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Artist: Buster Harding
One of the top freelance arrangers of the swing era, Buster Harding was flexible enough to also write some modern charts during the bop era. He grew up in Cleveland where the teenager led his own band in the early 1930's. After working in Buffalo with Marion Sears and spending a year in Canada, Harding arranged and played second piano for Teddy... [+] Read More
Artist: Jack Sperling
A powerful big band drummer, Jack Sperling has also proven himself quite adept in small-group Dixieland and mainstream settings through the years. Sperling started out working with Bunny Berigan's final big band (1941-42) and then while in the military (1943-45) played in a Navy band headed by Tex Beneke. After his discharge, he played with... [+] Read More
Artist: Level 42
At the beginning of their career, Level 42 was a jazz-funk fusion band, following in the footsteps of such pioneers as Stanley Clarke. By the end of the '80s, they were a pop-R&B band with a number of hit singles to their credit. Featuring Mark King (bass, vocals), Phil Gould (drums), Boon Gould (guitar), and Mike Lindup (keyboards), the band... [+] Read More
Artist: Mark King
The longtime frontman for the British funk-pop group Level 42, Mark King was born in Cowes, England on October 20, 1958. A onetime drummer, upon co-founding Level 42 in 1980 he moved to the bass, honing a distinctive thumb-slapping technique which became an integral element of the group's sound; from their self-titled 1981debut onward the... [+] Read More
Artist: Russell Jacquet
The older brother of tenor-saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, Russell often worked with his brother through the years but never achieved much fame. He originally played in the Midwest with the California Playboy Band (1934-37), a group that also included another brother (Linton Jacquet) on drums. Jacquet worked with Floyd Ray (1939-40) and then... [+] Read More
Artist: Masada
After playing an eclectic range of music in a variety of forgettable bands for more than a decade, Torsten Edwinson and Mattias Westin joined forces to form a psychedelic trance duo, Masada, in 1999. In an attempt to describe their music, alt-rock magazine, Ward 42 wrote, "thumping, resonant, booming, fast, smooth, ker-plow! (a Batman ker-plow!... [+] Read More
Artist: Claude Jones
For nearly 30 years, Claude Jones was a reliable trombonist who was both a fine soloist and a valuable section player in big bands. The future brother-in-law of Quentin Jackson, Jones began playing trombone (after some trumpet and drum lessons) when he was 13. After attending Wilberforce College for a time, Jones dropped out in 1922 and joined... [+] Read More
Artist: T42
A straightforward rock band whose reputation was built on steady work in Luxembourg's live scene, T42 (no relation to the Dallas-based electronic band) have managed to score a number of hits since their first EP, Waiting for the Light, in 1992, and the subsequent hit single, "Marie-Anne." A second single, "Prayers for Love," a midtempo rock... [+] Read More
Artist: Vido Musso
A thick-toned tenor-saxophonist whose spirited and enthusiastic solos helped compensate for his weak music reading skills, Vido Musso was popular for a period in the 1940's. His family moved to the United States in 1920, settling in Detroit. Musso first played clarinet before switching to tenor. He moved to Los Angeles in 1930, began an... [+] Read More
Artist: T42
Originally a Dallas area duo, with members Jay Gillian and Jimron Goff. Vocalist Will Loconto replaced Goff in 1989. The band released a cassette EP, Hot on Top, to local acclaim and airplay on local station The Edge 94.5, which also included a version of the song "Ecstasy" on the first Tales From the Edge compilation. Oak Lawn Records picked up... [+] Read More
Artist: Bumps Myers
A fine swing tenor player influenced by Coleman Hawkins, Bumps Myers, who occasionally played alto and baritone, had many interesting musical experiences during his career although he never gained much fame outside of the Los Angeles area. Myers became a professional musician in 1929 when he was 17 and freelanced around L.A. including with... [+] Read More
Artist: John Kirby
John Kirby led a most unusual group during the height of the big-band era, a sextet comprised of trumpeter Charlie Shavers, clarinetist Buster Bailey, altoist Russell Procope, pianist Billy Kyle, drummer O'Neil Spencer and his own bass. Although Shavers and Bailey could be quite extroverted, the tightly arranged ensembles tended to be very... [+] Read More
Artist: Marvin Ash
Marvin Ash was a superior string/stride player who brought his own sound and enthusiasm to prebop jazz. Ash grew up in Kansas City and played in local bands including those of Wallie Stoeffer, Connie Conrad, Herman Waldman and Jack Crawford. After a period living in Tulsa (1936-42) and working on the radio, he moved permanently to Los Angeles in... [+] Read More
