. "My Little Heart, Ruthie" is also sold as a hard copy picture book via Book Baby, or for one-stop shopping on Amazon. Her most recent original songs, "Gypsy Girl," and "How've You Been?" can be found on all streaming platforms.

Bobby Hutcherson

Born: January 27, 1941

NEA jazz master Bobby Hutcherson is the most accomplished vibraphonist of his generation. He is a master of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic improvisation on both the vibes and the marimba. He has performed or recorded with nearly every major living jazz musician.

Born in Los Angeles in 1941, and raised in Pasadena, Hutcherson took a few piano lessons at an early age. But, he says, "I only played piano for my own enjoyment." Returned to the vibes after hearing the music of Milt Jackson. "One day I was walking down the street and I heard one of his records and that started it I have never tried to directly copy his style, but he's been a great influence on me…” He briefly studied the vibes with Dave Pike.

Bill Henderson

Born: March 19, 1926

"I was born to sing," proclaims William "Bill" Randall Henderson, a Chicago native who came into the world on March 19, 1926-and that he has! Bill is a virtuoso performer whose heart is a vault filled with a wide range of music expressions waiting for the song of release. He has already put his personal stamp on many wonderful works of great composers and lyricists of popular music. Those who have heard him on record or in concert can attest to his marvelous genius. Bill Henderson has spent many years cultivating and honing two distinctly separate yet complementary careers in music and film

Herbie Hancock

Born: April 12, 1940

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Herbie's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all about today. Herbie Hancock's creative path has moved fluidly between almost every development in acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B since 1960

Margie Evans

Born: July 17, 1939

Internationally renowned Louisiana-bred artist, Margie Evans, the Executive Director and Founder of Los Angeles Music Week, Inc., is a legendary American Blues and Gospel singer, songwriter, businesswoman, spokeswoman, Blues activist and historian.

As the only African American President of the civics-oriented 5-4 Optimist Club of Los Angeles, she taught music history, respect for law, educational achievement, endless perseverance and integrity to both local schoolchildren and citizens

Peter Erskine

Born: June 5, 1954

Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992).

Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson Big Bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, John Scofield, et al, and has appeared as a soloist with the London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Frankfurt Radio, Scottish Chamber, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony, Oslo and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras

Bill Cunliffe

Born: June 26, 1956

Jazz pianist, composer and Grammy Award-winning arranger Bill Cunliffe is known for his innovative and swinging recordings and compositions. Bill began his career as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band and worked with Frank Sinatra, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson and James Moody. He has since established himself as a solo artist and bandleader, with more than a dozen albums under his name. Bill currently plays with his trio; his big band; his Latin band, Imaginación; and his classical-jazz ensemble, Trimotif. He performs in the U.S. and around the world as a leader and sideman as well as a soloist with symphony orchestras. His latest recording is the Bill Cunliffe Trio album “River Edge, New Jersey,” with bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner, released in April by Azica Records. Other recent releases include his Overture, Waltz and Rondo for jazz piano, trumpet and orchestra (BCM+D Records, 2012)