Results for "Philadelphia"

Willie Williams

Buster Williams

Born: April 17, 1942

Buster Williams is a prodigious artist whose playing knows no limits. He has played, recorded and collaborated with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, McCoy Tyner, Illinois Jacquet, Nancy Wilson, Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, the Jazz Crusaders, Ron Carter, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Golson, Mary Lou Williams, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Rowles, Hampton Hawes, Cedar Walton, Bobby Hutcherson, Billy Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, Errol Garner, Kenny Barron, Charlie Rouse, Dakota Staton, Kenny Dorham, and Freddie Hubbard, to name a few. Mr

Joe Wilder

Born: February 22, 1922

Joe Wilder turned eighty on February 22, 2002, an occasion marked by celebrations at the Arbors Records "March of Jazz" party in Clearwater, Florida, at the "Jazz in July" series at New York's 92nd Street Y, and at two tribute concerts: at the Smithsonian in March and at Lincoln Center in August. Best of all, Wilder himself performed at all these events in the same inimitable style that has been captivating audiences and fellow musicians since the late 1930s. For his third Evening Star release, we decided to continue the celebration in the studio by gathering some of Joe's favorite musicians to play with him in various combinations

Ethel Waters

Born: October 31, 1896

Vocalist and actress Ethel Waters was a key figure in the development of African American culture between the two World Wars. She broke barrier after barrier, becoming the first black woman heard on the radio, the first black singer to perform on television, the first African American to perform in an integrated cast on Broadway, and the first black woman to perform in a lead dramatic role on Broadway. As a singer Waters introduced over 50 songs that became hits, including standards of the magnitude of "St. Louis Blues" and "Stormy Weather." Her jazzy yet controlled vocal style influenced a generation of vocalists, black and white, and her career, encompassing stage, song, and screen, flowered several times in comebacks after tumbling to low points. Born October 31, 1896, in Chester, Pennsylvania, she had to overcome the squalor of her sordid childhood and early struggles

Grover Washington, Jr.

Born: December 12, 1943

Saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. was a crossover artistwho did have hits in the pop and R&B charts, due to hiswillingness to play over light funk arrangements and usevocalists. He can be credited with virtually inventing the styleof smooth jazz that later became so prevalent, and in thatway he has been highly influential.

Grover Washington, Jr.'s love of music began a a childgrowing up in Buffalo, New York; his mother (who sang inchurch choirs) and father (collector of jazz 78s) bought hima saxophone at age ten. "After I started playing," Groversays, “I'd sneak into clubs to watch guys like Jack McDuff,Harold Vick and Charles Lloyd. My professional life beganat age twelve. I played a lot of R&B, blues, and what weused to call 'gut-bucket'.

Tim Warfield

Born: July 2

Veteran saxophonist Tim Warfield, Jr., a native of York, Pennsylvania, began studying the alto saxophone at age nine. He switched to tenor saxophone during his first year at William Penn Sr. High School where he participated in various musical ensembles winning many jazz soloist awards, including second out of forty competitors at the Montreal Festival of Music in Canada. After high school, Warfield attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. for two years before leaving to lead and co-lead groups in the Central Pennsylvania and Baltimore/Washington areas. In 1990, he was chosen to be a member of trumpeter and CBS/Sony recording artist Marlon Jordan's Quintet, of which he remained a member for three years. In 1991, he was selected to record "Tough Young Tenors" on the Island/Antilles label, which was listed as one of the top ten recordings of the year by the New York Times, ultimately rising to number five, on the Billboard top 100 Jazz charts

Wilbur Ware

Born: September 8, 1923

One of bop's most advanced and influential bassists, Wilbur Ware was a superb rhythmic anchor with an unerring sense of swing. Where many post-Jimmy Blanton bassists concentrated on legato melodic phrasing, Ware wasn't afraid to shift the rhythmic emphasis by varying his note lengths and leaving empty space between his phrases; he also stuck mostly to the lowest register of his instrument, laying a thick foundation. Even if Ware wasn't quite the soloist Blanton was, he had an expert understanding of harmony that allowed him to support some of bop's most sophisticated players. Ware was born in Chicago in 1923, and played banjo, drums, and violin before picking up the bass as a teenager

Joe Venuti

Born: September 16, 1903

Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti is widely regarded as the first great jazz violinist. Born to Italian parents who immigrated to the States; he learned classical violin as a child, the fruits of which can be clearly seen in his exciting melodic and rhythmic technique. At school in Philadelphia in 1913 he met guitarist Eddie Lang; and they started playing together, at first playing polkas, inventing and trading variations, quickly moving into jazz. It was a fortuitous and rewarding partnership. From 1926 to 33 they made many recordings, in a variety of small band line-ups, becoming internationally famous, not least because the novelty of the guitar/violin combination. Venuti's technique was groundbreaking; he had a sharp, bright tone, excellent intonation, and an ability to play in any key, anywhere on the violin

Charlie Ventura

Born: December 2, 1916

Tenor man Charlie Ventura was was a prominent fixture on the jazz scene during his era. Born Charles Venturo he was one of thirteen children from a musical family who went on to become a jazz legend, and was named "Number One Tenor Saxophonist" by Down Beat Magazine in 1945. In the summer of 1942, Charlie got a call at his day job at the Philadelphia Navy yard to join Gene Krupa's band. Unwilling to relinquish the security of a paycheck, he turned them down. Then came the second phone call and before long, Charlie was on the road with the band becoming a featured soloist, along with trumpet star, Roy Eldridge and singer Anita O'Day

Papo Vazquez

Born: February 24, 1958

Trombonist, composer and arranger Papo Vázquez is celebrating 40 years into a career spanning the jazz, Latin, Afro-Caribbean and classical music and recording worlds. Recent honors include an invitation by “The Presidents Own” US Marine Band to lead and direct the band on its first Afro Caribbean Jazz performance in the long history of this band, in Washington, DC. In May 2013, was commissioned by Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Symphony Space to compose new music for “Nueva Musica” concert series, in New York. In 2011, was presented with a Latino Masters Award by the Pregones Theater under The National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces: Presenting program. In 2010, was commissioned by Mr