Historical Dictionary of Jazz. John S. Davis

      ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

      Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

      Published by Rowman & Littlefield

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      Copyright © 2020 by John S. Davis

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

      British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Name: Davis, John S., 1960–, author.

      Title: Historical dictionary of jazz / John S. Davis.

      Description: Second edition. | Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2020. | Series: Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Jazz contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1,500 cross-referenced entries on musicians, styles of jazz, instruments, recording labels, bands and bandleaders, and more”—Provided by publisher.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2020006316 (print) | LCCN 2020006317 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538128145 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538128152 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Jazz—Dictionaries.

      Classification: LCC ML102.J3 D38 2020 (print) | LCC ML102.J3 (ebook) | DDC 781.6503—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006316

      LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006317

      I’d like to express my appreciation for those who helped most by providing research assistance, reviewing, editing, and suggestions. Among these, I thank Dr. Samuel Griffith and Dr. Daniel Jonas, who as doctoral research assistants, put in many hours devoted to researching and verifying much of the material contained in

      this manuscript. The project would not have been completed

      without their tireless efforts. Thank you to my editor, Jon Woronoff,

      whose guidance, advice, and patience have been invaluable. I

      couldn’t ask for better. Lastly, one cannot undertake such a

      task as this without the support and understanding of family.

      I am ever grateful to Zahra, Samantha, and Brian, for everything

      you have done and continue to do in support of my work.

      Your love and support mean everything.

      A

      A&M RECORDS

      A record company founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Founded primarily as an outlet for Herb Alpert to record and distribute albums for his group the Tijuana Brass, the label had great success in the late 1960s and opened offices overseas. A&M signed several pop groups that would go on to great success. These artists included the Carpenters, the Police, and Cat Stevens. Alpert and Moss decided to sell the label to Polygram Records in 1989, shortly after the success the label generated with Bryan Adams’s smash single “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.” The label had moderate success with jazz outside of Herb Alpert and some albums of arrangements by Creed Taylor and Don Sebesky, which featured strings and several mainstream jazz artists, including George Benson. A&M produced many recordings of contemporary artists, including Joe Cocker, Sérgio Mendes, Peter Frampton, Joan Baez, Sheryl Crow, and others. Today, A&M’s catalog releases are managed by Verve Records, Universal Music Enterprises, and Interscope.

      ABENE, MICHAEL (1942–)

      Abene began his professional career at an early age playing piano with Marshall Brown’s Youth Jazz Band in 1958 before studying at the Manhattan School of Music. During the 1960s, he played in small-group and big band settings with many notable musicians, including Clark Terry, Maynard Ferguson, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Don Ellis. Abene’s arrangements were prominently featured in many groups, including the bands of Buddy Rich, Ferguson, Harry Edison, and Mel Lewis. Abene’s first album came later in his career and was titled You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby (1984, Stash). Held in high regard as both a performer and arranger, he expanded into the production of several projects for the GRP record label, including GRP Big Band, GRP Big Band Live, and The GRP Christmas Collection (volumes 1, 2, and 3). In addition to providing workshops and clinics worldwide, Abene joined the collegiate ranks in 1998 as a professor at his alma mater, the Manhattan School of Music. In 2004, Abene was named music director and principal arranger/composer of the WDR Radio Big Band of Cologne, Germany, a position he held until 2014. In 2011, he accepted the position as professor of ensemble conducting at the KUG Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria. Abene has been a multiple Grammy nominee in the areas of composition, arranging, conducting, and production. He continues to present workshops in the United States and Europe.

      ABERCROMBIE, JOHN (1944–2017)

      Born in Port Chester, New York, Abercrombie learned the guitar from the age of 14 and turned to jazz when he heard and was inspired by bebop guitarists Wes Montgomery and Barney Kessel. Abercrombie’s music studies brought him to Boston’s Berklee College of Music in 1962 and later to North Texas State University, where he refined his guitar-playing skills. After his time at North Texas, Abercrombie relocated to New York in 1969 and quickly found his way into the jazz scene, working with Chico Hamilton and in the pioneering jazz-rock group Dreams with Michael and Randy Brecker and drummer Billy Cobham. From 1969 to 1984, he performed and worked with many established jazz leaders, including Gil Evans and Gato Barbieri, and also developed connections with many leaders of the next wave of jazz innovation. These musicians included Richie Beirach, Dave Holland, George Mraz, and Jack DeJohnette. From the mid-1970s onward, Abercrombie was recorded regularly on the ECM label as both a leader and sideman.