Released: 2002 | Formats: CD & Digital
Birmingham Jazz Festival A Night To Remember Vol 3
$9.97 – $14.97
I’ll Remember April; Misty; The Blues and I; Mack The Knife;
I Got Rhythm(Anthropology); Acknowledgement
The Birmingham Jazz Festival is a well-known tradition in the Michigan Region, not dis-similar to the archive recordings and productions of the “Jazz at the Philharmonic” series originally presented by Norman Granz in New York.
As you listen to these classic recordings, you will at once be enthralled by the infectious groove and be transported to those memorable moments in the 1960s in Birmingham, Michigan
–Al Trainer
Bess Bonnier Piano
Junior Mance Piano
Johnny Griffith Piano
Nick Fiore Bass
J.C. Heard Drums
Dick Riordan Drums
Joe Kennedy Jr. Violin
Lem Winchester Vibes
Sandy Mosse Tenor
Toots Thielemans Harmonica, Guitar, Whistling
About “Birmingham Jazz Festival A Night to Remember Vol 3”
During the ’50s, Usher joined with Dizzy Gillespie to found Dee Gee Records and later became a jazz A&R man for Argo/Chess,
producing such artists as Ahmad Jamal and James Moody. In 1960, as impresario, he managed to put together an eclectic package that included pianist Junior Mance; harmonica player and guitarist “Toots” Thielemans, drummer J. C. Heard, tenor saxophonist Sandy Mosse, and vibist Lem Winchester. Among the local players were pianists Bess Bonnier and Johnny Griffith, bassist Nick Fiore and drummer Dick Riordan.
Toots Thielemans virtually introduced the chromatic harmonica as a jazz instrument. In fact, beginning in the mid-’50s, he never had a close competitor. Thielemans simply played the harmonica with the dexterity of a saxophonist and even successfully traded off with the likes of Oscar Peterson.
Thielemans’ first instrument was the accordion, which he started when he was three. Although he started playing the harmonica when he was 17, Thielemans’ original reputation was made as a guitarist who was influenced by Django Reinhardt. Very much open to bop, Thielemans played in American GI clubs in Europe, visited the U.S. for the first time in 1947, and shared the bandstand with Charlie Parker at the Paris Jazz Festival of 1949. He toured Europe as a guitarist with the Benny Goodman Sextet in 1950, and the following year moved to the U.S. During 1953-1959, Toots was a member of the George Shearing Quintet (mostly as a guitarist) and freelanced for the remainder of his lengthy career in music.
