USA: "Art Pepper & Warne Marsh," Vol. 9 in "Unreleased Art" Series, to Be Released Nov. 11

"Art Pepper & Warne Marsh,"

Vol. 9 of the Critically Acclaimed

"Unreleased Art" Series,

To Be Released by Laurie Pepper's

Widow's Taste Label

November 11

Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Label

3-Disc Set Features Art Pepper & Warne Marsh

Live at Donte's in North Hollywood, CA,

April 26, 1974

With Mark Levine, John Heard, Lew Malin

October 7, 2016

On April 26, 1974, two wildly gifted and very different artists, Art Pepper and Warne Marsh, met again, for the first time in 17 years, by accident, on the stage at Donte's in North Hollywood, because Jack Sheldon had to cancel. It must have made for an unforgettable night for those who found themselves sitting in the legendary club and listening to two cult heroes, two profoundly great musicians, playing for the audience and each other -- out of the lives they'd lived at the same time, in the same places, but personally and stylistically so far apart.

Now we can join that audience. The music was recorded. And it will be released as a 3-CD set on November 11, just in time for the anniversary of Widow's Taste, the label Laurie Pepper started ten years ago to bring her collection of Art Pepper's unheard live performances to his fans.

In 1974, Art was at the very outset of what would be his last great comeback. He'd quit his job managing a bakery and was making a living playing bar mitzvahs and weddings. He had just started playing in Jack Sheldon's band, once a month, at Donte's.

Unlike Art's, Warne's career had been relentless and ongoing. He'd been touring with his own bands for years, and in 1974, he was traveling the world with Supersax, with whom he'd won a Grammy.

Though Warne forbade recording at his gigs, this gig was recorded. On reel-to-reel, quarter- inch, quarter-track tape. The original tapes were quite good; the audio was probably picked up from the sound board. And the tapes were sent to Laurie Pepper by persons never known or now forgotten. She rediscovered them while cleaning out a closet. As she tells us in her liner note: "Sometimes, the way things and people come to me for Art's sake is -- I want to use the word -- miraculous." A good word for this night and those tapes. Laurie gave them to the incomparable Wayne Peet of Newzone Studio, who, "knows how jazz, how Art should sound." He balanced and enriched the onstage sound, killed excessive noise, and dealt delicately with inevitable glitches that occur in live recording. Laurie, a non-musician, goes on to talk about the Pepper/Warne distinctions in the language of a dedicated fan:

"Art lives down in the grime of earth. You can find him on the L.A. Freeway. You can get into your car, roll up the windows, put on any of Art's blues or ballads and delve into your pain and scream aloud to it.

"Warne seeks sublimity, improvising music that's transcendent, that makes mere passions puny. He can take you to a level where shit doesn't matter.

"Warne offers to distract us. He offers art, the endlessness and possibilities of art, the infinite inventiveness and charm. Something in me, if I'll listen, hears his rhythmic and harmonic revelations and responds with pleasure, satisfaction, even laughter, as to a mystic's holy trickery.

"Art discovers, witnesses, makes us confront, the disasters and the raptures swimming through our own, shared, volatile blood, beyond the reach of language. He knows our grief, our joy, our rage, and turns them into something timeless. His music seems to talk about real, actual life, the one that's nasty, sweet, and short. And he convinces us, repeatedly, that, just as-is, it's sacred."

This latest album joins the catalog of previous albums from the Unreleased Art Pepper series. All have gotten rave reviews from well-known critics. They are:

Volume I, Abashiri (2-CD set)

Volume II, Last Concert: Kennedy Center

Volume III, Croydon (2-CD set)

Volume IV, The Art History Project (3-CD set)

Volume V, Stuttgart (2-CD set)

Volume VI, Blues for the Fisherman: Live at Ronnie Scott's (4-CD set)

Volume VII, Sankei Hall, Osaka (2-CD set)

Volume VIII, Live at the Winery

And all (except Volume IV, which is available for download only) are available at both Amazon (http://bit.ly/buyArtPepper) and CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ArtPepper). Laurie says she'll keep releasing yearly miracles as long as she keeps finding them. She says there are still plenty in her closets. Maybe, next year, a ballad set? Maybe.

