Wednesday 2/1

Dizzy Gillespie

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie.  Gillespie was self-taught on trombone, switched to trumpet at 12, and dropped out of school to become a professional musician.  Within a few years, he worked his way up through a number of bands and worked with other musicians such as Charlie Parker to perfect the new style called bebop.  Gillespie also had great talent as a composer and arranger, and became a bandleader in his own right with both big bands and smaller groups, showcasing bebop and the Afro‑Cuban jazz he helped create with such musicians as Machito and Chano Pozo.  Gillespie was also quite a showman, and got the nickname "Dizzy" because of his onstage antics and humor; he also started a fashion trend among musicians and beatniks with his famous beret and goatee.  However, Gillespie was "dizzy like a fox," and his style attracted attention.  After the novelty of bebop wore off, Gillespie proved to have staying power, and was one of jazz's all‑time great trumpeters, innovators and teachers until his death in 1993.

George Benson

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of George Benson.  Benson started out in music as a singer when he was only eight years old, and as a teenager started playing rock music with a guitar that his stepfather made for him.  After he heard recordings by such jazz guitarists as Wes Montgomery and Charlie Christian, Benson decided that jazz was for him.  After a stint with organist Jack McDuff, Benson was discovered by legendary record producer John Hammond, and started making records under his own name and playing with other jazz greats. After Wes Montgomery died in the late 60s, Benson followed his lead by working with producer Creed Taylor with larger groups and with a pop-influenced sound.  Benson showed in the 1970s that his singing was equal to his guitar playing, and the album "Breezin'" became one of the biggest crossover sellers in jazz history thanks to the song "This Masquerade."  However, once the novelty of such efforts wore off, Benson returned to a more jazz‑centered approach that showed both guitar and voice, making the standards album "Tenderly" and "Big Boss Band" with the Count Basie Orchestra.  He has also continued pop‑jazz guitar, but with more substance than in his work from the 1980s.  George Benson is an artist of great versatility, and can sound at home with anyone from Benny Goodman to Jon Hendricks.

Thursday 2/2

Dianne Reeves

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Dianne Reeves.  Reeves was born in Detroit in 1956, but grew up in Denver.  She was discovered by Clark Terry while singing in her high school's big band.  After college, she worked in Los Angeles recording studios with Lenny White, Billy Childs and others, and then toured internationally with Sergio Mendes.   In 1987, she was the first singer signed to the revived Blue Note record label, and her career took off.  She is a fine singer of standards, but has also penned such originals as the inspiring "Better Days," a popular tribute to the grandmother who helped raise her.  Reeves has sung with many orchestras, and was the first creative chair for jazz in the history of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Reeves has won a number of Grammys for best jazz vocalist, and was recently nominated for the soundtrack of the film "Good Night, and Good Luck."  Reeves is one of the best jazz vocalists of our time, and her rich voice and virtuosity make her stand out on recordings, on stage, and in films.

Nina Simone

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Dr. Nina Simone. Simone originally went to the Juilliard School of Music to study classical piano, which was rare for a black musician at the time, but had to play in nightclubs to support herself.  Simone began singing when a club owner would only hire her if she both sang and played.  She came up with a unique style that combined jazz with classical, soul, folk and blues influences.  Simone's emotional singing style, strong statements against racism and oppression, and strong personality made her a star.  Richard Pryor once said that, while white people had Judy Garland, black people had Nina Simone.  Simone kept on despite problems with racism, mental and physical illness, and unhappiness in her personal life.  Late in her career, Simone became known to a new generation when her famous recording of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" was used in a perfume commercial, and she even returned for occasional American appearances after years as an expatriate in Europe and Africa.  Nina Simone died in April of 2003 after years of poor health, but her great artistic integrity will ensure that she'll be remembered as long as people can hear her recordings.

Friday 2/3

Gerald Wilson

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Gerald Wilson.  This noted bandleader, composer and arranger was born in 1918.  Wilson began his professional career at the age of 18, and got his first big break in the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra when he was just 21.  After serving in World War II and working as an arranger, Wilson formed his first big band in 1944.  Although it did very well, Wilson was not satisfied with his own music, and decided to undertake further study.  It was a wise decision, since he became one of the finest arrangers in jazz, working for Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and  Duke Ellington.  Wilson also wrote for such singers as Sarah Vaughan, Bobby Darin and Carmen McRae, and he had a great deal of success with music for films and TV.  Although the pop and film work helped Wilson's bank balance, he continued to be active in jazz and classical composition, and also taught at the college level.  In his late 80s, Gerald Wilson continues to be a vital force in jazz through his compositions, his teaching, and his recordings for the MAMA and Mack Avenue labels.  Many of his earlier recordings have been reissued in recent years.  Wilson says of himself, "I just try to be a person worthy of being a part of this great art form."  Without a doubt, Gerald Wilson is more than worthy of his place in jazz history.

Charles Earland

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Charles Earland. The organist known as "The Mighty Burner" was born in Philadelphia in 1941. Earland started out in a band as a teenager with himself and Lew Tabackin on sax, Pat Martino on guitar, and none other than Frankie Avalon on trumpet!  After music study at Temple University, Earland toured with organist Jimmy McGriff, and during that time he learned how to play the Hammond B-3 himself.  After McGriff fired him to make way for a guitarist, Earland struck out on his own as an organist, teaming up with Pat Martino and drummer Bobby Durham.  He then worked with Lou Donaldson before becoming a recording artist in the late 1960s.  Earland's big break came with his now-celebrated recording of the 1960s pop hit "More Today than Yesterday," which became his theme song.

Monday 2/6

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley

This Tampa native got the nickname "Cannibal" as a kid due to his hearty appetite, but the name later changed to "Cannonball," and it described his explosive impact on the jazz world. Adderley started out as a high-school band director, but when he visited New York in 1955 and sat in with Oscar Pettiford at the Cafe Bohemia, he caused such a stir that he got a recording contract and moved to New York to play full-time. Cannonball and his cornetist brother Nat formed their own group, but then he joined Miles Davis' sextet, where he played on such great albums as "Kind of Blue." Later, Adderley and his brother had a more successful quartet, and had such hits as "This Here," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," and "Things Are Getting Better." He also did a lot for the career of a young singer from Ohio named Nancy Wilson, and their duet album is one of the classics of vocal jazz. Other musicians who were closely associated with Adderley were Joe Zawinul, Yusef Lateef, and Bobby Timmons. He became legendary for his soulful, funky style, which made him one of the most popular jazz musicians of his time. Sadly, he was cut down while still in his prime, dying of a stroke when he was only 46.  Luckily, we still have many recordings by which to remember the great "Cannonball" Adderley.

