Astronomy Domine

Urbie Green: Martin trombonist Urban (Urbie) Green, known as the “trombonist’s trombonist,” is one of the true greats of jazz, among the elite of the world’s trombone players. Urbie Green has toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa and Frankie Carle and has been cited numerous times in Down Beat magazine’s annual critics awards. Green has also established an extensive career as a free-lance trombonist for recording artists such as Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Armstrong and others.

Gene Ammons @ The Hard Bop Homepage : In the November 27, 1969 issue of Down Beat, there was a news item which gladdened many a jazz follower. Wrote Down Beat, in part: “One of the giants of the tenor saxophone is finally back on the scene. After serving seven years of a harsh 15-year sentence on a narcotics charge, Gene Ammons was released from Statesville, Ill. penitentiary in mid-October.”

Nicki Parrott : Nicki Parrott came to New York in May 1994 on an Arts Council grant from Australia to study with the internationally acclaimed bassist, Rufus Reid. Since June 2000, Nicki has played on Monday nights at the Iridium Jazz Club with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. Nicki and her sister, Lisa Parrott headlined at the prestigious Tribute to Mary Lou Williams festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in May 2002, which was broadcast on National Public Radio

Soil & “Pimp” Sessions : Soil & “Pimp” Sessions is an explosive Japanese jazz band, comprised of six musicians; Shacho (agitator, spirit), Tabu Zombie (trumpet), Motoharu (sax), Josei (piano), Akita Goldman (bass) and Midoryn (drums). Soil & “Pimp” Sessions combine the highest musicianship with the coolest of cool sounds and atmosphere. Their brand of jazz is rough around the edges, unadulterated entertainment and constantly kept at boiling point.

Rashaan Carter : Bassist Rashaan Carter, son of a jazz saxophonist, was already a member of the Washington, DC jazz community as a high school student, performing in venues such as Blues Alley, Twins, HR-57, and the Bohemian Caverns. Before graduation he had appeared with Gary Thomas, Roy Hargrove, and Stefon Harris, and played in trio around DC with brothers Roland and Russell. He cites Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, Dave Holland, and Ron Carter as his key influences.

Nicola Conte : Italian DJ/producer Nicola Conte’s loungey brand of acid jazz relies extensively on bossa nova, but is also heavily influenced by the swinging soundtracks of Italian films in the ’60s and ’70s, plus touches of ethnic music and easy listening kitsch reminiscent of Japan’s Pizzicato Five.

Cortijo Y Su Combo @ Fania : From the mid-’50s to the early ’60s, Cortijo dominated the Puerto Rico music scene with an all encompassing tropical sound setting the parameters of the genre that would later be known as salsa. Interestingly, the bandleader was not limited to the song formats of Cuba. A proud boricua, Cortijo brought to his band the soulful influence of Puerto Rico’s folkloric formats: the plena and the bomba. This fusion of Afro-Cuban formats with the island’s own styles would have an indelible effect on salsa.

Les Baxter @ Wikipedia : Like his counterparts Henry Mancini and Lalo Schifrin, Baxter later worked for the film industry in the 60’s and 70’s. He worked on movie soundtracks for B-movie studio American International Pictures where he composed and conducted scores for Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe films and other horror stories and teenage musicals, including The Pit and the Pendulum, The Comedy of Terrors, Muscle Beach Party, The Dunwich Horror, and Frogs. Howard W. Koch recalled that Baxter composed, orchestrated and recorded the entire score of The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) in a total of three hours for $5,000

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