#Bull Moose Jackson

[rockincountryblues]

"Bull Moose" Jackson

[jazzdailyblog]

Johnny Coles: The Unsung Hero of Jazz Trumpet

Introduction: In the annals of jazz history, certain names resonate with an almost mythical aura. Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong are among those whose contributions are celebrated widely. Yet, the world of jazz is also rich with artists who, while perhaps not achieving the same level of fame, have nonetheless left an indelible mark on the genre. One such artist is Johnny…

[thesobsister]

Bull Moose Jackson, "Big Ten-Inch Record"

Something for the whole family to enjoy.

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Bull Moose by Stephen Oachs Via Flickr: TAKE A CLOSER LOOK! Another day in pursuit of Moose in Grand Teton National Park. This big fella was pretty animated...he got to the other side of the river...shook off the water like a dog would and then ran off into the woods in an odd, frolicking manner. (as if the cold morning water felt good) Crazy moose, it was 27 degrees! 

[mikkeneko]

On January 30, 1835, US president Andrew Jackson was confronted by Richard Lawrence, who twice attempted to shoot him in the back with a pistol but the gun did not fire. Andrew Jackson proceeded to beat the crap out of Lawrence with his cane. Jackson did not run again in the 1836 election.

On October 14, 1912, former US President and running candidate for the 1912 election Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest by John Schrank while on the campaign trail in Milwaukee. He stayed at the podium and delivered the remark "Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot—but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Despite the extreme badassery of this line, he lost the 1912 election to Woodrow Wilson.

On May 15, 1972, US presidential candidate George Wallace was shot by a man named Arthur Bremer in Laurel, Maryland. He was injured enough by the attempt that he retired from the 1972 election. He ran for president again in 1976, and did not succeed.

On September 5, 1975, US president Gerald Ford was confronted on the grounds of the Capitol Building by Lynette Fromme, who attempted to shoot him but was not successful; he then went on to be shot at by another woman, Jane Moore, less than two weeks later. Ford campaigned for re-election in the 1976 election, but lost to Jimmy Carter.

While looking up citations for this post I found out about any number of presidential assassination attempts I never even knew about; Wikipedia has an entire category page for them (and another for successful assassinations.) Gerald Ford was shot at twice in two weeks, and Barack Obama at least three times.

Sadly, this type of political violence in the United States is not at all new, not at all uncommon, and the incidence of attempted assassination seems to have no correlation whatsoever as to the individual's success rate in future elections.

[oatflatwhite]

BOBSTROLOGY

A completely serious presentation by @pegasusdrawnchariots and oatflatwhite

written version under the cut!

♈️Patrick O’Keefe [April 3 1926] ♈️Robert Sink [April 3 1905] ♈️John Julian [5 April 1924] ♈️Renée Lemaire [10 April 1914] ♈️James Miller [11 April 1924] ♈️Walter “Smokey” Gordon [April 15 1920] ♉️~Ronald Speirs [April 20 1920] ♉️Alton More [April 22 1920] ♉️Henry Jones [27 April 1924] ♉️Edward “Babe” Heffron [May 16 1923] ♉️John Martin [May 12 1922] ♉️Joseph Liebgott [May 17 1915] ♉️Norman Dike [May 19 1918] ♉️William Guarnere [April 28 1923] ♊️David Webster [June 2 1922] ♊️George Luz [June 17 1921] ♊️Roy Cobb [June 18 1914] ♋️Frederick “Moose” Heyliger [June 23 1916] ♋️Albert Blithe [June 25 1923] ♋️Donald Hoobler [28 June 1922] ♋️Thomas Meehan [8 July 1921] ♋️John Janovec [9 July 1925] ♋️Robert “Popeye” Wynn [July 10 1921] ♋️James "Moe" Alley [July 20 1922] ♌️~Burton “Pat” Christenson [July 23 1922] ♌️Eugene Jackson [29 July 1922] ♌️Donald Malarkey [July 31 1921] ♌️Edward Tipper [3 August 1921] ♍️Floyd Talbert [August 26 1923] ♍️Alex Penkala [August 30 1922] ♍️William Dukeman [3 September 1921] ♎️Eugene Roe [October 17 1922] ♎️Harry Welsh [September 27 1918] ♎️Lewis Nixon [September 30 1918] ♎️Ralph Spina [October 5 1919] ♎️Thomas Peacock [October 9 1923] ♏️Denver “Bull” Randleman [November 20 1920] ♑️Lynn “Buck” Compton [December 31 1921] ♑️Antonio Garcia [January 17 1925] ♒️Richard "Dick" Winters [January 21 1918] ♒️Herbert Sobel [January 26 1912] ♒️Carwood Lipton [January 30 1920] ♒️Warren “Skip” Muck [January 31 1922] ♓️Lester Hashey [23 February 1925] ♓️Charles “Chuck” Grant [1 March 1922] ♓️Robert Strayer [March 2 1912] ♓️Wayne “Skinny” Sisk [March 4 1922] ♓️Frank Perconte [March 10 1917] ♓️Darrell “Shifty” Powers [March 13 1923] ♓️Joseph Toye [March 14 1919]

