Results for "Sammy Davis Jr."

Sammy Davis Jr.

Recognized throughout much of his career as "the world's greatest living entertainer," Sammy Davis, Jr. was a remarkably popular and versatile performer equally adept at acting, singing, dancing and impersonations — in short, a variety artist in the classic tradition. A member of the famed Rat Pack, he was among the very first African-American talents to find favor with audiences on both sides of the color barrier, and remains a perennial icon of cool. Born in Harlem on December 8, 1925, Davis made his stage debut at the age of three performing with Holiday in Dixieland, a black vaudeville troupe featuring his father and helmed by his de facto uncle, Will Mastin; dubbed "Silent Sam, the Dancing Midget," he proved phenomenally popular with audiences and the act was soon renamed Will Mastin's Gang Featuring Little Sammy

Take Five with Alex Bird

By ALEX BIRD

Meet Alex Bird Alex Bird is a singer/songwriter and actor in jny: Toronto, ON. With a swinging style and an indescribable charm, Alex and his “Jazz Mavericks" are currently working on an entirely new chapter in the Great American Songbook, with their soon to be released, all original debut album, “Whisky Kisses" (Summer 2020). “The Way ...

Summer City

By MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

This Summer in the City broadcast includes new releases from bassist Marlene Rosenberg, vocalists Greta Matassa and Rosana Ekert, the Akiko/Hamilton/Dechter Trio and the Wayne Wallace Jazz Quartet, with birthday shout outs to Dave Grusin, vocalists Madeline Eastman, Tierney Sutton, Lena Horne and harpist Brandee Younger, among others. Playlist Jennifer Wharton “The Year of ...

Frank Sinatra: Live From Caesar’s Palace | The First 40 Years

By CHRIS M. SLAWECKI

Frank Sinatra Live From Caesar's Palace | The First 40 Years Eagle Rock Entertainment 2017 As the National Academy of Recording Arts so wonderfully puts it: “Frank Sinatra didn't put Las Vegas on the map, but he certainly made it worth the trip." (Sin-atra City: The Story of Frank Sinatra and ...

Trumpet Miming in Film: Mostly Jive

By STEVE PROVIZER

No surprise that filmmakers want to feature trumpet players in their films. After all, we are a complicated, sometimes volatile and, ahem, sexy cohort. I've written here about the odd character-illogical bent that movies show toward the species, but in this post, I'll restrict myself to analyzing how well filmmakers pull off the act of shooting ...

L'ultimo hipster. La vita e la musica di Mark Murphy

By ANGELO LEONARDI

Non trovate accenni a Mark Murphy nelle più recenti storie del jazz, neanche il nome. Una lacuna che appare inspiegabile (a differenza di Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormè e Tony Bennett) che si giustifica solo col ritardo a collocare il cantante di Syracuse in una prospettiva storica. Eppure già prima della sua scomparsa -il ...

Harry Allen's All Star New York Saxophone Band: The Candy Men

By JACK BOWERS

At times, there is something to be said for glancing backward while moving forward, for saluting the past while embracing the present. In 1973, the Carpenters recorded another in a long series of hit songs, “Yesterday Once More," which noted how the past often parallels the present. Sometimes revisiting bygone days is a good thing; at ...

Harry Allen's All Star New York Saxophone Band: The Candy Men

By EDWARD BLANCO

The legendary Four Brothers reed section of Woody Herman's famous “Second Herd" big band of 1947, (Herbie Steward, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Serge Chaloff) is reimagined and reinvigorated by jazz icons Harry Allen, Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart and Gary Smulyan on the exciting, swinging and audacious recording of The Candy Men by Harry Allen's All ...

Jane Monheit and her Muses...

By C. MICHAEL BAILEY

When vocalist Jane Monheit blew the music community's hair back with her debut recording Never Never Land (N-Coded Music) in 2000, she was 22-years old, beautiful, sensual, soon-to-be-married and talented with chops to spare. By 2016, Monheit had released nine additional studio recordings, including the well-received Come Dream With Me (N-Coded Music, 2001) and Surrender (Concord, ...

Steve Washington: Right to Love

By JACK BOWERS

Steve Washington is a versatile and personable singer, the kind you might hear in a lounge, bar or bistro and think to yourself, “Hey, he's pretty good." And he is. Pretty good, that is. On the other hand, he's not a singer whose name you're likely to see at the top of any charts, jazz or ...