John Lee Hooker

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of John Lee Hooker. Hooker was born in Mississippi in 1917, and learned to play blues guitar from his stepfather. After a rocky musical start in Memphis, Hooker moved on to Cincinnati and to Detroit, where he started to have some success in clubs and soon became a star of the Motor City's thriving blues scene. He was soon able to quit his day job and play music full-time. Hooker made his first recordings in 1948, and they stood out from the rest because of his extremely spare style of just vocal and guitar. His early single "Boogie Chillen" became an R & B hit, the first of many over the years, and he became known as "the Boogie Man." Hooker made many recordings under many names, and was willing to try experiments, such as an early attempt at multitracking by overdubbing his voice three times. Hooker also recorded in band settings and did more pop-oriented songs for the R & B market, but his signature solo sound caught on with folk-blues fans in the 1960s. Hooker was also popular with such British blues and rock bands as the Animals and the Yardbirds, who were very influenced by his style, and he gained a sizeable following among young listeners in both Europe and the U.S. Hooker was one of the many musical legends to do a cameo in the popular film "The Blues Brothers" in 1980. In his later career, Hooker did many recordings with such younger blues stars as Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray, along with rock stars like Carlos Santana and Van Morrison. Hooker slowed down somewhat in his last years, when it was no longer necessary for him to scuffle for a living and he could pick and choose what projects he did. However, his distinguished career continued until almost the end of his long life, and Hooker died in 2001 at the age of 83. John Lee Hooker was very influential to blues and rock musicians of several generations and many nations, and he will certainly be remembered as one of the greats of the blues.

Tuesday 2/7

Joe Williams

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Joe Williams.  Williams, born Joseph Goreed in Georgia in 1918, started singing in gospel groups in Chicago, and started out as a big band singer in the late 1930s and early 1940s. However, a nervous breakdown slowed down his career, and he did several non-musical jobs before replacing Jimmy Rushing as vocalist for the Count Basie Orchestra in 1954. The album "Count Basie Swings/Joe Williams Sings" made him a star and also helped revive the Basie band, which had been off the road for several years. Williams also recorded solo albums and left the Basie band in 1961, but had occasional reunions with them. Williams kept working steadily, but his recording career slowed down until the 1980s, when he recorded for several major jazz labels and gained new fans with his appearances on "The Cosby Show." Williams' rich voice and bluesy style kept him one of the biggest stars in jazz until his death in 1999.

Horace Silver

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Horace Silver, who was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1928.   He was born with the name of Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver, and became interested in music after learning Cape Verdean folk music from his father, who was from that island off the coast of West Africa. In high school, he studied piano and sax, and was influenced by the blues and boogie-woogie. After Stan Getz engaged his trio to tour with him, he was on his way in jazz. He began his famous series of recordings for Blue Note in 1952, and played with Art Blakey in their cooperative band called the Jazz Messengers, but in 1955 struck out on his own as one of the pioneers of hard bop. His ensembles provided a training ground for stars from Joe Henderson to Tom Harrell, and his many original compositions include such jazz standards as "Sister Sadie," "Song for My Father," and "Nica's Dream." Silver also has an interest in music as a way to promote mental and physical wellness, as shown by such album titles as "Music to Ease Your Disease" and "A Prescription for the Blues."  He has even written a musical, "Rockin' with Rachmaninoff," that was performed in Los Angeles and that has been released on CD.  Silver is still active in his late 70s, and his nickname in his later years became the title of one of his CDs: "The Hard Bop Grandpop."  Silver plans to release his memoirs, "Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty," in 2006.  In 2005, Silver received the President's Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.  When he won this award, Silver said, "I've tried to do my best to bring you the music that God has given me.  Thankfully, you've accepted it...and hopefully, it will continue to live on, bless, and uplift people."  With his many fine recordings and his continued activity as a musician, Horace Silver will certainly get that wish.

Wednesday 2/8

Bessie Smith

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith. Although the year of her birth is not certain, she was born in the early 1890s in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a young woman, she became a protege of the great blues singer Ma Rainey and toured with her, gaining valuable experience and an audience for herself. Within a few years, Smith was a star herself, popular both as a live performer and as a recording artist. Smith's many 78s are still available today on CD, and her first-rate blues singing was often enhanced by such fine jazz instrumentalists as Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, and Joe Smith, to name a few. However, the blues became far less popular once the Depression came, and the recording business was also quite hard-hit due to the poor economy. Still, Bessie Smith kept working, and she was starting to make a comeback when she was killed in a car accident in Mississippi in 1937. Although Bessie Smith's life and career were cut short by this tragedy, her recordings remained to inspire and entertain those who came after her, and she served as a model for later singers, such as Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Janis Joplin. It has been said by scholars that Bessie Smith is the blues singer from the past with the most appeal for today's audiences, and her honest communication, sense of showmanship, and powerful voice reach across the generations to show us today that she is still "the Empress."

Dinah Washington

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Dinah Washington.  Dinah was born with the name of Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1924.  She got her start in Chicago as a gospel singer, but began performing in nightclubs in her teens. When she sang with Lionel Hampton, she took the name under which she became a star.  Dinah got the nickname "Queen of the Blues" for her many blues and R & B hits, but also made jazz albums with both small and large groups, and attained much success in mainstream pop as well. Sadly, just when she was finally having some stability in her turbulent personal life, Dinah Washington died in 1963 from an accidental combination of diet pills and alcohol.  She was only 39, and was still at the height of her vocal powers.  However, she is far from forgotten.  Her large, dramatic voice and musical versatility influenced such later jazz singers as Nancy Wilson and Diane Schuur, and the rapper and actress Queen Latifah has been influenced by Washington in her own recent ventures into the world of standards and jazz.  Washington was one of the first jazz vocalists to be the subject of a large CD retrospective of her work, and several books have been written about her in recent years.  She has also been honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp bearing her likeness.  Although Dinah Washington has been gone for over 40 years, she still has no challenger to her title of "Queen of the Blues."

Thursday 2/9

Sonny Rollins

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Sonny Rollins.  Theodore Walter Rollins was born in 1930.  He came from the Sugar Hill section of Harlem that was also the home of such musicians as Duke Ellington, and started playing alto sax at 11. He switched to tenor when he was 16. His high school chums included Jackie McLean, Arthur Taylor, and Kenny Drew, and they formed a band in 1946. He was soon performing and recording with Thelonious Monk, Babs Gonzales, J.J. Johnson, and Bud Powell. Rollins was also a sideman for Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and many other stars of jazz. However, he also developed a drug problem, which he overcame after moving to Chicago in 1955, where he became part of a group with Clifford Brown and Max Roach. In 1956, Rollins made his first recordings as a leader. Before long, he was voted "New Star of the Tenor Sax" in the Down Beat Magazine Critics' Poll. Surprisingly, Rollins suddenly stopped performing, and decided to improve his skills, often spending hours practicing his playing on New York's Williamsburg Bridge. After two years, Rollins returned to jazz with renewed vigor, and in 1965 attained commercial success with his soundtrack for the popular film "Alfie." He then took off more time to study Eastern philosophy, and later lived in India for a while. The times Rollins spent away from music helped refresh his creativity, and he tried such new things as the soprano saxophone and the lyricon. In recent years, he has returned to the tenor sax, and his CD "This Is What I Do," won him a Grammy Award.  In 2001, Rollins was displaced from his home near the World Trade Center due to the 9/11 attack.  Despite that hardship, he performed a moving concert just four days later, and that event can be heard on "Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert."  That is typical of Sonny Rollins, though, since he felt he could do the most good by performing at such a trying time.  Now in his 70s, "the Saxophone Colossus" shows no signs of stopping.

