Couples Only

Stanley Turrentine @ The Hard Bop Homepage: What first leaps out and grabs the listener’s attention is Turrentine’s sweet yet muscular sound, which suggests Johnny Hodges more than the classic Swing tenors. A flexible voice, it can deepen to a resonant honk, soar into one of the most piercingly full-throated cries in jazz, and broaden to a thick, sensuous vibrato on ballads. Turrentine tends to play on top of the beat, making for a deep, trancelike groove, and his phrasing draws on both modern jazz and R&B.

The Ben Webster Foundation : In the 50’s and early 60’s Ben was mostly active as studio musician accompaning singers such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae. In 64 Ben decided to go to Europe and made his headquarters in Amsterdam. He was much in demand and played all over Europe recording numerous sessions.

Juan Pablo Torres @ allmusic : One of the best trombone players in the Latin-jazz community of the 1990s, Juan Pablo Torres provided a crucial role in recordings by Paquito D’Rivera, Charles Azvanour and Gilberto Santa Rosa. In addition, the Cuban recorded at least two dozen LPs of his own while sitting in with others; their success led to a contract with Sony Tropijazz, beginning with 1995’s Trombone Man, which also featured D’Rivera and pianist Hilton Ruiz. Pepper Trombone followed in early 1997, and three years later Torres resurfaced with Son Que Chevere.

Dieter Reith : German organist, pianist, composer, arranger, band leader. Born February 25, 1938 in Mainz, Germany.

Chico O’Farrill @ Jazzhouse : He described Afro-Cuban Jazz as “a very delicate marriage”, in which each aspect of the music had to be held in proper balance. He made several more recordings for Granz in 1951-4, including The Second Afro-Cuban Suite in 1952, a gentler and more reflective piece which O’Farrill regarded as more satisfying in purely compositional terms than its more famous predecessor.

Hugh Masekela : While in England, Masekela recorded one of his greatest works, “Tomorrow”, which featured his next hit, “Bring Him Back Home” (a.k.a. Mandela). While there, Masekela also conceived, with playwright and songwriter Mbongeni Ngema, the mbaqaga musical “Sarafina”, which found great success on Broadway in 1988.

Serge Gainsbourg @ Wikipedia : In late-1967, he had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot to whom he dedicated the song and album Initials BB. In mid-1968, Gainsbourg fell in love with the younger English singer and actress Jane Birkin, whom he met during the shooting of the film Slogan. Their relationship lasted over a decade

Yusef Lateef : As a virtuoso on a broad spectrum of reed instruments — tenor saxophone, flute, oboe, bamboo flute, shanai, shofar, argol, sarewa, and taiwan koto — Yusef Lateef has introduced delightful new sounds and blends of tone colors to audiences all over the world, and he has incorporated the sounds of many countries into his own music. As a result, he is considered a pioneer in what is known today as “world music.”

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