Pittsburgh's Own Regional Notables of Jazz

Dr. Nelson Harrison's Blog (45)

Pitt Jazz Week 2009

Pitt Jazz Week 2009 to Feature Community Outreach Activities, Lecture, Film, and Nov. 7 Concert International jazz masters to perform at 39th annual event PITTSBURGH-Jazz enthusiasts from throughout the region will be on the University of Pittsburgh campus Nov. 3 though Nov. 7 for the 39th annual Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert, the longest-running event of its kind in the United States. A stellar group of international jazz musicians will hold free on-campus lecture/demonstrations, visit area s… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on November 7, 2009 at 5:16am — No Comments

Kenny Fisher plays with the angels; Pittsburgh jazz icon passes at 69

The New Pittsburgh Courier Written by Christian Morrow - Courier Staff Writer Thursday, 05 November 2009 13:12 Kenny Fisher didn’t talk much, but his saxophone spoke volumes to those lucky enough to have heard him play. “Fish,” as his friends called him, was one of the last links to Pittsburgh’s heyday as a jazz mecca—he knew everyone and played everywhere; the Loendi Club, the Hurricane and the old Crawford Grill. On Oct. 25, after a lengthy battle with cancer, Fisher played his last solo, he… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on November 6, 2009 at 6:26am — No Comments

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ART BLAKEY!!!

Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, he was one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. He is known as a powerful musician and a vital groover; his brand of bluesy, funky hard bop was (and remains) profoundly influential on mainstream jazz. For more than 30 years his band the Jazz Messengers included ma… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on October 11, 2009 at 4:30pm — 4 Comments

Sean Jones Resurrects Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra

Wednesday, October 07, 2009 By Rick Nowlin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lake Fong/Post-Gazette Trumpeter Sean Jones: "It's important for me to let Pittsburgh know, 'This is your orchestra.' " One might call the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra the "house band" for Heinz Hall. Sean Jones is tryin… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on October 8, 2009 at 3:14am — 1 Comment

WHO PAYS PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES AND WHO DOESN'T?

August 4, 2009 Radio Free America By NANCY SINATRA Los Angeles WHEN I hear great American standards on the radio, I think of all the songwriters, artists and musicians whom my father, brother and I have worked with over the years. It reminds me that every recording has two parts, the composition and the performance. It also reminds me how many wonderful artists and musicians have not been paid fairly for their work. Songwriters and publishers are paid when their tunes are played on the radio… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on August 4, 2009 at 10:00pm — 2 Comments

Obituary: Randy Purcell / Internationally known jazz trombonist

Died May 16, 2009 Tuesday, May 19, 2009 By Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Randy Purcell, with his trombone.

From his Brookline home, where the music never stopped, trombone player Randy Purcell blew his way onto the international scene with his loud and a… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on May 20, 2009 at 3:54pm — 1 Comment

Jazz trombonist Randy Purcell made mark locally, nationally

Buzz up! By Bob Karlovits, TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Photos

Randy Purcell About the writer Bob Karlovits can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7852. Randy Purcell attacked jazz performance and education with the same zest that marked his heyda… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on May 20, 2009 at 3:30pm — 1 Comment

MEMBERSHIP ISSUE REQUIRING IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

As we are approaching the 1200 member level, it has come to my attention that our recent practice of e-blasting current live local events has been both favorably and unfavorably received. Since this network is about values (personal, professional and artistic), I will try to address both… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on May 1, 2009 at 4:02am — 7 Comments

William L. "Speigal" Gay passes at age 57

On April 18, 2009, William, age 57, of Pittsburgh. Beloved husband of Judith A. Baronio-Gay; father of Adora C. Gay; grandfather of Doricka D., Tyrone R., Mahogany E., Chanelle M. and Jemel A.; brother of Pastor Gary R. Gay and Gerald Gay; nephew of Nelda Stokes and Florence Nels… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 23, 2009 at 5:28am — 1 Comment

A Jones for Music - SEAN JONES

Printed from the Pittsburgh City Paper website: http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws POSTED ON APRIL 16, 2009:

URL for this story: http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.wshttp://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A61874 By Mike Shanley "Caravan" is the kind of song… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 17, 2009 at 6:22am — 3 Comments

Campos, Inc./VO!CE of the Region Survey - Greater Pittsburgh Area Social Networking Report

One of the most popular and fastest growing methods of communication on the Internet is social networking. Simply, social networking sites are online communities of people from all over the world who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Many of these sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, have a very wide target audience, while others, such as LinkedIn, are tailored to a specific audience segment. To this end, socia… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 9, 2009 at 12:30am — No Comments

IF YOU ARE A JAZZ FAN, YOU HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY A PITTSBURGHER.