Bud Powell

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Earl Rudolph Powell, known by his nickname of "Bud."  Powell was born in New York City in 1924.  Powell played in jam sessions at the legendary Minton's Playhouse in New York while in his teens, and attracted the attention of such stars as Cootie Williams and Thelonious Monk. Powell's health and career were hampered by the effects of a serious head injury inflicted by police during a racial incident in 1945, and he suffered for the rest of his life from mental problems and headaches. Despite his disability and unhappy personal life, Powell became one of the most influential pianists of the second half of the 20th century thanks to his innovative harmonic and melodic sense. Powell was one of the musicians in the historic "Jazz at Massey Hall" concert in 1953 in Toronto, which is preserved on one of the most famous live jazz albums of all time.  Powell was also a creative composer, and is remembered for such pieces as "Dance of the Infidels," "Budo," (pron: BUD-oh) "Un Poco Loco," "Bouncing With Bud," and "Willow Grove." Powell spent some years in Paris, where he became a legend among French jazz fans, and his experiences there were part of the inspiration for the famous jazz film "Round Midnight."  Powell has been an inspiration to such pianists of today as Eliane Elias and Chick Corea; the latter has worked hard to preserve Bud's legacy and to get some of his live recordings onto CDs.  Although his poor mental and physical health caused him to leave music, and contributed to his early death at age 41, Bud Powell's place in the history of jazz piano is undisputed.

Friday 2/10

Milt Jackson

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Milt Jackson.  "Bags" was born in Detroit in 1923.  He started studying guitar at the age of seven, followed by piano and then by the instrument that made his career, the vibes.  Jackson's first work as a professional musician, however, was as a gospel singer in a quartet.  However, when Dizzy Gillespie heard him playing vibes in Detroit, he invited Jackson to join his sextet, and later put him in his big band.  Gillespie's seal of approval helped Jackson to find work with many other jazz musicians as well.  Jackson's colleagues in the rhythm section of the Gillespie big band were bassist Ray Brown, pianist John Lewis, and drummer Kenny Clarke, and they sometimes had featured spots while the rest of the band took a break.  They recorded in 1951 as the Milt Jackson Quartet, and after Brown was replaced by Percy Heath, the group known as the Modern Jazz Quartet took shape.  This group became known for its combination of bluesy jazz and elegant classical influence, and was a huge success in concert halls and on recordings.  The group carried on until 1974 with some personnel changes.  However, Jackson became tired after years of touring.  He also had creative differences with pianist John Lewis, and wanted more chances to improvise.  Finally, Jackson decided to leave the group, and the MJQ had a farewell concert at Lincoln Center.  Jackson got more chances to perform as a solo act and as a guest with other groups, and also made more recordings under his own name.  The Modern Jazz Quartet reunited in 1981, but worked together on a more limited basis into the 1990s, and Jackson continued to perform and record as a soloist as well.  Eventually, age and illness took their toll on the group's members; although the MJQ kept going a while longer, the deaths of Milt Jackson in 1999 and of John Lewis in 2001 meant the end of the group.  Milt Jackson is still remembered by jazz fans around the world, both for his work with the Modern Jazz Quartet and with other artists ranging from Charlie Parker to Regina Carter.  Jackson built upon the pioneering vibraphone work of Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo, using his technical knowledge of the instrument to create a sound all his own.  "Bags'" successors on the vibes, such as Gary Burton, Bobby Hutcherson, and Stefon Harris, have all benefited from his influence, and listeners continue to enjoy his disciplined yet swinging sound.

"Groove'" Holmes

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Richard "Groove" Holmes.  This great organist was born in 1931 in Camden, New Jersey, with the name of Richard Arnold Holmes.  He began his musical career as a bassist in the Philadelphia area, the home of many fine jazz organists, and taught himself how to play the Hammond B-3.

Holmes' background as a bassist influenced his organ playing, since his playing was noted for a strong bass line.  In fact, his friend Les McCann said of him, "If you wanted to groove, that name that he had, Groove Holmes, was perfect, perfect."  Holmes became very popular on the Philly/South Jersey circuit, and drew national attention in the early 1960s after he started recording, both as a soloist and with the likes of Gene Ammons,

Ben Webster, Houston Person and Grover Washington, Jr.  He also broke new musical ground by recording with Gerald Wilson's big band, something unusual for an organist. Holmes was also noted for spirited musical battles with fellow organist Jimmy McGriff.  When organ jazz went into a decline in the 1970s, Holmes played electronic keyboards for a while.  However, when the jazz organ returned to favor in the 1980s, Holmes returned to the instrument he loved.  Sadly, Holmes would not get much chance to enjoy his renewed popularity, for he was in poor health in the last years of his life, and died at the age of 60 in 1991.  Fortunately for jazz lovers, Holmes left many recordings, and one fairly recent CD, "On Basie's Bandstand," featured live music from 1966 that waited almost 40 years to be released.  Both veteran fans of classic soul-jazz music and younger fans of the soul-influenced "acid jazz" style continue to groove to the music of Richard "Groove" Holmes.

Monday 2/13

Sarah Vaughan

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Sarah Vaughan.  "Sassy" started out singing and playing piano in church, but was hired for Earl "Fatha" Hines' legendary big band after she won one of the famed amateur contests at the Apollo Theatre.  However, due to the recording ban of the mid-1940s, she was not heard on records until she joined Billy Eckstine's band, which also had such luminaries as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.  Being around these giants of bebop greatly influenced Sarah Vaughan's style, and between her near-operatic voice and her sense of musical daring, Sarah Vaughan became hard to top.  Like the great actress Sarah Bernhardt, she also became known as "The Divine Sarah." Along with her many fine jazz recordings, Vaughan also recorded a huge number of pop hits such as "Tenderly" and "Broken‑Hearted Melody," and perhaps as a nod to those who thought she could have had a classical career, also recorded an extended religious work called "The Mystery of Man."  Vaughan's voice grew somewhat deeper over the years so that she could almost sing baritone, but she never lost her great vocal beauty and flexibility, and kept singing until shortly before her death from cancer in 1990.  Thanks to the many recordings that she left behind, jazz fans will continue to enjoy the artistic legacy of the "Divine One," Sarah Vaughan.