U.S. Music Reviewers: To order a copy of Unreleased Art, vol. 9, please send a check in the amount of $25 (includes shipping) payable to Laurie Pepper, and send to Laurie at 2606 Rokeby Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039; OR pay by PayPal.

Reviewers outside the U.S.: Contact Laurie (mslaurie.pepper@gmail.com) for details on shipping costs.

Web Sites: lauriepepper.net  / artpepper.bandcamp.com

   

Media Contact:

Terri Hinte
hudba@sbcglobal.net
510-234-8781

USA Nina Simone | Vinyl Remasters of Seven Classic Albums from Philips Years | September 30, 2016 via Verve/UMe

Nina Simone's Historic Philips Years Celebrated with

Vinyl Remasters of Seven Classic Albums Including

Nina Simone in Concert, Wild is the Wind,

High Priestess of Soul

Available September 30 via Verve/UMe

"'The Philips Years' is a humble title for a collection that contains

some of the most important, moving documents of American history.

Nina Simone's Philips records remain her most essential." -- Pitchfork

From 1964 to 1967, the extraordinary Nina Simone released seven albums on Philips Records, further establishing her peerless artistic expression and singular voice. During this exceptional purple patch, she recorded some of her best and most important work of her career, much of it fuelled by the Civil Rights Movement and the turmoil of 1960s America. In conjunction with their 60th anniversary this year, Verve will celebrate the genius of Simone, the supernaturally gifted singer, pianist and prolific songwriter, and her incredible mid-'60s run with the release of her entire Philips catalog on vinyl.

Released earlier this summer as a box set titled The Philips Years, the seven LPs -- Nina Simone In Concert ('64), Broadway-Blues-Ballads ('64), I Put A Spell On You ('65), Pastel Blues ('65), Let It All Out ('66), Wild Is The Wind ('66) and High Priestess Of Soul ('67) -- will be available individually September 30 on heavyweight 180 gram vinyl in facsimiles of the original sleeve art. The vinyl masters for the long-out-of-print titles were cut at Abbey Road using high-resolution audio transfers direct from the analog master tapes and are all in stereo. This marks the first time that Broadway-Blues-Ballads and Let It All Out have been made available on vinyl since their original release. A celebration of Simone's remarkable talents, these albums contain many of the songs that Simone's legacy is built upon not only such well-known cuts as "I Put A Spell On You" and "Feeling Good," but also "Wild Is The Wind," a song that David Bowie would memorably cover, and Simone's version of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit."

Since her death in 2003, Simone's influence, significance and cultural relevance has only grown, especially most recently as issues of race, police brutality and civil rights are once again at the forefront of the cultural conversation. The Netflix feature documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? -- which just won the 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary this month -- has helped shine a new light on Simone's immense talents and fearless activism, resulting in a new generation discovering her timeless music and indelible impact. Of her Philips years, NPR drew parallels to the present: "In a time when issues of race and gender are reverberating with a newfound volatility reminiscent of the 1960s -- the decade in which Simone forged her reputation as a politically provocative entertainer -- Nina's concerts and recordings feel like urgent bulletins from a brooding heart and a troubled land."

In 1964, Simone embarked on a new stage of her career. Her rejection by the Philadelphia-based Curtis Institute Of Music; time spent as a pianist in an Atlantic City nightclub; her jazz, gospel, pop and classical influences -- all these had fused to make her one of the most complex, fascinating and talented artists of the decade. Simone released her debut album in 1958, but when she signed to Philips in 1964 at the age of 31, her creative output was about to dovetail with the Civil Rights movement - notably coinciding with the Civil Rights Act Of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, gender, religious affiliation or nationality. It's fitting, then, that the first album she released on Philips, 1964's Nina Simone In Concert, captured some of Simone's most committed Civil Rights-era material, including her explosive rendition of "Mississippi Goddam." But this three-year period also saw her satisfy her relentlessly questing muse, with collections that focused on Broadway showtunes (Broadway-Blues-Ballads), pop material (I Put A Spell On You) and more, showing the full range of Simone's talents.

