BIRTHDAYS
1945     Mike Altschul, Tenor Sax, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1936     Mike Barone, Trombone, leader, arranger, b. Detroit, MI, USA.
1909     George Berens, alto sax/clarinet/flute, b. Toronto, ON Canada, d. August 24, 1966, Hamilton, ON Canada. Age: 56. (heart failure). né: Joseph Charvinski. In private correspondence, Mr. Michael Berens, George's son, has recalled:
   "My father, George Berens, was known in those days as George Bernstein
   when he played with the Tommy Tompkins Orchestra..... Just a small musical
   and biographical point, my father was a well-known sax player in Toronto
   who was a friend of and played with Bert Niosi As well, he was a personal
   friend of Ruth Lowe ("I'll Never Smile Again") and he and my mother heard
   Ruth play that song on piano just after she wrote it when her first husband
   passed away -- well before she submitted it to Tommy Dorsey. As well, my dad
   had played with Percy Faith (I believe after he had moved to NY) when Percy
   would travel with a core group and pick up pick up "sidemen" from the local
   musician's unions for a fuller orchestral sound (a common practice). As well,
   he was a member of the Captain Plunkett's Dumbbells, when they travelled
   west across Canada in the early 1930's."
Additional notes: The Tommy "Red" Tompkins Orchestra was most active during the 1930's and '40's in the New York City area. It was a successful dance band which played the famous Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan on a regular basis. On June 6, 1936, "Tommy "Red" Tompkins & His Orch." recorded 4 sides for the Vocalion label. "What the Heart Believes", "Jes' Natch'ully Lazy" (composed by: Joe Bishop, Hubert W. David, Winston Collins Tharp), "Viper's Dream" (composed by: Tommy Tompkins), and "Sumpin' About Rhythm". (We do not know who composed "What the Heart...", or "'Sumpin' About..." --mlp) "Viper's Dream" had a solo by the left-handed trombonist Sammy Genuso.
1951     Karla Bonoff, Vocals/piano/guitar, b. Santa Monica, CA, USA. (b. 1951 -NOT 1952). Member group: 'Bryndle'. Among the members, past and present, are Karla Bonoff, Kenny Edwards (Vocals/guitar/mandolin. b. Feb. 10, 1946, Santa Monica, CA, USA. part of the band since its inception), Wendy Waldman (Vocals/guitar/keyboards, née: Wendy Steiner, b. Nov 29, 1950, (NOT - Nov. 26, 1951) Burbank, CA, USA. an original member), Andrew Gold, (b. August 2, 1951, Burband, CA, USA. an original member, left the band in July of 1996), Matt Cartsonis (Vocals/bass/guitar/mandolin/violin, b. June 19, 1959, Philadelphia, PA, USA. joined Bryndle in May -1996), Scott Babcock (Drums/percussion, b. August 22, 1960, Pasadena, CA, USA.), Bill Bonk (bass, left Bryndle in 1996 and joined Aimee Mann's band), Peter Bernstein (original bassist with the band), and Dennis Wood (original drummer with the band).
1950     Terry Bozzio, drums, b. San Francisco, CA, USA. Member groups: 'Missing Persons', 'Frank Zappa', 'Captain Beefheart',and others.
1912     Eric Breeze, Trombone/Trumpet, vocals, b. Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK. unknown date of demise. Best recalled as a WWII member of the British band, 'The Squadronaires' comprised of Tommy Bradbury. Harry Lewis, Andy McDevitt and Jimmy Durrant (reeds), Tommy McQuater, Archie Craig, George Chisholm and Eric Breeze (brass), Sid Colin (guitar), Ronnie Aldrich (piano), Arthur Maden (bass) and Jock Cummings (drums). CAUTION: Do not confuse with American rock drummer Eric Breeze, a member of the (2002) rock group 'Waist Deep' from Salt Lake City, Utah.
1921     Dave Bryant, bass, b. Chicago, IL, USA. Worked with Louis Jordan,nd Charles Brown.
1962     Jeff Bryant, drums, b. Pecos, TX, USA. né: Jeffery Park Bryant. Member group: 'Ricochet', a US country vocal harmony group comprised of Heath Wright (lead singer, guitarist), Jeff Bryant (drums), Greg Cook (bass), Jeff's brother Junior Bryant (mandolin, fiddle), Teddy Carr (steel guitar) and Eddie Kilgallon (keyboards, saxophone, guitar).
