Search Results for "Duke Ellington"

Wild Bill Davis – Midnight to Dawn (1967/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 12, 2022 · Comments off

Wild Bill Davis pioneered the Hammond Organ in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His always famous driving and swinging trio concept with organ, guitar and drums has served as inspiration for all important jazz organists including Jimmy Smith. From 1964 to 1969, Wild Bill Davis was under contract with RCA Victor and recorded a number of remarkeable albums. “Midnight To Dawn” – Wild Bill’s personal favorite album – recorded on August 10 & 11, 1966 with members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and James “Dickie” Thompson on guitar.

(more…)

Wild Bill Davis – Live At Count Basie’s (1966/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 12, 2022 · Comments off

With the dynamic, swirling sounds of his Hammond B-3 organ, Wild Bill Davis provided a bridge from the big band swing of the 1930s and ’40s to the organ-driven R&B of the 1950s and early ’60s. Together with guitarist Floyd Smith and drummer Chris Columbus, Davis set the framework for the jazz organ combo sound. Initially a guitarist, Davis made his debut with Milt Larkin’s band in 1939. The group is remembered for the double-saxophone attack of Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and Arnett Cobb. Davis, who was inspired by the guitar playing of Freddie Green, remained with the band until 1942. Moving to the piano, Davis joined Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5 in 1945. By then, he had already attracted attention as a skilled writer and arranger. He later furnished original material and arrangements for both Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He was scheduled to record his arrangement of “April in Paris” with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1955, but was unable to make it to the recording sessions. Recorded without his participation, the tune went on to be a Top 30 pop hit. Intrigued by the organ playing of Fats Waller and Count Basie, Davis began to experiment with the Hammond B-3. He soon developed his unique approach. “I thought of (the organ) as a replacement in clubs for a big band,” he said during a late-’80s interview. Although he left Jordan’s band after five years to form his own trio, Davis periodically returned to play special engagements. Although eclipsed by succeeding jazz organists, including Jimmy Smith and Bill Doggett in the late ’50s, and Booker T. Jones in the ’60s, Davis remained active until his death from a heart attack in August 1995. His summer appearances in Atlantic City, New Jersey were an annual treat for almost three decades. A native of Moorestown, New Jersey, Davis studied music at Tuskegee University and Wiley College in Texas. –Artist Biography by Craig Harris

(more…)

Weldon Irvine – Cosmic Vortex (Justice Divine) (1974/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 7, 2022 · Comments off

Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr., also known Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist. He was involved with various musical genres including Jazz-Funk, jazz, hip hop, funk, rhythm and blues, and gospel. “Cosmic Vortex – Justice Divine” his first album for RCA Records, released in 1974.

(more…)

Warren Smith – Natural / Cultural Forces (2007) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 5, 2022 · Comments off

Natural/Cultural Forces is a musical representation of visual locations and situations. For the opener Pyramid Warren instructed the three other members of the quartet to imagine what it would sound like to be on the inside a pyramid building up. Hence the crescendos for the grand size of the pyramid and the intimate small playing describing the small interior of a such a large structure.

(more…)

Hank Jones – The Jazz Trio Of Hank Jones (1955/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 3, 2022 · Comments off

This is a superb Hank Jones date; highly recommended for fans of piano trio music. In 1955, most jazz pianists were immersed in the school of Bud Powell. Jones is unique in that he developed his harmonic concept prior to Powell’s ascendancy and the bebop revolution, but went on to fully assimilate the melodic vocabulary of bop. He has synthesized important elements from many great players into his own recognizable style. His versatility is evident on these eight selections. Jones plays swinging bop lines on his original “We’re All Together” and his blues head, “Odd Number,” displays the Powell influence most clearly. Upon hearing the delicate touch and harmonic subtlety with which Jones plays ballads – including “We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together,” “Cyrano,” “There’s a Small Hotel,” and “My Funny Valentine” – one can imagine that a young Bill Evans was quite familiar with this recording. Jones’ mastery of block chords is particularly impressive. Occasionally reissued under drummer Kenny Clarke’s name, this important Savoy session also includes bassist Wendell Marshall, who had spent the previous seven years with Duke Ellington’s band.

(more…)