Wes Montgomery

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Wes Montgomery.  This Indianapolis native taught himself guitar at the age of 18, and gained his signature sound by using his thumb instead of a pick. After touring with Lionel Hampton for two years, Montgomery came back home, and for years he worked a day job to support his family and played jazz at night. In the late 1950s, he recorded with his brothers: Buddy Montgomery played vibes and Monk Montgomery played bass. After several other albums, he caught on with "The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery," recorded in 1960, and played as a leader for the rest of his career. Late in his career, Montgomery made a number of recordings for the A & M label with strings and woodwinds, which bothered jazz purists but which also got radio airplay, brought new fans to jazz and helped provide for his family. Montgomery's new fans also came to his live shows, which had as much jazz as they ever did.  Years of overwork took their toll, and Wes died at only 43 in 1968 of a heart attack. However, Wes Montgomery continues to have many loyal fans and is highly influential among guitarists almost four decades.

Tuesday 2/14

Benny Carter

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Benny Carter.  This saxophonist, trumpeter, clarinetist, pianist, composer, arranger, singer and bandleader was active in jazz from the late 1920s to the late 1990s.  Carter was born in New York City in 1907, and was mostly self-taught on the trumpet and on the saxophone.  He made his first recording at 20, and had his first big band when he was just 21. At the same time, he was writing arrangements for Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. He wrote such jazz standards as "When Lights Are Low," "Blues In My Heart," "Key Largo," and "Cow Cow Boogie." In 1935, he moved to Europe for several years, and was an arranger for the BBC's radio dance orchestra. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1943 so he could write music for films, and appeared as a trumpeter in the movie "Stormy Weather."  Despite racism in Hollywood, Carter helped open the doors for black musicians in the film and TV industries. Over the years, Carter stayed in jazz and continued to play, record and lead groups.  He also arranged for many singers, including Lou Rawls, Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee, and even The Judds!   Carter was active up into his 90s, and one of his projects in his later years was two CDs of his songs, featuring such singers as Dianne Reeves, Jon Hendricks, and Diana Krall.  Carter was a Kennedy Center Honors winner in 1996.  He also won a Grammy for his "Harlem Renaissance Suite" in 1992, and for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance by a Soloist in 1994 for "Prelude to a Kiss."  By the time Benny Carter died at age 95 in 2003, he was one of the most revered figures in jazz, and he will certainly be remembered thanks to his many compositions and recordings.

Nat "King" Cole

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Nat "King" Cole.  Nathaniel Coles was born in 1919 in Alabama, but grew up in Chicago, where he started singing in his father's church and got attention as a pianist while in his teens. He made his first recordings in 1936 with his brother Eddie's group, and soon left for Los Angeles, where he formed the Nat "King" Cole Trio, the forerunner of many of today's small jazz groups. Cole gradually became more comfortable as a singer, and had his first big vocal hit with "Sweet Lorraine." Eventually, Cole branched out into doing more popular singing with orchestras, and played less piano than in the past. However, he never entirely abandoned his jazz roots, and returned to the trio format in 1956 with the famous "After Midnight" album. He also recorded with such jazz and big band figures as Count Basie, Stan Kenton and George Shearing, and worked with such jazz singers as Mel Torme and June Christy on his short-lived TV variety show. Cole's warm voice and personality, precise diction and phrasing, and near-flawless pitch combined to make him into one of the greatest of jazz and popular singers. Despite his great popularity and talent, Cole had to fight racism, especially when he had opposition to his moving into a posh white neighborhood in Los Angeles and when he was attacked onstage during a concert in Alabama.  Cole's TV show also had problems getting sponsors due to his race, and did not get the industry support it deserved.  Cole kept going despite such setbacks, and despite criticism from some jazz fans when he attained great fame as a pop singer. His untimely death in 1965 from lung cancer was a blow to the music world. However, his influence continues today in the work of such jazz singers as John Pizzarelli and Diana Krall, as well as in the singing of his brother Freddy Cole and daughter Natalie Cole.  We can be grateful that recordings also continue to show what an exceptional musician Nat Cole was.

Wednesday 2/15

Ahmad Jamal

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Ahmad Jamal.  In 1930, he began life in Pittsburgh with the name of Frederick Russell Jones, and he had the nickname of Fritz. Jamal started playing piano at age 3, and was a professional musician by age 11. After high school, Jamal toured with George Hudson's Orchestra and a group called the Four Strings.  Jamal's first trio, the Three Strings, attracted the attention of the great jazz promoter and record producer John Hammond.  Jamal became a Muslim in 1952, and adopted the name by which he became famous.  His spare style of playing got the attention of such jazz leaders as Miles Davis, and was an inspiration for Davis and his arranger colleague Gil Evans.   In 1958, the Ahmad Jamal Trio's famous recording of "Poinciana" from "Live at the Pershing" was a big crossover hit, and went to number 3 on the pop charts.  Jamal also had his own jazz club for a while.  Although the trio disbanded and Jamal sold his club within a few years, he kept recording and touring.  Jamal also experimented with electronic keyboards in the 1970s.  In 1994, Jamal was awarded the American Jazz Master Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.  Still active in his 70s, Jamal has made a number of fine CDs in recent years for the Telarc and Birdology labels.  Ahmad Jamal continues to contribute to the jazz world through his excellent playing, and although some critics derided him when he was on the pop charts, that attitude has given way to respect for his artistic longevity and ability to reach many kinds of listeners.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. He was born in 1924 in Vinton, Louisiana, and grew up in Texas.  His father played Cajun, country and bluegrass music.  Later, Brown became acquainted with jazz, and especially liked the big bands of Basie, Ellington and Hampton.  He got his nickname of "Gatemouth" after a high school teacher said he had a voice like a creaking gate, but Brown made that voice work for him in a long career.  "Gatemouth" also played guitar, fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, viola, and drums, and wove all those talents into a unique style with elements of jazz, Texas blues and old-style country music.  Brown's first big break came in 1947, when T-Bone Walker got sick and needed a replacement.  Don Robey, the manager of the club where Brown filled in for Walker, took over his career, and even formed a record label to show off "Gate's" talents.  Although Brown didn't get on the R & B charts right away, his playing was a big influence on Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, and many other blues players.  When the R & B scene was on the wane for a while, Brown's country music skills kept him working, and he even appeared on "Hee Haw" and made an album with the great country guitarist Roy Clark.  However, by the late 1970s, things began to pick up again for Brown, and one could hear him singing jazz standards, playing bluegrass fiddle, and doing blues classics all in the same concert.  That versatility also showed in the many recordings Brown made in his later years.  Brown won a Grammy in 1982 for Best Traditional Blues Album with "Alright Again."  He also won three W.C. Handy Blues Awards.  Brown also received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1997 and was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1999.  Sadly, "Gatemouth" was in poor health in the last year of his life, and his home in Slidell, Louisiana was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  Although Brown escaped from the storm and went to stay with relatives, the loss of his home was too much for him, and he died on September 10^th, 2005 in Orange, Texas.  John D. Loudermilk once said about Brown, "For the first time music comes together from both sides of the tracks to produce the most American artist yet."  Brown's ability to use influences from "both sides of the tracks" certainly made him a very American artist, one who will be remembered for a long time to come.

