J. J. Johnson, born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭, smaller than the B♭ tenor but larger than the B♭ soprano. It is the most common saxophone and is used in popular music, concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, pep bands, carnatic music, and jazz.
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins,, HonFLSW is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus" (1995), from the Adiemus album series; Palladio (1995); The Armed Man (2000); his Requiem (2005); and his Stabat Mater (2008).
Ellington at Newport is a 1956 live jazz album by Duke Ellington and his band of their 1956 concert at the Newport Jazz Festival, a concert which revitalized Ellington's flagging career. Jazz promoter George Wein describes the 1956 concert as "the greatest performance of [Ellington's] career... It stood for everything that jazz had been and could be." It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, which ranks it "one of the most famous... in jazz history". The original release was partly recreated in the studio after the Ellington Orchestra's festival appearance.
Eero Koivistoinen is a Finnish jazz musician and saxophone player, who started his career in the mid-1960s. Koivistoinen has worked as a musician, composer, arranger, conductor, producer and educator. He first heard jazz from the records his sailor brother had brought in from his travels. As a youngster Koivistoinen studied classical violin, saxophone and also composition at the Sibelius Academy, and later jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston. His first line-up featured the drummer Edward Vesala and bassist Pekka Sarmanto. Koivistoinen was also a member of the seminal Finnish rock band Blues Section in the years 1967 and 1968. In 1968 he released his first solo album, a "literary record" called Valtakunta which featured songs composed to the texts of such poets as Pentti Saarikoski, Jarkko Laine, Tuomas Anhava and Hannu Mäkelä; interpreted by the vocalists Vesa-Matti Loiri, Eero Raittinen and Seija Simola. Eero Koivistoinen's later solo albums such as Wahoo (1972) enjoy a considerable international reputation. His hip hop-influenced 2006 album X-Ray features such people as the vocalists Charles Salter and Bina Nkwazi, DJ LBJ and the rap artist Redrama.
Far East Suite is a 1967 concept album by American jazz musician Duke Ellington, inspired by his group's tour of Asia. Ellington and longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions.
Out of the Cool is a jazz album by The Gil Evans Orchestra, recorded in 1960 and released on the Impulse! label the following year. The album was one of Impulse!'s first four albums, released together, and featured a gatefold design and high production values.
William Overton Smith was an American clarinetist and composer. He worked extensively in modern classical music, third stream and jazz, and was perhaps best known for having played with pianist Dave Brubeck intermittently from the 1940s to the early 2000s. Smith frequently recorded jazz under the name Bill Smith, but his classical compositions are credited under the name William O. Smith.
Alan Wakeman is an English saxophonist who was a member of Soft Machine during 1976, appearing on the album Softs. He is a cousin of the keyboard player Rick Wakeman.
Wishing Peace is the second recording released by the New York–based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin after 13 previous releases with their Los Angeles–based Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. "Lady Liberty", "Wishing Peace" and "Uptown Stroll" form the three part "Liberty Suite" written on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.
James Graham Collier was an English jazz bassist, bandleader and composer.
Vocalese is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1985 on the Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the Billboard 200. The album's title Vocalese refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.
New Orleans Suite is a studio album by the American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington, recorded and released on the Atlantic label in 1970. The album contains the final recordings of longtime Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who died between the album's two recording sessions. The album won a Grammy Award in 1971 for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band.
Ellington Uptown is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington, recorded for the Columbia label in 1951 and 1952. The album was re-released on CD in 2004 with additional tracks recorded in 1947 and originally released as the Liberian Suite EP.
Deep Dark Blue Centre is the debut album by composer and bassist Graham Collier recorded in 1967 and originally released on the British Deram label.
Winter Oranges is a live album by composer Graham Collier accompanied by the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra featuring a four-part composition written especially for the group which was released on the Jazzprint label in 2002.
For Players Only is a live album by violinist and composer Leroy Jenkins, his first as a leader. It was recorded in January 1975 at Wollman Auditorium, Columbia University in New York City, and was released by JCOA Records later that year. On the album, Jenkins is joined by members of the Jazz Composer's Orchestra.
Charles River Fragments is an album by Graham Collier, composed of two pieces, which are "The Hackney Five" (9:51), a suite recorded in 1995 and dedicated to Cleo and Ian Palmer and to Zoe, Lucy and Rupert, and the proper "Charles River Fragments", a suite composed by 10 sections, commissioned by BBC Radio Three for the London Jazz Festival and recorded in May 1994.
Adam's Marble is an album by Graham Collier. It was recorded in 1995 and includes three suites composed by Graham Collier in different times. The title track "Adam's Marble" was composed in 1986 for the tour in Israel that Collier had that year, and is dedicated to Adam Baruch, the producer of the album, and also the owner of the label JazzIS; "Bright As Silver" was composed to accompany Adam Baruch for the concerts and recording in the same venue. The piece "Aberdeen Angus" dates back to 1967, and is a reworking of the track included in the album Down Another Road.
Actions is a live album featuring debut performances of works by composer Krzysztof Penderecki and trumpeter and composer Don Cherry. It was recorded on October 17, 1971, at the Donaueschingen Festival in Donaueschingen, Germany, and was released on LP later that year by Philips. The music was performed by an ensemble called The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, composed of top European improvisors. In 1998, the album was reissued on CD by Transparency Records. It was remastered and reissued again in 2001 by Intuition Records.
