WAER Black History Jazz & Blues Focus February 2009

WAER is focusing on black jazz and blues greats in celebration of Black History Month.
Each weekday we'll spotlight two African-American artist's that have made a significant contribution to the art of jazz.

Monday 2/2

Nancy Wilson

WAER 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.

Ella Fitzgerald

WAER 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."

Tuesday, 2/3

Hank Crawford

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Hank Crawford. Bennie Ross Crawford Jr. was born Dec. 21, 1934, in Memphis. He started taking piano lessons at 9 and within a year was playing for a church choir. Mr. Crawford took up alto saxophone while in his high school jazz band, where classmates included jazz notables such as pianist Harold Mabern and tenor saxophonist George Coleman. By graduation, Mr. Crawford was working professionally with local Memphis performers Ike Turner, B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland. While majoring in music theory and composition at Tennessee State University in Nashville, he also led a quartet he called Little Hank and the Rhythm Kings. The group recorded a jump blues single for a small local label in 1956, with Mr. Crawford on vocals. Hank Crawford joined the Ray Charles band in 1958 as a substitute for baritone saxophonist Leroy Cooper. Two years later, Charles expanded his ensemble to a big band and made Mr. Crawford its band director. On alto sax, Mr. Crawford shared the solo spotlight with tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman, who died Jan. 20. In the 1970s he recorded extensively for producer Creed Taylor's Kudu label and allowed others to arrange his material. Taylor, who brought guitarist George Benson and saxophonist Grover Washington to a wider audience, combined Mr. Crawford's earthy sax with layers of horns, keyboard synthesizers, strings and background voices. Jazz critics dismissed the records as commercial, and the sales proved them right. Mr. Crawford returned to soul-jazz in later years, co-leading groups with Newman and organist Jimmy McGriff. Hank Crawford had been in declining health in recent years and passed away on January 29th at his home in Memphis. He was 74 years old.

Lee Morgan

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Lee Morgan. He was a child prodigy; he was a professional trumpeter at 15, and his work in Philadelphia 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 began recording for Blue Note. He 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. When he returned to the music scene, he had a huge hit with "The Sidewinder," which was the start of a series of legendary recordings. He also returned to the Jazz Messengers. Later, he added modal elements to his hard-bop style, and also showed some funk influence. However, his personal life was complicated, and in 1972, he was murdered by his girlfriend when he was just 33. Despite his early demise, Lee Morgan will always be remembered by jazz fans for his adventurousness, soulfulness, and incredible technique.

Wednesday 2/4

Mary Lou Williams

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Mary Lou Williams. Mary Elfrieda Scruggs was born in 1910 in Atlanta, and played piano from childhood. She began playing in vaudeville when she was 13, and married saxophonist John Williams in 1926. When her husband was with Andy Kirk's big band, Mary Lou was often called "The Pest" because she hung around rehearsals. However, when she took the place of a missing pianist at Kirk's first recording session and contributed arrangements to the group, she earned the title of "The Lady Who Swings the Band." After leaving the Kirk band and divorcing John Williams, Mary Lou wrote for Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and others. Mary Lou Williams did much to support the rise of bebop, and was a fine teacher in addition to her own playing and writing. After living in Europe and leaving music for a few years for religious reasons, she returned to performing in 1957 as a guest with Dizzy Gillespie's group at the Newport Jazz Festival. She performed, recorded, taught at Duke University, and composed both jazz and religious music, keeping current with jazz developments until her death at 78 in 1981. Mary Lou Williams wasn't just "someone who played good for a girl," but was a major innovator and influence. Her memory is honored by the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival held every year at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as by the many jazz musicians of all races and both sexes who have learned from her example.

Benny Golson

WAER 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. He has made many recordings in recent years, and also did a reunion with Art Farmer and Curtis Fuller, his Jazztet bandmates. He toured 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 and holds two honorary doctorates. On January 24th, the Kennedy Center saluted the 60 year career of this award winning saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master in a concert hosted by actor Danny Glover. Benny celebrated his 80th birthday on January 25th.

Thursday 2/5

Les McCann

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Les McCann. McCann was born in 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky. He taught himself piano as a teenager, and after winning a talent contest in the Navy as a singer in 1956, he appeared on Ed Sullivan's TV show. McCann became a well-known jazz figure after settling in California, becoming quite popular with his soulful, gospel-influenced style. McCann, to the surprise of many, turned down a chance to join Cannonball Adderley's quintet so that he could work on his own music. McCann became famous for his funky piano playing, and recorded a number of albums in the 1960s, both as a leader and with such performers as Gerald Wilson, "Groove" Holmes and Ben Webster. McCann's appearance with Eddie Harris at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival resulted in the famous album "Swiss Movement," and he performed more in the R & B style through the 1970s, with more emphasis on his singing. In 1971, he and Harris were part of a group of soul, R&B, and rock performers - including Wilson Pickett, The Staple Singers, Santana, and Ike & Tina Turner - who flew to Accra, Ghana for a historic 14-hour concert before more than 100,000 Ghanaians. The March 6 concert was recorded for the documentary film Soul To Soul. In 2004 the movie was released on DVD with an accompanying soundtrack album. McCann recorded very little for many years, but was still a popular live performer, and had a successful 1994 reunion tour with Eddie Harris. McCann was out of action for a while in the mid-1990s due to a stroke, which hampered his keyboard playing somewhat but which left his singing voice intact. Since his recovery, McCann has returned to performing and recording. The name of Les McCann is synonymous with funk for his many fans, and he has shown great courage in his return from what could have been a career-ending illness. On September 23rd, Les McCann will celebrate his 74th birthday.

