mick laBriola

Kermit Ruffins (born December 19, 1964) is an American jazz trumpeter, singer, composer, and actor from New Orleans. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He often accompanies his songs with his own vocals. Most of his bands perform New Orleans jazz standards though he also composes many of his own pieces. Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote, “Mr. Ruffins is an unabashed entertainer who plays trumpet with a bright, silvery tone, sings with off-the-cuff charm and never gets too abstruse in his material.”

He started playing trumpet in 8th grade at Lawless Junior High School in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. He attended Joseph S. Clark High School in the 6th Ward and St Peter Claver Church in Tremé. In high school, he played a little bit of classical music at the behest of a strict band teacher.

He developed an appreciation for cooking from his grandmother, observing her movements in the kitchen

Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman, and wrote a book on soul and blues guitar, Rhythm and Blues Guitar. He reportedly recorded on 2,500 sessions.

Dupree was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he graduated from I.M. Terrell High School. He began his career playing in the studio band for Atlantic Records, recording albums by Aretha Franklin (Aretha Live at Fillmore West) and King Curtis as a member of Curtis’s band The King Pins, having grown up with King Curtis in Fort Worth). He appeared on the 1969 Lena Horne and Gábor Szabó recording and on recordings with Archie Shepp, Grover Washington Jr., Snooky Young, and Miles Davis.

He was a founding member of the band Stuff with Eric Gale, Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Chris Parker, and Gordon Edwards. Dupree and Tee recorded together on many occasions. Dupree appeared on Joe Cocker’s Stingray and Luxury You Can Afford, plus Cornell’s solo albums Teasin, Saturday Night Fever, Shadow Dancing, Can’t Get Through, Coast to Coast, Uncle Funky, Child’s Play, Bop ‘n’ Blues, and Unstuffed. He played on Brook Benton’s “Rainy Night in Georgia” and “Please Send Me Someone to Love” and is featured on two tracks of Peter Wolf’s 1998 album, Fool’s Parade.

Leonard “Lenny” White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called “one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion”. He has won three Grammy awards, two nominations and one Latin Grammy.

Born in Queens, New York City, White became interested in music at a young age. As a self taught drummer he started off his career playing with groups at the New York jazz scene. While he was living at home, his father would take him to gigs. Early on he played clubs in Queens New York such as the Aphrodisiac, Slugs, and The Gold Lounge. It was at The Gold Lounge where he had his first gig with saxophonist Jackie McLean. During the late 1960s he began performing with Mclean around Queens. Through this, White was recommended to play on Miles Davis‘ landmark 1969 LP Bitches Brew and feature on Freddie Hubbard‘s 1970 LP Red Clay.Within 1972 White joined the jazz group Return to Forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlCQaz37Sbw

obert Henry Timmons (December 19, 1935 – March 1, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers for two periods (July 1958 to September 1959; February 1960 to June 1961), between which he was part of Cannonball Adderley‘s band. Several of Timmons’ compositions written when part of these bands – including “Moanin’“, “Dat Dere“, and “This Here” – enjoyed commercial success and brought him more attention. In the early and mid-1960s he led a series of piano trios that toured and recorded extensively.

Timmons was strongly associated with the soul jazz style that he helped initiate. This link to apparently simple writing and playing, coupled with drug and alcohol addiction, led to a decline in his career. Timmons died, aged 38, from cirrhosis. Several critics have commented that his contribution to jazz remains undervalued.

Timmons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a minister. He had a sister, Eleanor. Both of his parents, and several aunts and uncles, played the piano. From an early age Timmons studied music with an uncle, Robert Habershaw, who also taught McCoy Tyner. Timmons first played at the church where his grandfather was minister; this influenced his later jazz playing. He grew up in the same area as other future musicians, including the Heath brothers (Jimmy, Percy, and Tootie) and Lee Morgan. Timmons’ first professional performances were in his local area, often as a trio that included Tootie Heath on drums. After graduating from high school Timmons was awarded a scholarship to study at the Philadelphia Musical Academy

Henry Roeland “Roy” Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or “Fess” for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as “instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso“.

Music journalist Tony Russell (in his book The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray) wrote that “The vivacious rhumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey “Piano” Smith. But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.”

Byrd was born on December 19, 1918, in Bogalusa, Louisiana. His distinctive style of piano playing was influenced by learning to play on an instrument that was missing some keys.