Thursday 2/16

Oscar Peterson

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Oscar Peterson. This great pianist was born in 1925 in Montreal, Canada. Peterson studied classical piano as a child, and started performing professionally in his teens, including radio appearances and with the Johnny Holmes Orchestra. Jazz impresario and record producer Norman Granz invited him to play in a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1949, and from there his career took off. Peterson formed his own trios based on the piano-guitar-bass format pioneered by Nat King Cole, became a prolific composer, and in later years started to concentrate more on solo performances. Peterson's virtuosity is among the greatest in the history of jazz piano. He has also recorded with electronic keyboards, the celesta, the Hammond B-3 organ, and even once with a clavichord!  Peterson even did a vocal album as a tribute to Nat Cole.  Peterson has also been a music educator, both in master classes and in his own music school in Toronto for three years.  Despite a stroke in 1993 that took him out of performing for two years and that weakened his left hand, Oscar Peterson still records and makes some appearances, and his work in recent years has taken on a more introspective quality. Without a doubt, Oscar Peterson is one of the finest pianists in all of music.

Grant Green

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Grant Green.  As a child in St. Louis, where he was born in 1931, Green learned guitar from his father, and was playing professionally at 13. In 1960, he moved to New York at the urging of saxophonist Lou Donaldson.  Green's R & B influenced sound made him a natural for the soul-jazz movement of the time. He played with Jack McDuff, Larry Young, and many other organists, and became popular in the organ trio format.  Green also made a number of recordings as a leader for Blue Note. After being away from music for a time due to a serious drug problem, Green returned in the late 60s and the 70s, and played with Stanley Turrentine, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock and many others. Unfortunately, he suffered from poor health due to his drug addiction, and he was hospitalized in 1978 and died in 1979 at only 47. Since his death, much of his work has been reissued on CD for a new generation, and his linear, non-chordal style is still immediately recognizable. Also, Green's son, Grant Green, Junior, has become a professional guitarist and recording artist of considerable promise and skill.  Although Grant Green has often been described as underrated, the reissue of his greatest recordings has sparked a re-examination of his work and given him the recognition that largely eluded him during his life.

Friday 2/17

Lee Morgan

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Lee Morgan, who was born in 1938 in Philadelphia.  Morgan was a child prodigy; he was a professional trumpeter at 15.  Morgan's weekend gigs and attendance at jazz workshops helped him get to know Miles Davis and Clifford Brown; after the death of the latter in an accident in 1956, many in jazz considered him to be Brown's successor. At 18, he went to work for fellow trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and also began recording for Blue Note. Morgan was one of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for three years, but left the band due to a drug problem and went back to Philadelphia for two years.  After he returned to the New York jazz scene, Morgan had a huge crossover hit in 1964 with "The Sidewinder," which saved Blue Note Records from financial ruin.  It was the start of a series of legendary recordings. Morgan also returned to the Jazz Messengers. Later, Morgan collaborated with Wayne Shorter and added modal elements to his hard-bop style, and also showed some funk influence. However, Morgan's personal life was complicated.  In 1972, while at a gig in New York, he was shot by his common-law wife, and died at the age of just 33. Despite his early demise, Lee Morgan will always be remembered by jazz fans for his adventurousness, soulfulness, and incredible technique.  Luckily for us, Morgan left behind many recordings, including some that were not released until decades after his death, and they show the many sides of his incredible talent.

Jimmy McGriff

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Jimmy McGriff.  James Harrell McGriff, Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1936.  He came from a musical family, and two of his cousins were jazz saxophonist/composer Benny Golson and soul singer Harold Melvin.  McGriff discovered music in church as a small child.  During his childhood and teen years, McGriff learned how to play drums, bass, alto saxophone, vibes and piano.  He specialized in the bass, but McGriff decided to switch to the Hammond B-3 organ after hearing Richard "Groove  Holmes.  McGriff's plans were derailed when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he became a military policeman.  After his hitch in Korea was over, McGriff was a policeman by day and a bassist in Philadelphia jazz clubs by night.  By this time, Philadelphia had become the place for the Hammond B-3 organ, and demand for bassists was low, so McGriff bought his own B-3 in 1956 and started studying with Groove Holmes.  McGriff left the police force for full-time musical studies, and was eventually accepted into the Juilliard School of Music. McGriff made his first recording as a leader in 1958.  One of the sidemen on that record was a young saxophonist named Charles Earland, who decided to study organ with McGriff and who had a career of his own before long.  McGriff had his first recording success with a cover of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman," and this was soon followed with his original tune "All About My Girl," which has become a standard for jazz organists. McGriff recorded for several labels in the 60s and 70s, doing everything from R & B to big band and Christmas albums.  McGriff left the music business for a short time to run a horse farm, but he soon returned to performing, and like many other jazz organists in the 1970s, played electronic keyboards while the B-3 was out of style.  McGriff's recording career tapered off for a while, but he returned to the B-3 in the 1980s and has had many successful recordings since then, including a number with saxophonists Hank Crawford and David "Fathead" Newman.  With the rediscovery of organ-based jazz in recent years, Jimmy McGriff has attained respect as one of the greatest of jazz organists, and is one reason that Philadelphia has such a reputation for nurturing players of the B-3.

Monday 2/20

Shirley Horn

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Shirley Horn.  This Washington, D.C. native was born in 1934, and she started singing and playing piano as a child.  Horn attended Howard University, and formed her first trio when she was 20.  Horn developed a following among jazz musicians and fans for her sultry voice and economical style, and recorded some albums in the 1960s.  After hearing one of her early recordings, Miles Davis was impressed by the woman whose singing style was so much like his playing.  Davis came to be a mentor for Horn, and they were lifelong friends.  However, although Horn was attracting notice in the jazz world, she chose to stay in Washington while raising her daughter.  For many years, Horn ran a popular Washington, D.C. jazz club called "The Place Where Louie Dwells." In the 1980s, Horn started to perform more outside her hometown, and her recordings for the Verve label gained her a worldwide audience. Between 1987 and 2005, Horn had 12 albums on the Billboard jazz charts.  Miles Davis once said that his friend was "long overdue" for recognition, and she won a Grammy Award for an album she did in his memory.  She also received the Billie Holiday Award from the French Academy of Jazz, and was inducted into the Lionel Hampton Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996.  Horn had diabetes for many years, and after her right foot was removed in 2001 due to diabetic complications, she had difficulty with her piano playing, which relied a great deal on the use of the pedal.  However, Horn kept performing until just a few months before her illness made it necessary to enter a nursing home.  Shirley Horn died at the age of 71 on October 20^th, 2005, but her warm and thoughtful style of singing and playing continue to live through her recordings.

