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 Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Sue R 
Date:   2004-03-30 16:49


First let me say I know this is a huge subject and I wish to get started on a solid foundation. After a talk with my teacher regarding Jazz he suggested that I check out the artists of the 1950's. I'm wondering if someone could direct me to a few artists, I've found alot of work by Benny Goodman ( who I greatly enjoy) and Duke Ellington but mentally connect them more with the 1940's or am I wrong?. I"ll be seeing my teacher later this week so I'll ask him as well but thought someone might be able to direct me to artists he might not mention.


Thanks,

Sue

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: D Dow 
Date:   2004-03-30 16:53

Try

Donld Byrd recordings of the 50s...

try John Jenkins a very much underatted Alto sax player of this period.

Charles Mingus of the 50s is very intersting...especially work with Johnny LaParta on Jazz Workshop sessions...

try the Brubeck Quaret...

Art Blakey with Johnny Griffin

I tend to avoid Lee Morgan....just useless playing

go to Clifford Brown and Rollins...more harmonically adventurous stuff...

Dizzy and Parker in Carnegie Hall is interesting...

Buddy DeFranco with Art Tatum from this time is great too.....

David Dow

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Henry 
Date:   2004-03-30 17:04

Stan Kenton had a great big band in the 50's.

And for something very different: The Modern Jazz Quartet (Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and....who were the other two dudes? Conny Kay?)

Henry

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Sue R 
Date:   2004-03-30 17:54


David and Henry,

Thanks, I'm checking out your recommendations, Buddy De Franco, Stan Kenton and the Modern Jazz Quartet look very interesting. What a great resource !. Henry I also found a John Lewis and Kenny Clarke listed as members of the Quartet.


Thanks again,

Sue

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: FrankM 
Date:   2004-03-30 17:54

John Lewis, I think....MJQ is great stuff. How about Miles Davis and the "Kind of Blue" band?

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Henry 
Date:   2004-03-30 18:05

Yes! How could I forget John Lewis??

Henry

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Ed 
Date:   2004-03-30 18:11

You can find a bio of the MJQ by doing a search at allmusic.com

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: BobD 
Date:   2004-03-30 18:52

Sidney Bechet qualifies for the '50s.

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: GBK 
Date:   2004-03-30 19:22

Jazz arists of the 1950's?

The list is almost endless and this thread could actually continue to 2050. (the saxophonists alone could be a study in itself)

Just a handful of names who were famous in the 50's (and in the decades before and after), which have not been mentioned:

Zoot Sims
Stan Getz
Jerry Mulligan
Herbie Mann
Dexter Gordon
Maynard Ferguson
Thelonius Monk
Earl Hines
Louis Armstrong ...GBK

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Hank Lehrer 
Date:   2004-03-30 20:17

GBK took many of mine but here's a few more.

1. Bob Cooper
2. Gerry Mulligan (sorry GBK)
3. Bob Brookmeyer
4. Paul Desmond
5. Australian Jazz Quartet
6. Herb Geller
7. Stan Getz, Stan Getz, Stan Getz (an all-time favorite)
8. Shorty Rogers
9. Billy May Band was excellent
10. Ted Heath Band as well
11. Claude Thornhill Band
12. Charlie Parker (for about 1/2 of the 1950s)

There were so many and the East Coast/West Coast war was raging!

HRL

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: hans 
Date:   2004-03-30 20:18

Moe Koffman comes to mind (since I was just looking at the Swingin' Shepherd Blues). Also Les and Larry Elgart. And Pete Fountain.
Hans

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Henry 
Date:   2004-03-30 21:02

A few more:
J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding on trombone,
Lee Konitz, Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper and Pepper Adams on sax,
Chet Baker on trumpet,
Buddy Rich and Louis Belson on drums(with their great big bands),
And, of course, Count Basie was still going strong then!

Henry

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Don Berger 
Date:   2004-03-30 21:05

Al Belletto groups and Sauter-Finnegan Orch recordings are among my favorites. Don

Thanx, Mark, Don

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: ChrisC 
Date:   2004-03-30 21:30

Sticking to artists who haven't been mentioned...

Wynton Kelly
Horace Silver
Hank Mobley
Benny Golson
Art Farmer
Red Garland
Curtis Fuller
Jackie McLean
Kenny Drew
Harold Land
Phil Woods
Tommy Flanagan
Barry Harris
Paul Chambers
Kenny Burrell
Mal Waldron
Kenny Dorham


Seems to me that there's a strong "cool jazz" bias around these parts...I tend to gravitate towards what East Coast labels like Prestige, Blue Note and Riverside were putting out. Keep in mind that most of these guys also recorded lots of high-quality records into the 1960's. I tend to think of the 1955-65 period as representing a single major epoch in mainstream jazz, following the widespread use of the long-playing record and the death of Charlie Parker and preceding the beginings of fusion and the rise of free jazz...if you took the years 1950-1960, I think that you would find much less consistency.



Post Edited (2004-03-30 21:32)

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Snowy 
Date:   2004-03-30 23:11

Just to add a little to this thread there is a comprehensive site with lots of bios and such at

http://users.bestweb.net/~msnyder/clarinet/clar1945.htm



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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: Rev. Avery 
Date:   2004-03-31 12:29

Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster. Both Ellington men. Hodges is great on alto sax. Webster is superb on tenor sax. They both have the flavor of the early jazz in their music and sound.



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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: larryb 
Date:   2004-03-31 19:22

Surprised nobody mentioned John Coltrane. Though not my favorite, he certainly dominated jazz from the mid-late fifties through the 1960s. Especially recordings with Miles Davis.

Coleman Hawkins in the 1950s deserves listening - and he is a great bridge to all earlier and later jazz.

Louis Armstrong had a great band throughout the 1950s (the All-stars) and he became a cultural icon during that decade.

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: jn_pdx 
Date:   2004-03-31 20:15

D Dow wrote:
>I tend to avoid Lee Morgan....just useless playing

Mr. Dow - I have to disagree about Lee Morgan. In my opinion his playing was not "useless" and I'd be curious as to why you say it was.

Just as an example, his playing on Coltrane's Blue Train is incredible - rivaling Trane's for moving around the changes.

Just my opinion though.

-jn

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 Re: Jazz Artists of the 1950's
Author: clarnibass 
Date:   2004-04-05 10:37

how could everybody forget eric dolphy. he is my favorite clarinet, sax and flute players. i was just listening to eric dolphy/out there a few minutes ago. it's from 1960 so almost the 50's.

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