Jazziversaries February 5
Bill Bissonnette (trombone) - 1937 :: Jazziversary wishes to Big Bill. Bill is a jazz trombonist, drummer, and producer.
He is a strong advocate of New Orleans jazz as played by the veteran African-American musicians. In the 1960s, he ran his own group The Easy Riders Jazz Band, formed his own label Jazz Crusade, and organized Northern tours for such veteran players as Kid Thomas Valentine, George Lewis, and Jim Robinson.
After a period off the scene, with the successful publication of his 1992 memoirs, The Jazz Crusade (which has many stories about New Orleans’ musicians), Bissonnette reactivated his label and began to play again.
He has produced over 100 recorded jazz sessions for his Jazz Crusade label and has appeared as trombonist or drummer on over 50 recording sessions of New Orleans jazz.
He has often rushed in where "angels feared to tread" to make that one last recording of some obscure jazzman. His 1960s group, "The Easy Riders Jazz Band" was the most acclaimed revival band of the era and recorded with many of the legendary New Orleans jazzmen.
He brought reedman Sammy Rimington to America when he was still just a youngster for one of his first big breaks which later led to his amazing success in the jazz field.
Bissonnette came in first place as "New Young Artist" in the 1965 Jazzology Jazz Poll. Over 30 years later he placed #5 among all jazz trombonists in the latest edition of that same poll. He is also well known as a drummer.
He was the legitimate protege of trombonist Big Jim Robinson, perhaps the greatest of all New Orleans trombonists. He studied drums with the legendary Sammy Penn. On his drumset sits the wooden ratchet used by Baby Dodds on his famous drum instruction recordings. He uses a slapstick made for him by Kid Thomas Valentine and one of Jim Robinson's mouthpieces sits on a shelf in his living room.
He has now produced over one hundred and 30 recording sessions. He has spent much of the 1990s documenting the British jazz scene with his "Best of the Brits" CD series. He published a newsletter several times a year. He traveled the world sitting-in with local New Orleans style bands or with his own touring all-star band.
He is featured on over 50 albums on both trombone and drums.
Bill Mays (piano) 1944 :: Jazziversary greetings to pianist Bill Mays. William Allen Mays, best known as Bill Mays, is an American jazz pianist from Sacramento, California.
He came from a musical family and at the age of 15 became interested in jazz at an Earl Hines concert.From 1969 to the early 1980s Mays worked as a studio session musician in Los Angeles. He has been an accompanist to singers Al Jarreau, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Dionne Warwick, and also worked with artists such as Mel Lewis, Shelly Manne, Bob Mintzer, Red Mitchell, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bobby Shew, Sonny Stitt, Paul Winter, Phil Woods and Frank Zappa.
In 1984, he moved to New York City and began to do more work as a bandleader, composer, and arranger. He has recorded over two dozen albums under his own name, and has been heard on hundreds more by others.
Jacqui Dankworth (vocal) - 1963 :: A very happy jazziversary to Jacqui Dankworth. Jacqui is a British jazz singer. She is the daughter of the jazz musician, arranger and composer Sir John Dankworth and the singer Dame Cleo Laine.
Before taking to the stage as a singer Jacqui Dankworth worked as an actress with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre and John Dexter’s Company playing a multitude of critically acclaimed roles. The plays soon turned into musicals and before long Dankworth was playing in the West End. This in turn led her to her own recording career.
In 2003, Dankworth released her first album, As The Sun Shines Down On Me on Candid Records. This album brought her to the attention of Michael Parkinson and BBC Radio 2, and she appeared regularly on air throughout that year.
More guest appearances followed, Dankworth featured on Courtney Pine’s album Devotion,which was released on 6 October 2003. Tied in with the release, Dankworth performed alongside Pine at the Royal Festival Hall, as part of the London Jazz Festival.
This new found attention brought her a guest appearance in the film, Shoreditch, starring Joely Richardson and Shane Ritchie. Dankworth appeared in the opening shot singing the Billie Holiday number, “My Man”, and later sang “Body and Soul” as a featured track.
Dankworth followed the success of As The Sun Shines Down On Me with the 2004 release, Detour Ahead. Her third album, Back To You was released in 2009. She is currently working on an album that she started with her late father, and appeared in the Les Misérables film.
Chris Biscoe (saxophone) - 1947 :: A happy jazziversary to Chris Biscoe. Chris is an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, a player of the alto, soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, the alto clarinet, piccolo and flute. Biscoe is most notable for his work done with Mike Westbrook and the NYJO.
In 1963, Biscoe taught himself to play alto saxophone, and then started playing tenor, soprano, baritone, and also comparatively rare alto clarinet He worked as a computer programmer before he establishing himself on the UK Jazz scene.
From 1970 to 1973 Biscoe played with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in London. He was also working with various other London-based bands of that period, including Redbrass. Biscoe has worked with several notable jazz musicians during the seventies such as Harry Beckett, Ken Hyder, Didier Levallet, Chris McGregor, Andy Sheppard, Graham Collier, Danilo Terenzi,[5] Pete Hurt, Tommy Chase, Pete Saberton, Barry Guy, Dave Holdsworth, and Pete Jacobsen.
In 1979, Biscoe had a long-term association with Mike Westbrook touring throughout Europe and playing international festivals in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA.
In the same year he also formed a quartet featuring Peter Jacobsen, he also worked with Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood Of Breath (Country Cooking) from 1983 and then released a cassette of his own music, "Quintet And Duo in 1985.
The next year 1986, he released a sextet album, on his own Walking Wig label featuring an Italian trombonist Danilo Terenzi.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Biscoe toured and recorded with George Russell, Andy Sheppard, Liam Noble, Gail Thompson's Jazz Africa, Harry Beckett, and also played in France with Didier Levallet's groups and the collective band called Zhivaro.
In 1991, he released a second cassette, Modern Alarms, and also recorded in the Dedication Orchestra in the Spirits Rejoice project.
Between 1997 and 2000, Biscoe became the first English musician to join the Orchestre National de Jazz.
Clark Tracey - 1961 :: Many happy jazziversary returns to Clark Tracey. Clark is an English jazz drummer. He is the son of Stan Tracey.
Tracey played piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under Bryan Spring. Tracey played in several ensembles with his father, including in a quartet called Fathers and Sons with John and Alec Dankworth in the 1990s.
Tracey has played with visiting American musicians such as Scott Hamilton, Johnny Griffin, Red Rodney, Barney Kessell, John Hicks and Pharaoh Sanders throughout his career.
He played with Buddy De Franco and Martin Taylor from 1984–86, then with Charlie Rouse(1988),Alan Skidmore in Hong Kong(1989),Tommy Smith, and Guy Barker(1992).
He has led his own ensembles since the late 1980s; in these combos he has played with Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Guy Barker,Jamie Talbot, Mark Nightingale, Dave O’Higgins, Nigel Hitchcock, Gerard Presencer, Mornington Lockett, Jean Toussaint, Simon Allen, Zoe Rahman and Alan Barnes. He runs two record labels, Ten to ten Records and Resteamed Records, and a download website Give me jazz.
He has been awarded “Best Drums” in the British Jazz Awards three times and in 2007 won “Best Drums” at the Ronnie Scott’s Club Awards and his quintet won the Best Performance Award for Birmingham Jazz in 2006.