Muddy Waters

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Muddy Waters. Waters was born in Mississippi in 1915 with the name of McKinley Morganfield. As a young man, Waters was influenced by the slide guitar blues of the legendary Son House, and became a noted slide player himself.. In 1941, the noted music historian Alan Lomax came through Mississippi to do field recordings of Delta blues musicians. Lomax made recordings of Waters for the Library of Congress, and came back to record him some more in 1942, both as a soloist and with the Son Simms Four. In 1943, Waters decided to move to Chicago. It turned out to be a wide move, since he eventually became the star of the Chicago blues scene. Waters' first recordings for Columbia in 1946 remained unissued for many years, since nobody at the label knew what to make of them. However, in 1947, Waters accompanied Sunnyland Slim to a recording session, and then recorded a couple of solo sides that same day. Soon, such records as "I Can't Be Satisfied" became huge sellers in Chicago. Waters' band, the Headhunters, also featured such blues giants as harmonica player Little Walter, guitarist Jimmy Rogers, and drummer/guitarist Baby Face Leroy Foster. Waters became nationally popular on the R & B charts in the 1950s, and his 1950 song "Rollin' Stone" provided the name for a certain British rock band and an influential magazine covering music and pop culture. Although rock cut into much of the popularity of R & B, Waters still had such hits as "Mannish Boy" and the 1960 live recording of "Got My Mojo Working" from the Newport Jazz Festival. Although Waters' style was a shock to many British blues fans, rockers such as Led Zeppelin were influenced by his signature slide guitar playing. In 1964, during the folk-blues craze, Waters went back to an acoustic style that was well-received in both the U.S. and Europe. Attempts at a psychedelic style in the late 1960s were not successful, but Waters recovered his form in work with such younger artists as Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter and Bob Margolin with a return to his stylistic roots. By the time of his death in 1983, Muddy Waters' legend was secure, and he will always be remembered as a huge contributor to the history of the blues and other popular music.

Tuesday 2/21

Wynton Marsalis

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Wynton Marsalis, who was born in New Orleans in 1961. Marsalis is one of the many talented children of jazz pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis, and was named after the great pianist Wynton Kelly. He showed great talent in both jazz and classical trumpet at a young age, and surprised many in the music world when he chose to concentrate on acoustic jazz at a time when its fortunes were at a low point.  However, Marsalis proved to be a leader of a new group of "Young Lions" who have done much to reawaken interest in jazz. Many of the young musicians he has championed have become stars in their own right, and Marsalis has also done much to support jazz education. Although some of his views about jazz history have been controversial, he has also learned much from that history to use in his own playing and compositions.  His extended work "Blood on the Fields" was the first jazz composition to win a Pulitzer Prize.  Marsalis has also made a number of distinguished recordings of classical trumpet music, and he had a major role in the making of the "Ken Burns' Jazz" documentary mini-series for public television.  Marsalis takes great pride in his hometown of New Orleans, and was one of the first musicians to play in fund-raising concerts to help the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Although only in his 40s, Wynton Marsalis has accomplished a great deal in a relatively short time, and he should be making major contributions to American music for years to come.

David "Fathead" Newman

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of David "Fathead" Newman.  Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24^th, 1933, and grew up in Dallas.  He got his nickname from a music teacher, who called him a "fathead" when he didn't understand something in class.  However, Newman must have learned something, since he soon got jobs playing after school, and got a scholarship to study theology and music.  After two years of college, Newman left school to go on the road with Buster Smith, and he toured in the South and sometimes in California. While on tour with Smith, Newman met Ray Charles, and when Charles formed his own band in 1954, he invited  Newman to join it.  Before long, Newman was the band's star saxophonist, and he worked with Charles for 12 years.  With Charles' support, Newman made his first album as a leader in 1959.  After returning to Dallas for two years, Newman went back to New York, where he worked with Eddie Harris, Red Garland, and other jazz and R & B stars.  In addition to his U.S. appearances, he made tours of Europe and Asia.  Newman was a very busy studio musician, recording with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Herbie Mann's "Family of Mann."  However, as Newman matured, he decided to concentrate on his solo career, and has done many CDs over the past two decades, in addition to making many live and TV appearances.  He was also one of many fine jazz musicians who appeared in Robert Altman's film "Kansas City," which is not surprising, since many have commented over the years that Newman was handsome enough to be a film star.  Newman never forgot his roots, though, and after the death of his friend and mentor Ray Charles, he recorded the moving CD called "I Remember Brother Ray."  David "Fathead" Newman's soulful tenor playing has graced many of his own albums and those of others, and he continues to be a busy performer.

Wednesday 2/22

Ella Fitzgerald

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Ella Fitzgerald. Ella was born in 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, and mostly grew up in Yonkers, New York.  Ella started out in very tough circumstances, and was homeless as a teenager after her mother died and she had to escape from an abusive stepfather. Fitzgerald won one of the famous amateur contests at New York's Apollo Theatre in 1934, and became popular when she became the vocalist with Chick Webb's big band. After Webb died, Ella took over the band until she went solo in 1941. In 1946, she began working with Norman Granz's "Jazz at the Philharmonic," where she learned about the new bebop style from such colleagues as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and bassist Ray Brown, who was her husband for a few years. Some other developments that broadened Ella's career included a series of songbook albums with the work of various composers, and a switch to Norman Granz's management and his Verve recording label. Ella became one of the most popular singers in jazz history due to her great scat singing, sweet-toned voice, and immaculate diction and musicianship. Sadly, problems with diabetes, vision and high blood pressure took their toll on Fitzgerald's health, and also affected her voice, so that she had to cut back her activities in later years. She decided not to appear in public again after her feet had to be amputated due to diabetic complications. However, when Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996, the tributes from all over the world showed that she had not been forgotten, and her many fine recordings will ensure that she continue to be remembered as the "First Lady of Song."

Freddie Hubbard

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Freddie Hubbard.  This trumpeter was born in Indianapolis in 1938.  Hubbard came from a musical family, and learned to play trumpet and mellophone in school.  While still in his hometown, Hubbard formed a band called the Jazz Contemporaries, which included two players who would also become professional jazz musicians, Larry Ridley and James Spaulding.  He also played with Wes and Monk Montgomery.  When Hubbard went to New York, he attracted the attention of the jazz world, playing at various times with Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson and others.  He joined Quincy Jones' band for a tour of Europe, and participated in pathbreaking albums by Ornette Coleman, Oliver Nelson, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy (who was also his roommate) and Herbie Hancock.  Hubbard attained fame with his work with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers from 1961 to 1964.  Hubbard formed his own quintet in the mid-1960s, and also composed such jazz standards as "Up Jumped Spring" and "Red Clay."  After recording some popular albums for CTI, Hubbard had a bad patch after signing for Columbia Records, where he had a number of projects that were more pop-oriented and that were artistically weak.  Luckily, Hubbard's participation in Herbie Hancock's group V.S.O.P. showed that he was still good when his talent was guided in the right direction.  However, Hubbard developed an alcohol problem that made him miss gigs and that gave him a reputation for unreliability.  Also, Hubbard suffered a lip injury in 1992 from playing too many high notes, and kept playing instead of letting his lip heal.  This caused Hubbard to lose a great deal of his "chops", and he was even feared to have cancer; fortunately, that was not so.  However, Hubbard's problems made him take stock of his life, so that he became sober and also stopped playing for several years.  After studying with classical teachers and relearning his technique, Hubbard was eventually able to resume playing on a limited basis, and he still performs and records.  Although Freddie Hubbard no longer has the virtuosity of his early years, he has learned from his experiences, and his recent work shows a new maturity. Live material from Hubbard's prime has also resurfaced, adding to an already considerable discography.  Hubbard became a member of the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1974, and was recently named a 2006 Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Thursday 2/23