About Nina Simone

Nina Simone--born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina--was a musician as well as a civil rights activist. Simone took to music at an early age, learning to play piano at the age of three and singing in her church's choir. She went on to study classical piano at the Julliard School in New York City, but left early when she ran out of money. In order to make a living, Simone left classical music to play jazz and blues in Atlantic City. By the mid-'60s, Simone became known as a main voice of the Civil Rights Movement and advocated for violent revolution during that period. Simone passed away April 21, 2003, after struggling with breast cancer for years in her Carry-le-Rouet, France home.

Available for Pre-Order
Nina Simone In Concert: http://smarturl.it/InConcertLPBroadway-Blues-Ballads: http://smarturl.it/BBBLPI Put A Spell On You: http://smarturl.it/IPutASpellOnYouLPPastel Blues: http://smarturl.it/PastelBluesLPLet It All Out: http://smarturl.it/LetItAllOutLPWild Is The Wind: http://smarturl.it/WildIsTheWindLPHigh Priestess Of Soul: http://smarturl.it/HighPriestessLP

For media information, please contact:

DL Media  |  610-667-0501

Maureen McFadden  |  maureen@dlmediamusic.com

Don Lucoff | don@dlmediamusic.com

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Tim Plumley | tim.plumley@umusic.com | 310-865-7797

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USA: Bob Kindred Memorial Sunday, October 2nd 12:30 – 3:30 pm @ Café Loup

BOB KINDRED MEMORIAL Honoring the life and music of Bob Kindred (1940-2016) With The Steve LaSpina Trio, Ron Affif, Matthew Fries, and all who would like to sit-in. Sunday Brunch    Oct. 2nd   12:30 – 3:30 Café Loup   105 West 13th St. NYC www.cafeloupnyc.com   http://www.krbd.org/2016/08/24/jazz-saxophonist-bob-kindred-dead-at-age-76/ Jazz saxophonist Bob Kindred dead at age 76 by Maria Dudzak Bob Kindred   Jazz saxophonist Bob Kindred died August 15th in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 76. Kindred was well known in the Ketchikan jazz community, performing at First City Players Jazz and Cabaret Festival for more than a dozen years. Several Ketchikanites who knew Kindred shared their memories of him.   Bob Kindred was best known as a tenor saxophone player, but his first instrument was the clarinet. His father did not want him to pursue a career in music, so Kindred studied business and had a successful business career. At the age of 30, he heard Phil Woods in concert and decided to take up playing again. He studied with Woods for several years. At a time when the popularity of big band music was fading, Kindred was able to succeed, playing with the Glenn Miller and Woody Herman tribute bands, among others.   Since the early ‘90s, local theater group, First City Players, has held jazz and cabaret workshops. Elizabeth Nelson, Artistic Director of First City Players, says Anne Phillips was brought in about 1999 or 2000 to conduct vocal workshops. Phillips was married to Kindred at the time, and suggested he come the next year to conduct instrumental workshops. Nelson says the instrumental workshops lasted only a few years, but Kindred continued to return, backing vocalists.   “It was an astounding thing to listen to. When he was at his best, to sing with him, it was really having a conversation. It was just a musical conversation and he would listen to every single way you would inflect a lyric and he could answer that back sensitively. Really just beautiful in that way.”   Nelson says during jazz and cabaret week, guest artists visit the local elementary schools.   “He could be so much fun. He could make the kids laugh. The last day, when we do the concert for the school, we always bring our guest artists in, so Bob would be part of that, and would just make the kids giggle with the sounds he could make through his saxophone and then they would just be rapt when he would play.”   In 2010, guest artists Bob Kindred, Anne Phillips, Paul Meyers and Matt Perri were recognized as honorary citizens of Ketchikan for their work in the schools and contributions to the jazz community. The proclamation was signed by City Mayor Lew Williams III.   Baritone saxophonist Lynn Caldwell recalls first meeting Kindred. Caldwell was in his garage playing when there was a knock on the door at about 9 pm.   A copy of the proclamation honoring Jazz and Cabaret Week and guest artists.   “He said, ‘I heard some baritone sax in here. Are you kidding me?’ Those were his exact words. ‘Are you kidding me?’ He was truly blown away by the fact that he comes to Ketchikan, he’s living right there, no clue at all there was even a baritone sax player in town.”   Kindred was staying at a bed and breakfast across the street and had heard Caldwell playing. They became fast friends and played together often, Kindred on the tenor saxophone, and Caldwell on the baritone. Caldwell says he had never played with a professional musician before, and learned a lot from Kindred.   “He taught me so much about the instrument – about mouth pieces, about reeds, about breath control. He couldn’t practice for me, and I was still being lazy about learning scales and chords, but it really improved my playing. Particularly the sound. That’s all I really cared about anyway. I loved the sound of the baritone.”   Caldwell says Kindred had cancer about 20 years ago and wasn’t expected to live more than 10 years. He says Kindred had many other health issues, made worse by a drinking problem and bad habits.   “He didn’t complain much. A lot of people didn’t even know those things about him. But it seems like it was such a waste for this great man to not be able to make more of a contribution than he was by getting his life under control.”   Trumpet player Dale Curtis met Bob Kindred and Anne Phillips at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. When they came to Ketchikan, Curtis played with Kindred in the Jazz and Cabaret Festival band. They also would just get together to play.   “I’ve been playing my whole life, and I’ve got a lot of professional experience, and I know a lot of tunes, and so does he. We’d just get together and play these tunes that we both know, and we both had such a similar style. For me it was really easy, phrasing, and I kind of knew what he was going to do. It made it easy.”   In 2011, Curtis recorded an album “Bridge to Nowhere,” at Bennett Studios in New Jersey. The members of the Dale Curtis Quintet were Curtis, guitarist Paul Meyers, bass player Christian Fabian, drummer Ed Littlefield, and Kindred on saxophone and clarinet.   “He asked me if he could do this song called ‘Tenderly’ by himself. So I let him do that and I’m glad I did because it’s just amazing, his approach to that. Such a beautiful player and beautiful guy. He will be missed.” “He was always so gracious and so kind to other musicians. A good man.”   Kindred lived in New York for many years but moved to Nashville about two years ago. Curtis says he spoke with Kindred about a month ago and, despite his health problems, Kindred continued playing and was still booking gigs.

USA: A Tribute To Phil Woods Tribute Concert Thursday, September 8th 8pm Stroudsburg, PA

Click Here For Tickets

USA: Jazz Foundation of America's14th Annual"A Great Night in Harlem"Thursday, October 22 at The Apollo Theater Lifetime Achievement Honoree: Sonny Rollins

Save the Date... Jazz Foundation of America's 14th Annual "A Great Night in Harlem" Thursday, October 22 at The Apollo Theater Lifetime Achievement Honoree: Sonny Rollins

Concert also features: Special Tribute to B.B. King and many surprises to come You get to save the day... by saving jazz and blues ...one musician at a time Details and ticketing information to be announced www.jazzfoundation.org

Quincy Jones to be honored at Louis Armstrong House Museum Gala on Dec 11, 2013

Quincy Jones to be honored at Louis Armstrong House Museum Gala on Dec 11, 2013   Blow the Horns: The Louis Armstrong House Museum honors Quincy Jones, Jay Hershenson, Dan Morgenstern and Grace Lawrence at Gala 2013 with special performance by Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks.

