Results for "Philadelphia"

Ray Bryant

Born: December 24, 1931

When Ray Bryant rose to national prominence in the 1950s, he was noted for his ability to meet the sophisticated harmonic demands of modern jazz while retaining the muscle and swing of old forms and the spirit of the gospel music that surrounded him when he was a child. Any performance by Bryant is steeped in the blues, even when he's not playing a blues. Born in Philadelphia, Bryant (whose older brother Tommy was a bassist) gained experience playing early rhythm ’n’ blues and swing with guitarist Tiny Grimes in the late 1940s. As the house pianist at Philadelphia’s Blue Note, he had opportunities to play with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and Miles Davis

Jimmy Bruno

Born: July 22, 1953

Jimmy Bruno, born July 22, 1953 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a master jazz guitarist and jazz educator. One of the most critically acclaimed jazz guitarist performing today, Jimmy Bruno came to prominence as a jazz musician in the 1990’s, after a successful twenty-year career as a sought-after commercial guitarist and session musician. “Get on the bus-we leave tonight” Those were the words that began Jimmy Bruno’s professional career as a guitarist. Most of the other guitarists auditioning for Buddy Rich’s band that day in 1973 were getting drumsticks thrown at them, Buddy’s not-so-subtle way of showing disapproval

Tyrone Brown

Born: February 1, 1940

Bassist Tyrone Brown has recorded over 125 CDs to date including six with legendary drummer Max Roach, six with saxophonist Odean Pope, five with Grover Washington, Jr. (two went gold "Live At The Bijou" and "Reed Seed"), four with guitarist Pat Martino, three with Bobby Zankel, and one each with vocalist Rachelle Ferrell and pianist Dave Burrell. An alumnus of the famed Berklee School Of Music, Brown received a fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and won a grant from the Pennsylvania Council On The Arts for Artistic Excellence in Jazz Composition 2001. Tyrone Brown has also garnered the "Best Acoustic Bass" honors in the Jazz Philadelphia Magazine Readers Choice Poll 1993 and 1994

Clifford Brown

Born: October 30, 1930

He was the most brilliant trumpet player of his generation, an original and memorable composer, a dynamic stage presence and one of the authentic legends of modern jazz. Clifford Brown was born October 30, 1930 in Wilmington, Delaware. As a young high school student Brown began playing trumpet and within a very short time was active in college and other youth bands. By his late teens he had attracted the favorable attention of leading jazzmen, including fellow trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Fats Navarro. At the end of the 40s he was studying music at Maryland University and in 1952, following recovery from a serious road accident, he made his first records with Chris Powell and Tadd Dameron

Michael Brecker

Born: March 29, 1949

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University, Michael Brecker moved to New York City in 1970 where he carved out a niche for himself as a dynamic and exciting jazz soloist. He first made his mark at age 21 as a member of the jazz/rock band Dreams—a band that included his older brother Randy, trombonist Barry Rogers, drummer Billy Cobham, Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn

Randy Brecker

Born: November 27, 1945

Jazz trumpeter and composer Randy Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B and rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament/Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius and Frank Zappa.

Born in 1945 in Philadelphia to a musical family, Randy’s musical talent was nurtured from an early age. He attended Indiana University from 1963-66 studying with Bill Adam, David Baker and Jerry Coker and later moved to New York where he landed gigs with such prominent bands as Clark Terry’s Big Bad Band, the Duke Pearson Big Band and the Thad Jones Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.

Beryl Booker

Born: June 7, 1922

Raised in the mecca of African-American artistic expression in Philadelphia in the 1920's, Beryl Booker was a pianist prodigy who never learned to read music. After landing her first professional gig with Slam Stewart's trio in 1945, she recorded half-a-dozen excellent albums under her own moniker, many of which she performs lead vocalist duties in addition to pianist. As one of only a handful of female players at the time, Beryl was accustomed to having to prove herself in the jazz world of the forties and fifties. Sadly, jazz history has largely overlooked many illustrious contributions of female instrumentalist's. Beryl played with an elite list of world renown jazz figures including, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Don Byas, and Slam Stewart

John Blake

Born: July 3, 1947

John Blake, Jr. has been one of the world’s leading jazz violinists for over four decades. A four-time winner of the Down Beat Critics’ Poll Violinist Deserving Wider Recognition category he was also one of the top two jazz violinists in the 49th, 50th, and 51st Down Beat Readers’ Poll, Classically trained, Blake first gained recognition on early-'70s recordings he made with Archie Shepp and in the mid-70s became established with a global audience during three years recording and touring as a member of Grover Washington, Jr.’s popular “crossover” jazz band. He then spent five years working extensively as a member of various ensembles led by pianist McCoy

Jamaaladeen Tacuma

Born: June 11, 1956

Few musicians leave their audiences with a feeling that they have truly witnessed something amazing. Artist/Producer/Performer/Arranger/Innovator and Bassist - Jamaaladeen Tacuma does just that. This native Philadelphian has always stretched the old mold of what and how a bassist is supposed to play. Tacuma has simply re-defined his instrument's artistic potential. In the mid 70's, his creatively free approach to the bass caught the eye and ear of the legendary saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Tacuma became a member of Coleman's electric band, Prime Time, he toured with the group and played on some of Coleman's historic recordings such as: "Dancing In Your Head", "Body Meta", and "Of Human Feelings"

Lew Tabackin

Born: March 26, 1940

Lew Tabackin flutist and tenor saxophonist, is an artist of astonishing vision. His electrifying flute playing is at once virtuosic, primordial, cross-cultural, and passionate. His distinctive tenor sax style includes the use of wide intervals, abrupt changes of mood and tempo, and purposeful fervor, all in the service of showing the full range of possibilities of his instrument - melodically, rhythmically, and dynamically. Without copying or emulating jazz greats of the past, Lew Tabackin has absorbed elements into his style, ultimately creating his own sound and aura. His interest in music began in his birthplace, Philadelphia, where he first studied flute and then tenor saxophone in high school