He began his career in New Orleans in 1948. Mike Tessitore, owner of the Caldonia Club, gave Longhair his stage name. Longhair first recorded in a band called the Shuffling Hungarians in 1949, creating four songs (including the first version of his signature song, “Mardi Gras in New Orleans”) for the Star Talent record label. Union problems curtailed their release, but Longhair’s next effort for Mercury Records the same year was a winner. Throughout the 1950s, he recorded for Atlantic Records, Federal Records and local labels.

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as “Keith Richard”, is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership with Mick Jagger is one of the most successful in history. His career spans over six decades, and his guitar playing style has been a trademark of the Rolling Stones throughout the band’s career. Richards gained press notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and he was often portrayed as a countercultural figure.

Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Clifford Brown’s instrumental ability with his own inventive and whimsical solos. His tone was strong and emotional, yet hinted at a certain introspective fragility.

Land was born in Houston, Texas, United States and grew up in San Diego, California. He started playing at the age of 16. He made his first recording as the leader of the Harold Land All-Stars, for Savoy Records in 1949. In 1954, he joined the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, with whom he was at the forefront of the hard-bop/bebop movement. The Land family moved from San Diego to Los Angeles, in 1955. There he played with Curtis Counce, led his own groups, and co-led groups with Bobby Hutcherson, Blue Mitchell, and Red Mitchell. From the 1970s onwards, his style showed the influence of John Coltrane.

Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamedCleanhead after an incident in which his hair was accidentally destroyed by lye contained in a hair straightening product, necessitating shaving it off; enamoured of the look, Vinson maintained a shaved head thereafter. Music critic Robert Christgau has called Vinson “one of the cleanest—and nastiest—blues voices you’ll ever hear.”

Vinson was born in Houston, Texas. He was a member of the horn section in Milton Larkin‘s orchestra, which he joined in the late 1930s. At various times, he sat next to Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Tom Archia, while other members of the band included Cedric Haywood and Wild Bill Davis. After exiting Larkin’s employment in 1941, Vinson picked up a few vocal tricks while on tour with bluesman Big Bill Broonzy. He then moved to New York and joined the Cootie Williams Orchestra from 1942 to 1945, recording such tunes as “Cherry Red”. Vinson struck out on his own in 1945, forming his own large band, signing with Mercury Records, and enjoying a double-sided hit in 1947 with his R&B chart-topper “Old Maid Boogie”, and the song that would prove to be his signature number, “Kidney Stew Blues”.

Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985), known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer.

Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas. He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California in 1935, later settling in Oakland. While there, he absorbed the music of T-Bone Walker but developed his own unique approach. His aggressive playing contrasted with his smooth vocal style and was copied by many later blues guitarists.

In 1948, he signed a recording contract with Modern Records. One of his first recordings was the instrumental “Blues After Hours“, which reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart late that year. Its B-side, the pop ballad “I’m Still in Love with You”, and the quicker “Texas Hop” are good examples of his work.

In 1950, Crayton and his Orchestra performed at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz concert, held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 25. Featured on the same day were Lionel Hampton, Roy Milton’s Orchestra, Dinah Washington, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers, and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance. The concert ended early because of a fracas while Lionel Hampton played “Flying High”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GUgpFwv0no

Carlton “Carly” Barrett (17 December 1950 – 17 April 1987) was a Jamaican musician best known for being the long-time drummer for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Recognized for his innovative style, which featured a highly syncopated, broken triplet pattern on the high-hat cymbals, and for his dazzling drum introductions, Barrett’s prolific recordings with Marley have been internationally celebrated. He is credited with popularizing the One Drop rhythm.

Carlton Barrett was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1950, the son of Wilfred and Violet Barrett. As a teenager, he built his first set of drums out of empty paint cans he found on the street. Along with his contemporaries, drummers Sly Dunbar, Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Style Scott and Carlton “Santa” Davis, Barrett was heavily influenced by Lloyd Knibb of The Skatalites.

In the 1960s, Barrett began performing with his brother Aston “Family Man” Barrett, under the names The Soul Mates, The Rhythm Force and eventually The Hippy Boys, a line-up that featured Max Romeo on vocals, Leroy Brown, Delano Stewart, Glen Adams and Alva Lewis. In 1969, the brothers joined The Wailers (later Known as Bob Marley and The Wailers). During his years with Marley, Barrett continued to record for many of Jamaica’s most well known artists and is featured on solo albums by Bunny Wailer (Blackheart Man) and Peter Tosh (Legalize It and Equal Rights) as well as many others. On April 17, 1987, a gunman shot and killed Barrett outside his home at 12 Bridgemount Park Avenue in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 36.