with Sharron Mcleod (voice) Michael Stuart (horns)

Today Thelonious Monk is widely accepted as a genuine master of American music. His compositions constitute the core of jazz repertory and are performed by artists from many different genres. He is the subject of award winning documentaries, biographies and scholarly studies, prime time television tributes, and he even has an Institute created in his name. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz was created to promote jazz education and to train and encourage new generations of musicians. It is a fitting tribute to an artist who was always willing to share his musical knowledge with others but expected originality in return.

www.monkzone.com

with Sharron Mcleod (voice) Michael Stuart (horns)

Parker also became an icon for the Beat generation, and was a pivotal figure in the evolving conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical to Latin music, blazing paths followed later by others.

www.cmgworldwide.com/music/parker

His contribution to jazz as a discoverer and molder of young talent over four decades is no less significant than his very considerable innovations on his instrument.

www.artblakey.com

with Sacha Williamson (voice) Neil Brathwaite (horns)

Whether it was bandleader Lionel Hampton, booking agent Joe Glaser, or Garrick Stage Bar boss Joe Sherman who gave Ruth the memorable stage handle of Dinah Washington, there’s no disputing her steady rise to stardom. A featured billing [at] the Garrick led Hampton to hire her to sing with his big band in 1943.

Jazz critic Leonard Feather caught her with the Hampton band that December at Harlem’s Apollo and convinced Keynote Records to sponsor her debut session, but recording opportunities proved scarce while she was in Hampton’s employ. Before year’s end, Washington bid Hampton adieu, recording three Los Angeles sessions for the Apollo label under her own name before signing with the then-fledgling Mercury. She cut her first date for Mercury in January 1946, and by the summer of ’48 her solo star was in rapid ascension.

Finally, in 1959, Dinah Washington made the full-fledged leap to pop stardom, thanks to the lovely Belford Hendricks-arranged ballad "What a Diff’rence a Day Makes". Under a&r man Clyde Otis’s market-savvy direction, she mined more pop gold with the stately "Unforgettable" and "This Bitter Earth". It was Otis’s brainstorm to pair Washington with her deep-voiced label mate Brook Benton; their seemingly playful duet "Baby, You Got What It Takes" masked serious tension between the two, but the end result was a giant pop and r&b hit in 1960.

An unintentional but lethal combination of alcohol and pills forever stilled Dinah Washington’s magnificent voice in Detroit on December 14, 1963. She was only thirty-nine.

www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?aid=2851

with Chris Rouse (vocals)

Raised in St. Louis and reared in the church, Hathaway was a child prodigy, singing and playing piano at a very young age. He later attended Howard University, where he met his future singing partner, Roberta Flack. After leaving school, he developed into a sought-after keyboardist and songwriter, ultimately working at Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records. He signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records and released his debut, Everything Is Everything, in 1970. It was the world's first exposure to the plaintive, emotional, velvety singing style that would make Hathaway one of the most revered soul singers ever. His version of Nina Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" on that disc is chilling. And his diverse and unique arrangements, combined with his strong writing and excellent outside song selections, made for a fine debut.

For an artist who only recorded three solo studio albums, Hathaway left an incredible mark on soul music. Young soul artists from India.Arie to Frank McComb to Alicia Keys to Kenny Lattimore consistently list Hathaway as among their principal musical influences, and his imprint on their music is clear. He was a perceptive and powerful songwriter and clearly one of the greatest Soul voices ever. Any one of his albums is worth obtaining. For newer fans, his posthumous compilation release, A Donny Hathaway Collection, is a wonderful overview of his best music.

www.soultracks.com/donny_hathaway.htm

with a 7 piece band featuring Carlos Morgan (voice)

www.luthervandross.com

with a 5 piece band featuring Tiki Mercury Clark (voice)

Simone recorded over 40 live and studio albums, the biggest body of her work being released between 1958 (when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue) and 1974. Songs she is best known for include "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I Put a Spell On You", "I Loves You Porgy", "Feeling Good", "Sinnerman", "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't got no-I got life". Her music and message made a strong and lasting impact on African-American culture, illustrated by the numerous contemporary artists citing her as an important influence (among them Alicia Keys, Jeff Buckley and Lauryn Hill), as well as the extensive use of her music on soundtracks and in remixes.

www.ninasimone.com

directed by award winning trumpeter Nick Brownman Ali

www.milesdavis.com

with Yvonne Moore on vocals

Nancy’s debut single, "Guess Who I Saw Today", was so successful that between April 1960 and July 1962 Capitol Records released five Nancy Wilson albums, and a 1962 album with Adderley propelled her to national prominence. In 1963 "Tell Me The Truth" became her first truly major hit, leading up to her performance at the Coconut Grove in 1964 – the turning pointing of her career garnering critical acclaim from coast to coast. It was covered in Time magazine, "She is, all at once, both cool and sweet, both singer and storyteller".