Artist: Matt Dusk
Few artists manage to secure a 42-piece string section for their debut recording, but Canadian Matt Dusk is no stranger to big bands. The York University Oscar Peterson scholarship winner released four independent records while simultaneously performing with his own eight-piece outfit, playing nearly 20 shows a month in the clubs of Toronto.... [+] Read More
Artist: Visitor 42
Visitor 42 is a San Francisco punk quartet that incorporates many other genres into their sonic stew. After quickly coming together in 1996, the band wrote and recorded their debut album in a weekend. Spending the next few years polishing up their live shows, 1999's Heavy Handed Hospitality featured a more streamline style of songwriting and... [+] Read More
Artist: Bernie Privin
A technically skilled trumpeter and an underrated trumpeter, Bernie Privin spent most of his career working in the studios, emphasizing his skills as a lead and section trumpeter. Self-taught, Privin was still a teenager when he played in the bands of Harry Reser (1937), Bunny Berigan and Tommy Dorsey (1938). He gained some recognition for his... [+] Read More
Artist: Money Johnson
A journeyman player, Money Johnson was one of the stars with the last version of Duke Ellington's Orchestra in the early 1970's. He began playing trumpet when he was 15, worked with Eddie and Sugar Lou's Hotel Tyler Orchestra and his cousin saxophonist Red Calhoun and played in Oklahoma City (where he met up with Charlie Christian) in 1936. The... [+] Read More
Artist: Herbie Haymer
A fine journeyman player, Herbie Haymer was an asset to several big bands. He began playing alto when he was 15, switching to tenor five years later. After working with the Carl Sears-Johnny Watson Band, Haymer had brief stints with Rudy Vallee and Charlie Barnet. Haymer was an important part of the orchestras of Red Norvo (1935-37), Jimmy... [+] Read More
Artist: Chauncey Haughton
A relatively overlooked figure, Chauncey Haughton played with some major names through the years. He came from a musical family (his brothers John and Clifton played trombone and trumpet). Haughton started on piano when he was eight, switching to clarinet while in high school. He played clarinet and saxophone in the Morgan College Band and... [+] Read More
Artist: Conrad Gozzo
A topnotch studio musician and first trumpeter, Conrad Gozzo was also a skilled (but underutilized) jazz soloist. He originally studied with his father (a trumpet teacher) and in 1938 started his professional career by joining Isham Jones' Orchestra. Gozzo had stints with the big bands of Tommy Reynolds, Red Norvo, Johnny "Scat" Davis, Bob... [+] Read More
Artist: Audioweb
Audioweb crossed the acid-fueled, psychedelic sound of Madchester house with deep dub, dancehall and reggae influences, earning a sizable following in the UK during the late '90s. Unlike many of their peers, they weren't given strong support from the weekly music press, primarily because their music was considerably different from the prevelant... [+] Read More
Artist: Irwin "Marky" Markowitz
A decent bop-oriented trumpet soloist, Marky Markowitz played with many top jazz musicians through the years even though he himself was simply considered a talented journeyman. Markowitz picked up early experience playing with the big bands of Charlie Spivak in 1941-42, Jimmy Dorsey, Boyd Raeburn and most notably Woody Herman's First Herd in... [+] Read More
Artist: Rebel Pebbles
The all-girl band Rebel Pebbles formed in 1989 when singer Rachel Murray met ex-Pandoras guitarist Karen Blankfield through a newspaper ad. Adding drummer Cheryl Bullock and bass player Robin Barnetti, the Los Angeles quartet began gigging and recorded a self-released, three-song EP called Party Time. Following Party Time, the upstart band... [+] Read More
Artist: Dave Bowman
A participant on some important dixieland-oriented recordings although never a major name himself, Dave Bowman was a solid and swinging pianist. He was born to Canadian parents who raised him in Hamilton, Ontario. Bowman started on piano when he was four. After studying at the Pittsburgh Music Institute, he played professionally in Canada with... [+] Read More
Artist: L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns was formed by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Tracii Guns in 1987. Teaming with ex-Girl vocalist Phil Lewis, former W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley, bassist Kelly Nickles, and guitarist Mick Cripps, Guns adhered to the Aerosmith-derived raunch of his former band. L.A. Guns released their self-titled first album in 1988, yet it wasn't until... [+] Read More
