mick laBriola

Sippie Wallace (born Beulah Belle Thomas, November 1, 1898 – November 1, 1986 Jefferson County, AK) was an American blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Her early career in tent shows gained her the billing “The Texas Nightingale”. Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by her or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas. Her accompanists included Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, and Clarence Williams. Among the top female blues vocalists of her era, Wallace ranked with Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith.

In the 1930s, she left show business to become a church organist, singer, and choir director in Detroit and performed secular music only sporadically until the 1960s, when she resumed her performing career. Wallace was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1982 and was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.

Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970 Denison, TX) was an American tenor saxophoneplayer. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassist Charles Mingus. After stays in Denver and Pittsburgh, Ervin moved to New York City in spring 1958, initially working a day job and playing jam sessions at night. Ervin then worked with Charles Mingus regularly from late 1958 to 1960, rejoining various outfits led by the bassist at various times up to autumn 1964, when he departed for Europe. During the mid-1960s, Ervin led his own quartet, recording for Prestige Records with, among others, ex-Mingus associate pianist Jaki Byard, along with bassist Richard Davis and Alan Dawson on drums.

Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004 Broussard, LA) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on “Flying Home“, critically recognized as the first R&Bsaxophone solo. He is also known as one of the writers of the jazz standard “Don’cha Go ‘Way Mad.”

Although he was a pioneer of the honking tenor saxophone that became a regular feature of jazz playing and a hallmark of early rock and roll, Jacquet was a skilled and melodic improviser, both on up-tempo tunes and ballads. He doubled on the bassoon, one of only a few jazz musicians to use the instrument.

Julia Lee (October 31, 1902 – December 8, 1958 Boonville, MO) was an American blues and dirty blues musician.Her most commercially successful number was the US Billboard R&B chart topping hit “(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch and Grab It” in 1947. She is best known for her trademark double entendre songs.

Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939 Highland Park, Ill) is an American retired musician and painter whose musical career spanned four decades. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco‘s psychedelicmusic scene during the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.

Initially performing with the Great Society, Slick achieved fame as the lead singer and frontwoman of Jefferson Airplane and the subsequent spinoff bands Jefferson Starship and Starship. Slick and Jefferson Airplane achieved significant success and popularity with their 1967 studio album Surrealistic Pillow, which included the top-ten US Billboard hits “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love“.

With Starship, she sang co-lead for two number-one hits, “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now“. She has released four studio albums as an independent artist. Slick retired from music in 1990, but continues to be active in visual arts. In 1996, Slick was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fameas a member of Jefferson Airplane.

Trilok Gurtu (born 30 October 1951) is an Indian percussionist and composer whose work has blended the music of India with jazz fusion and world music.

He has worked with Terje Rypdal, Gary Moore, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Joe Zawinul, Michel Bisceglia, Bill Laswell, Maria João & Mário Laginha, Stefano Bollani and Robert Miles.

Poncho Sánchez (born Ildefonso Sanchez, October 30, 1951 Loredo, TX) is an American conguero(conga player), Latin jazz band leader, and salsa singer. In 2000, he and his ensemble won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for their work on the Concord Picante album Latin Soul. Sanchez has performed with artists including Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaría, Hugh Masekela, Clare Fischer, and Tower of Power.

In 1975, Sanchez’s idol, vibraphonist Cal Tjader, invited him to perform a set with his band. Seeing the young man’s talent, Tjader hired Sanchez for a week before officially making him a full member of the ensemble. Sanchez played a crucial role as conguero for several years until Tjader’s death in 1982.

Before he died, Tjader suggested that Concord Records founder Carl Jefferson sign Sanchez and his soon-to-be-formed group under the Concord Picante label. Tjader’s wishes were honored, and the first two records were composed and arranged by long-time Tjader collaborator Clare Fischer. Sanchez went on to produce 19 albums for the label, eventually garnering a Grammy for his work.

AllMusic described Sanchez as “among the most influential percussionists in jazz.” He has been performing frequently in venues varying in size from concert halls to local jazz festivals. His 2005 CD, Do It!, features the funk band Tower of Power on two tracks, as well as South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela.

Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956 Wilmington, DE) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash,leaving behind four years’ worth of recordings. His compositions “Sandu”, “Joy Spring”, and “Daahoud” have become jazz standards. Brown won the DownBeat magazine Critics’ Poll for New Star of the Year in 1954; he was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1972.

One of the most notable developments during Brown’s period in New York was the formation of Art Blakey‘s Quintet, which would become the Jazz Messengers. Blakey formed the band with Brown, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver, and Curley Russell, and recorded the quintet’s first album live at the Birdlandjazz club. During one of the rehearsal sessions, fellow trumpeter Miles Davis listened and joked about Clifford Brown’s technical ability to play the trumpet. The live recording session ultimately spanned two days with multiple takes needed on only a couple of the tunes.

A week at Club Harlem in May 1952 featured alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and Brown. Brown later noted that Parker was impressed by his playing, saying privately to the young trumpeter “I don’t believe it.”

Just before the formation of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, journalist Nat Hentoff and Brown interviewed for a DownBeat article titled “Clifford Brown – the New Dizzy”.

The Cuban Music Institute confirmed the death of Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal, renowned trumpeter of the Buena Vista Social Club, on October 28 via a statement on its Facebook page.

Born in 1933, Mirabal was a towering figure in Cuban music, dedicating over 70 years to his career. He was the founder of the Orquesta Tropicana and performed with prominent ensembles, including the Orquesta Casino, Cabaret Parisién Orchestra, Hotel Nacional Orchestra, ICRT Orchestra, Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, and both the National Revolutionary Militia and Army ceremonial bands. He was celebrated for his virtuosity on the trumpet.

Throughout his career, Mirabal collaborated with international artists like salsa star Oscar D’León, who coined the nickname “El Guajiro de Cuba” during a 1980 visit to Havana. Mirabal was an early member of the Afro-Cuban All Stars and rose to global prominence with Buena Vista Social Club, earning a Grammy in 1998 for the group’s debut album, which became the best-selling Cuban record in history. Mirabal also appeared in Wim Wenders’ documentary Buena Vista Social Club, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999.

In 2004, British label World Circuit Records released Buena Vista Social Club Presents Manuel ‘Guajiro’ Mirabal, marking his solo debut.