1948     Larry Byrom, singer/songwriter/guitar, b. Huntsville, AL, USA. Member group: 'Steppenwolf'
1937     Peter Chapman, bass, b. Chingford, Essex, England, UK. Along with his other accomplishments, Chapman, along with drummer Johnny Richardson, recorded as a trio with American pianist Teddy Wilson during one of Wilson's tours of England.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with:
*** Guitarist, Peter Chapman with the English heavy metal rock band 'Pyre'.
*** Trumpeter Peter Chapman (b. Montreal, Canada), a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
*** Peter Chapman (aka: Pierre67), singer-songwriter, and his "Garage Band", based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom
*** Peter Chatman, aka: "Memphis Slim", b. Sept 3, 1915, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, d. 1988, Paris, France.
1947     Robert Conti, drums, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.
1936     Shelley Coopersmith, b. Toronto, Ont, Canada. Member group: 'Tamarack'.
1902     Sam Coslow, Composer, b. New York, NY, USA, d. April 2, 1982, New York, NY, USA. wrote hit songs 4 decades from 1920s on, some of which are: "Not Yet, Suzette", "Just One More Chance", "Thanks" (This hit song was the 'sequel' to another hit "Please (Lend your Little Ears to My Pleas)", "My Old Flame", "Cocktails for Two" ('Spike Jones and the City Slickers' did a "number" on this tune) "I'm In Love With The Honorable Mr. So and So", and "Je Vous Aime".
1927     Bill Crow, Bass/author, b. Othello, WA, USA.
1917     "Dardanelle", Jazz Pianist/vibist/singer/leader b. Avalon, MI, USA. d. August 8, 1997, USA. Age: 69. née: Marcia Marie Mullen
1901     Marlene Dietrich, Actress/vocalist, b. Schoneberg/Berlin, Germany. d. May 6, 1992, Paris France (Natural Causes). née: Maria Magdalene Dietrich. Absolutely not a Jazz vocalist, but Oh Marlene! Did you ever hear her recording of "The Laziest Girl In Town"? ("It's not 'cause I wouldn't, It's not 'cause I shouldn't, Lord knows it's not 'cause I couldn't, - It's simply because I'm The Laziest Girl in Town").
1939     Carl Fisher, vocals, b. Quardon, TX, USA. Member groups: 'The Vibrations', and 'The Jayhawks"
1888     Willie Foster, Violin, b. McCall, LA, USA. d. ca. 1959
1916     John Virgil Frigo, bass/violin/composer/leader/vocals (but best known for his violin work), b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. July 4, 2007, Chicago, IL, USA.. Age: 90. At just age 3, he began to study the violin, and later started to play double bass in his high schools dance orchestra. In 1942, he played with Chico Marx's orchestra and did a comedy routine on violin with Marx on piano. When America entered World War II, Frigo joined the United States Coast Guard, and soon found himself playing in a band on Ellis Island (New York city) with Al Haig and Kai Winding. From 1945 to 1947, after his Service discharge, he toured with Jimmy Dorsey's band. Afterwards, Frigo, guitarist Herb Ellis and pianist Lou Carter formed the 'Soft Winds Trio' for a gig at the Stuyvesant Hotel in Buffalo, NY. During this time, he also composed (both words and music) the song "Detour Ahead", which was recorded by Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, and Bill Evans, among others. It has since become something of a Jazz Standard. He also co-composed (with the Trio) the tune "I Told You I Loved You, Now Get Out", which was subsequently sung by Cybill Shepard. In 1951, with the demise of the Big Bands era, he became an active Sessions musician, and spent the next 35 years as a studio bass player., recording numerous commercials on upright and electric bass. In the 1980s he re-started his career on violin after sitting in with Monty Alexander, Ray Brown, and Herb Ellis at Chicago's Jazz Showcase. Frigo married singer/actress Brittney Browne, and, in 1966, the marriage produced a son, Derek Frigo (b. July 26, 1966), who would go on to become the guitarist for 'Enuff Z'Nuff' Sadly, Derek died on May 28, 2004, Beverly Hills, CA, USA. of an apparent drug overdose. He was 37. In addition to playing Bass, Johnny Frigo had starred as a jazz violinist at festivals worldwide, including the Umbria Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival. Frigo also is a published poet and artist. He composed and performed a version of the 1969 Chicago Cubs fight song "Hey Hey, Holy Mackerel".
1889     "Bunk" Johnson, Trumpet, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. July 7, 1949. né: William Geary Johnson
1944     Mick Jones, Guitar. Member groups: Foreigner and Spooky Tooth.
1952     David Knopfler, guitar/vocals, b. Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Member group: 'Dire Straits', formed 1977, the band included Alan Clark (keyboard/songwriter, b. March 5, 1952, Durham, Durham, England ), John Illsley (bass/songwriter, b. June 24, 1949, Leicester, Leics., England), Mark Knopfler (guitar/singer/songwriter, b. August 12, 1949, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland), David Knopfler (guitar/vocals, b. December 27, 1951, Mark's younger brother), and Hal Lindes (guitar, b. June 30, 1953, Monterey CA, USA).