The Louis Armstrong House Museum’s Gala 2013 on December 11, 2013 will be a night to remember with a special performance by the Grammy Award-winning Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks and an impressive slate of honorees. The museum will honor Quincy Jones, Jay Hershenson, Dan Morgenstern and Grace Lawrence with the exclusive “Louie” award for their dedicated work to preserve and promote the cultural legacy of Louis Armstrong. Quincy Jones will be introduced by his friend, George Avakian, a legendary producer in his own right and the mastermind behind classic Armstrong albums such as Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy and Satch Plays Fats.  Avakian himself was a Louis Armstrong House Museum Gala Honoree in 2011 and his introduction of Jones will constitute a momentous meeting of two of the most important producers in the history of 20th century music. The joint will be jumpin’ on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at the Manhattan Penthouse, 80 Fifth Avenue in New York City.  The cocktail hour begins at 6:00 pm; dinner and the awards ceremony follow at 7:15 pm. It’s time to swing that music to support Louis’s house. For information about Gala tickets, leadership tables, and journal advertising contact Jennifer Walden Weprin at 718.997.3581, via email at Gala@LouisArmstrongHouse.org or by visiting the Museum online at LouisArmstrongHouse.org. About the Honorees: Quincy Jones is an impresario in the broadest and most creative sense of the word. His career has encompassed the roles of composer, record producer, musician, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, TV producer, record company executive, television station owner, magazine founder, and multi-media entrepreneur. Among the multitude of awards that he has received for his contributions are an Emmy Award, seven Academy Award nominations, the Academy of Motio Hersholt Humanitarian Award, 27 Grammy Awards, and is the all-time most nominated Grammy artist with a total of 79 nominations. Dan Morgenstern is one of the most respected scholars in the history of jazz.  He is a much-lauded jazz historian, author, editor and educator.  After arriving in the United States in 1947, he became entranced by the music of Louis Armstrong, Hot Lips Page and others, and began to write about the music he loved.  He eventually served as editor of Metronome, Jazz, and DownBeat magazines, staying with the latter for a decade.  In l976, he became the first full-time Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, retiring in 2012.  A prolific album annotator, Morgenstern has won eight Grammy Awards for Best Album Notes. His books Jazz People (1975) and Living With Jazz (2004) received ASCAP's Deems Taylor Award. He has earned Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Jazz Journalists Association and Down Beat, and in 2007 was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. Jay Hershenson is the Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Secretary of the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York, the leading public urban university system in the nation.  He has served as Vice Chancellor since 1984 and has worked in senior level administrative positions for seven CUNY chancellors and with over 100 CUNY trustees since the mid-1970's. He has served on numerous government and non-profit organization boards, including currently as Chairperson of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the Louis Armstrong House Museum.  He is the co-founder of CUNY Citizenship Now!, the largest University program serving immigrants, and a co-founder of the New York Public Interest Research Group.  Senior Vice Chancellor Hershenson has made a lifelong commitment to education and, in particular, to the use of higher education to positively transform lives. Grace Lawrence is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Library Action Committee of Corona-East Elmhurst, Inc. that is the advisory board to the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center.  As a community activist in the 1980’s, she fought to keep the library from closing. Grace has been an active member of the Church of the Resurrection, East Elmhurst. Grace is Past President of the East Elmhurst-Corona Civic Association, a life member of the Corona-East Elmhurst Chapter of the NAACP and an executive member of Community Planning Board #3.  She is a founding board member of Neighborhood Housing of Northern Queens and a longtime member of the Frederick Douglass Democratic Club. Grace has worked tirelessly to enhance the lives of youth and neighbors within the community.  After more than 30 years of community service, Mrs. Lawrence has received many honors including ·the African American Heritage Certificate of recognition for outstanding service to the citizens of New York presented by US Senator Hillary Clinton in 2006. About Louis Armstrong House Museum: The Louis Armstrong House Museum, the long-time home of Louis and Lucille Armstrong, is a National Historic Landmark and New York City Landmark in Corona, Queens.  Since its opening in 2003, more than 100,000 visitors from all over the world have been introduced to the wonderful world of Louis Armstrong. The Museum’s programs feature historic house tours, jazz concerts, and a wide variety of educational programs. The Museum owns and administers the largest research archives in the world for any jazz musician. Thanks to the vision and funding of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, the Louis Armstrong House Museum welcomes visitors, six days per week, 52 weeks per year.  The Louis Armstrong House Museum is a member of the American Alliance of Museums, Association of African American Museums, Museums Council of New York City, New York State Museums Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, NYC & Co., and the Queens Tourism Council.  The Museum is a constituent of Kupferberg Center for the Arts - Queens College.   -30-

