Quote # 35 by Dizzy Gillespie
“It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.” – Dizzy Gillespie John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer and occasional singer. Allmusic’s Scott Yanow wrote, “Dizzy Gillespie’s contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters […]
Quote # 34 by Decca (record company)
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” – Decca in response to the Beatles, 1962 Maybe Decca made the wrong decision in 1962? The Beatles is one of the best pop/rock groups in our history! My first album as a kid was “Help” with The Beatles from […]
Quote # 33 by Carmen McRae
“Blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread – without it, it’s flat.” – Carmen McRae Carmen McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and […]
Rob Madna was a great Dutch jazz pianist
Rob Madna (June 8, 1931 – April 5, 2003) was a great Dutch jazz pianist, composer and arranger. It was my very good friend Jan Dahlstedt who opened my ears to the world of Rob Madnas music. The first record I listened to was “Broadcast Business 76” with The Rob Madna Trio featuring Ferdinand […]
Quote # 32 by Bobby Hutcherson
“The whole thing of being in music is not to control it but to be swept away by it. If you’re swept away by it, you can’t wait to do it again and the same magical moments always come.” – Bobby Hutcherson Bobby Hutcherson (born January 27, 1941, in Los Angeles, California) is […]
Quote # 31 by Jay-Z
“Racism is taught in the home. We agree on that? Well, it’s very hard to teach racism to a teenager who’s listening to rap music and who idolizes, say, Snoop Dogg. It’s hard to say, ‘That guy is less than you.’ The kid is like, ‘I like that guy, he’s cool. How is he less […]
Quote # 30 by Joe Williams
“You can’t rehearse a blues, darlin’.” – Joe Williams Joe Williams (1918 – 1999) was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singer, a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards. He got his big break in 1954, when he was hired as the male vocalist for the Count Basie Orchestra. He remained […]
Abraham Laboriel is a master on bass
Abraham (or Abe) Laboriel (born 1947 in Mexico) is one of the masters on electrical bass. Originally a classically trained guitarist, he switched to bass guitar while studying at the Berklee School of Music. Henry Mancini encouraged Laboriel to move to Los Angeles, California and pursue a recording career. Abe started to play on records […]
Quote # 29 by Hans Christian Andersen
“Where words fail, music speaks.” – Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen; often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen (1805 – 1875) was a Danish author and poet. During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide and was feted by royalty. Andersen’s fairy tales, which have been translated into […]
Captain Beyond was a great rock band
Captain Beyond was an American/British rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971. The original line-up for Captain Beyond were singer Rod Evans (ex-Deep Purple), drummer Bobby Caldwell (ex-Johnny Winter), guitarist Larry “Rhino” Reinhardt (ex-Iron Butterfly), bassist Lee Dorman (ex-Iron Butterfly) and keyboardist Lewie Gold. Gold left due to personal reasons before the first […]