Nancy Wilson

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Nancy Wilson.  Wilson was born on February 20, 1937, and grew up in the Columbus, Ohio area.  At 15, Wilson won a talent show and got her own local TV show. Her musical influences included Dinah Washington and Little Jimmy Scott. While trying to break into singing, Wilson worked days as a secretary, and sang with the Rusty Bryant band and other jazz musicians.  When Cannonball Adderley heard her while in Columbus, he told Wilson to get in touch with him if she ever came to New York, which she did in 1959.  She soon gained a reputation in jazz circles, and recorded classic albums with her mentor Cannonball Adderley , George Shearing, Gerald Wilson and others. She also ventured successfully into mainstream pop and R & B music and had her own award-winning network TV show, while continuing to sing jazz. She has also acted on such TV series as "Hawaii 5-0" and "The Cosby Show," and has hosted National Public Radio's "Jazz Profiles" series heard on many public radio stations.  In 2004, Wilson was named an NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2005 she won a Grammy for her album "R.S.V.P," adding to the Grammy she won in 1964 for "How Glad I Am."  Wilson has cut back on her concert appearances, but still records for the MCG Jazz label.  Nancy Wilson continues to be known for her combination of soulfulness and glamour, and appeals to lovers of both jazz and pop across several generations.

Sam Cooke

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Sam Cooke.  Cooke was born in 1931 in Mississippi, and grew up in Chicago.  Cooke's father was a minister, and young Sam and his siblings performed gospel music in a group called "The Singing Children."  Cooke then sang in a teen gospel group, which led to his joining the legendary Soul Stirrers in 1950.  Cooke became quite a popular gospel singer and songwriter, but decided to go into secular music in 1957.  Cooke helped to bring soul to the pop music charts with such hits as "You Send Me," "Another Saturday Night," and "What A Wonderful World."  Cooke also recorded some jazz and standards meant to appeal to an adult audience, including his famous "Tribute to a Lady" album in memory of Billie Holiday.  Cooke also showed great skill in the business side of music, forming his own publishing and record companies at a time when it was uncommon for artists to do so.  Unfortunately, Cooke's career and life were cut short on December 11, 1964, when he was shot to death at a motel under circumstances that remain questionable.  Cooke's death was a great shock to the music world and to the public. However, Sam Cooke is far from forgotten.  In 1986, he was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987.  Cooke also received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1999.  His hit recordings have been steady sellers in the four decades since his death, and in recent years there have been more systematic reissues of his work by the labels for which he recorded.  A number of singers have recorded tributes to Cooke, and Rod Stewart has said that Cooke was one of the inspirations for his best-selling "Great American Songbook" series.  Although Sam Cooke's career was not a long one, he had a great influence on the pop and R & B music that came after him, and his great voice and soulful delivery continue to be admired by fans of great popular singing.

Friday 2/24

Les McCann

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Les McCann.  McCann was born in 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky.  Aside from four piano lessons from an elderly neighbor, McCann was mostly self-taught as a musician.  While in the Navy, McCann frequented San Francisco jazz clubs, learning from such greats as Erroll Garner and Miles Davis.  In 1956, McCann won a Navy talent contest and appeared on Ed Sullivan's famous variety show.  After McCann's discharge from the Navy, he moved to Los Angeles and formed his own trio.  Although Miles recommended McCann to Cannonball Adderley, McCann turned down the invitation so he could work on his own.  After signing with Pacific Jazz Records, McCann became well-known for his soulful piano playing.  He also recorded many projects with Richard "Groove" Holmes, Gerald Wilson, Lou Rawls, the Jazz Crusaders, and Ben Webster, to name just a few.  A few years later, McCann started featuring vocals as well, and the combination of voice and keyboards proved to be a winning combination on such recordings as "Swiss Movement," the famous album recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Eddie Harris.  Songs such as "With These Hands" and "Compared to What" also did well as singles.  In the 1970s, McCann helped popularize the use of electronic keyboards in jazz.  He also discovered a young singer named Roberta Flack, who went on to have a major career in pop music.  McCann kept working in the 1980s with his Magic Band.  McCann had to stop performing in the early 1990s when he suffered a severe stroke.  However, he worked hard at recovery, and came back to performing and recording, mostly as a singer.   McCann did an album after his stroke that reunited him with Lou Rawls and Eddie Harris, and has done several albums since then.  Some of his classic albums like "Swiss Movement" have been reissued on CD, and some live recordings have also been discovered and published.  McCann also has talents in the visual arts, especially photography and painting.  Les McCann is highly respected for his musical "marriage of church and swing," as Joel Dorn describes his style.  Record producer Alan Abrams may have summed him up best; he says that "Les is only about love."

Jimmy Smith

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of organist Jimmy Smith. Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1925, and received musical education from his parents and after serving in the Navy. Although Smith was not the first jazz musician to attempt to use the organ in jazz, he was the one who showed its many possibilities. Smith got his first Hammond B-3 organ in the early 1950s, and kept it in a warehouse where he practiced until he was ready to play it in public. After a couple of years of experimentation, Smith astonished the jazz world with his use of the pedals for walking bass lines, chords in the left hand and melody in the right, and a unique combination of jazz, R & B and gospel influences. His early New York appearances landed him a contract with Blue Note Records, where he made a series of albums with many of the greats in jazz. Smith also did many fine albums for Verve Records. He also attracted attention at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, and toured for many years. When the jazz organ lost some popularity in the 1970s, Smith kept recording and touring on a smaller scale, and he and his wife ran a nightclub in Los Angeles. In the 1980s, when a new generation of players and fans discovered the jazz organ sound, Smith went back on the road, and did a number of albums in his later career for several labels. One of the young players who was influenced by Smith was Joey de Francesco, and the two performed and recorded together. In fact, Smith had just recorded a new CD with de Francesco, and was about to perform with him at the famous Yoshi's jazz club when he unexpectedly died at home on February 8th, 2005. In a sign of respect for his great career, WKCR radio in New York played nothing but Jimmy Smith's music for several days. The man known as "The Incredible Jimmy Smith" will always be remembered by jazz fans, and also by the new generation of jazz organists who learned so much from him.