http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org

Contact Jennifer M. Walden Director of Marketing Louis Armstrong House Museum 718.909.5271

Frank Wess Celebration of Life Memorial Saturday January 4, 2014 6:30 PM Saint Peter's Church NYC

Frank Wess Celebration of Life Memorial Saturday January 4, 2014 6:30 PM Saint Peter's Church NYC

On Saturday, January 4th 2014 the life and music of jazz great Frank Wess will be celebrated at Saint Peter's Church in New York City. Musical Directors will be Jimmy Owens and Jerry Dodgion. Participating musicians to be announced. Save-The-Date   Date: Saturday January 4, 2014  (Frank's Birthday Jan. 4, 1922) Place: Saint Peter's Church  619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street New York, NY 10022 212 935 2200 http://saintpeters.org/jazz/ Time: 6:30 PM This memorial is being put together with the assistance and love of his two daughters Francine and Michelle and his wonderful partner, Sara Tsutsumi, and his dearest friends with the help of the Jazz Foundation of America with special thanks to Saint Peter's Church.   From JazzTimes Frank Wess, Saxophonist and Flutist, Dies at 91 Played with Count Basie and many others in seven-decade career By Jeff Tamarkin   Frank Wess, whose career as a saxophonist and flutist began prior to World War II and was still going strong seven decades later, died yesterday, Oct. 30, it was confirmed by NPR's A Blog Supreme. The cause of death was kidney failure. Wess was 91. Wess, who recently released a new album, Magic 101, recorded in 2011, was born Jan. 4, 1922 in Kansas City, Mo., where, at age 10, he began playing alto saxophone. He would later add tenor sax, flute and clarinet and began working professionally in Washington, D.C. Following a stint in the Army he led singer Josephine Baker’s band and also played with Lucky Millinder, Billy Eckstine and others. 1 Frank Wess performing at the Concert to Benefit the James Moody Scholarship for Newark Youth By Jim Eigo 2 Frank Wess and Benny Golson at the 2012 NEA Jazz Masters awards By Michael G. Stewart 3 Frank Wess   1 of 3      Next In 1953, Wess joined Count Basie’s orchestra, staying with that ensemble for 11 years, during which time he helped popularize the use of the flute in jazz. He moved to New York City in 1964 and, in addition to playing with bands in the area, he worked in the TV medium, performing on such programs as Saturday Night Live andThe Dick Cavett Show. As a sideman, Wess contributed to recordings by Elvin Jones, Zoot Sims, Gene Ammons, Yusef Lateef, Houston Person, Milt Jackson, Woody Shaw and others. In 1967, Wess joined Clark Terry’s big band, staying with them into the '70s. In subsequent years he played with the New York Jazz Quartet, Kenny Barron, Mel Torme, Benny Carter, Frank Vignola, Toshiko Akiyoshi and others. Wess also maintained an active performing partnership with saxophonist and fellow Basie alumnus Frank Foster for more than 20 years. Foster died in 2011. Wess recorded more than a dozen albums as a leader beginning in 1957. He was still performing in 2013. He was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2007. From The New York Times Frank Wess, 91, Saxophonist and Flutist With the Basie Band, Dies Frank Wess, who helped popularize the flute as a jazz instrument in the 1950s and ’60s with the Count Basie Orchestra, where he was also a standout saxophone soloist, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 91. The cause was a heart attack related to kidney failure, said his longtime companion, Sara Tsutsumi. Mr. Wess was not the first flutist in jazz. But his tonally rich and technically deft flute solos enjoyed an unusually prominent platform: the front row of the powerhouse Basie ensemble. Mr. Wess had been studying flute at the Modern School of Music in Washington when Basie asked him to join a big band he had formed in 1952 to highlight new compositions and arrangements, many