Dennis Mackrel | |
|---|---|
 Mackrel performing in Aarhus Denmark 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | April 3, 1962 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Associated acts | Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra |
| Website | dennismackrelmusic |
Dennis Mackrel (born April 3, 1962) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and arranger who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
The son of two jazz enthusiasts, Mackrel started playing drums at age two and began his professional career playing at a community theater at age ten. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studying jazz under Frank Gagliardi, during which time he performed in venues such as the Imperial Palace and the Tropicana. In 1981, Mackrel moved to New York City and became a drummer with a Broadway theatre orchestra. Two years later on the personal recommendation of singer Joe Williams, Mackrel joined the Count Basie Orchestra where he would remain until December 1987. [1] [2] He was the last drummer of that orchestra to be personally hired by Count Basie himself. [3]
After leaving the Basie Orchestra, Mackrel frequently performed as a substitute drummer in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Shortly before Lewis died in February 1990, he announced that he wanted Mackrel to take his place as the regular drummer for the band, which soon changed its name to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. [4]
Mackrel later became the drummer for many other big bands and small groups including the Hank Jones Trio, the American Jazz Orchestra, the Carla Bley Big Band, Buck Clayton's Swing Band, the George Shearing Quintet and the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band. In September 2010, he returned to the Count Basie Orchestra after the retirement of trombonist Bill Hughes. [3] and served as the orchestra's leader and chief conductor until 2013 and on November 7, 2015, he was named chief conductor of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw which is based in Amsterdam, Holland.
As a composer and arranger, Mackrel has received a Grant for Composition from the National Endowment for the Arts (1983). He has written pieces for McCoy Tyner (on the Grammy-winning The Turning Point and Journey ), the WDR Radio Big Band of Cologne, the Klüvers Big Band of Denmark, the RIAS Big Band of Berlin. [2] the United States Military Academy at West Point's Jazz Knights Big Band, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Temple University Jazz Ensemble.
As an experienced jazz educator who conducts master classes, seminars and workshops throughout Europe, Asia, Canada and the United States, Mackrel has performed with the jazz ensembles of numerous colleges and high schools including the Eastman School of Music, Slippery Rock University, the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Northern Illinois University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the University of Minnesota, Morris, New Trier High School, Sun Prairie High School, Western Illinois University, Southern Utah University, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Aarhus, Denmark, the University of Florida, Miami, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Elmhurst College, Michigan State University and many others. He is currently a professor at Queens College in Flushing, New York.
With Count Basie
With Keter Betts
With Carla Bley
With Chris Connor
With Michael Davis
With Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band
With Hank Jones
With Kluvers Big Band
With Grover Mitchell
With John Pizzarelli
With Randy Sandke
With Don Sebesky
With George Shearing
With others
Joe Williams was an American jazz singer. He sang with big bands such as the Count Basie Orchestra and the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and with his combos. He sang in two films with the Basie orchestra and sometimes worked as an actor.
Harry "Sweets" Edison was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His greatest impact was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backing singers, most notably Frank Sinatra.
Louie Bellson, known by the stage name Louie Bellson, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums.
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists".
Melvin Sokoloff, known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations.
Douglas Purviance is a jazz trombonist. He began his professional career as a member of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, playing bass trombone and tuba from 1975 to 1977. Mostly, he works as a studio session bass trombonist and is not known for improvising.
Al Grey was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called Plunger Techniques.
Doug Lawrence is a jazz tenor saxophonist from Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 1950s, the band survived long past the Big Band era itself and the death of Basie in 1984. It continues under the direction of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart.
Frank Benjamin Foster III was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s. In 1998, Howard University awarded Frank Foster with the Benny Golson Jazz Master Award.
Discography for jazz double-bassist and cellist Ray Brown.
Jay Randall Sandke is a jazz trumpeter and guitarist.
Gary Smulyan is a jazz musician who plays baritone saxophone. He studied at Hofstra University before working with Woody Herman. He leads a trio with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Kenny Washington.
William Melvin Mitchell was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Butch Miles is an American jazz drummer. He has played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne and Tony Bennett
Jerry Dodgion is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Peter Washington is a jazz double bassist. He played with the Westchester Community Symphony at the age of 14. Later he played electric bass in rock bands. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in English Literature, and performed with the San Francisco Youth Symphony and the UC Symphony Orchestra. His growing interest in jazz led him to play with John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, Frank Morgan, Ernestine Anderson, Chris Connor and other Bay Area luminaries. In 1986 he joined Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers and moved to New York City. Beginning in the 1990s, he toured with the Tommy Flanagan trio until Flanagan's death in 2001, and has played with the Bill Charlap trio since then. He was a founding member of the collective hard bop sextet One for All and is a visiting artist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Byron Stripling is a jazz trumpeter who has been a member of the Count Basie Orchestra.
Jim Hall was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and arranger. His discography consists of 39 studio albums, 10 live albums, 1 EP, 1 single, 10 videos, and 22 compilations, all released between 1957 and 2016. In addition, he was a sideman on numerous albums by other artists.
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