6 Aries 🥉 8 Taurus 🥇 3 Gemini 7 Cancer 🥈 4 Leo 3 Virgo 5 Libra 1 Scorpio 0 Sagittarius 🥄 2 Capricorn 4 Aquarius 7 Pisces 🥈

10 🔥 13 🪨 12 💨 15 💧

20 cardinal 17 fixed 13 mutable

22 masculine 28 feminine

[rockpaperscissuhs]

Band of Brothers Birthdays

January

1 John S. Zielinski Jr. (b. 1925)

21 Richard D. “Dick” Winters (b. 1918)

26 Herbert M. Sobel (b. 1912)

30 Clifford Carwood "Lip" Lipton (b. 1920)

31 Warren H. “Skip” Muck (b. 1922) & Robert B. Brewer (b. 1924)

February

8 Clarence R. Hester (b. 1916)

18 Thomas A. Peacock (b. 1920)

23 Lester A. “Les” Hashey (b. 1925)

March

1 Charles E. “Chuck” Grant (b. 1922)

2 Colonel Robert L. “Bob” Strayer (b. 1910)

4 Wayne “Skinny” Sisk (b. 1922)

10 Frank J. Perconte (b. 1917)

13 Darrell C. “Shifty” Powers (b. 1923)

14 Joseph J. “Joe” Toye (b. 1919)

24 John D. “Cowboy” Halls (b. 1922)

26 George Lavenson (b. 1917) & George H. Smith Jr. (1922)

27 Gerald J. Loraine (b. 1913)

April

3 Colonel Robert F. “Bob” Sink (b. 1905) & Patrick S. “Patty” O’Keefe (b. 1926)

5 John T. “Johnny” Julian (b. 1924)

10 Renée B. E. Lemaire (b. 1914)

11 James W. Miller (b. 1924)

15 Walter S. “Smokey” Gordon Jr. (b. 1920)

20 Ronald C. “Sparky” Speirs (b. 1920)

23 Alton M. More (b. 1920)

27 Earl E. “One Lung” McClung (b. 1923) & Henry S. “Hank” Jones Jr. (b. 1924)

28 William J. “Wild Bill” Guarnere (b. 1923)

May

12 John W. “Johnny” Martin (b. 1922)

16 Edward J. “Babe” Heffron (b. 1923)

17 Joseph D. “Joe” Liebgott (b. 1915)

19 Norman S. Dike Jr. (b. 1918) & Cleveland O. Petty (b. 1924)

25 Albert L. "Al" Mampre (b. 1922)

June

2 David K. "Web" Webster (b. 1922)

6 Augusta M. Chiwy ("Anna") (b. 1921)

13 Edward D. Shames (b. 1922)

17 George Luz (b. 1921)

18 Roy W. Cobb (b. 1914)

23 Frederick T. “Moose” Heyliger (b. 1916)

25 Albert Blithe (b. 1923)

28 Donald B. "Hoob" Hoobler (b. 1922)

July

2 Gen. Anthony C. "Nuts" McAuliffe (b. 1898)

7 Francis J. “Frank” Mellet (b. 1920)

8 Thomas Meehan III (b. 1921)

9 John A. Janovec (b. 1925)

10 Robert E. “Popeye” Wynn (b. 1921)

16 William S. Evans (b. 1910)

20 James H. “Moe” Alley Jr. (b. 1922)

23 Burton P. “Pat” Christenson (b. 1922)

29 Eugene E. Jackson (b. 1922)

31 Donald G. "Don" Malarkey (b. 1921)

August

3 Edward J. “Ed” Tipper (b. 1921)

10 Allen E. Vest (b. 1924)

15 Kenneth J. Webb (b. 1920)

18 Jack E. Foley (b. 1922)

26 Floyd M. “Tab” Talbert (b. 1923) & General Maxwell D. Taylor (b. 1901)

29 Joseph A. Lesniewski (b. 1920)

31 Alex M. Penkala Jr. (b. 1924)