of them by Neal Hefti. It became known as Basie’s “New Testament” band, to distinguish it from the equally impressive and popular big band he had led in the ’30s and ’40s. Mr. Wess, who had earlier played with bands led by Billy Eckstine and others, initially resisted, saying he was weary of the road and wanted to finish school. But Basie kept calling. “And at about the end of my school year, he called again and said he thought he could get me more exposure than I had,” Mr. Wess recalled in a 2005 interview with the website All About Jazz. “That struck a chord in me. I said, ‘Maybe that’s what I need.’ ” He joined in 1953 and was an immediate success. Mr. Wess would play tenor saxophone for a few tunes, swapping solos with his fellow tenor player Frank Foster, then switch to flute on the next song. Beginning in 1959, he was voted best jazz flutist for five years in a row in Down Beat magazine’s critics’ poll. The critic Gary Giddins called that Basie band “the most irreproachable virtuoso ensemble ever to work the dance-band idiom.” Mr. Wess left Basie in 1964 and moved to New York. There, he played with a band led by the trumpeter Clark Terry and alongside the pianist Roland Hanna in the New York Jazz Quartet. He also led groups of his own and played on television (he was a member of the “Dick Cavett Show” orchestra), in recording studios and in the pit of Broadway musicals. In the 1980s, he and Mr. Foster formed a quintet, Two Franks, that stayed together for two decades. Mr. Wess also led a big band that toured Japan and featured many Basie alumni, including the trumpeter Harry Edison, the trombonist Benny Powell and the saxophonist Billy Mitchell. In 2007, he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. He released several albums as a leader and continued to record and perform until earlier this year. He released “Magic 101,” featuring the pianist Kenny Barron, in June. “Magic 201” is to be released in February. “Retire?” he said in response to a question from All About Jazz. “To what? I’ve never done anything else in my life. I never had a 9 to 5, or none of that — I wouldn’t even know where to start. So you just do what you know how to do.” Frank Wellington Wess was born on Jan. 4, 1922, in Kansas City, Mo. His father was a school principal, and his mother was a teacher who encouraged him to learn music. When he was a boy, she took him to hear the classical tenor Roland Hayes and the blues singer Ida Cox. He received his first instrument, a saxophone, when he was 10. He trained as a classical musician early on — on saxophone, not flute. He played in a state high school orchestra in Oklahoma, where the family had moved. The family later moved again, to Washington, where met the pianist Billy Taylor in high school. The two became lifelong friends, and Mr. Wess appears on the 1959 recording “Billy Taylor With Four Flutes.” In addition to Ms. Tsutsumi, his survivors include two daughters, Francine and Michelle; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He played tenor saxophone and clarinet in an Army band during World War II. Afterward, he played in the Eckstine orchestra before he began studying flute in 1949 at the Modern School. He studied under Wallace Mann of the National Symphony in Washington as well as with Harold Bennett, the longtime principal flutist for the Metropolitan Opera. And a few years later, Count Basie called. Rememberance of Frank Wess by Raul da Gama http://jazzdagama.com/features/frank-wess-rest-in-peace/

Frank Wess's final studio recording "Magic 201" will be released
February 11, 2014 on IPO Recordings.
Frank Wess-Tenor & Flute; Kenny Barron-Piano;  Rufus Reid-Bass;
Russell Malone-Guitar, Winard Harper-Drums
http://www.iporecordings.com / http://frankwess.org

 

Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services T: 845-986-1677 E-Mail: jim@jazzpromoservices.com
http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/