Michelle I . New Host of the Jazz Cafe

Originally from the East Coast, Michelle I now lives in Santa Clara, California. Michelle became a fan of jazz at the age of 10, listening to tunes of Coltrane, Ramsey Lewis, Booker T & MG’s and other great artist. She extended her music appreciation by playing music through high school. It wasn’t until her college days that fell in love with the Contemporary Jazz Sounds of Noel Pointer, Earl Klugh, Yellow Jackets, Joe Sample, Quincy Jones and other.  Michelle later went on to produce/write/direct her own Jazz Show called the Jazz Scene which feature local jazz artist and national Jazz Artist such as her idol Ramsey Lewis, Art Porter, Masa, Stanley Clark, Jean-Luc Ponty,  Al De Meola just to name a few.

Now she’s back in the Jazz Scene hosting The Jazz Café, sharing her love of jazz and inside knowledge of the Jazz World.

George Duke

Image by Haags Uitburo via Flickr

George Duke was born on January 12, 1946 in San Rafael California. George Duke went to Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music from San Francisco Conservatory in 1967. George Duke was raised in Marin City. When he was four years old his mother took him to a Duke Ellington concert, he said his mother told him he went crazy. George said his mother said he ran around saying ’Get me a piano, get me a piano!’ He started studying the piano at the age seven, absorbing his black roots in his local Baptist Church, he said “That’s when I started playing funky”. George Duke teamed up with a young singer named Al Jarreau they formed a group which be became the house band at Half Note Club in San Francisco. George later received a Masters Degree in composition from San Francisco University and taught a course on Jazz And American Culture at Merrit Junior College in Oakland. George Duke heard on a local jazz station that violinist Jean-Luc Ponty was coming to California to record, he sent a tape and a note to Dick Bock at World Pacific Records saying “There is no other pianist for this guy but me”, I guess when your George Duke you have that kind of clout. George made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. The first time I saw George Duke was at ‘Soul on the Green’ concert at the Oakland Stadium in the summer of 1979. When he came out playing “Dukey Stick” the crowd went wild, that was truly one of my highlights that summer. In the mid 1970s George appeared on a number of Frank Zappa’s albums, Chunga’s Revenge, 200 Motel, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Apostrophe, Over-Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury and Roxy & Elsewhere. George Duke became a solo artist in 1976 with his fusion oriented LP’s ‘From Me To You‘ and in 1978 his funk flavored album ‘Reach For It’ this made George reach high on the charts from small clubs to large arenas George Duke other collaboration include Stanley Clark, Billy Cobham, Cannonball Adderley, his cousin Dianne Reeves, Deniece Williams Jeffrey Osborne, George Clinton, Anita Baker, Regina Belle, Rachelle Ferrell, Marilyn Scott and Mike Mainieri’s fusion group Step Ahead. George Duke was also producer and composer on two of Miles Davis tracks “Backyard Ritual” and “Cobra”.

George latest project is George Duke ‘Dukey Treats’, I like “Every Day Hero’ it is funky. Today is George Dukes birthday, Happy Birthday George God Bless and Keep Bringing The Funk .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Duke

http://www.georgeduke.com/biography.html

LM

Herbie Hancock

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Born Herbert Jeffrey “Herbie” Hancock April 12, 1940 is an American jazz
pianist and composer. Herbie is regarded as one of the greatest living
jazz musicians and one of the most influential in the 20th century.
Herbie’s music is a taste of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. Herbie was a part of Miles Davis’s “second great quintet”. Herbie helped redefine the role jazz rhythm section and is one of the first jazz musicians to embrace the synthesizers and funk.“Cantaloupe Island”. “Watermelon Man”, Maiden Voyage”, “Chameleon”, “I
Thought It Was You” and “Rockit” were his best known solos; he won a Grammy for Rockit in 1988. Herbie’s 2007 tribute album “River: The Joni Letters” won the 2008 Grammy Award For Album of the Year, only the second album to win the award, the first in 1965 Getz/Gilberto. Head Hunters
album was released in 1973 this album was a major hit and crossed over to the pop audiences even though jazz fans called him a “sell out” the “Head Hunters album is still fresh and vital after three decades. I was introduced to Herbie Hancock in 1973 by my Aunt Bliss, she was watching us
kids while my parents were gone on a weekend trip. She just bought The Head Hunters album, and played it all weekend, that’s when I started liking jazz. The following year Head Hunters second album “Thrust” was released.
Herbie’s other jazz funk album were Man-Child in 1975 and Secrets in1976. The Headhunters original band Herbie put together consist of Bennie Maupin multireedist, Paul Jackson bassist. Bill Summers percussionist and Harvey Mason drummer. Head Hunters album had a influence on jazz, as well as funk, soul, and hip hop. Herbie composed sound tracks for films. In 1973 The Spook Who Sat By The Door, in 1974 Death Wish. Herbie’s three albums Future Shock(1983), Sound System(1984) and Perfect Machine(1988) were criticized by critics they said it should have been labeled “Bill Laswell featuring Herbie Hancock.“ In 2005 half of Herbie’s Columbia recordings have been remastered, Sextant, Headhunters and Thrust as well
as Future Shock, Sound System, the sound track Round Midnight and Perfect Machine. Herbie performed and acted in the film Round Midnight. Herbie wrote the score and soundtrack for Round Midnight and won an Academy Award
for Original Music Score. Herbie. Herbie Hancock has truly changed jazz music and will always be one of my favorites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Hancock

LM

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