September

3 William H. Dukeman Jr. (b. 1921)

11 Harold D. Webb (b. 1925)

12 Major Oliver M. Horton (b. 1912)

27 Harry F. Welsh (b. 1918)

30 Lewis “Nix” Nixon III (b. 1918)

October

5 Joseph “Joe” Ramirez (b. 1921) & Ralph F. “Doc” Spina (b. 1919) & Terrence C. "Salty" Harris (b. 1920)

6 Leo D. Boyle (b. 1913)

10 William F. “Bill” Kiehn (b. 1921)

15 Antonio C. “Tony” Garcia (b. 1924)

17 Eugene G. "Doc" Roe (b. 1922)

21 Lt. Cl. David T. Dobie (b. 1912)

28 Herbert J. Suerth Jr. (b. 1924)

31 Robert "Bob" van Klinken (b. 1919)

November

11 Myron N. “Mike” Ranney (b. 1922)

20 Denver “Bull” Randleman (b. 1920)

December

12 John “Jack” McGrath (b. 1919)

31 Lynn D. “Buck” Compton (b. 1921)

Unknown Date

Joseph P. Domingus

Richard J. Hughes (b. 1925)

Maj. Louis Kent

Father John Mahoney

George C. Rice

SOURCES

Military History Fandom Wiki

Band of Brothers Fandom Wiki

Traces of War

Find a Grave

[edithmcvalley]

he performs at the Third Rail when he gets drunk and you can't convince me otherwise

Song:

Original:

A video of Mr. Shorago (Hancock's VA) singing in character (for, well, educational purposes):

[bethanyactually]

Tag game: tag 9 people you'd like to get to know better

I was tagged a couple days ago by @forasecondtherewedwon to do this, and then was passively tagged by @gabagal so let's do this.

Currently watching: the US version of Ghosts, since we finished watching the BBC one; Percy Jackson and the Olympians; Fantasy High Junior Year on Dropout; and constantly rewatching both Nancy Drew and Elementary.

Last song: Metropolis by Owl City (though One Headlight by the Wallflowers has been going through my head on and off, since @pressdbtwnpages posted the most recent fic in her One Headlight series today!)

Three ships: Nancy x Ace, Percy x Annabeth, and today I'll say Katniss x Peeta.

Favorite color: sunflower yellow 

Currently consuming: water, but thinking about making some herbal tea

First Ship: Han/Leia, probably

Relationship status: happily married for many years

Last Movie: it's still Parent Trap IV: Hawaiian Honeymoon, which @pressdbtwnpages and I watched on YouTube a couple weekends ago.

Currently working on:  some stuff for the Nancy Drew Valentine's Vigil, a couple blankets I'm crocheting.

Low-key, no-pressure tagging some folks from my recent activity: @marquisofspirits, @hmmitsliz, @prismandblue, @ventifrappa, @enekorre, @the-bull-moose-party, @carrieeve, @wittywallflower, @wittyno, and anyone else who'd like to do this!