1929     Gyula Kovacs, Drums, b. Budapest, Hungary
1942     Leslie Maguire, pianist/vocals. Member: Gerry and the Pacemakers.
1950     Danny Marks, guitar, b. Toronto, Ont, Canada. Member group: Edward Bear.
1949     Thelonious Sphere Monk, Jr., drums. (known professionally as T.S. Monk)
1931     Winfield Scott "Scotty" Moore, III, C&W vocals/guitar, member: 'Blue Moon Boys' band.
1931     "Scotty" Moore, Guitar, b: Gadsden, TN, USA He was heard on the early Elvis Presley Sun label recordings. As one of the great pioneers of Rock guitar, he deserves to be better known. Many of the early rockabilly guitar licks were his inventions.
1929     Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar, b. USA
1947     Tracy Nelson, (Female Blues/Folk) singer-songwriter, b. Madison, Wisconsin, USA. By her teen years, Nelson was already singing folk music in coffeehouses, as well as R&B at fraternity parties in Madison. She was lead singer in a band called The Fabulous Imitations. In the mid-1960s, Nelson was recording in Chicago, IL, USA, and later in the '60s, relocated to San Francisco, CA, USA, where she shared bills at Fillmore Auditorium, with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. During this time, she composed her signature song, "Down So Low", which was later covered by Linda Ronstadt and Etta James. Before the 1960s ended, Nelson and her band, Mother Earth, had relocated to Nashville, TN, where she subsequently recorded a total of six albums with Mother Earth for the Mercury, Reprise, and Columbia labels. Her 1974 duet with Willie Nelson (no relation), "After the Fire is Gone", was nominated for a Grammy Award. During the 1980s, Tracy Nelson was out of the public's eye, but returned in the 1990s, when the Rounder label released a number of her albums. Her 1998 collaboration, "Sing It", with label-mates Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas garnered a second Grammy nomination. In 2004, she released her first in concert album "Live From Cell Block D". During 2005 and 2006, Nelson, in collaboration with blues-rock veterans Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Corky Siegel and Sam Lay, billed as the Chicago Blues Reunion, toured major cities.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with actress Tracy Kristine Nelson (b. Oct. 25, 1963, Santa Monica, California, USA ), daughter of singer Ricky Nelson (b. May 8, 1940 ) and Kristin Harmon.
1938     Charles Barrow Neville. vocals, member: 'The Neville Brothers' band.
1931     Walter Norris, Piano, b. Little Rock, AR, USA
1975     "Olu", R&B vocals/guitar/drums/sax/piano/bass, b. New York, NY, USA. Olu was a member of the renowned 'Boys Choir of Harlem'. In 1999, he was signed to the V2 label, who issued his debut album "Soul Catcher" in mid-1999.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with Olu Dara (né: Charles Jones.b. Natchez, MS, USA) one of the jazz avant-garde's leading trumpeters from the mid-'70s on. He has worked with such stars as Anne Murray, Henry Threadgill, Hamiet Bluiett, James Blood Ulmer, and Don Pullen, He languished somewhat in the 1980s, but did record. in 1987, with saxophonist Charles Brackeen. In the 1990s, he occasionally led his own 'Okra Orchestra' and 'Natchezsippi Dance Band' and recorded with vocalist Cassandra Wilson, playing on , playing on her Blue Note album, "Blue Light Til Dawn". In 1998, the Atlantic label released "In the World: From Natchez to New York", the first album released under Dara's name. With this release, Dara pulled off one of the most impressive about-faces in music, taking up the guitar and launching a new career as an acoustic-blues singer-songwriter. Besides playing trumpet and cornet, Dara also composed all of the tunes, sang, and accompanied himself on guitar. In early 2001, Atlantic released Dara's follow-up, "Neighborhoods".
1941     Mike Pinder, piano/mellotron/vocals, b. Erdington, England. Member group: 'The Moody Blues', other members included Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (vocal, guitar -left 1966), Mike Pinder (vocal, piano, mellotron), Ray Thomas (vocal, flute), Clint Warwick (vocal, bass guitar -left 1966), Justin Hayward (vocal, guitar -joined 1966), and John Lodge (vocal, bass guitar -joined 1966).
1943     Peter Quaife, Bass. Member: 'The Kinks'.
1972     Matt Slocum, cello/guitar/songwriter, b. Austin, TX, USA. Member group: 'Six Pence None the Richer'. In the early 1990s, Slocum met vocalist Leigh Bingham Nash (b. Austin, TX, USA) at a church retreat two formed 'Sixpence None The Richer'. Slocum is also a studio guitarist and cellist, who has performed on albums by such artists as Julie Miller, Wes King, Switchfoot and others. He also played in the band 'Love Coma' for a number of years, - breaking away from Love Comma to start his own band known as 'Sixpence..' In 1999, the group finally had a gold record for their infectious single "Kiss Me."
