Sunday, January 31, 2016

Philip Glass Was Born On January 31, 1937



Philip Glass:
Philip Morris Glass (born January 31, 1937) is a classical American composer. He is considered one of the most influential music makers of the late 20th century. His music is also often controversially described as minimal music, along with the work of the other "major minimalists" La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich.

Glass has distanced himself from the "minimalist" label, describing himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures".

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Tony Levin And Tony Levin

Tony Levin was born on January 30th, and Tony Levin was not.

I wonder if they have ever played in a band together?

Steve Marriott Was Born On January 30, 1947

Steve Marriott was not just a singer.



Steve Marriott:
Stephen Peter "Steve" Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English musician, songwriter and frontman of two notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades. Marriott is remembered for his powerful singing voice which belied his small stature, and for his aggressive approach as a guitarist in mod rock bands Small Faces (1965–1969) and Humble Pie (1969–1975 and 1980–1981). Marriott was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces.

I do not know where the above video is from. I do not know if it is available on DVD. Does anyone reading this have any information? If so, please share.

Friday, January 29, 2016

James Jamerson Was Born On January 29, 1936



James Jamerson:
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971) and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. As a session musician he played on 30 Billboard #1 hits, as well as over 70 R&B #1 hits, more than any other bass player in both categories.
Jamerson's discography at Motown reads as a catalog of soul hits of the 1960s and 1970s. His work includes Motown hits such as, among hundreds of others, "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker & the All Stars, "For Once in My Life," "I Was Made To Love Her" by Stevie Wonder, "Going to a Go-Go" by The Miracles, "My Girl" by The Temptations, "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and later by Marvin Gaye, and most of the album What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, "Reach Out I'll Be There" and "Bernadette" by the Four Tops, and "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes.
I'm about 100% sure that this video is lip synced to the original recording. Therefore, I'm about 100% sure that the bass player is James Jamerson.

Nice sax solo too. Does anyone know who is playing the sax solo?

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Arthur Rubinstein Was Born On January 28, 1887


Arthur Rubinstein:
Arthur Rubinstein, KBE (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982) was a Polish American classical pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music written by a variety of composers and many regard him as the greatest Chopin interpreter of his time. He was described by The New York Times as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. He played in public for eight decades.
Liebestraum:
Liebesträume (German for Dreams of Love) is a set of three solo piano works (S.541/R.211) by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Originally the three Liebesträume were conceived as lieder after poems by Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. In 1850, two versions appeared simultaneously as a set of songs for high voice and piano, and as transcriptions for piano two-hands.
Liebestraum No. 3 is the last of the three that Liszt wrote, and the most popular, and can be considered as split into three sections, each divided by a fast cadenza requiring dexterous finger work and a very high degree of technical ability.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Elmore James Was Born On January 27, 1918



Elmore James:
Elmore James (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as King of the Slide Guitar, but he was also noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.
James was strongly influenced by Robert Johnson, as well as by Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red. James recorded several of Tampa's songs, and even inherited from his band two of his famous "Broomdusters", "Little" Johnny Jones (piano) and Odie Payne (drums). There is a dispute as to whether Robert Johnson or James wrote James' trademark song, "Dust My Broom".

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Jimmy Van Heusen Was Born On January 26, 1913



But Beautiful was written by Jimmy Van Heusen.

Jimmy Van Heusen:
Jimmy Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Benny Golson Was Born On January 25, 1929



Benny Golson:
Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Warren Zevon Was Born On January 24, 1947



Warren Zevon:

Warren William Zevon (/ˈziːvɒn/; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Zevon's work has often been praised by well known musicians, including Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. His best-known compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Johnny Strikes Up the Band", all of which are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978). Other well-known songs written by Zevon have been recorded by other artists, including "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Accidentally Like a Martyr", "Mohammed's Radio", "Carmelita", and "Hasten Down the Wind".

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Gary Burton Was Born On January 23, 1943



Gary Burton:
Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943, Anderson, Indiana) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer and jazz educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated. He is also known for pioneering fusion jazz and popularizing the duet format in jazz, as well as being a major figure in music education due to his 30 years at the Berklee College of Music.

Friday, January 22, 2016

J. J. Johnson Was Born On January 22, 1924



J. J. Johnson:
James Louis "J. J." Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. He was sometimes credited as Jay Jay Johnson.

Johnson was one of the first trombonists to embrace bebop music. He has long been regarded as one of the leading trombonists of the post-swing era, exerting a pervasive influence on other jazz musicians.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Richie Havens Was Born On January 21, 1941



Richie Havens:
Richard Pierce "Richie" Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul, and rhythm and blues. He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
Does anyone know if Lean on Me is on any of Ritchie Havens recordings? If so, which one?

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Janis Joplin Was Born On January 19, 1943

Janis Joplin:
Janis Lyn Joplin (/ˈɒplɪn/; January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter who first rose to fame in the mid 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic/acid rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist with her own backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band.


Monday, January 18, 2016

Al Foster And Steve Grossman Were Both Born On January 18

Although born in different years, drummer Al Foster and sax player Steve Grossman were both born on January 18th. They have some other things in common. Obviously both are musicians. Both played with Miles Davis. In fact, at one time they were with Miles Davis at the same time. Also, they both played on Big Fun and Get Up With It. However, on both albums they did not play on any of the tracks together. They did play together on this:



Sunday, January 17, 2016

Mick Taylor Was Born On January 17, 1949



Mick Taylor:
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1966–69) and the Rolling Stones (1969–74). He has appeared on some of their classic albums including Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.. Since resigning from the Rolling Stones in December 1974, Taylor has worked with numerous other artists and released several solo albums.
Can't You Hear Me Knocking:
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking... is one of my favorites... (The jam at the end) just happened by accident; that was never planned. Towards the end of the song I just felt like carrying on playing. Everybody was putting their instruments down, but the tape was still rolling and it sounded good, so everybody quickly picked up their instruments again and carried on playing. It just happened, and it was a one-take thing. A lot of people seem to really like that part.- Mick Taylor, 1979
"As a lead, virtuoso guitar, Mick (Taylor) was so lyrical on songs like Can't You Hear Me Knocking, which was an amazing track because that was a complete jam, one take at the end. He had such a good ear, and I would help push him along.-Charlie Watts, 2003

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Bob Bogle Was Born On January 16, 1934



Bob Bogle:
Robert Lenard "Bob" Bogle (January 16, 1934 – June 14, 2009) was a founding member of the instrumental combo The Ventures. He and Don Wilson founded the group in 1958. Bogle was the lead guitarist and later bassist of the group. In 2008, Bogle and other members of The Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Performer category.

Sonny Boy Williamson Was Born On December 5, 1912



He first recorded with Elmore James on "Dust My Broom" and some of his popular songs include "Don't Start Me Talkin'", "Help Me", "Checkin' Up on My Baby", and "Bring It On Home". He toured Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival and recorded with English rock musicians, including the Yardbirds, the Animals, and Jimmy Page. "Help Me" became a blues standard and many blues and rock artists have recorded his songs.