Category Archives: News

Dan’s Advent Saxophone Calendar #10 – George Coleman

Tenor Saxophonist George Coleman is best known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1935 and attended school with Harold Mabern, Booker Little and Charles Lloyd.  He worked with B.B King, Gene Ammons, Jonny Griffin, Max Roach, Jimmy Smith, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Cobb and many, many more.

He took over the tenor saxophone chair in Miles Davis’ Quintet for a brief time, before being replaced by Wayne Shorter.  Nevertheless, Miles retained a high opinion of Coleman’s playing, stating that “George played everything almost perfectly…He was a hell of a musician.” Coleman played with Lionel Hampton (1965–1966), also in 1965 on Chet Baker‘s The Prestige Sessions, with Kirk Lightsey, Herman Wright, and Roy Brooks.[6] Clark Terry, Horace Silver, Elvin Jones (1968), Shirley Scott (1972), Cedar Walton (1975), Charles Mingus (1977–1978), Ahmad Jamal (1994, 2000), and many others.

Coleman recorded into the 2000s. His CD as co-leader, Four Generations of Miles: A Live Tribute To Miles, with bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jimmy Cobb and guitarist Mike Stern was released on Chesky Records in October 2002, and it concentrates almost exclusively on the 1950s repertoire of Miles Davis. Tracks include: “There Is No Greater Love“, “All Blues“, “On Green Dolphin Street“, “Blue in Green“, “81”, “Freddie Freeloader“, “My Funny Valentine“, “If I Were a Bell”, and “Oleo“. He was featured on Joey DeFrancesco‘s 2006 release Organic Vibes, along with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, Billboard’s Top Jazz Album Chart, peaked to No. 17.[8]

He was named an NEA Jazz Master and to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015, and received a brass note on the Beale Street Brass Notes Walk of Fame.[9]

 

& Here are the playlists!

Dan’s Advent Saxophone Calendar #9 – Joe Lovano

Big Tenor Man Joe Lovano is someone who can divide opinion amongst jazz lovers.

For some he’s a great example of a swinging hard bop tenor, for others, he just plays lots of notes over changes and gets more recognition than players twice as good as he is.

The truth is Joe Lovano has played with some of the greatest jazz musicians of the 20th Century and has recorded some great albums.  Sure, he can grate in interviews, but then so does my mentor Branford when he gives his very qualified opinion.

Lovano was born in 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents of Sicilian heritage. His father Tony was a tenor saxophonist and encouraged the young Joe to check out Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt.  He attended the Berklee College of Music and after he left, Lovano worked with Jack McDuff and Lonnie Smith. He spent three years with the Woody Herman orchestra, then moved to New York City, where he played with the big band of Mel Lewis.

He has recorded with McCoy Tyner, Paul Motion, Peter Erskine and many others as you will see from the playlists below – enjoy and PLEASE SHARE!

Dan’s Advent Saxophone Calendar #8 – Johnny Hodges

When Charlie Parker thinks you’re one of the greatest Alto players ever, you were John Coltrane’s hero & the greatest composer in Jazz loved your tone, you know you’re a pretty good player.

Day 8 of our Advent Calendar features Alto Saxophonist Johnny Hodges.  Hodges, or ‘Rabbit’ was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1907, but he grew up in Boston.  His first instruments were the piano and drums, switching to the Soprano Saxophone in his teens and after hearing Sidney Bechet aged 14, knew he wanted to make music is full time career.

He joined Duke Ellington’s Orchestra in 1928 & Ellington’s practice of writing tunes specifically for members of his orchestra resulted in the Hodges specialties, “Confab with Rab”, “Jeep’s Blues”, “Sultry Sunset”, and “Hodge Podge”. Other songs recorded by the Ellington Orchestra which prominently feature Hodges’ smooth alto saxophone sound are “Magenta Haze”, “Prelude to a Kiss“, “Haupe” (from Anatomy of a Murder) – note also the “seductive” and hip-swaying “Flirtibird”, featuring the “irresistibly salacious tremor” by Hodges, “The Star-Crossed Lovers” from Ellington’s Such Sweet Thunder suite, “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)“, “Blood Count” and “Passion Flower”.

Enjoy…

Dan’s Advent Saxophone Calendar #7 – Dave Liebman

Dave Liebman is the first of our Advent Saxophonists who is still alive, and what an impact he’s had.

Liebman was born in New York in 1946 and grew up in the Big Apple, starting the piano aged nine and getting his first saxophone aged twelve.  It was in New York where he was fortunate to hear John Coltrane live at Birdland when he was just seventeen! Dave Liebman then went onto to play with Coltrane’s former drummer Elvin Jones and Miles Davis in the 1970s.

Dan’s Advent Saxophone Calendar #6 – Stan Getz

‘Stan Getz is a great bunch of guys’*

Stan Getz was born Stanley Gayetski in 1927 and became one of the most important post-war tenor saxophonists.  His music became widely known and his sound became ‘the sound’ of the saxophone for many people after his successful collaboration with Charles Byrd and later Anton Carlos Jobim during the Bossa Nova craze of the 1960’s.

But Getz was no commercial sell-out.  He had some serious jazz chops and worked with the likes of Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman and Dizzy Gillespie.

Enjoy the video, the playlists and share some Getz with someone today!


*attributed to Zoot Simms

Dan’s Advent Saxophone Calendar #5 – Lester Young

Today is ‘President’s Day’ – that is we honour Lester Young.

Lester Young was nicknamed ‘Prez’ by Billie Holiday, who he nicknamed, ‘Lady Day.’ Alongside saxophonist #3, (Coleman Hawkins) Lester Young was the most significant Tenor Saxophonist of the Pre-War era.

Born in Woodville, Mississippi and raised in New Orleans, Young played drums until he noticed that, ‘all the pretty girls had left by the time I’d packed away my kit,’ so, he switched to saxophone! His relaxed, cool sound and ‘hip’ slang set him apart from his peers.  He could play for hours and often did in many of the all night jam sessions in Kansas City.

At the time his sound was considered ‘wrong’ but it was his sound that influenced Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Stan Getz and thousands of other saxophonists who came after them.