1930     Robert Stroger, bass, b. Haiti, MS, USA. With 'Mississippi Heat'
1948     Les Taylor, guitar/singer-songwriter, b. Oneida, KY, USA. Member group: 'Exile', another group remembered as a one-hit wonder for 1978's No. 1 smash "(I want to) Kiss You All Over." However, in the early '80s, the Kentucky-bred band reinvented itself as a Country music outfit.
1954     John Watts, vocals, b. UK. Member group: 'Fischer-Z'
1907     Eddie Wilcox, Piano/Arranger, b. Method, SC, USA. d. Sept. 29, 1968. né: Edwin Felix Wilcox, Contributed many arrangements for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra (for whom he played piano).
1919     Mitchell "Bootie" Wood, Trombone, b. Dayton, OH, USA. d. June 10, 1987, Dayton, OH, USA. In the late 1930s, he started his career working with the Tiny Bradshaw band and in the early 1940s with the Lionel Hampton band. During WWII, he served in the U. S. Navy and played in a Navy band along with Clark Terry, Willie Smith and Gerald Wilson. After being de-mobilized at war's end, he rejoined Hampton. In 1947 and 1948, he played with Arnett Cobb's band, and from 1948 to 1950 with Erskine Hawkins, and in 1951 with Count Basie. He seems to have disappeared for a while, but from 1959 - 1960, he worked in Duke Ellington's band, rejoining the Duke in 1963 for a brief stay. He also worked with Earl Hines in 1968, and returned to Ellington for a third time in the early 1970s. Later in the 1970s, he was a part of the Mercer Ellington orchestra. From 1979 to the mid-1980s, Wood recorded with Count Basie's orchestra.
1961     "Youth", bassist, b. Africa.. né: Martin Glover. Member group: 'Killing Joke', Formed by Jaz Coleman (lead vocals), Paul Ferguson, Martin 'Youth' Glover and Kenneth 'Geordie' Walker in late 1978. Glover has worked on projects with 'Fine Young Cannibals', 'James', 'Bananarama', 'Crowded House', 'The Orb', 'Polly Jean Harvey', 'Nick Cave' and 'U2'.
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1927.    The musical "Show Boat" premiered in New York, - perhaps the most influential work in American musical theatre history. Among the hit songs heard that evening were "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" and "Why Do I Love You?" Previously, most shows were little more than Revues, but 'Show Boat' was a new kind of musical -- one where the music and lyrics sprang naturally from the storyline and enhanced the plot.
1929.    "Blind Lemon" Jefferson, guitar, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 32
1964.    Chris Gage, a Canadian Jazz pianist whose technique was considered second only to Oscar Peterson, committed suicide in North Vancouver. In 1949, He moved to Vancouver becoming the city's leading jazz pianist. By age 17 (b. Regina in 1927), Gage was already leading his own group playing venues throughout western Canada. He declined many offers to tour with such stars as Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee and Gerry Mulligan, and remained in the Vancouver area until his death.
1968.    John Maher Sr., publisher (Down Beat), died in Chicago, IL, USA.
1978.    Bob Luman, C&W Singer-Songwriter/Guitar, died in Nashville, TN, USA. Age: 41
1981.    Hoagy Carmichael, composer/piano, died in Rancho Mirage, CA, USA. Age: 82
1983.    Frank Orchard, trombone, died
1985.    Leroy Jackson, bass, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 58
2003.    Vestal Goodman, gospel music vocals, died while vacationing in Orlando, FL, USA. (Influenza). Age: 74.
2004.    Hank Garland, C&W sessions guitarist, died Orange Park, FL, USA. Age: 74
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1940     Stardust, - Tommy Dorsey Orch.
1940     Five O'Clock Whistle, - Ella Fitzgerald
1945     Chickery Chick, - Evelyn Knight
1945     Buzz Me, - Louis Jordan
1945     I Can't Begin To Tell You, - Andy Russell
1946     White Christmas, - Frank Sinatra
1952     Have You Heard, - Joni James
1975     Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, - Neil Sedaka (The tune reached No. 1 on August 1962 Pop charts)
1980     Winner Takes It All, The, - Abba
1980     Same Old Lang Syne, - Dan Fogelberg
1980     Keep On Loving You, - Reo Speedwagon
1986     We're Ready, - Boston
1986     Will You Still Love Me, - Chicago
1986     Love You Down, - Ready For The World