#Jazz Pianists

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Lorraine Desmarais

Jazz pianist and composer Lorraine Desmarais was born in 1956 in Montreal, Quebec. Desmarais has released over a dozen albums, and has become known in North America, Africa, and Asia for her solo, trio, and big band performances. In 1984, she won the Yamaha Jazz Competition at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and the following year, she received a Félix Award for the LP Trio Lorraine Desmarais. In 1986, Desmarais became the first Canadian to win the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. Her other awards and honors include a First Prize in composition from SOCAN and the Oscar Peterson Award from the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2013, Desmarais became a Member of the Order of Canada.

[jazzdailyblog]

The Brilliance of Keith Jarrett: A Jazz Legend

Introduction: Keith Jarrett is a name synonymous with virtuosity, innovation, and boundless creativity in the world of jazz. Born seventy-nine years ago today on May 8, 1945, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Jarrett’s musical journey began at a young age. His prodigious talent was evident early on, and he quickly established himself as a gifted pianist and composer. Early Career and Formation of the…

[canadachronicles]

When the fantastic Oscar Peterson meets the legendary Count Basie, you're in for a wonderful treat! Nimble fingers, exceptional sense of rhythm, virtuoso and maestro. Watching this fills me with joy and emotion!

[ausetkmt]

Les McCann, Jazz Pioneer Sampled by Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre, Dead at 88

Les McCann, a trailblazing pianist and singer known for fusing strains of jazz, funk, and R&B and pioneering soul jazz, died on Friday at the age of 88.

The cause of death has not been disclosed, but his manager Alan Abrahams told NBC News that the musician had died at a Los Angeles hospital after developing pneumonia a week ago.

The singer had lived for the last four years at a skilled nursing facility in L.A, according to The New York Times.

McCann, who is best remembered for his 1967 protest song “Compared to What,” alongside saxophonist Eddie Harris, released more than 50 albums throughout his lifetime. But much of his music lives on through classic hip-hop songs that sampled his work: Notorious B.I.G.’s “10 Crack Commandments” samples his composition “Vallarta,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “After Hours” samples “North Carolina,” and Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s “Next Episode” samples “Go on and Cry.”

Nearly 300 artists — including Warren G., Slick Rick, Cypress Hill, and Nas — have taken inspiration and sampled McCann’s work in their music, according to the Times.

McCann was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1935 and formed a trio after being discharged from the U.S. Navy. During his stint, though, the musician won a talent contest and performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. He dropped albums Les McCann Plays the Truth and The Shout in 1960 as he built his profile as a musician, per Variety.

The musician later signed to Atlantic in 1968 and dropped a cover of Gene McDaniels’ “Compared to What” in 1969, marking one of the biggest releases of his career.

“When I heard him,” he said of the McDaniels track in 2017, per the Times. “I hired him in my band — one of the best singers I’ve ever heard. And I found out he was also a writer. We stayed in touch for years after that, and he would always send me songs.”

“I can’t tell you how many songs he sent me, but that one stuck with me,” he added.

[soupinaboot]

Fuck it. Every Steve Harrington headcannon I have because I've been rotating that boy in my head like a pig on a stick

- Has had glasses since he was young but mostly wore contacts throughout high school due to being bullied in middle school for looking like a nerd

- Plays the piano or the violin, your pick

- In addition to the piano, he mostly plays jazz cause thats my favorite genre and I think it would be his too

- Has ALWAYS had horrible migraines but have since been a lot more difficult to deal with due to you know all that other shit that's been going on

- Does not know popular culture, I know it's very popular within the fandom that he only listences to what's on the radio or watchs only the recent released movies but that boy could barely name a single movie he does NOT know popular shit (this also goes with my jazz headcannon that he mostly just listenes to jazz in the car or at home)

- Surprisingly amazing at chess, no one in the party has managed to beat him

- Horror fan(books,shows,movies,etc)

- His best subject in school was math and I will die on this hill

- Between him and Eddie, he is the black cat

- Bisexual obviously, but a really do like the headcanon that he kinda knew he liked boys when he was younger and doesn't need Robin or Eddie to tell him(he was the one telling Robin that Vickie could like both just saying)

- Also asexual maybe

- Can cook

- SMOKER!!! He smokes in the first season, and in the third he makes a reference to smoking marijuana, he is NOT new to this

- Has really bad bedhead

- I can see him as having some form of OCD or ADHD

I'm forgetting most so be prepared for a part 2

Part 2

[undergroundrockpress]

Carla Bley, 1972.

[mimi-0007]

[didierleclair]

Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson!

[canmking]

T h e l o n i o u s M o n k

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Joanne Brackeen

Jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen was born in 1938 in Ventura, California. A self-taught pianist, Brackeen was performing professionally by the age of 12. She has released more than 20 albums and written 300 original compositions. Brackeen is currently a professor at Berklee College of Music. She has received numerous awards and honors, including a BNY Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award, an Outstanding Educator Award from the International Association for Jazz Education, and an NEA Jazz Master Fellowship.

[jazzdailyblog]

The High Priestess of Soul: The Life and Legacy of Nina Simone

Introduction: Nina Simone, born Eunice Kathleen Waymon ninety-one years ago today on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, was a revolutionary artist whose music transcended genres, blending elements of jazz, blues, classical, and folk. Her distinctive voice, coupled with her profound songwriting and piano skills, made her a singular figure in the world of music. Often referred to as the…

[henk-heijmans]

Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck (American, 1920 - 2012), New York City, 1954 - by Elliott Erwitt (1928 - 2023), French/American

[ongawdclub]

T h e l o n i u s M o n k

[happilypurplesweets]

Una lady Italiana

[chroniclesofnadia111]

RIP to my favorite jazz pianist in the whole world. The great Ahmad Jamal has passed away today at the age of 92. What a man, what a life. There will never be another. 🌹����🖤🕊️🎹