In an era of world music, it is imperative that America's most important cultural contribution to the world… Jazz music… be preserved, taught, expounded, developed and commemorated. We have dedicated ourselves toward to recreating a physical and virtual conte… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 8, 2009 at 3:00am — 8 Comments

The Next Page: Pittsburgh's jazz mystique -- the next generation steps up *

Dwayne Dolphin, Howie Alexander and Sean Jones -- three jazz artists tending the Pittsburgh flame Sunday, April 05, 2009 By Steve Hallock Stacy Innerst The house band at CJ's in the Strip District had just finished off a rousing "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" to whoops from the packed room at a recent Thursday night jam session. Roger Humphries turned over his drum set to a reedy kid named Joey Sailor as the musicians launched Miles Davis' "So What." Drum master handing off his throne to his st… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 5, 2009 at 8:39pm — 2 Comments

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF HENRY LOUIS BELCHER - January 15, 1915 - April 1, 2009

Henry "Bel" Belcher - "Cotton Picker & Dancin' Demon" Obituary by Evan Frazier, nephew

Henry Louis Belcher, the son of the late Louis Belcher and Ethel Belcher.(Frazier), passed quietly on April 1… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 4, 2009 at 9:00pm — 2 Comments

BEWARE! SPAMBOT ATTACKS ON NING NETWORKS

THERE ARE SPAM-BOTS GOING THROUGH ALL THE NING NETWORKS AND THEY ARE CAUSING HAVOC. YOU HAVE TO SET YOUR NETWORK FOR MEMBERS TO BE APPROVED. SOME NC'S ARE REPORTING THAT THEY CAN NOT DELETE THESES SPAM-BOTS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT PEOPLE, BUT A MALICIOUS PROGRAM. This announcement appeared on another Ning site. We have been attacked by a SB named Karen Leon posting a comment to visit a particular site for free ringtones. We have successfully been able to delete these pages which removes all… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on April 1, 2009 at 1:50am — 3 Comments

FREDDIE REDD SPRING TOUR

Friday March 27 7:30 & 9:00 PM - The George Dulin Group G… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on March 23, 2009 at 6:00am — 2 Comments

(Native Pittsburgher) Marpessa Dawn, Eurydice in the Film ‘Black Orpheus,’ Dies at 74

September 27, 2008 By DENNIS HEVESI Marpessa Dawn, who played the beautiful, melancholic and doomed Eurydice in the classic 1959 Brazilian movie “Black Orpheus,” died on Aug. 25 at her home in Paris. She was 74. The cause was a heart attack, her daughter Dhyana Kluth said. Ms. Dawn’s death followed by 41 days that of her “Black Orpheus” co-star, Breno Mello, who played the title role. The family did not publicly announce the death until this week. Directed by Marcel Camus and based on the G… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on March 17, 2009 at 4:41pm — 2 Comments

How is Web 2.0 different from the Web 1.0 dot-com boom and bust?

Dr. Linick is a colleague of mine for over 20 years. He offers a perspective on Web 2.0 that is easy to grasp and important for all to understand. The Pittsburgh Jazz Network is a Web 2.0 network. Nelson ==================================================================================== How does Google offer "the world's knowledge" to searchers for free and still make more than 10 billion in revenue, grow 68%, and have a stock market valuation of close to $200 billion? What could possibly ma… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on March 14, 2009 at 3:59pm — No Comments

East Liberty's AVA Lounge is a haven for jazz heads on Monday nights - Pittsburgh City Paper feature article

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER FEBRUARY 26, 2009 BY STEVE HALLOCK...

Cymbal crashes and electric-piano chords accompany the twirls and kicks of the combatants in the kung-fu film up on the wall behind the bar. Considering the size of the boisterous crowd at East Libert… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on March 4, 2009 at 1:07am — 9 Comments

THE COMMERCIAL STATE OF JAZZ IN THE NEW MILLENIUM

There is a discussion on The Washington DC Network re: returning jazz back to commercially advertising radio stations. The discussion was initiated by my close friend and native Pittsburgher, Mickey Bass, an extraordinarily talented and venerated bassist. After reading the developing thread there I left a short comment but have decided to start another thread on this network that perhaps will move in another direction. Please join in both discussions if you like. It's all good. =================… Continue

Added by Dr. Nelson Harrison on February 21, 2009 at 9:00pm — 18 Comments