Bud Powell

WAER 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 2/6

Milt Jackson

WAER 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.

Grover Washington, Jr.

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Grover Washington, Jr. This saxophonist was born in Buffalo in 1943, and began his career when he was only 10. While still in his teens, he performed with the Four Clefs. Washington moved to Philadelphia in 1967, where he became part of the musical scene and worked with such soul-jazz figures as Charles Earland and Johnny Hammond Smith. Washington recorded as a sideman on the Prestige label, and got his first big break in 1971 when he took Hank Crawford's place at a recording session. The resulting album, "Inner City Blues," was the first of many big sellers for him. He became a big popular favorite with such albums as "Mister Magic" and "Winelight," plus such singles as "Just The Two Of Us." Washington also appeared as a guest on many jazz and pop recordings, and influenced many younger players who went into pop and smooth jazz. Although some purists did not care for Washington s more pop-oriented efforts, he also played some excellent straightahead jazz, and could play soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes. Washington suffered an unexpected fatal heart attack at the age of 56 in 1999 while taping a TV show. A decade after his untimely death, Grover Washington, Jr. continues to be highly influential, and is still one of the most popular instrumentalists in the history of American popular music.

Monday 2/9

Sarah Vaughan

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Sarah Vaughan. "Sassy" was born in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey. Vaughan 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 in 1943. However, due to the recording ban of the mid-1940s, Vaughan 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 Vaughan's style, and between her near-operatic voice and her sense of musical daring, she became hard to top. Vaughan got to show her vocal stuff in her recordings for the Musicraft and Columbia labels in the late 1940s and early 1950s. 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" in the 1950s. Perhaps as a nod to those who thought she could have had a classical career, Vaughan also recorded an extended religious work called "The Mystery of Man", which was set to translations of poetry by Pope John Paul II. 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 and learn from the artistic legacy of the "Divine One," Sarah Vaughan.

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of 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.

Tuesday 2/10

Billy Strayhorn

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Billy Strayhorn. William "Billy" Thomas Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio on November 29, 1915. His family soon moved to the Homewood section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, his mother's family was from Hillsborough, North Carolina, and she sent him there due to protect him from his father's drunken sprees. Strayhorn spent many months of his childhood at his grandparents' house in Hillsborough. In an interview, Strayhorn said that his grandmother was his primary influence during the first ten years of his life, and where he first became interested in music, playing hymns on her piano and playing records on her Victrola record player. While in high school, he played in the school band, and studied under the same teacher who had earlier instructed jazz pianists Erroll Garner and Mary Lou Williams. By age 19 he was writing for a professional musical, Fantastic Rhythm. He met Duke Ellington in December 1938, after an Ellington performance in Pittsburgh (he had first seen Ellington play in Pittsburgh in 1933). Here he first told, and then showed, the band leader how he would have arranged one of Duke's own pieces. Ellington was impressed enough to invite other band members to hear Strayhorn. At the end of the visit he arranged for Strayhorn to meet him when the band returned to New York. Strayhorn worked for Ellington for the next quarter century as an arranger, composer, occasional pianist and collaborator until his early death from cancer. As Ellington described him, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine". Strayhorn composed the band's best known theme, "Take the "A" Train", and a number of other pieces that became part of the band's repertoire. In some cases Strayhorn received attribution for his work such as, "Lotus Blossom", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Rain Check", while others such as "Day Dream" and "Something to Live For", were listed as collaborations with Ellington or in the case of "Satin Doll" and "Sugar Hill Penthouse" were credited to Ellington alone. Strayhorn also arranged many of Ellington's band-within-band recordings and provided harmonic clarity, taste, and polish to Duke's compositions. On the other hand, Ellington gave Strayhorn full credit as his collaborator on later, larger works such as "Such Sweet Thunder", "A Drum Is a Woman", "The Perfume Suite" and "The Far East Suite", where Strayhorn and Ellington worked closely together. Strayhorn's arrangements had a tremendous impact on the Ellington band. Ellington always wrote for the personnel he had at the time, showcasing both the personalities and sound of soloists such as Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Ben Webster, Lawrence Brown and Jimmy Blanton, and drawing on the contrasts between players or sections to create a new sound for his band. Strayhorn brought a more linear, classically schooled ear to Ellington's works, setting down in permanent form the sound and structures that Ellington sought. Strayhorn was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 1964, which eventually caused his death in 1967.

Sonny Rolllins

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Sonny Rollins. 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 with Bud Powell. He 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, he 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 he spent away from music helped refresh his creativity, and he tried such new things as the soprano saxophone and the lyricon. Rollins performed at Carnegie Hall on September 18, 2007, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his first performance there. Appearing with him were his nephew Clifton Anderson (trombone), Bobby Broom (guitar), Bob Cranshaw (bass), Kimati Dinizulu (percussion), Roy Haynes (drums) and Christian McBride (bass) The name of one of his albums, "Saxophone Colossus," certainly fits Sonny Rollins well. Rollins is still touring and recording today as he will celebrate his 79th birthday on September 7th.

Wednesday 2/11

Willie Bobo

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Willie Bobo. Willie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa, an American jazz percussionist. William Correa grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument. He met Mongo Santamaria shortly after his arrival in New York and studied with him while acting as his translator, and later at age 19 joined Tito Puente for four years. During the early '50s, the nickname Bobo is said to have been bestowed by the jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams. His first major exposure was when he joined George Shearing's band on the album The Shearing Spell. After leaving Shearing, Cal Tjader asked Bobo and Santamaria to become part of the Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet, who released several albums as the mambo craze reached fever pitch in the late '50s. Reuniting with his mentor Santamaria in 1960, the pair released the album Sabroso! for the Fantasy label. He later formed his own group releasing Do That Thing/Guajira with Tico and Bobo's Beat and Let's Go Bobo for Roulette, without achieving huge penetration. After the runaway success of Tjader's Soul Sauce, in which he was heavily involved, Bobo formed a new band with the backing of Verve Records, releasing Spanish Grease, of which the title track is probably his most well known tune. Highly successful at this attempt, Bobo released a further seven albums with Verve In the early '70s, he moved out to Los Angeles, where he worked as a session musician for Carlos Santana among others, as well as being a regular in the band for Bill Cosby's variety show, Cos. In the late '70s, he recorded albums for Blue Note and Columbia Records. After a period of ill health, he died in 1983 at the age of 49, succumbing to cancer.

Grant Green

WAER 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.

Thursday 2/12

Freddie Hubbard

WAER 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. 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 named a 2006 Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. Sadly, on December 29. 2008 Freddie Hubbard died at the age of 70 due to complications from heart attack.

Sonny Stitt

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Sonny Stitt. This Bostonian began his career as an alto saxophonist, and played in the Billy Eckstine big band with other young saxophonists such as Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons. He also played in Dizzy Gillespie's band. During his early career, he absorbed a lot of his style from Charlie Parker, but branched out more when he took up the tenor and baritone saxes. He was in a two-tenor group for a while with Gene Ammons, and led a number of his own groups before working again for Dizzy Gillespie in the late 50s. He and Ammons reunited in 1960, and he recorded a number of his own projects for several labels.In the 1970s, Stitt slowed his recording output slightly, and in 1972, he produced another classic, Tune Up, which was and still is regarded by many jazz critics, such as Scott Yanow, as his definitive record. Indeed, his fiery and ebullient soloing was quite reminiscent of his earlier playing. Stitt was one of the first jazz musicians to experiment with an electric saxophone (the instrument was called a Varitone), as heard on the album Just The Way It Was - Live At The Left Bank, recorded in 1971 and released in 2000. Stitt joined the Giants of Jazz (which included Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk) on some albums for the Mercury Records label, and recording sessions for Cobblestone and other labels. His last recordings were made in Japan. Sadly, in 1982 Stitt suffered a heart attack, and he died on July 22 at the age of 58.

Friday 2/13

Cassandra Wilson

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Cassandra Wilson. Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of Herman Fowlkes, Jr., a guitarist, bassist and music teacher; and Mary McDaniel, an elementary school teacher who eventually earned her Ph.D. in education. Between her mother's love for Motown and her father's dedication to jazz, Wilson's parents sparked her early interest in music. For college, Wilson attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University. She graduated with a degree in mass communications. Outside of the classroom, the busy student spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands, also singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform bebop. In 1981, she moved to New Orleans for a position as assistant public affairs director for the local television station, WDSU. She did not stay long. Working with mentors who included elder statesmen Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and Ellis Marsalis, Wilson found encouragement to seriously pursue jazz performance and moved to the New York City area the following year. Heavily influenced by singers Abbey Lincoln and Betty Carter, she fine-tuned her vocal phrasing and scat while studying ear training with trombonist Grachan Moncur, III. Frequenting jam sessions under the tutelage of pianist Sadik Hakim, a Charlie Parker alumnus, she met alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, who encouraged her to look beyond the standard jazz repertoire in favor of developing original material. She would become the vocalist and one of the founding members of the M-Base collective in which Coleman was the leading figure, a stylistic outgrowth of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and Black Artists Group (BAG) that re-imagined the grooves of funk and soul within the context of traditional and avant-garde jazz. Wilson received her first broad critical acclaim for the album of standards recorded in the middle of this period, Blue Skies (1988). Her signing with Blue Note records in 1993 marked a crucial turning point in her career and major breakthrough to audiences beyond jazz with albums selling in the hundreds of thousands of copies. Beginning with Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993) her repertoire moved towards a broad synthesis of blues, pop, jazz, world music, and country. Although she continued to perform originals and standards, she adopted songs as diverse as Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville", and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Not only did Wilson effectively reconnect vocal jazz with its blues roots, she was arguably the first to convincingly fashion post-British Invasion pop into jazz, trailblazing a path that many have since followed. The late Miles Davis was one of Wilson's greatest influences. In 1989 Wilson performed as the opening act for Davis at the JVC Jazz Festival in Chicago. In 1999 she produced Traveling Miles as a tribute to Davis. The album developed from a series of jazz concerts that she performed at Lincoln Center in November 1997 in Davis' honor and includes three selections based on Davis' own compositions, in which Wilson adapted the original themes. Cassandra is a two-time Grammy winner and will be celebrating her 54th birthday on December 3rd.

Thelonious Monk

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Thelonious Monk. Thelonious Sphere Monk was born in North Carolina in 1917 and grew up in New York. Monk began playing piano at the age of five, and started professionally as accompanist for a touring evangelist. Monk was lucky enough to have pianist James P. Johnson as a neighbor, and he learned a great deal from hearing him and other stride pianists. However, Monk showed an ear for advanced harmony and rhythm, and soon became the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse, the legendary cradle of bebop. In 1944, Cootie Williams' band did the first recording of "Round Midnight," which would become the most famous of Monk's many compositions. When Monk became the pianist for sax legend Coleman Hawkins, some listeners complained about the eccentric new pianist in his band, but Hawkins recognized Monk's genius and stuck by him. Some people believed that Monk's jagged rhythms and use of large spaces in his solos were signs that he couldn't play, but musicians like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie knew that Monk was actually pioneering a new style of jazz. Blue Note Records head Alfred Lion brought Monk into the recording studio as a leader, and Monk made other recordings as well, but he had a hard time finding work for some years because he was so far ahead of his time. However, Monk had great support from his wife Nellie and from his patroness, Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter. When Monk recorded for Riverside, producer Orrin Keepnews persuaded him to record some standards, and listeners found them more accessible. In 1957, Monk played New York's Five Spot club with a quartet that included John Coltrane, and this time audiences were more receptive to Monk's innovations. Monk was finally respected and busy as a pianist, bandleader and composer, and remained that way until the early 1970s. However, Monk suffered from mental illness for much of his life. As a result of this, he retired from music and went into seclusion in 1973, and performed only occasionally until his death in 1982. Monk's innovative use of rhythm, use of development and very individual harmonies still stand out today, and his compositions have become some of the greatest standards in the jazz repertory. Most of his recordings remain in print, and in 2005, a live 1958 recording of Monk's quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall was found in the Library of Congress and became a huge seller when put on CD. Sometimes, the only difference between being considered crazy and being considered a genius is the passage of time, and despite the obstacles in his life, it is gratifying that Thelonious Monk finally got the recognition he deserved while he was still around to enjoy it.

Monday 2/16

Miles Davis

WAER 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.

David "Fathead" Newman

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of David "Fathead" Newman. Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24th, 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." On January 20th, 2009, David "Fathead" Newman died at the age of 75. There will be a musical memorial celebration of David's life at St. Peter's Jazz Ministry in New York City on Monday March 9th.

Tuesday 2/17

Red Garland

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Red Garland. William "Red" Garland was born in Dallas in 1923. He started out on clarinet and sax, but changed to piano when he was 18. Among Garland's influences as a young musician in New York were Count Basie, Nat "King" Cole, Art Tatum and Bud Powell. Garland backed up many jazz greats such as Billy Eckstine, Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker, but did not have much recognition until he was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet's rhythm section from 1955 to 1958. Although Garland was eventually fired by Davis due to creative and other differences, he also led his own successful small groups, and made many classic recordings of jazz standards and originals in the late 1950s and early 1960s. However, Garland returned to his native Texas for a time after his mother's death in 1968, largely because the jazz scene was drying up for performers like him who did not want to play modal jazz or fusion. Garland came out of semi-retirement in the 1970s in Dallas, and record producer Orrin Keepnews got him to leave Dallas and continue playing on a limited schedule. Garland made a number of late-career recordings for several labels before his death in 1984. Red Garland's use of block chords, counterpoint and blues influence make his style easy to recognize even today, and he has often been imitated but still cannot be duplicated.

Wynton Marsalis

WAER 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. At an early age, Marsalis exhibited a keen interest and aptitude in music. At age six, Marsalis was given his first trumpet by a friend of his father's, the legendary Al Hirt. At age eight he performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by legendary banjoist, Danny Barker. At fourteen he was invited to perform with the New Orleans Philharmonic. During his high school years attending Benjamin Franklin High School, Marsalis was a member of the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, under the direction of Peter Dombourian, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony and on weekends he performed in a jazz band as well as in the popular local funk band, the Creators.He moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School of Music in 1978 and quickly garnered a lot of attention. Two years later in 1980, he joined the Jazz Messengers to study under master drummer and bandleader, Art Blakey. It was from Blakey that Marsalis acquired his concept for bandleading and for bringing intensity to each and every performance. In 1981, Marsalis toured with the Herbie Hancock quartet throughout the USA and Japan, as well as performing at the Newport Jazz Festival with Herbie. In the years to follow, Marsalis was invited to perform with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Edison, Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, and other countless jazz legends. 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. Wynton's next album, titled "He And She" on the Blue Note label, will be released on March 24th.

Wednesday 2/18

Ray Brown

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Ray Brown. Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one. With a vacancy in the high school jazz orchestra, he took up the double bass. From 1946 to 1951 he played in Gillespie's band. Brown, along with the vibraphonist Milt Jackson, drummer Kenny Clarke, and the pianist John Lewis formed the rhythm section of the Gillespie band, and their work together eventually led to the creation of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Brown became acquainted with singer Ella Fitzgerald when she joined the Gillespie band as a special attraction for a tour of the southern United States in 1947. The two married that year, and together they adopted a child born to Fitzgerald's half-sister Frances, whom they christened Ray Brown, Jr. It was at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in 1949 that Brown first worked with the jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, in whose trio Brown would play from 1951 to 1966. In 1966, he settled in Los Angeles where he was in high demand working for various television show orchestras. He also accompanied some of the leading artists of the day, including Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, and Nancy Wilson. He also managed his former musical partners, the Modern Jazz Quartet, as well as a young Quincy Jones, produced some shows for the Hollywood Bowl, wrote jazz double bass instruction books, and developed a jazz cello. In the 1980s and 1990s he led his own trios and continued to refine his bass playing style. In his later years he recorded and toured extensively with pianist Gene Harris. In the early 1980s, he even discovered a young singer by the name of Diana Krall in a restaurant in British Columbia. He continued to perform up until his death in July of 2002 right before he was set to play a show in Indianapolis.

Art Blakey

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Art Blakey. Blakey was born in Pittsburgh in 1919, and began his musical training with childhood piano lessons. By the time he was 12, Blakey was leading a professional jazz group. After switching to the drums, Blakey worked with such jazz stars as Mary Lou Williams and Fletcher Henderson. Blakey led his own big band for a while, and then joined the Billy Eckstine band, which also produced such giants as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. When the Eckstine group disbanded, Blakey formed a rehearsal band called the 17 Messengers, which he eventually reduced to an octet that he called the Jazz Messengers. This soon-to-be famous name was then given to a group that Blakey was in, but that was led by pianist Horace Silver and which also included Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham. When Silver left the group, Blakey became the leader of the Jazz Messengers, and he led the group through various personnel changes for most of his career. Blakey became noted as a judge and guide of young jazz talent, and such stars as Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Benny Golson, Joanne Brackeen, Geoffrey Keezer, Chuck Mangione, and Wayne Shorter learned much of their craft as members of the Jazz Messengers. Blakey's hard-bop style, which he kept even in the face of such movements as free jazz and fusion, was a huge influence on the "young lions" who became the major figures of today's mainstream jazz. Blakey lived long enough to see his style come back into style, and since his death from cancer in 1990, much of his music has been reissued to be enjoyed by a new audience.

Thursday 2/19

Marlena Shaw

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Marlena Shaw, who was born in Valhalla, New York in 1942. Shaw's uncle was a trumpeter, and he introduced her to music by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Al Hibbler. At the age of 10, Shaw made her debut at the Apollo Theatre, but her mother would not allow her to sing on the road with her uncle. Shaw attended SUNY Potsdam for a while, but dropped out, got married, and sang around New England with a group led by Howard McGhee. By the mid- 60s, Shaw was working regularly in New York and in the big resorts in the Catskills. In 1966, she recorded a vocal version of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" that became a hit single, and she did many recordings of jazz, pop and blues for the Cadet label. When Count Basie heard about Shaw, he signed her up, and she sang with Basie's big band for four years. In 1972, Shaw was the first female singer signed to Blue Note Records, although such singers as Sheila Jordan and Dodo Greene had done one-off albums for them; she did five albums and a number of singles for them. Also in the 70s, Shaw toured in nightclubs with Sammy Davis, Jr. Shaw recorded some disco and pop-jazz in the 1970s, and returned to her style of R & B-influenced jazz in her recordings for Verve, Concord and 441. Shaw is a very extroverted and glamorous live performer, and has a large following in this country and overseas, especially in Japan. At an age when many are considering retirement, Marlena Shaw retains her vocal and personal beauty, as well as her legendary energy and humor. Marlena Shaw will celebrate her 67th birthday on September 22nd.

George Benson

WAER 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. Benson continues to tour the world performing over 100 shows a year. He will be celebrating his 66th birthday next month and is currently in the studio working on his next album.

Friday 2/20

Quincy Jones

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Quincy Jones. Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American music impresario, conductor, record producer, musical arranger, film composer and trumpeter. Throughout the 50s, Jones successfully toured all over Europe with a number of jazz orchestras. In 1956, Quincy toured as musical director with the Dizzy Gillepie Big Band. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is best known as the producer of two of the top-selling records of all time: the album Thriller, by pop icon Michael Jackson, which sold 104 million copies worldwide, and the charity song We Are the World. In 1968, Jones and his songwriting partner Bob Russell became the first African-Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category. That same year, he became the first African-American to be nominated twice within the same year when he was nominated for Best Original Score for his work on the music of In Cold Blood. Jones was also the first (and so far, the only) African-American to be nominated as a producer in the category of Best Picture (in 1986, for The Color Purple). He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the most Oscar-nominated African-American, each of them having seven nominations. On March 14th, Quincy Jones will celebrate his 76th birthday.

Freddy Cole

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Freddy Cole. Born Lionel Frederick Cole in Chicago in 1931, he is the brother of Nat "King" Cole and the uncle of Natalie Cole. However, as he sings, "I'm not my brother, I'm me;" although Freddy sounds a little like his late brother, his voice is a little deeper and rougher, and he has a delivery all his own. Cole began playing the piano at the age of six. He almost became a football player, but went into music after a hand injury. Although Cole has recorded since the 1950s, he was in Nat "King" Cole's shadow for a long time, and had to wait until recent years to be recognized in his own right. Freddy Cole's recordings of the last few years show that his voice has lasted well, and that he can handle anything from Michel Legrand ballads to humorous numbers with ease, while also playing excellent piano. Some of Cole's recordings from previous decades are also being reissued. It took a long time for Freddy Cole to attain the recognition that he now has among jazz fans, but it is very well-deserved. Freddy Cole was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Cole Nobody Knows by filmmaker Clay Walker.

Monday 2/23

Shirley Scott

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Shirley Scott. Scott was born in Philadelphia in 1934, and studied piano and trumpet before she took up the Hammond B-3 organ, an instrument very much associated with her hometown. Scott attained early recognition thanks to her recordings from the late 1950s with saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Scott became quite prominent in the soul-jazz movement of the 1960s, especially after her marriage to tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, which proved to be a very effective musical partnership, even though the marriage ended after a few years. In the 1970s, Scott and other jazz organists were in the background while newer musical styles like fusion and pop-jazz became popular. However, Scott never stopped working as a performer and teacher, and when the Hammond B-3 returned to favor as a jazz instrument in the late 1980s, Scott returned to the recording studio. She also did some recordings as a pianist in the 1990s, and she was even the musical director for Bill Cosby's revival of the "You Bet Your Life" TV show. Unfortunately, Scott's career was cut short when she was prescribed fen-phen to lose weight, and the drug damaged her heart so severely that she no longer had the strength to play. Scott won a lawsuit against the drug's manufacturer, and was awarded $8 million in 2000. However, Scott's health never returned, and she died of heart failure on March 10th, 2002. Shirley Scott's mix of jazz, gospel and blues and incisive playing style made her stand out, and this was especially noteworthy at a time when most jazz instrumentalists were male. Scott's influence continues today through her recordings, and also through many Philadelphia jazz musicians who were her students.

Benny Carter

WAER 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 Torme, 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.

Tuesday 2/24

Allen Toussaint

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Allen Toussaint. Allen was born in New Orleans in 1938. Toussaint grew up in a shotgun house in the New Orleans neighborhood of Gert Town, where his mother welcomed and fed all manner of musicians as they practiced and recorded with Allen. After a lucky break at 17 in which he stood in for Huey Smith at a performance with Earl King's band in Pritchard, Alabama, Toussaint was introduced to a group of local musicians who performed regularly at a night club on LaSalle street Uptown - they were known as the "Dew Drop Set". As a producer, bandleader, arranger, songwriter, session musician and all-around musical eminence, Allen Toussaint impacted the New Orleans music scene of the Sixties in much the same way that Dave Bartholomew had in the Fifties. Toussaint, in fact, apprenticed under Bartholomew at sessions for such legends as Fats Domino, so it was a seamless transition when the R&B baton passed between generations in New Orleans. Born and raised in the Crescent City, Toussaint left his stamp on the city's contemporary R&B scene. His greatest contribution was in not allowing the city's old-school R&B traditions to die out but by keeping pace with developments in the rapidly evolving worlds of soul and funk. In addition, he brought the New Orleans sound to the national stage, and it remains a vital and ongoing part of our musical heritage to this day. Toussaint came into his own as a studio auteur for the Minit and Instant labels from 1960-63. He produced, arranged and sometimes wrote a string of classic sides for such New Orleans R&B artists as Lee Dorsey, Jessie Hill, Ernie K-Doe and Chris Kenner. Many listeners heard New Orleans-style piano for the first time via Toussaint's playing on Ernie K-Doe's #1 hit, "Mother-in-Law." "Fortune Teller," written pseudonymously by Toussaint and recorded by Jessie Hill, became a virtual standard among British Invasion bands. The early Rolling Stones and Who, among others, included it in their live repertoire. As writer Ed Ward put it, "Toussaint was the main exponent of what the locals called the carnival sound-a raucous, polyrhythmic beat that was solid but complex, like a rhythm and blues rumba crossed with the second-line rhythms of Professor Longhair." Toussaint also groomed a quartet of top-drawer New Orleans musicians known as the Meters. They served as the Sansu house band while releasing funky instrumentals under their own name. In 1973, Toussaint and Sehorn built their own Sea-Saint studio, which attracted local musicians like Dr. John ("Right Place Wrong Time") and the Neville Brothers, as well as established stars like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon and Robert Palmer. Labelle recorded their 1975 chart-topper "Lady Marmalade" at Sea-Saint with Toussaint. In addition to his endless resume of productions, various Toussaint-penned songs-published under his own name and the pseudonym Naomi Neville (his mothers maiden name) have been covered by such notables as the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Little Feat, Al Hirt, Herb Alpert and Glen Campbell. The River in Reverse, Toussaint's collaborative album with Elvis Costello, was released on 29 May 2006 in the UK on the Verve label, by Universal Classics and Jazz UCJ. It was recorded in Hollywood and, notably, in Toussaint's native New Orleans as the first major studio session to take place after Hurricane Katrina. Allen Toussaint is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and he celebrated his 71st birthday on January 14th.

Louis Armstrong

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Louis Armstrong, who was called "the beginning and end of music in America" by his good friend Bing Crosby. Armstrong was born in 1901, although his actual birth date was not discovered until years after his death. His humble roots in New Orleans are well-known; he got his first cornet with the help of a junk dealer he worked for as a child. Armstrong dropped out of school, and he was put into the Colored Waifs' Home, a reform school, after firing a gun during a New Year's Eve celebration. It was a blessing in disguise, since Armstrong got formal musical training while in the Waifs' Home band. After Armstrong was released, he did menial day jobs and played music on the side. Eventually, he joined Kid Ory's and Fate Marable's bands, and moved to Chicago in 1922 after his mentor, King Oliver, sent for him. Armstrong married King Oliver's pianist, Lil Hardin, and she encouraged him to leave the Oliver band and show his own great talents. Armstrong did so, switched from cornet to trumpet, and made pioneering recordings as a leader of studio groups known as the Hot Five and Hot Seven. He soon made his mark as one of the greatest innovators and most virtuosic trumpeters in jazz history. Armstrong eventually became a bandleader himself, and also became a singer who helped popularize scat singing; his freewheeling style changed the sound of popular singing forever. After spending a few years in Europe, Armstrong returned to the U.S. and, under the management of Joe Glaser, became one of the most popular musicians and entertainers in the country. He led a big band and often appeared on radio and in films. When the big-band era ended after World War II, Armstrong started playing with smaller "All-Stars" groups that emphasized a traditional New Orleans style. He made international State Department tours as a goodwill ambassador, and also stood up for civil rights in the 1950s at a time when many other entertainment figures were not yet ready to take a stand. Armstrong had a huge pop hit in 1964 with "Hello, Dolly," and guest-starred in Barbra Streisand's movie of that hit musical. He also had such pop hits as "What a Wonderful World," which became a hit again years after his death in the film "Good Morning, Vietnam." Age and ill health forced Armstrong to cut back on performing in his last years, but he was planning yet another tour when he died in 1971. Although Louis Armstrong's career as a popular entertainer didn't please some jazz purists, he nonetheless laid many of the foundations for what jazz became. Dizzy Gillespie said it best when he said of Louis Armstrong, "No him--no me."

Wednesday 2/25

Tony Williams

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Tony Williams. Born in Chicago and growing up in Boston, Williams began studies with drummer Alan Dawson at an early age and began playing professionally at the age of 13 with saxophonist Sam Rivers. Saxophonist Jackie McLean hired Williams at 16. At 17 Williams found considerable fame with Miles Davis, joining a group that was later dubbed Davis's "Second Great Quintet." Williams was a vital element of the group, called by Davis in his autobiography "the center that the group's sound revolved around"[2]. His inventive playing helped redefine the role of jazz rhythm section through the use of polyrhythms and metric modulation (transitioning between mathematically related tempos and/or time signatures). Williams's first album as a leader, 1964's Life Time (not to be confused with the name of his band "Lifetime," which he formed several years later) was recorded during his tenure with Davis.
n 1969, he formed a trio, "The Tony Williams Lifetime," with John McLaughlin on guitar, and Larry Young on organ. Jack Bruce on bass was added later. It was a pioneering band of the fusion movement, a combination of rock, R&B, and jazz. Their first album, Emergency!, was largely rejected by the jazz community at the time of its release. Today, Emergency! is considered by many to be a fusion classic. In 1976, Williams was a part of a reunion of sorts with his old Miles Davis band compatriots, pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Miles was in the midst of a six year hiatus and was replaced by Freddie Hubbard. The record was later released as V.S.O.P. ("Very Special OneTime Performance") and was highly instrumental in increasing the popularity of acoustic jazz. The group went on to tour and record for several years, releasing a series of live albums under the name "V.S.O.P." or "The V.S.O.P. Quintet." In 1985, Williams recorded an album for Blue Note Records entitled Foreign Intrigue, which featured the playing of pianist Mulgrew Miller and trumpeter Wallace Roney. Later that year he formed a quintet with Miller and Roney which also featured tenor and soprano saxophonist Bill Pierce and bassist Charnett Moffett (later Ira Coleman). This band played Williams' compositions almost exclusively (the Lennon/McCartney song "Blackbird", the standard "Poinciana", and the Freddie Hubbard blues "Birdlike" being the exceptions) and toured and recorded throughout the remainder of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. This rhythm section also recorded as a trio. Williams lived and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death from a heart attack in 1997 following routine gall bladder surgery. However, the impact that Tony had on many jazz drummers around the world will live on forever.

Clark Terry

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Clark Terry, also known as "Mumbles." Terry was born in 1920. He got his start in St. Louis in the 1940s, where he was heard by a young Miles Davis, and also got experience in a Navy band during World War II. After the war, Terry graced the bands of Charlie Barnet, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. In the 1950s, Terry started gaining recognition as a leader, and also gained a reputation for his use of the flugelhorn. He also became celebrated for his witty performances and for his famous "mumbles" style of singing, which was originally a satire on the poor diction of some blues singers. Terry also toured Europe with Quincy Jones, became a member of the Tonight Show Orchestra, and became a busy recording artist. He has led his own big band and a number of small groups, and has been a guest soloist with many jazz festivals and orchestras, including the Central New York Jazz Orchestra. Along with his decades of solid achievement as a performer, Terry is also noted for his hard work in jazz education and for his infectious sense of humor. Although Clark Terry has had health problems in recent years, he has been active as a performer and recording artist as his condition permits, and has lived long enough to enjoy a status as a real elder statesman of jazz. Clark has sixteen honorary doctorates and is also a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. On December 14th, Clark Terry will celebrate his 89th birthday.

Thursday 2/26

Regina Carter

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Regina Carter. Carter was born in Detroit in 1966, and studied classical violin at Oakland University and the New England Conservatory before starting a jazz career. Carter got some of her first attention from the jazz world as a member of the Detroit-based all-female group Straight Ahead. However, she soon moved to New York and took the jazz world by storm as a solo artist, recording both acoustic and electric projects. She has also played with jazz greats from Cassandra Wilson to Milt Jackson, with pop artists from Dolly Parton to Aretha Franklin, and with classical orchestras and artists such as Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg. Carter is the first jazz musician, and the first African American, to have the rare chance to play the priceless Guarneri del Gesu violin known as "The Cannon," which belonged at one time to the legendary classical violinist Nicolo Paganini; she played jazz with it in concert and on the CD "Paganini: After a Dream." Carter has received a number of awards and honorary degrees, including a "genius grant" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2006. Her most recent album was titled "I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey which was a tribute to her late mother, Grace Carter. With her combination of jazz, classical, R & B, and world music influences, Regina Carter is a violinist and composer of great originality. Regina will celebrate her 43rd birthday on August 6th.

