For Charlie Parker’s birthday week, we check out Bird and Diz playing Tad Dameron’s Hot House. Saxophonist and composer Charles Parker, Jr. was born on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas. During the early ’40s, Parker participated in late-night New York City jam … Continue reading
One of a handful of musicians who can be said to have permanently changed jazz, Charlie Parker was arguably the greatest saxophonist of all time. He could play remarkably fast lines that, if slowed down to half speed, would reveal … Continue reading
In 1960, following the demise of a few short-lived Houston-based groups called The Swingsters and the Nite Hawks, Joe Sample (piano), Stix Hooper (drums), Wilton Felder (saxophone), and Wayne Henderson (trombone), relocated to Los Angeles, CA. After changing their name … Continue reading
Raymond Matthews “Ray” Brown (October 13, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an influential American jazz double bassist and cellist, known for extensive work with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others. Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and … Continue reading