[rastronomicals]

2:00 AM EST November 9, 2024:

Aerosmith - “Big Ten Inch Record” From the album Toys in the Attic (April 8, 1975)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Bull Moose Jackson cover

–

[hbowar-bracket]

Albert Blithe 

Alex Penkala 

Alice 

Alton More 

Anna

Anthony 'Manimal' Jacks  

Antonio 'Poke' Espera  

Antonio Garcia 

Army Chaplain Teska  

Baba Karamanlis  

Bernard DeMarco   

Bill 'Hoosier' Smith  

Bill Leyden  

Billy Taylor  

Brad 'Iceman' Colbert  

Burton Christenson 

Capt. Andrew Haldane  

Carwood Lipton 

Charles (Chuck) Grant 

Charles Bean Cruikshank   

Charles K. Bailey  

Col. Robert Sink 

Cpt. Bryan Patterson  

Cpt. Craig 'Encino Man' Schwetje  

Cpt. Dave 'Captain America' McGraw  

Curtis Biddick  

Darrell (Shifty) Powers 

David Solomon  

David Webster 

Denver (Bull) Randleman 

Donald Hoobler 

Dr. Sledge  

Edward (Babe) Heffron 

Elmo 'Gunny' Haney  

Eric Kocher  

Eugene Jackson 

Eugene Roe 

Eugene Sledge   

Evan 'Q-Tip' Stafford  

Evan 'Scribe' Wright  

Everett Blakely   

Father John Maloney 

Floyd (Tab) Talbert 

Frank Murphy   

Frank Perconte 

Frederick (Moose) Heyliger 

Gabe Garza  

Gale 'Buck' Cleven  

George Luz 

Glenn Graham   

Gunnery Sgt. Mike 'Gunny' Wynn  

Gunnery Sgt. Ray 'Casey Kasem' Griego  

Hamm  

Harry Crosby  

Harry Welsh 

Helen  

Herbert Sobel 

Howard 'Hambone' Hamilton   

Jack Kidd  

James (Mo) Alley

James Chaffin  

James Douglass  

James Gibson   

James Miller 

Jason Lilley  

Jean Achten  

Jeffrey 'Dirty Earl' Carisalez  

John 'Bucky' Egan  

John Basilone  

John Christeson  

John D. Brady   

John Fredrick  

John Janovec 

John Julian 

John Martin 

Joseph 'Bubbles' Payne   

Joseph Liebgott 

Joseph Toye 

Josh Ray Person  

Katherine 'Tatty' Spaatz   

Ken Lemmons  

Lance Cpl. Harold James Trombley  

Larry Shawn 'Pappy' Patrick  

Leandro 'Shady B' Baptista  

Lena Basilone  

Lew 'Chuckler' Juergens  

Lewis Nixon 

Lt. Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones  

Lt. Henry Jones 

Lt. Nathaniel Fick  

Lt. Thomas Peacock 

Lynn (Buck) Compton 

Maj. 'Red' Bowman  

Maj. John Sixta  

Mama Karamanlis  

Manuel Rodriguez  

Mary Frank Sledge  

Meesh  

Merriell 'Snafu' Shelton  

Navy Hm2 Robert Timothy 'Doc' Bryan  

Neil 'Chick' Harding   

Norman Dike 

Old Man on Bicycle 

Patrick O'Keefe 

Phyllis  

R.V. Burgin   

Ralph (Doc) Spina 

Renee Lemaire 

Richard Winters 

Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal   

Robert 'Stormy' Becker   

Robert (Popeye) Wynn 

Robert Leckie  

Rodolfo 'Rudy' Reyes  

Ronald Speirs 

Roy Claytor  

Roy Cobb 

Sammy   

Sgt. Mallard  

Sidney Phillips  

Stella Karamanlis

Teren 'T' Holsey  

Vera Keller  

Walt Hasser  

Walter (Smokey) Gordon

Warren (Skip) Muck 

Wayne (Skinny) Sisk 

Wilbur 'Runner' Conley  

William Guarnere 

William Hinton  

William J. DeBlasio  

William Quinn  

Winifred 'Pappy' Lewis  

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

JYMIE MERRITT, UN GÉANT MÉCONNU

“People like Miles Davis wanted him to be in his band. Art Blakey or Max Roach or Sonny Rollins or Dizzy Gillespie, whoever he was working with — the musicians knew who he was. But to the general public he was a sideman, because he never recorded anything under his own name as a leader.” 

- Mike Merritt

Né le 3 mai 1926 à Philadelphie, en Pennsylvanie, James Raleigh Merritt était le fils de  Raleigh Howard "RH" Merritt, un homme d’affaires, ministre du culte et écrivain, et d’Agnes Robinson, une institutrice qui était également directrice de chorale et professeure de piano et de chant.

Le père de Merritt s’était installé à Philadelphie quelques années avant sa naissance. James Raleigh Merritt avait étudié au Tuskegee Institute, où il avait eu comme camarade de classe le célèbre botaniste et agronome George Washington Carver. À Philadelphie, le père de Merritt avait travaillé dans le secteur immobilier. Il avait aussi participé à la fondation de la Vine Memorial Baptist Church.

Saxophoniste ténor à l’origine, Merritt était passé à la contrebasse au début de la vingtaine après avoir entendu un enregistrement de Jimmy Blanton avec l’orchestre de Duke Ellington. Il avait aussi joué brièvement de la clarinette.

Mobilisé durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Merritt avait servi en Afrique du Nord. Il avait aussi participé à la célèbre bataille d’Anzio en Italie. Après sa démobilisation, Merritt avait travaillé brièvement dans l’entreprise immobilière de son père. Sous l’encouragement de sa mère, Merritt avait décidé d’étudier sérieusement la contrebasse en prenant des cours avec Carl Torello, le contrebassiste du Philadelphia Orchestra. Il avait étudié par la suite à la Ornstein School of Music de Philadelphie.

DÉBUTS DE CARRIÈRE

Merritt avait amorcé sa carrière professionnelle aux côtés de John Coltrane, Benny Golson et Philly Joe Jones en 1949. La même année, Merritt s’était joint au groupe de rhythm & blues de Bull Moose Jackson. C’est dans le cadre de sa collaboration avec le groupe que Merritt était devenu un des pionniers de la basse électrique . Merritt avait d’ailleurs été un des premiers contrebassistes à adopter la basse Ampeg, une sorte de combinaison entre la basse électrique et la contrebasse acoustique. Au cours d’une entrevue, Merritt avait expliqué comment il avait fait l’acquisation de sa première basse Fender à l’automne 1951:

"Now all this time, I had been playing electric bass, from about the first year of service with the Bull Moose band. We were out in Oklahoma somewhere, when Benny Golson saw this Western band, what you call a hillbilly band, with a fellow playing what looked like a guitar and sounded like a bass. Benny got me over to hear this and we later saw one in a music store. Benny went in for some reeds or something, so I tried a Fender electric bass and that night I took it to work. The owner let me take it and I tried it out working and nobody raised any objection. I had been having trouble with my own bass, one of the assembly line types, so I was in the market for a new bass. Anyway, I got curious and bought the thing and played it for the next seven years or so. I guess at the time I was the only one in jazz playing an electric bass. Certainly, I’m pretty sure Monk Montgomery wasn’t playing one because we used to see him in Minneapolis and he was always interested to see the instrument."

Au début des années 1950, Merritt avait fait la tournée des clubs de jazz, de blues et de R & B dans la région de New York et de Philadelphie. Il avait aussi voyagé avec  le batteur de rock expérimental Chris Powell. Merritt avait également fait partie du groupe de B.B. King de 1955 à 1957.

En 1957, Merritt s’était installé à Manhattan et s’était joint aux  Jazz Messengers d’Art Blakey, qui comprenait à l’époque le saxophoniste Benny Golson ainsi que le pianiste Bobby Timmons et le trompettiste Lee Morgan avec qui il avait collaboré activement par la suite. Merritt avait continué de voyager avec le groupe jusqu’à ce qu’une maladie non identifiée l’oblige à abandonner les tournées en 1962. On peut notamment entendre Merritt sur les albums  Moanin’ (1958), At the Jazz Corner of the World (1959), A Night in Tunisia (1960), Mosaic (1962) et Buhaina’s Delight (1963). Un album inédit de Timmons avec les Jazz Messengers, et mettant en vedette Blakey, Timmons, Hank Mobley et Morgan a également été publié en avril 2020 sous le titre de Just Coolin’. Dans le cadre de sa collaboration avec le groupe, Merritt avait collaboré activement à la création de classiques comme “Moanin’”, “Along Came Betty”, “Blues March” et plusieurs autres.

Après s’être rétabli, Merritt s’était joint en 1964 au groupe du trompettiste Chet Baker avec qui il avait enregistré un album au titre pompeux intitulé The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964-65. Merritt est d’ailleurs longuement mentionné dans l’autobiographie inachevée de Baker intitulée  As Though I Had Wings: The Lost Memoir. 

De 1965 à 1968, Merritt avait travaillé avec le batteur Max Roach, non seulement comme contrebassiste, mais également comme compositeur. Enregistrée sur l’album de Roach, Drums Unlimited (1966), la composition de Merritt "Nommo" lui avait valu une nomination comme meilleur compositeur de jazz dans le cadre du sondage des critiques du magazine Down Beat. Le titre de la pièce "Nommo" était dérivé d’un mot d’Afrique de l’Ouest désignant “the power of the spoken word.’’ Devenue le symbole des compositions de Merritt, la pièce "Nommo" combinait des éléments de hard bop et de jazz modal.

Merritt avait quitté Roach à la fin des années 1960 pour participer à une tournée avec Dizzy Gillespie. Merritt avait aussi fait une apparition avec le groupe de Gillespie dans le cadre du Dick Cavett Show.

Par la suite, Merritt avait renoué avec son ancien confrère des Jazz Messengers, le trompettiste Lee Morgan, notamment dans le cadre de l’album double Live at the Light House (1970), qui avait été enregistré à Hermosa Beach, en Californie, et qui comprenait des versions prolongées de ses propres compositions, dont ‘’Absolution’’, qui avait été enregistrée précédemment par Max Roach.

Les disques Blue Note ont d’ailleurs publié un coffret des enregistrements des concerts d’Hermosa Beach dans lequel on entend le fils de Merritt, le contrebassiste Mike Merritt, interviewer son illustre père. Comme Mike Merritt l’avait expliqué plus tard: “He was very positively affected by hearing that music again after all these years. He really felt good about where that band was going, had Lee not met an early death [Morgan a été abattu  par sa compagne Helen Moore dans un club de New York en 1972], and the ground that band was breaking.”

À partir de 1970, Merritt avait dirigé le groupe Forerunners. Le groupe tirait son nom d’une coopérative de musiciens que Merritt avait fondé avec d’autres artistes en 1962. Explorant le système d’accord et d’harmonies et l’approche unique de la composition de Merritt, le groupe avait publié plus tard un lexique dans lequel il avait exposé ses conceptions de la musique. Cette approche était particulièrement en évidence dans la longue composition de Merritt intitulée "Visions of the Ghost Dance".

Parmi les membres originaux du groupe, on retrouvait des vétérans de Philadelphie comme le saxophoniste Odean Pope, le guitariste Kenny Lowe, le batteur Donald Bailey, et la chanteuse September Wrice. Durant ses cinq premières années d’existence, le groupe s’était produit régulièrement dans la région de Philadelphie jusqu’à ce que Merritt et Pope se joignent au groupe de Roach. Le groupe avait refait surface périodiquement par la suite, dépendamment de la disponibilité de Merritt et de l’évolution de son état de santé. Le saxophoniste Bobby Zankel avait fait partie de la seconde édition du groupe lorsqu’il s’était joint à la formation en 1982. Parmi les autres membres du groupe à cette époque, on remarquait les saxophonistes Odean Pope et Julian Pressley, le pianiste Colmore Duncan, le percussionniste Warren McLendon et le batteur Alan Nelson. Principalement connu comme saxophoniste alto, Zankel jouait du saxophone baryton avec le groupe.

Le groupe, qui était devenu avec le temps une sorte de laboratoire, avait contribué à faire connaître les compositions de Merritt, même si les problèmes de santé du contrebassiste l’avaient souvent empêché de faire des tournées. Expliquant son désir de pousser sa musique plus loin avec le groupe, Merritt avait déclaré au cours d’une entrevue accordée au Daily News: “People like Lester Young, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie left an enormous trail of ideas that we were following. For me, there were a lot of threads to be pulled together from all over the place to increase the vocabulary that we used.” Merritt avait continué de se produire avec le groupe jusqu’à l’âge avancé de quatre-vingt-dix ans.

