I remember, when I was broadcasting overnight jazz in Philadelphia, I started off the new year once with this curio by Raymond Scott (at the link). That’s film composer John Williams’ dad on drums. Don’t be scared. It’s just the last of 2022!
Tag: Jazz
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American Music Greats Born on This Day
A great day for American music.
Seminal jazz artist and pop cultural icon Louis Armstrong was born on this date in 1901. Armstrong’s birth certificate didn’t come to light until years after his death, so he always celebrated his birthday on July 4. Can’t get much more American than that.
William Schuman, president of the Julliard School (1945-61) and Lincoln Center (1961-69), and first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his cantata “A Free Song” in 1943, was born on this date in 1910. In his day, he was regarded as one of our great American symphonists. His Symphony No. 3 (1941) was especially well-regarded.
Film composer David Raksin, who got his start working with Chaplin on “Modern Times,” but best-remembered for his music for the noir classic “Laura,” was born in Philadelphia on this date in 1912. Due to his longevity – Raksin lived to see 92 – he became an invaluable fount of information about old Hollywood.
Pretty great country, that could produce that array of talent. Happy birthday, gentlemen. Thanks for all the music.
Armstrong live in 1933
With Velma Middleton, “All That Meat and No Potatoes”
William Schuman on “What’s My Line?”
Schuman, Symphony No. 3
Raksin talks about working with Chaplin on “Modern Times”
Raksin plays “Laura”
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Lalo Schifrin Awe Inspiring Film Music at 90
Is he a classical composer who writes jazz, or a jazz musician who writes classical? He’s certainly one of the most distinctive composers of film and television music.
On Lalo Schifrin’s 90th birthday, check out this documentary, which is full of rare footage, film clips, eyewitness accounts, and of course music.
As I was watching I kept thinking the first few minutes alone should fill you with sufficient awe at Schifrin’s unique talent. But then the accomplishments just kept piling up!
Thank you, Lalo Schifrin, and happy birthday!
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Toots Thielemans Google Doodle Celebrates Jazz Legend
Toots Thielemans gets a Google Doodle for his 100th birthday! Of course, he’s rendered in his golden years, so I’ve appended a photo from his comparative youth.
It’s only been six years since the Belgian harmonica player tooted his last. He lived a long and fruitful life, bringing joy and consolation to millions.
Besides his considerable jazz achievements, Thielemans performed on the soundtracks of John Williams’ “The Sugarland Express” and “Cinderella Liberty.” He can also be heard in the film version of “Midnight Cowboy” (though Tommy Reilly appears on the original soundtrack album).
And no one of my generation will forget his contribution to this:
From Sesame Street to the only X-rated movie ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, with the Boston Pops, no less. John Barry wrote the music, by the way.
Toots plays “Cinderella Liberty”
Toots visits Letterman
Toots on guitar, jamming with Miles Davis, Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, Max Roach and more in 1949
With Billy Joel
Prime Toots, with harmonica, guitar, and whistle
Quincy Jones called him “one of the greatest musicians of our time.” If you do a Google search today, be sure and honk for Toots!
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David Amram Musical Polyglot Turns 91
Philadelphia’s musical polyglot is 91 today.
David Amram, born in Philadelphia on this date in 1930, has always been equally at home in classical music, jazz, folk, and world music. The composer of over 100 orchestral and chamber works, music for Broadway and film (including the scores for “Splendor in the Grass” and “The Manchurian Candidate”), and two operas, he’s also the author of three books: “Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram” (1968), “Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac” (2002), and “Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat” (2007).
Amram was raised on a farm in Bucks County. There, he was introduced to classical, jazz, and cantorial music by his father and uncle. He took piano lessons and experimented with instruments of the brass family, finally centering on the French horn. Following a year at Oberlin, he lit out for George Washington University, where he studied history. While there, he performed as a freelance hornist with the National Symphony. He also studied privately with two musicians in the orchestra.
Amram became a pioneer of the “jazz French horn,” as well as the New York Philharmonic’s first composer-in-residence (designated such in 1966). He’s worked with artists ranging from Dizzy Gillespie to Bob Dylan to Leonard Bernstein, from Jack Kerouac to Arthur Miller, from Christopher Plummer to Johnny Depp. He’s a musician without borders, always open to new experiences.
At 91, Amram is still cookin’. He’ll be performing tonight in Newport, RI, celebrating his birthday with a concert of his chamber music, jazz, and folk compositions. On Friday, he’ll be in Tarrytown, NY, with his jazz quartet. On December 3, he’ll be playing with pianist Dick Hyman in Sarasota, FL. And on December 5, he’ll be in Manhattan for his annual “Amram Jam” – a program of jazz and classical chamber music, the instrumentalists joined by vocalists, songwriters, actors, poets, and dancers that’s anticipated to stretch into the wee hours of the morning.
For more information, check the Amram calendar at his website:
https://davidamram.com/calendar.php
If you can’t be at tonight’s concert, you might do as he suggested last year, during “stay at home,” and just take a moment to send him an ESP thought-o-gram. Happy birthday, David Amram!
Trailer for “David Amram: The First 80 Years”:
Amram Horn Concerto:
Amram with Dizzy Gillespie:
Amram’s music for “The Manchurian Candidate”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4V0uQE-nRYWonderful snapshot of the man and artist, who more and more seems a prophet of our age
Amram jamming at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2011:
“Pull My Daisy”
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