Lou Rawls

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Lou Rawls. Lou’s voice is as distinctive and instantly recognizable as any in music. It all began on December 1, 1933, in Chicago with the birth of a boy, who would become the legendary Lou Rawls. From Lou’s early days in gospel, his collaborations with Sam Cooke, “The Dick Clark Show” at the Hollywood Bowl in 1959, the opening for The Beatles in 1966 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, his monologues in the 1970s that presaged rap music to becoming a “crossover” artist before the term was invented, there has been one constant in Lou Rawls’ career––a voice that one critic proclaimed was “sweet as sugar, soft as velvet, strong as steel, smooth as butter. Lou’s 52 years in entertainment as a recording artist, included an astonishing 60-plus albums, three Grammy wins, 13 Grammy nominations, one platinum album, five gold albums and a gold single and a Star on the Hollywood Hall of Fame. Playing small R&B, pop and soul clubs in Los Angeles, Rawls was performing at Pandora's Box Coffee Shop for $10 a night plus pizza in late 1959 when Nick Venet, a producer at Capitol, was so impressed with Lou's four-octave range that he invited Lou to make an audition tape. Lou did and was signed to Capitol. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water, his 1962 solo debut album, became the first of more than 20 albums on that label in only a decade. It was Love Is A Hurtin' Thing in 1966 which shot Rawls to the top. The album was nominated for two Grammy awards: Best R&B Recording and Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance. During this period, Lou began his hip monologues about life and love on "World of Trouble" and "Tobacco Road," each more than seven minutes long. Called "pre-rap" by some, for Rawls they grew out of necessity."I was working in little joints where the stage would be behind the bar. So you were standing right over the cash register and the crushed ice machine. You'd be swinging and the waitress would yell, 'I want 12 beers and four martinis!' And then the dude would put the ice in the crusher. There had to be a way to get the attention of the people. So instead of just starting in singing, I would just start in talking the song." His "raps" were so popular that 1967's "Dead End Street" won him his first Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance. In addition to singing, Rawls' talents extend to acting, a second love. Over the years he has appeared as a series regular, guest star and host in television series as well as television and theatrical movies. In the recent years Lou ventured in to the feature film arena, taking on lead roles in independent films as well as smaller parts in movies such as Oscar winning Leaving Las Vegas and Blues Brothers 2000. In 1999 Rawls appeared on Broadway for a stint in Smokey Joe's Cafe. In 2003 he released the critically accaimed Rawls Sings Sinatra CD on Savoy Records. As always, Lou’s fans motivated him to continue to travel extensively from clubs to jazz festivals, from America to Europe to Asia until one month prior to his death on January 6, 2006.

Friday 2/27

Marcus Miller

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of Marcus Miller. Born William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. in Brooklyn, New York, Marcu was around music a lot and always fooling around on the piano: His father played piano and organ (mainly in church). His father's family also includes cousin Wynton Kelly, a very influential jazz pianist who played with Miles Davis in the late fifties. At the age of eight Miller began playing the recorder, and the clarinet at age ten at the public schools he attended. In middle school, he learned saxophone as well. Miller went to the High School of Music and Art (now the Laguardia School of Performing Arts), where he majored in the clarinet. As a teenager, Miller would buy sheet music to many popular songs and want to play them. His father would teach him how to just read the guitar chord symbols and make up his own accompaniment. At the same time, Miller was playing bass in some funk bands in his neighborhood, learning about funk and grooves, and relating to people with music. Miller spent approximately 15 years performing as a sideman or session musician and observing how great leaders operated. During that time he also did a lot of arranging and producing. During the eighties he was a member of the Saturday Night Live band ('78 and '79). He played on over 500 recordings, including those by Luther Vandross, Grover Washington Jr., Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, McCoy Tyner, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol. Miller's proficiency on his main instrument, the bass guitar, is generally well-regarded. Not only has Miller been involved in the continuing development of a technique known as "slapping", particularly his "thumb" technique, but his fretless bass technique has also served as an inspiration to many, and has taken the fretless bass into musical situations and genres previously unexplored with the electric bass of any description. The influences of some of the previous generation of electric bass players, such as Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius, are audible in Miller's playing. Early in his career, Miller was accused of being simply imitative of Pastorius, but has since more fully integrated the latter's methodology into his own sound. Miller has won numerous Grammy's as a producer for Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chaka Khan and Wayne Shorter. In 1997 Miller played bass and bass clarinet in a band called Legends, featuring Eric Clapton (guitars and vocals), Joe Sample (piano), David Sanborn (alto sax) and Steve Gadd (drums). It was an 11-date tour of major jazz festivals in Europe. He released two recordings in 2008, "Marcus" on the Concord label and "SMV" with fellow bassists Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten on the Heads Up label. Marcus Miller will celebrate his 50th birthday on June 14th.

Dizzy Gillespie

WAER salutes Black History Month with the music of John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie. Born in South Carolina in 1917, Gillespie taught himself the trombone, switched to trumpet, and got more musical training while in an agricultural school, which he left so he could play professionally. He got the nickname of "Dizzy" because of his crazy antics and sense of humor, and was fired from the Calloway band when someone else threw a spitball at Cab and blamed it on Dizzy. However, Gillespie was far from "dizzy" musically; along with Charlie Parker and other musicians, he pioneered bebop in the Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine big bands and in the famous jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in New York. After World War II, the records that Gillespie and Parker did caught the music world and the public by surprise, but the new bebop style became the foundation for jazz in the second half of the 20th century. After an early big band failed, Gillespie tried again in 1946, and made such great records as "A Night In Tunisia" and experiments with Afro-Cuban music featuring the great Chano Pozo. After the novelty of bebop wore off, Gillespie broke up the big band, but continued to play in smaller groups, and the famous "Jazz at Massey Hall" concert in Toronto in 1953 with Dizzy, Parker and other stars of the new style was recorded and became an inspiration to later players. Gillespie formed another big band in 1956 for a State Department tour, and it included the young Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and Melba Liston as players and arrangers. In later years, Dizzy kept performing with small groups, and was also a mentor to many younger musicians. He also formed the United Nation Orchestra, which got its name from Gillespie's belief that music could help the world be one united nation; this band included players from a number of countries. Gillespie kept working until 1992, when his health began failing, and he died of cancer in 1993. Dizzy Gillespie will be remembered for his musical adventurousness, his incredible virtuosity on the trumpet, his help of up-and-coming talent, and for the showmanship that delighted several generations of jazz fans.