In the best of jazz tradition stand Cannonball Adderly, Stan Getz, Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Labor Day weekend gives Sonny Buxton and Melanie Berzon a chance to showcase these players.
Alto sax player Julian “Cannonball” Adderly took on the NY jazz scene when he sat in on a session with Oscar Pettiford. Soon after Miles Davis picked him for his sextet that recorded Milestones and Kind of Blue. Cannonball went on to create several groups and is know for playing with his brother Nat Adderly.
Stan Getz, a tenor sax player, started his professional career at the age of 16 by joining Jack Teegarden’s big band in 1943. He played a lot of cool jazz with Horace Silver, Johnny Smith and Oscar Peterson in the 50s while living in Scandanavia. He returned in 1961 and helped kick off the Bossa Nova craze. The most well known track from this period is his recording of The Girl from Ipanema. Stan was an artist in residence at the local Stanford Jazz Workshop in his later years.
Trumpet player Clifford Brown had a short but critically acclaimed career. He teamed up with drummer Max Roach to form the Clifford Brown and Max Roach quintet which played hard bop jazz. His son, Clifford Brown Jr, is a noted KCSM host and his grandson Clifford Brown III is a Bay Area trumpet player.
Drummer Max Roach was part of the original bebop musicians in New York in the 1940s. Max was the drummer for all the bebop greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, Coleman Hawkins and Miles Davis. He later went on to form several percussion based groups and is know for his solo concerts on the drums and percussion. He was active politically and his Freedom Now Suite was written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
With a group like this Sonny and Mel will have a great time showcasing these artists. Please tune in.