Nancy Wilson’s musical style is so diverse that it is hard to classify. Over the years her repertoire has included pop style ballads, jazz and blues, show tunes and well-known standards. Critics have described her as “a jazz singer,” “a blues singer,” “a pop singer,” and “a cabaret singer.” Still others have referred to her as “a storyteller,” “a professor emeritus of body language,” “a consummate actress,” and “the complete entertainer".

missnancywilson.com

featuring the great Glen Ricketts & Eddie Bullen with band

Cooke’s career was defined by his early embrace of gospel and his subsequent move into the world of pop music and rhythm & blues. Joining the Soul Stirrers at age fifteen, he served as lead vocalist from 1950–56. He recorded his first pop song, “Lovable,” as Dale Cook, choosing the pseudonym so as not to jeopardize his standing within the gospel community. Nonetheless, he’d crossed a line that made it impossible for him to carry on with the Soul Stirrers. Cooke’s first solo successes came on the Keen label, for which he recorded “You Send Me,” “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” and “Wonderful World,” among others. In 1960 Cooke signed with RCA, where his hits included “Chain Gang,” “Cupid,” “Another Saturday Night” and “Twistin’ the Night Away.” A versatile singer who never really settled on a style, Cooke tackled everything from sophisticated balladry and lighthearted pop to finger-popping rock and roll and raw, raspy rhythm & blues.

In addition to being a performer, Cooke established himself as a successful and even groundbreaking black entrepreneur operating within the mainstream music industry. Cooke produced records for other singers, founded his own publishing company (Kags Music) and launched a record label (Sar/Derby). He also helped such fellow artists as Bobby Womack, Johnnie Taylor, Billy Preston and Lou Rawls make the transition from gospel to pop. Tragically, Cooke was shot to death at a Los Angeles motel on December 11th, 1964, under mysterious circumstances. RCA posthumously issued “Shake” b/w “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Regarded as one of the greatest singles of the modern era, it matched a hard-hitting R&B number (later cut by Otis Redding) with a haunting song about faith and reckoning that returned Cooke’s voice to its familiar gospel home.

www.samcooke.com

featuring award winning Saxophonist Demo Kates and his 7 piece bands

''I don’t think in terms of categories", said Washington. "My main motive is to move on. My job is to explore and express music of the heart. I want to venture forward. I want to stay in the mood of my moment."

Washington made his reputation with a series of recordings made in the 70s. He began to play sessions with the likes of Bob James, Randy Weston, Eric Gale and Dave Grusin, and in 1980 his album The Winelight won two GRAMMY Awards, vaulting him to the forefront of jazz fusion. In the early 80s, Washington played a major role in establishing the Philadelphia group Pieces of a Dream, producing three albums with them. Throughout the decade he continued to put out solo albums that, along with his work as composer and producer, reinforced his position as a key player in modern jazz.

www.groverwashingtonjr.com

In Praise of the Gospel featuring Sister Lois

In Jackson’s own words, “Rock and roll was stolen out of the sanctified church!” Certainly, in the unleashed frenzy of the “spirit feel” style of gospel epitomized by such singers as Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one can hear the rousing roots of rock and roll. Religious passion was paramount in Jackson’s life, and no sacred-to-secular transformation would mark her career as it did so many others. “Her voice is a heartfelt express of all that is most human about us—our fears, our faith, our hope for salvation,” David Ritz wrote in his liner notes for Mahalia Jackson: 16 Most Requested Songs. “Hope is the hallmark of Mahalia Jackson and the gospel tradition she embodies.”

www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/jackson_m.htm

with musical Director Neil Brathwaite and Michael Shand on Piano

Herbie Hancock's creative path has moved fluidly between almost every development in acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B since 1960. He has attained an enviable balance of commercial and artistic success, arriving at a point in his career where he ventures into every new project motivated purely by the desire to expand the boundaries of his creativity.

There are few artists in the music industry who have gained more respect and cast more influence than Herbie Hancock. As the immortal Miles Davis said in his autobiography, "Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, and I haven't heard anybody yet who has come after him."

www.herbiehancock.com

with Alexander Brown (trumpet)

He won the Down Beat critics' poll for the 'New Star of the Year' in 1954; he was inducted into the Down Beat 'Jazz Hall of Fame' in 1972 in the critics' poll. Arturo Sandoval described him as "one of what we call the mandatory trumpet players" who was "one of the greatest trumpet players of all time".

