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There will be some changes made Grosz 1979
Marty Grosz plays "There will be some changes made" during one
of the Peter Appleyard shows in the seventies in Toronto. He is
accompanied by saxophonist Jimmy Galloway and his excellent band.
One of jazz music's great comedians (his spontaneous monologs are often
hilarious), Marty Grosz is a brilliant acoustic guitarist whose chordal
solos bring back the sound of Carl Kress and Dick McDonough of the 1930s,
while his vocals are very much in the Fats Waller tradition. It took Marty
Grosz a long time to get some visibility. He grew up in New York, attended
Columbia University, and in 1951 led a Dixieland band with Dick Wellstood
that was unrecorded. Based in Chicago, Marty Grosz did record with Dave
Remington, Art Hodes, and Albert Nicholas in the 1950s; led sessions of
his own in 1957 and 1959 for Riverside and Audio Fidelity; and tried his
best to coax Jabbo Smith out of retirement (some of their rehearsals were
later released on LP), but was pretty obscure until he joined Soprano
Summit (1975-1979). After that association ended, Marty Grosz became a
busy freelancer on the classic jazz scene, playing with Dick Sudhalter,
Joe Muryani, and Dick Wellstood in the Classic Jazz Quartet, and later
heading the Orphan Newsboys, a superb quartet that also includes Peter
Ecklund, Bobby Gordon, and bassist Greg Cohen. Marty Grosz, a unique
personality, has recorded several delightful sets for Jazzology and Stomp
Off.
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Lady be Good Stewart 1979
Leroy "Slam" Stewart was the most recorded jazz bassists of the
1940s. He was born September 21, 1914 in Englewood, New Jersey. He started
on violin but switched to bass, studying at Boston Conservatory.
Stewart, who had perfect pitch, mastered the technique of playing his
solos with a bow while humming along simultaneously at an octave higher,
which made him a very popular showman, and made him very famous in the
jazz world. He got his nickname from the percussive "slapping"
or "slamming"sound his strings made when they hit the neck of
his bass while plucking.
In 1937, he moved to New York and met Slim Gaillard. Together they became
very popular as "Slim and Slam" on radio and records. Their song
Flat Foot Floogie was a huge hit. During the 1930s and 1940s he worked
mostly in small groups, playing with Art Tatum, Lester Young, Goodman,
Parker, Gillespie, and others. He also led his own group which for a
period featured the up-and-coming pianist Erroll Garner, and he performed
a couple of stunning duets with tenor saxophonist Don Byas at a 1945 Town
Hall concert. He won many awards including Down Beat's Best Bassist of the
Year (1945) and Berklee's Highest Achievement Honor Award. Although
accepted as a pioneer on the bass, he didn't influence a large number of
future bassists, because he was too difficult to emulate.
In the 1950s, he played with Tatum, Roy Eldridge, and he regularly
accompanied singer Rose Murphy.
In the 1960s, he added classical music to his repertoire. He frequently
toured in the 1970s and 80s playing with a variety of artists, usually in
mainstream jazz.
Stewart died in 1987.
In this clip he plays with Peter Appleyard, Zoot Sims, Hank Jones and some
local Canadian musicians.
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Ice Cream Silver Leaf Jazz Band 1978
Each year during the Jazz and Heritage Festival the Silverleaf Jazz Band
would visit and play in New Orleans and consequently met many of the local
veteran New Orleans players, like Jim Robinson or Louis Nelson. The
producers of the Peter Appleyard shows were always looking for featured
guests so Louis Nelson was an obvious choice to be featured with the
Silverleaf band.
Louis Nelson
Although a hero to many followers of the New Orleans revival movement,
Louis Nelson was an erratic trombonist, capable of playing with great
warmth and then slipping way out of tune during his next chorus! To his
fans he could do no wrong while detractors saw little value in his
playing. The truth naturally lies somewhere in between. Nelson started
playing music on the alto horn before permanently switching to trombone.
He was active in the New Orleans jazz scene of the 1920's, working with
Kid Rena, the Original Tuxedo Orchestra and for 15 years with Sidney
Desvigne's big band. He was closely associated with Kid Thomas Valentine
(starting in 1944), George Lewis and the many musicians in the 1960's who
played at Preservation Hall. Louis Nelson toured and recorded with the
Legends of Jazz
Silverleaf Jazz Band was one of the best New Orleans styled jazz bands in
town, if not in Canada. These guys understood the spirit of New Orleans.
Leader Dennis Elder on drums was a top notch New Orleans drummer. Big bass
drum, one tom, one snare and one riding cymbal, that was all he needed.
Brian Williams on clarinet and alto loved both George Lewis and John
Handy. Don Chapman, Manfred Koch on trumpet and trombone completed the
frontline, where John Matheson piano, Bobby (B.B.) Boyle banjo and Dave
"Pops" Maynard bass kept that rhytm group swinging.
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Shake it and Break it Silverleaf J.B. 1978
Shake it and break it and hang it on the Wall was probably the name of the
tune on their song list. Many of us know it as the Weary blues as well. If
played in Bb Weary blues goes to the G7 in bar 9 of the chorus, where in
Shake it it is a D7. Small difference.
Recorded in 1977 at one of the Peter Appleyard Shows.
Although we were always in competition in our small town of Toronto, the
Silverleaf Jazz Band was one of the best New Orleans styled jazz bands in
town, if not in Canada. These guys understood the spirit of New Orleans.
They certainly deserved much more exposure.
Leader Dennis Elder on drums was a top notch New Orleans drummer. Big bass
drum, one tom, one snare and one riding cymbal, that was all he needed.
Brian Williams on clarinet and alto loved both George Lewis and John
Handy. Don Chapman, Manfred Koch on trumpet and trombone completed the
frontline, where John Matheson piano, Bobby (B.B.) Boyle banjo and Dave
"Pops" Maynard bass kept that rhytm group swinging.
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