Results for "piano"

Lovie Lee

Born: March 17, 1917

After decades of playing southern juke joints and South Side Chicago taverns, Lovie Lee’s career took a quantum leap in 1979. Joining the Muddy Waters band and cutting his first recording session would have been a boost for the career of almost any bluesman. But, within the totally unspectacular framework of the long career of Lovie Lee, two such events in the same year were more like an atomic explosion. For years, Lovie was simply the affable neighborhood piano player to the patrons of Porter’s Lounge and other ghetto clubs. His good-natured stage presence, accented by his big grin and thick glasses, made him a solid draw at the Cinderella, Florence’s, The 1125 Club and Porter’s

Lafayette Leake

Born: June 1, 1919

There was a distant time when the blues was dominated by the two fisted hard driving pianists of the era, who cut their bones by coming up on the chitlin’ circuit and juke joints down south and slowly played their way into Chicago to test themselves against the big boys of the Windy City. One such mysterious piano man was Lafayette Leake, who went on to establish himself as a legendary pianist for Chess Records during the formative years of Chicago Blues. Lafayette was born in Winona, Mississippi, in 1920. He was a desperately shy man and much of his early life is still unknown. He seemed to have some formal classical training which accounted for his dazzling technique and ability to play Chopin and duplicate other pianists by ear

Hugh Lawson

Born: March 12, 1935

Hugh Lawson, was an American jazz pianist from Detroit who worked with Yusef Lateef for more than 10 years. Inspired by Bud Powell, Hampton Hawes and Bill Evans, Lawson first gained recognition for his work with Yusef Lateef during the late '50s. He recorded with Harry "Sweets" Edison (1962), Roy Brooks, and Lateef on several occasions in the 1960s. In 1972, he performed with "The Piano Choir" (Strata-East), a group with seven pianists including Stanley Cowell and Harold Mabern. He went on to tour with Charles Mingus in 1975 and 1977 and made recordings with Charlie Rouse (1977), George Adams, and as a leader

Elliot Lawrence

Born: February 14, 1925

Elliot Lawrence was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. Son of the broadcaster Stan Lee Broza, Lawrence led his first dance band at age 20, but he played swing at the time its heyday was coming to a close. He recorded copiously as a bandleader for Columbia, Decca, King, Fantasy, Vik, and SESAC between 1946 and 1960. Lawrence is currently music director for the Tony awards show. Elliot Lawrence was born Elliot Lawrence Broza on February 14, 1925 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents, Stan Lee Broza and Esther Broza were radio and television pioneers. In 1927 they created and produced the Horn and Hardart Children’s Hour, which ran on WCAU radio from 1927–1958 and concurrently on television from 1948–1958

Booker T. Laury

Born: September 2, 1914

A Memphis native son, Lawrence "Booker T" Laury was born on September 2, 1914. A lifelong friend of Blues giant Peter Chatman, better known as Memphis Slim, the two grew up only blocks from one another. Laury would even at times claim the two were actually cousins. He was first introduced to keyboards at the age of six, stating that he began by assisting his mother playing the family's pump- organ. As Laury and Chatman grew older, the two developed their barrelhouse style with strong influences coming from the music of pianists, Sunnyland Slim, Speckled Red and Roosevelt Sykes, who passed through Memphis regularly

Andy LaVerne

Born: December 4, 1947

Jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Andy LaVerne studied at Juilliard, Berklee, and the New England Conservatory, and took private lessons from legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans. The list of musicians with whom LaVerne has worked reads like a Who's Who in jazz: Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton, Michael Brecker, Elvin Jones, and numerous others. A prolific recording artist, his projects as a leader number over 50, the most recent are: Intuition, a duo with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi (SteepleChase), and Epiphany, a collection of Andy’s newest compositions (ClaveBop). LaVerne is also a prominent jazz educator, having released a series of instructional videos, Guide to Modern Jazz Piano, Vols

T. Lavitz

Born: 1956

T Lavitz began his intensive study of classical and jazz piano at age seven. At the same time, the Beatles invaded America, igniting in T a lifelong love of rock music. By twenty-two, he was asked to join the "rock, jazz, and everything else" instrumental band, the Dixie Dregs. It was a dream come true, because they were one of his favorite bands, even at that relatively early stage in their career. This first taste of fame happened during the last few days of 1978, lasting until the band split in 1983, by which time T had been voted "Best New Talent" in Keyboard Magazine's readers poll and the band had garnered four Grammy nominations

Ellis Larkins

Born: May 15, 1923

Ellis Larkins' elegant piano playing was once described as a rainbow of interwoven musical textures. He created an intimate palette of sound which brought out the best in his partners — Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Joe Pass and Ruby Braff among them. Braff, who recorded with Larkins in the 1950s, recalled, “[His] playing was so beautiful — a complete orchestra by itself.”

Yet Larkins was also an understated and unselfish performer. He rarely, if ever, sought the spotlight. He stressed the importance of musical patience, and of adhering to a song's melody.

Art Lande

Grammy-nominated Art Lande is an internationally known pianist, composer, improviser, drummer and educator who has performed with a long list of the Who's Who in jazz, including Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson, Steve Swallow, Charlie Haden, Kenny Wheeler, Sheila Jordan, Mark Isham, Paul McCandless, Jan Garbarek and many others.

His band, Rubisa Patrol, was formed in the mid 70's and worked through 1983, traveling to Europe often and recording with ECM Records. After teaching for three years in Switzerland, Lande moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he played a weekly performance for 15 years! Each week had different music and drew from a large list of different bands, members and seasonal special guests from nearly everywhere. Live performances are not to be missed, an occasion full of musical adventure and inspiration, spontaneity, warmth and soul.

Lady Bianca