| About the Legends |
On this page, you can listen to segments of the
artists featured on our CD
More about Angela DeNiro's new CD..."Swingin' With Legends"
Lionel
Hampton is an internationally
acclaimed giant of the jazz world, and has been the undisputed "King of the
Vibraphone" for well over half a century. In 1930, Hamp recorded his first vibe
solo with the Louis Armstrong band. The first tune cut was
Memories of You,
which became a tremendous hit, and has remained a classic throughout the years.
In 1936, Hamp joined the Benny Goodman band, which also featured Teddy Wilson
and Gene Krupa. They immediately became the legendary Benny Goodman Quartet.
Musical history was made, both for the brilliant music produced, and because it
was the first racially integrated group of jazz musicians. Mr. Hampton has
received innumerable prestigious awards, among them: The title, American
Goodwill Ambassador (by Presidents Eisenhower & Nixon), the Papal Medal from
Pope Paul I, 16 Honorary Doctorates, and the Kennedy Center Honors Award. The
Music School of the University of Idaho was named the Lionel Hampton School of
Music in 1987, the first to be named in honor of a jazz musician.
Also a celebrated composer, Hamp's original ballad,
Midnight Sun,
has become a beloved classic in American jazz and popular music. In the fifty
year history of this jazz masterpiece, Angela DeNiro, on her 1998 CD release,
Swingin' With Legends, is the
first and only
singer to record this song with Lionel Hampton. On
track 15,
there's a conversation with Lionel
Hampton and Angela DeNiro.
To hear a portion of the conversation between Angela DeNiro & Lionel Hampton, CLICK BELOW:
Click here to visit website dedicated to Lionel Hampton
Frank
Foster is celebrating more than 55
years in music. A member of the Count Basie Orchestra from 1953 to 1964, Foster
contributed extensively to the band's repertoire through many compositions and
arrangements, among them, Shiny
Stockings, Blues in Frankie's Flat,
and Four-Five-Six.
Foster has worked with and arranged for such notables as Frank Sinatra, Sarah
Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billy
Eckstine. In addition to his own groups, Foss has toured with Clark Terry,
Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Duke Pearson, Elvin Jones, Johnny Richards, Woody
Herman, Lloyd Price, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Foster
composed and conducted The Lake Placid
Suite for the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Frank took over the leadership of the Basie Orchestra in 1986, and during his
nine years at the helm, he received two Grammy Awards; the first was for Best
Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal (Diane Schuur's
Deedles Blues),
and the second for Best Instrumental Arrangement (George Benson's
Basie's Bag.)
Dr. Foster (he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music Degree from his Alma
Mater, Central State University in Ohio), contributed five arrangements to Ms.
DeNiro's new CD, Swingin' With Legends,
and can be heard playing on Naima,
Avalon, Bring On the Raindrops, and
How Insensitive.
To
hear a segment of Frank Foster's solo on
Avalon,
CLICK BELOW:
AVALON
download time approx. 1:30
Lew
Tabackin, flutist and tenor
saxophonist, has a degree in music from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music.
He played first with Tal Farlow and Don Friedman, and later in the big bands led
by Cab Calloway, Les Elgart, Maynard Ferguson, Ron Aprea, Joe Henderson, Thad
Jones and Mel Lewis, Clark Terry, and Duke Pearson. He also played in smaller
groups with Donald Byrd, Roland Hanna, and Elvin Jones, and worked with Doc
Severinsen and his studio band. In 1968, he met Toshiko Akiyoshi when the two
played together in a quartet. They married, and formed the award-winning big
band known as the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Mr. Tabackin has won many
Down Beat
critics' and readers' polls, and has also been associated with several other
all-star bands, including George Wein's Newport All-Star Band, the New York Jazz
Giants, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. You can hear Lew's virtuosic tenor solo
on The Song Is You,
Track 5 of Angela DeNiro's new CD release,
Swingin' With Legends.
To
listen to Lew Tabackin on The Song Is
You, CLICK BELOW: