Results for "vibraphone"

Lionel Hampton

Born: April 20, 1908

Lionel Hampton is one of the most extraordinary musicians of the 20th century and his artistic achievements symbolize the impact that jazz music has had on our culture in the 21st century. He was born April 20, 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky. His father, Charles Hampton, a promising pianist and singer, was reported missing and later declared killed in World War I. Lionel and his mother, Gertrude, first moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to be with her family, then settled in Chicago. He attended the Holy Rosary Academy, near Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a Dominican sister give him his first drum lessons. Later, while attending St

Terry Gibbs

Born: October 13, 1924

Terry Gibbs began his career at the age of 12 after winning the Major Bowes Amateur Hour Contest and subsequently began touring professionally. He spent many years as a drummer and percussionist playing gigs until his affinity for bebop motivated him to turn down a scholarship to Julliard as a timpanist and return to the vibes. Six decades of inspirational vibe playing and technique, Gibbs is recognized as one of the best ever to grace the genre of bop. After World War II, Gibbs toured with Chubby Jackson, Buddy Rich and Woody Herman. He co-led a sextet with Louie Bellson and Charlie Shavers; and in 1950, he formed his own band for Mel Torme's TV show

David Friedman

Born: March 10, 1944

David Friedman is considered to be one of the most influential vibraphonists in the history of the instrument. Internationally renowned as a vibraphonist, marimbist, composer and jazz educator, he has his own musical message, born of fascinatingly diverse musical influences. Having worked with such varied musical personalities as Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Berio, Bobby McFerrin, Wayne Shorter and Yoko Ono, few jazz musicians can claim as broad a spectrum of performing and recording experience. The list doesn't stop there. Friedman has been heard either live or on recordings with, among others, Joe Henderson, Horace Silver, Johnny Griffin, Hubert Laws, Jane Ira Bloom, Ron Carter and John Scofield

Walt Dickerson

Born: April 16, 1928

Dickerson made a fairly 'big splash' when his first recordings appeared in the early 60s (Down Beat Critics Poll "New Star", 1962), but he's remained an enigmatic figure ever since. His early sides demonstrated a sure grasp of the Hampton/Jackson continuum in blazing through standards, but his original compositions on those dates reflected a spiritual, even mystical flavor that was expanded on in recordings into the early 80s. Dickerson's distinctive melodic and rhythmic approach is complemented by his unique timbre on what is often a cold-sounding and unwieldly instrument - his use of rubber mallets specially-treated to produce a plush and very warm yet crisp sound, immediately recognizable

Dardanelle

Born: December 27, 1917

Jim Cooper

Born: January 21, 1951

Vibist, pianist, composer and teacher Jim Cooper has been playing vibraphone for over 45 years, leading numerous groups and appearing as both soloist and sideman. He has performed on stage with jazz artists Frank Wess, Milt Hinton, Bob Dogan, Mark Levine, Marcus Belgrave, Ira Sullivan, Buddy de Franco, and Jon Faddis and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. He has also toured the midwest with Michigan clarinetist Dave Bennett's, "Tribute to Benny Goodman"  As a sideman, he has performed with many Chicago artists like Gene Esposito and Bob Dogan and some of Michigan's finest including Jeff Haas, Terry Lower, Rob Smith, Bill and Laurie Sears, Jerry McKenzie, Tad Weed and Paul Keller to name a few.

Warren Chiasson

Born: April 17, 1934

Warren Chiasson is a highly regarded musician in the jazz world who has been called "one of the six top vibraphonists of the last half century" by the New York Times. Originally a member of the {{m: George Shearing = 1961}} Quintet, he has emerged as his own man with a distinctive four-mallet technique that he weaves into a percussive, melodic style. Prior to forming his own group, Chiasson was for many years best known for his creative contributions to the {{m: Chet Baker = 3578}} Quartet, the {{m: Tal Farlow = 6636}} Trio, and jazz/pop diva {{Roberta Flack}}. In addition to recording his own albums, he has played on over 100 recordings with such artists as {{Eric Dolphy}}, {{m: Bill Dixon = 6301}}, {{m: Hank Crawford = 5970}} and was featured on a Grammy Award winning album with {{m: B.B

Teddy Charles

Born: April 13, 1928

Teddy Charles, along with Milt Jackson and Terry Gibbs, extended the legacies of Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo and established the gold standard for modern jazz vibraphonists. Charles was also an innovative composer and arranger whose recordings were some of the most forward looking and highly regarded of the 1950s, especially his Tentet sessions for the Atlantic label in 1956. His versatility is demonstrated by the broad spectrum of musicians with whom he worked during his career ranging from jazz luminaries such as Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, and Gunther Schuller to rhythm and blues stars including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Willis, and Earl Bostic

Gary Burton

Born: January 23, 1943

Born in 1943 and raised in Indiana, Gary Burton taught himself to play the vibraphone and, at the age of 17, made his recording debut in Nashville, Tennessee, with guitarists Hank Garland and Chet Atkins. Two years later, Burton left his studies at Berklee College of Music to join George Shearing and subsequently Stan Getz, with whom he worked from 1964-1966. As a member of Getz's quartet, Burton won Down Beat magazine's Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition award in 1965. By the time he left Getz to form his own quartet in 1967, Burton had also recorded three albums under his name for RCA

Cecilia Smith

Born: August 17

The good ones often start young. Cecilia Smith was eight when she began taking piano lessons in Cleveland first with Margaret Heller and later with Earl Todd, who told her, you are good enough to make music your profession. When she was twelve, Cecilia studied with Ronald Papalio, adding drums and percussion to her music exploration, and at fourteen moved on to mallet percussion. In her teens she expanded her studies to include composition, working with David Kechley, a doctoral student at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Cecilia attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where in addition to studying arranging, composition and film scoring, she studied vibes with Ed Saindon and Mike Hatfield and improvisation and composition with Andy Jaffee and other noted faculty. Following graduation she continued studying with members of Berklee's faculty. Cecilia studied vibes with Gary Burton and improvisation with Charlie Banocas. In 1989 she joined them and taught at Berklee for four years before moving to New York City. Cecilia continued to study after moving to Brooklyn. She studied composing and arranging with Cecil Bridgewater and improvisation with Billy Pierce.