Brown was born in Wilmington, Delaware. After briefly attending the University of Delaware and Maryland State College (University of Maryland, Eastern Shore), he moved into playing music professionally, where he quickly became one of the most highly regarded trumpeters in jazz.

His style was influenced by Fats Navarro, sharing Navarro's virtuosic technique and brilliance of invention. His sound was warm and round, and notably consistent across the full range of the instrument. He could articulate every note, even at the high tempos which seemed to present no difficulty to him; this served to enhance the impression of his speed of execution. His sense of harmony was highly developed, enabling him to deliver bold statements through complex harmonic progressions (chord changes), and embodying the linear, "algebraic" terms of bebop harmony. As well as his up-tempo prowess, he could express himself deeply in a ballad performance. It is said that he played each set as though it would be his last.

www.cliffordbrown.net

with Alexander Brown (trumpet)

Born John Birks Gillespie, Dizzy moved to Philadelphia with his family at age 18 and joined Frankie Fairfax's band before moving on to New York City and Teddy Hill's big band in 1937, Later he played with all the greats--Ella Fitzgerald. Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Earl Hines, and Billie Holliday. He met saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in 1940 and soon was jamming with Parker, Thelonious Monk, and others. It was in this hothouse atmosphere of creativity that Gillespie and his cohorts astonished the world with their aggressive ornamentations, complex harmonic alterations, and rhythmic exploration that would soon be labeled "bebop." "What they did was like nitroglycerine, electricity," says Quincy Jones. "They broke all the rules, changed the world concert of American music."

Not all audiences and critics fell immediately in love with these new, often strange sounds. Gillespie, however, was a natural public relations man for this music with his hair-raising technical virtuousity, harmonic adventurousness, and most of all, integrating showmanship. He was, in fact, the first jazz artist to be sent abroad under the auspices of the United States government, spreading American goodwill and good music around the world.

Gillespie's legacy is probably best summed up by Gillespie himself in a statement that would sound a bit arrogant if it weren't so probable: "The music of Charlie Parker and me laid a foundation for all the music that is being played now. . . . Our music is going to be the classical music of the future."

And just how did Gillespie end up with that bizarre, trademark trumpet of his? The bent-bell trumpet got its start in 1953 when someone fell on his trumpet stand backstage; Gillespie liked the sound of the altered instrument so much that his trumpets were specially made from then on.

dizzygillespie.org

Meirion Kelly directs an All Star lineup of musicians to jazz up the music of the reggae icon

There’s no question that reggae is legitimately part of the larger culture of rock and roll, partaking of its full heritage of social forces and stylistic influences. In Marley’s own words, “Reggae music, soul music, rock music — every song is a sign.” Marley’s own particular symbolism derived from his beliefs as a Rastafarian — a sect that revered Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (a.k.a. Ras Tafari) as a living god who would lead oppressed blacks back to an African homeland — and his firsthand knowledge of the deprivations of the Jamaican ghettos. His lyrics mixed religious mysticism with calls for political uprising, and Marley delivered them in a passionate, declamatory voice.

Reggae’s loping, hypnotic rhythms carried an unmistakable signature that rose to the fore of the music scene in the Seventies, largely through the recorded work of Marley and the Wailers on the Island and Tuff Gong labels. Such albums as Natty Dread and Rastaman Vibration endure as reggae milestones that gave a voice to the poor and disfranchised citizens of Jamaica and, by extension, the world. In so doing, he also instilled them with pride and dignity in their heritage, however sorrowful the realities of their daily existence. Moreover, Marley’s reggae anthems provided rhythmic uplift that induced what Marley called “positive vibrations” in all who heard it. Regardless of how you heard it — political music suitable for dancing, or dance music with a potent political subtext — Marley’s music was a powerful potion for troubled times.

web.bobmarley.com

Neil Brathwaite celebrates the music of our late friend, musician Doug Richardson

[Insert Bio Here]

www.kollage.ca/richardson.html

Featured vocalist Sasha Williamson, Musical director Neil Brathwaite

Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. (Or rather, some might say all the jazz greats had the pleasure of working with Ella.)

She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. They were rich and poor, made up of all races, all religions and all nationalities. In fact, many of them had just one binding factor in common - they all loved her.

www.ellafitzgerald.com