Results for "Saxophone"

John Dankworth

Born: September 20, 1927

Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist. He was the husband of jazz singer Cleo Laine. Born in Woodford, Essex, he grew up, within a family of musicians, in Walthamstow in its suburb of Highams Park and attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow. He had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the clarinet at the age of 16, after hearing a record of the Benny Goodman Quartet. Soon afterwards, inspired by Johnny Hodges, he learned to play the alto saxophone. After studying at London’s Royal Academy of Music (where his jazz interests were frowned upon) and then national service in the army, he began a career on the British jazz scene

Andrew D'Angelo

Andrew D'Angelo's charismatic presence and iconoclastic musical ambition have been well-established over the course of his twenty year plus career and his key roles in bands like Human Feel, the Matt Wilson Quartet and Tyft. His dedication to pushing his limits and his willingness to delve into new musical areas have been powerful inspirations to his peers and to a new generation of improvisers. His forceful tone and aggressive improvisational style have made him one of the most influential alto saxophonists of his time. Andrew D'Angelo was raised in Seattle, where he forged powerful musical and personal relationships with fellow young musicians Chris Speed and Jim Black before moving to New York City in 1986

Bob Cooper

Born: December 6, 1925

One of the great West Coast tenors, Bob Cooper made even the most complex solos sound swinging and accessible. "Coop" joined Stan Kenton's big band in 1945, and he was a fixture with several of the editions (including the Innovations Orchestra) through 1951; in 1947, he married Kenton's singer, June Christy. After leaving Kenton, Cooper settled in Los Angeles, where he was a busy studio musician for the next four decades. He was a regular member of the Lighthouse All-Stars from 1952-1962, sometimes playing oboe and English horn (being the first strong jazz soloist on both of those instruments). The cool-toned tenor (whose sound fit into the "Four Brothers" style) was on many records in the 1950s (including those of Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, and June Christy), and continued working steadily in Los Angeles-area clubs up until his death. He appears on records with the big bands of Frank Capp/Nat Pierce, Bob Florence, and the '80s version of the Lighthouse All-Stars; and participated in the 1991 Stan Kenton 50th-anniversary celebration

Junior Cook

Born: July 22, 1934

Junior Cook was a hard bop tenor saxophone player. Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook gained some fame for his longtime membership in the Horace Silver Quintet (1958- 1964); when he and Blue Mitchell left the popular band, Cook played in Mitchell's quintet (1964-1969). Later associations included Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, George Coleman, Louis Hayes (1975-1976), Bill Hardman (1979-1989), and the McCoy Tyner big band. In addition to many appearances as a sideman, Junior Cook recorded as a leader for Jazzland (1961), Catalyst (1977), Muse, and SteepleChase

John Coltrane

Born: September 23, 1926

John William Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina. At the age of three his family moved to High Point, NC, where young Coltrane spent his early years. His father, John Robert Coltrane, died in 1939, leaving twelve year-old John and his mother on their own.

His mother, Alice Blair Coltrane, moved to New Jersey to work as a domestic while John completed high school. John played first the clarinet, then alto saxophone in his high school band. His first musical influence was the tenor saxophonist Lester Young of Count Basie's band. In June of 1943, after graduation, Coltrane moved to Philadelphia to be closer to his mother.

Steve Cole

Born: August 17, 1970

Saxophonist Steve Cole is one of the most celebrated players in contemporary jazz. The Chicago native exploded onto the scene in 1998 with the album “Stay Awhile” that was produced by fellow Chicagoan Brian Culbertson. The disc scored two #1 hits and earned Cole the Oasis Smooth Jazz Award for best new artist shortly before his sophomore set, “Between Us,” was released in 2000. His catchy singles made him an instant radio favorite and he cranked them out with regularity on subsequent albums “NY LA” (2003), “Spin” (2005, “True” (2006), "Moonlight" (2009), and "True" (2013). In addition to his work as solo artist, Steve has performed/recorded, with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Boz Scaggs, Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber, Jim Peterik, Freddie Cole, Cyrus Chestnut, and KMFDM, and has been a featured soloist with the City of Prague Orchestra, and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Jeff Clayton

Born: February 16, 1954

Born in 1955, alto saxophonist and multi-reed instrumentalist Jeff Clayton began his career as both a touring and studio musician. Clayton studied oboe and English Horn at California State University Northridge, completed three and one half years of study, and was asked to join Stevie Wonder’s band while attending college, where he spent three years recording and touring with the popular music giant.

Following Jeff’s association with Stevie Wonder he recorded with Gladys Knight, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, Patti Labelle, Earth, Wind & Fire and Madonna. On Madonna’s recording Back in Business, Jeff was nominated for a Grammy® for best Pop soloist. In 1977 John and Jeff Clayton founded The Clayton Brothers Quartet with his brother, later to become the Clayton Brothers Quintet adding and featuring Terell Stafford on trumpet.

Pete Christlieb

Born: February 16, 1945

From the 1970s through the 1990s, the sound of Pete’s tenor could be heard on television and motion picture sound tracks and recordings. The son of a famous bassoon player, Don Christlieb, Pete began his musical journey on the violin at age 7. At 12, he was introduced to the sounds of jazz through the recordings of Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Johnny Griffin, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. The violin was replaced by the tenor sax, but not without opposition. At 17, Pete enrolled in the Greyhound school of music through his association with the bands of Si Zentner, Woody Herman, Louis Bellson and even a short but delightful stint with Count Basie.

Chris Cheek

Born: September 16, 1968

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Chris Cheek, the son of a junior high school band director, began playing the alto sax at the age of 12. Chris played in a variety of local Jazz and Blues bands in the St. Louis area while attending Webster University. In 1988, on scholarship, he went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he studied with Joe Viola and Hal Crook, eventually receiving a bachelors degree in performance. Chris moved to New York in 1992 and since then has played and recorded with a number of different groups including: Paul Motian's "Electric Bebop Band", "The Bloomdaddies", Charlie Haden's "Liberation Music Orchestra", The Brian Blade Fellowship, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Luciana Souza, David Berkman, and Guillermo Klein's "Los Guachos"

Allan Chase

Born: June 22, 1956

Allan Chase is a jazz saxophonist, composer, educator, and researcher. Since 2008, he has chaired the Ear Training department at Berklee College of Music in Boston and teaches courses in improvisation and jazz history as part of Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute. He taught at New England Conservatory from 1994 to 2012, chaired NEC’s Jazz Studies and Improvisation department (1996-2001) and Contemporary Improvisation department (2005-8), and served as NEC’s Dean of Faculty from 2000 to 2006. Allan Chase has appeared as a saxophone soloist on over forty recordings, eight of which feature his own compositions, and performs in New England, New York City, and Europe