Monday 2/27

Duke Ellington

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. Ellington grew up in Washington, D.C. as the son of a White House butler. He started studying piano as a child and left school to play professionally. After leading bands in the Washington area, Ellington went to New York with a small group, the Washingtonians. The band started making recordings and appearing in clubs. Ellington added musicians to his group, experimented with various "jungle" and other musical effects, and became famous thanks to radio broadcasts his band made during its three years at the world-famous Cotton Club. Ellington left the club in 1931, and continued leading his own bands until his death in 1974. Ellington continued to compose as well, and wrote such standards as "Rockin' In Rhythm," "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady," "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," and a host of others. Ellington became famous for the musical sophistication of his compositions. He also showcased the many stars who came through his band, ranging from Bubber Miley and Johnny Hodges to Ben Webster and Jimmy Blanton. One of the biggest assets Ellington had was the great composer, arranger, and pianist Billy Strayhorn, whose "Take the 'A' Train" became the band's theme song. Ellington also wrote extended works such as "Black, Brown and Beige," scores for several Broadway musicals, and music for such films as "The Asphalt Jungle" and "Anatomy of a Murder." After the decline of the big bands, Ellington was one of the few leaders who was able to keep his band working, and continued to record and tour. After a few years of diminished fortunes, the Ellington band returned to the spotlight after a famous performance of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival that nearly caused a riot. The album of that concert still sells well today, and Ellington was put on the cover of Time magazine. Ellington frequently appeared on TV and on the road in his later career, recorded projects on his own and with such singers as Frank Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney, and composed works ranging from sacred music to a moving tribute to Billy Strayhorn that won a Grammy. Ellington died in 1974, but the band was continued by his son, Mercer Ellington and by his grandson, Paul Mercer Ellington. Also, Ellington received some posthumous justice when he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his compositions, an honor denied him during his lifetime. The 1999 centennial of Ellington's birth saw reissues of many of his recordings, as well as a re-examination of his long career. Without a doubt, Duke Ellington was and is the best-known composer of jazz, one of its most enduring bandleaders, and a continued influence on jazz as it goes into  its second century.

Coleman Hawkins

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Coleman Hawkins.  This Missouri native, also known by the nicknames "Bean" and "Hawk," was born in 1904.  Hawkins started on the saxophone when he was only 9, at a time when it was still largely considered a novelty instrument. When he was 17, blues singer Mamie Smith hired him for her band. His first big break in jazz was being hired by Fletcher Henderson in 1924. When Louis Armstrong joined Henderson's band the same year, Hawkins learned a lot from him, and the style that resulted helped make the saxophone into one of the major jazz instruments. Hawkins played in Europe for five years in the 1930s, and after he returned to America in 1939, he made a famous record of "Body and Soul" that became THE model for later jazz solos on all instruments. When bebop came in the 1940s, Hawkins encouraged and hired such young musicians as Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and led the very first bop recording session. Although later trends encouraged a cooler sound than his, Hawkins kept up with the times with such projects as a bossa nova album and working with Jazz at the Philharmonic.  He was also very influential on the young Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. Sadly, his last years were marred by alcoholism, but he continued to play until shortly before his death in 1969.  There is a story that a young saxophonist heard Hawkins and said to an older colleague, "He scares me, man!" The older musician answered, "He's supposed to scare you. That's what he's there for."  That may sum up Coleman Hawkins; "Bean's" formidable skills as an improviser and his work to establish the importance of the jazz soloist certainly put rivals on their mettle, and also insured his place in the history of American music.

Tuesday 2/28

Benny Golson

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Benny Golson.  Golson was born in Philadelphia in 1929, and attended Howard University, the famous historically black college in Washington, DC.  After college, Golson played tenor saxophone in the popular R & B band of  Bull Moose Jackson.  One of Golson's bandmates was the legendary composer and pianist Tadd Dameron, who later hired Golson for his own band and who was a major influence on Golson's compositions.  After working with Lionel Hampton, Johnny Hodges and Earl Bostic, Golson joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band as a saxophonist, arranger and composer.  Later, Golson was with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers for a year, and he co-led the Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer.  Golson concentrated more on composing in the 1960s and 1970s.  His many jazz standards include "Along Came Betty," "I Remember Clifford," "Stablemates," and "Killer Joe." Golson contributed scores to numerous TV shows and movies, and worked as an arranger for artists ranging from Count Basie and Miles Davis to Mama Cass Elliott and Itzhak Perlman. He even wrote music used in commercials for McDonald's, Chevrolet, and many other national clients.  Golson has also written classical compositions for symphony orchestras around the world.  Golson returned to the saxophone in the late 1970s, and continues to be in demand in his late 70s.  He has made many recordings in recent years, and also did a reunion with Art Farmer and Curtis Fuller, his Jazztet bandmates.   He will soon tour Europe for a series of concerts in memory of trumpeter Clifford Brown, the subject of Golson's song "I Remember Clifford."  Golson is also in frequent demand for lectures and master classes, is working on a college text about jazz, and holds two honorary doctorates.  Benny Golson mentions on his website that he is in the process of writing his autobiography, and with his long record of solid achievement as a player, composer and jazz educator, his story will certainly be an inspiration for jazz musicians and fans.

Miles Davis

Jazz 88 salutes Black History Month with the music of Miles Davis. Miles was born in 1926 and showed musical talent as a child. He began playing professionally while still in school. After Davis saw the Billy Eckstine band, he decided to study at the Juilliard School in New York. However, he soon dropped out and got his real education in bebop by playing with Charlie Parker, Benny Carter and Billy Eckstine. Davis made his first recordings in 1947 with Charlie Parker, but made his first real musical history with a nine-piece band in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This band made the celebrated recordings that were released in the famous album "Birth of the Cool," which started the "cool" or "West Coast" school of jazz, which was marked by a more relaxed and economical style of playing than that of early bebop. Davis' career and life were hampered by heroin addiction, but he returned to his family's home and kicked the habit cold turkey. Davis put together his famous quintet that also featured John Coltrane, and made a number of recordings with them. Davis also teamed up with arranger and composer Gil Evans for a series of albums that included "Sketches of Spain," "Miles Ahead," "Porgy and Bess," and many others. Davis formed a sextet that experimented with modal playing, and that group recorded one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, "Kind of Blue." Eventually, Davis formed a new quintet with such stars as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and others. Miles began experimenting with electronic instruments and fusion, and attracted a younger group of fans with such rock-tinged albums as "Bitches Brew" while influencing many younger musicians. While this turn toward fusion angered many fans of his older music, Davis' influence was undeniable, and he was not one to look back, only returning to an older style when he played some of the classic Gil Evans arrangements at the Montreux Jazz Festival a few months before his death in 1991. Davis even experimented with hip-hop in his final studio recording, "Doo-Bop." With a unique style that stripped away everything but the essentials of what he was trying to communicate, and with his willingness to try new paths instead of sticking to the tried and true, Miles Davis continues to be one of the greatest influences on jazz and on American music.

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