Diagnostiqué pour la première fois d’un cancer dans les années 1970, Jymie Merritt est mort d’un cancer du foie à Philadelphie le 10 avril 2020, trois semaines avant son quatre-vingt-quatorzième anniversaire de naissance. Merritt laissait dans le deuil son épouse Dorothy (Ave) Viola Small, son frère LeRoy, ses fils Marlon et Marvon, et ses filles Mharlyn et Jamie Reese. Merritt avait un autre fils, Martyn, mais il était décédé en 1989. C’est le fils de Merritt, Michael, qui avait annoncé la mort de son père sur la page Facebook de Leo Gadson. On pouvait lire dans ce communiqué:

“It is with great sadness that I share with you the news that my father, Jymie Merritt, one of the greatest musicians who ever lived, who was active during an era when jazz reached it’s most fertile peak in the mid-20th century, passed away at age 93, on the evening of Friday, April 10th at his home in Philadelphia, PA after a long illness. His death was not related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our family will release more information within the next few days.”

Plusieurs des enfants de Merritt avaient suivi les traces de leur père et avaient poursuivi une carrière musicale. Chanteuse et autrice, Mharlyn Merritt avait obtenu une bourse de la National Endowment for the Arts en 1988. Guitariste reconnu, Marlon avait combattu lors de la guerre en Irak. Malheureusement décédé, Martyn avait fait carrière comme pianiste classique et avait étudié avec le légendaire Leon Bates. Marvon était percussionniste et batteur. Quant à Mike, c’était un bassiste réputé qui avait joué avec plusieurs grands noms de la musique comme Levon Helm, Phoebe Snow, Johnny Copeland et BB King. Mieux connu comme membre du groupe du Basic Cable Band du talk-show de Conan O'Brien sur le réseau TBS, Mike avait co-produit en 2005 avec sa soeur Mharlyn un CD indépendant intitulé "Alone Together" mettant en vedette son frère Marlon à la guitare, Uri Caine, Al Kooper, Lew Soloff et les Vivino Brothers.

Commentant la mort de son ancien collègue, le saxophoniste Odean Pope, qui avait joué pour la première fois avec Merritt en 1959, avait déclaré: “Jymie Merritt, that’s a great loss. I’m very grateful that I lived during his time. In addition to him being an extraordinary bass player, he had his own sound. He had his own concept. He was just so fluent in what he was doing. To me, playing his music was like going to the highest university in the whole world.”

En 2016, l’émission Jazz Night in America avait consacré un épisode d’une heure à Merritt et à son groupe les Forerunners, dans le cadre d’un concert présenté au World Cafe Live de Philadelphie. Dans le cadre de l’émission, Merritt avait défini sa conception du rythme en ces termes:  “Rhythm is very complex, because it’s the basis on which the entire universe is constructed. All life has a pattern, and once you can tap into that pattern, you tap into all aspects of life.”

Lauréat de plusieurs prix, Merritt avait notamment remporté en juin 2008 un Don Redman Heritage Award. Le prix avait été remis à Merritt dans le cadre d’une cérémonie organisée par la Harpers Ferry Historical Association et la division de la NAACP à Jefferson County. L’événement était organisé en collaboration avec la Don Redman Heritage Society de Piedmont, en Virginie occidentale. En 2009, Merritt s’était également vu décerner un Jazz Heritage Award. Le prix avait été attribué à Merritt conjointement par l’Université de Philadelphie et le Jazz Heritage Project. Le prix avait été remis à Merritt dans le cadre de la Philadelphia Jazz Fair organisée par le professeur et musicien Don Glanden. L’organiste Trudy Pitts était l’autre récipiendaire du prix cette année-là. C’est un autre grand contrebassiste de Philadelphie, le regretté Charles Fambrough, qui avait remis son prix à Merritt. En novembre 2013, Merritt avait aussi remporté, en même temps que son collègue contrebassiste et ami Reggie Workman, le Clef Club of Philadelphia's Living Legend, Jazz Award.

Malgré tout son talent de contrebassiste et de compositeur, Merritt était demeuré largement méconnu du grand public, probablement parce qu’il n’avait jamais enregistré sous son propre nom. Comme l’avait expliqué son fils Mike: “People like Miles Davis wanted him to be in his band. Art Blakey or Max Roach or Sonny Rollins or Dizzy Gillespie, whoever he was working with — the musicians knew who he was. But to the general public he was a sideman, because he never recorded anything under his own name as a leader.” Qualifiant Merritt de véritable géant, le contrebassiste Christian McBride avait commenté: “Phrases like musical genius and unsung are so casually and recklessly thrown out there describing just about anyone these days. Jymie Merritt is not only one of the great bassists of his era, but also one of the great composers.”

©-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique

[jazzdailyblog]

Benny Golson: Jazz Maestro of Timeless Elegance

Introduction: In the vast landscape of jazz, certain figures stand as pillars of creative brilliance and lasting influence. Benny Golson, the eminent saxophonist, composer, and arranger, is undeniably one such luminary. With a career spanning over seven decades, Golson’s musical journey is a captivating narrative of innovation, collaboration, and the creation of timeless compositions that have…

[lboogie1906]

John Coles (July 3, 1926 – December 21, 1997) was a jazz trumpeter.

He was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He grew up in Philadelphia and was self-taught on trumpet.

He spent his early career playing with R&B groups, including those of Eddie Vinson (1948–1951), Bull Moose Jackson (1952), and Earl Bostic (1955–1956). He was with James Moody (1956-58) and played with Gil Evans’s orchestra (1958-64) including for the album Out of the Cool. He spent time with Charles Mingus in his sextet, which included Eric Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Jaki Byard, and Dannie Richmond. He played with Herbie Hancock (1968-69), Ray Charles (1969–71), Duke Ellington (1971–74), Art Blakey (1976), Dameronia, Mingus Dynasty, and the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Thad Jones (1985–86).

In 1985, he settled in the San Francisco Bay Area; he recorded with Frank Morgan and Chico Freeman the following year. He returned to Philadelphia in 1989, where he worked with Morgan and was part of Gene Harris’s Philip Morris Superband. In 1990, he recorded with Charles Earland and Buck Hill. He was recorded as a leader several times throughout his career. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Bull Moose by Stephen Oachs Via Flickr: TAKE A CLOSER LOOK! Another day in pursuit of Moose in Grand Teton National Park. This big fella was pretty animated...he got to the other side of the river...shook off the water like a dog would and then ran off into the woods in an odd, frolicking manner. (as if the cold morning water felt good) Crazy moose, it was 27 degrees! 

[awanderingcanadian]

Meandering in Grand Teton National Park

It’s been a lovely few days in Grand Teton National Park. With much warmer overnight temperatures then Yellowstone, and warm days, 24-25C, we’ve been enjoying our time here. I’m amazed at how different the scenery is from Yellowstone, yet there are less than an hour’s drive apart.

A few days ago, the four of us set off for the hike around Jenny Lake, (7.2 miles…11.6kms). It was a beautiful day. Due to my, (improving), hip situation, I purposefully only did half of the hike, getting to one switchback below Inspiration Point, before taking the ferry back across the lake. The other 3 continued on for was ended up being an over 4 hour hike.

Yesterday, we headed in Jackson, Wyoming, human population 10,600…winter elk population 7000! While very touristy, it hasn’t yet been ruined. We enjoyed a pizza lunch, as well as taking care of the necessities of banking, grocery shopping, and fuelling up, as we pull out early tomorrow morning. The ‘boys’ rode their bikes there, (60kms), while Bonnie and I took the truck, meeting them at the Visitors Centre and Elk Refuge. En route, Bonnie and I saw a mama moose and her calf, while on the way back we saw a bull moose who was posing for photos!

There is a big fire burning east of the park and yesterday the skies at times were completely smoky, obliterating the mountains completely, while at other times it was merely hazy. We took a side road on the way back to see the old Mormon houses and to get a good look at the roiling smoke cloud.

The park is in the process of closing. Today the restaurants closed after breakfast and the main bathrooms and showers here at Coulter Bay are on restricted hours, (two 2 hour openings: 8-10am and 4-6pm). As of today, the Coulter Bay RV park is the only campground remaining open. However, the scenery here is amazing, and we’ve made some good memories.