Vi Redd was born in Los Angeles on September 20, 1928. Her father was a drummer and was one of the reasons she became interested in jazz. She began playing saxophone when she was 13 years old and played throughout high school and community college. She graduated from Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences and spent a few years employed as a social worker before being recognized as an important jazz soloist. In the early 1960's following several gigs (including Shelly's Manne-Hole, the Las Vegas Jazz Festival, and an episode on the "Jazz Scene USA" entitles "Vi Redd Septet") she toured with bands playing saxophone and singing. The bands included Earl Hines' and she led a bop quartet that included her husband "Richie Goldberg" on drums. She toured overseas for awhile and held a position at Ronnie Scott's in London where she played with many other noteworthy saxophonists including Coleman Hawkins. She even toured with Count Basie in Africa and Europe. By 1970 Redd was back in Los Angeles working as an educator and playing locally on the side.
12 bar blues with an introduction followed by two A sections and a B section. Redd sings the lyrics to the song then plays a solo on saxophone. She ends with a recap of the B section. She is backed by a full jazz orchestra composed of a rhythm section (drums, guitar, bass, and piano) saxophones, trombones, and trumpets.
Valaida Snow also known as "Little Louis" and "The Queen of the Trumpet" has been compared to Louis Armstrong and was one of the pioneers for women jazz artists. Snow was born in 1904 in Chattanooga Tennessee and was taught by her mother to play multiple instruments including cello, bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet,
trumpet, and saxophone. She ultimately became famous on vocals and trumpet. Valaida Snow toured and performed mostly in Asia and then Europe but did stay in the US in 1931 when she toured with Rhapsody in Black (with Pike Davis's Orchestra) and then in 1933 she joined Earl Hines' band in Chicago. She then moved on to front her own all female jazz band with the dancers the Berry Brothers. She had married Ananias Berry in 1929. For the next few years she jumped back and forth between the states and Europe (she was very successful in a production of Blackbirds in London). She also made a few films in Hollywood with her husband in the mid 30's. Her marriage with Ananias Berry came to an end when her previous husband claimed that she was still married to him (the marriage had only lasted a few months and the divorce had been finalized) and she was arrested for bigamy. The stress of the court proceedings and the disapproval of the public (Berry was quite a few years younger than her) took its toll on the the marriage. She then went back to Europe where she toured for a few years and appeared in a few French films. In 1939 during a stay in Denmark she was arrested by the invading Germans and spent 18 months in a German prisoner of war camp at Wester-Faengle. She was ultimately released and returned to the United States where she remarried to Earl Edwards and continued performing until her death. She is not as well known in the states as in Europe due to the lack of recordings made of her in the US and also because she did not stay in the United States as long as she did in Europe. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage that occurred at the Palace Theater in New York in 1956 at 52 years old. References:
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.er.lib.k-state.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/J418900?q=valaida+snow&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit
Valaida Snow is singing and plays trumpet. She is backed by a full jazz orchestra. The form in AABA with 12 bar phrases. The piece begins with an introduction by the orchestra then Snow enters with vocals.After singing through the song she enters with a solo on trumpet. The solo has an improvisational feel to it. The orchestra's part becomes freer as well and branches out from its repeated beat that backed Snow while she was singing. Toward the end you can here a few growled notes from Snow on the trumpet, and the notes become sharper, softer and more syncopated.
Carol Kaye is one of the most prolific and talented jazz bassists of the past few decades. She grew up in a musical family; both her parents were professional musicians. Guitar was her first instrument until the hired bassist failed to show up to a recording session at Capital Records. Kaye stepped in playing the electric Fender bass and since has been in high demand. She keeps a rough schedule, working seven days a week, but looking at her discography it seem to have paid off. She has played bass for many well known film composers and shared stages with the likes of the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Simon and Garfunkel and Frank Sinatra just to name a few. Not only does she share her music through performances but she reaches out to help younger players. She has published several bass guitar method books and taken on pupils that have become notable bassists in their own right such as Monty Budwig and Max Bennet.
Critical Listening
This piece starts with Carol Kaye playing solo on the bass, then drums come in, followed by guitar. The A section repeats 3 times layering in the new instruments. Then the B section comes in followed by a solo on the guitar. The drums and bass lay down the beat and rhythm while the guitar flows in and out of the texture. The guitar then fades out, followed by the bass and finally the drums end the piece.
I also really enjoyed listening to the bass line in this piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0Y0O6-TzJw&feature=related
There is sort of a similar style in the layering of the instruments. I like how it allows the bass a chance to shine prior to the other instruments entering.
Within the world of jazz guitar there are many influential and noteworthy artists. While researching female jazz guitarists one name was consistently repeated: Emily Remler. Despite only living to see 32 years she made a lasting impression on the jazz community.
Emily Remler was born in 1957 in New York City. She picked up the guitar at age 10 and enjoyed playing and was inspired by hard rock and popular music. It was not until she attended Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts that she fell in love with Jazz. Upon graduation she moved to New Orleans where she worked as the house guitarist at the Fairmont Hotel and also played in several small groups. This helped her get noticed as she accompanied several big names like Nancy Wilson, Michel Legrang and Robert Goulet. After Herb Ellis heard her play he introduced her at the Concord Jazz Festival in 1978 and her career rose to a new height. In the next years she spent time touring and playing in small ensembles. She was first recorded as a band leader in 1980 with her album The Firefly. Her talents and interests spanned many genres of Jazz including bebop and latin jazz. In 1986 she created two instructional videos entitled Advanced Jazz and Latin Improvisation with Emily Remler and Bebop and Swing Guitar with Emily Remler. Unfortunately Remler suffered from heroin addiction. In 1990 she died of a heart attack in Australia, cutting her life and career much too short.
Discography
The Firefly (Concord, 1981)
Take Two (Concord, 1982)
Transitions (Concord, 1983)
Catwalk (Concord, 1985)
with Larry Coryell Together (Concord Jazz, 1986)
East to Wes (Concord, 1988)
Compilations
Retrospective Vols. 1 & 2 (Concord Jazz, 1898)
various artists Just Friends: A Gathering in Tribute to Emily Remler Vol. 2 (1992)
This is Emily Remler's cover of Tenor Madness. The original is posted as well. This is an example of 12 bar blues. The A section repeats twice at the beginning for a 24 bar introduction. The guitar then takes over (the tenor saxophone in the case of Sonny Rollins' original with John Coltrane). The guitar plays several phrases that can be broken down into 6 12 bar phrases or 3 longer 24 bar sections which is how it feels to me. The piano then takes a solo followed by the guitar again. The A section repeats to close out the piece. The ensemble consists of a guitar, a bass guitar and piano and drums. In the case of the Sonny Rollins Quartet, the tenor sax takes the lead and is replaced by the guitar in Emily Remlers rendition. Her version is slightly faster and more upbeat than Sonny Rollins'. It moves quicker and is not as laid back. It is also cut shorter and does not cycle through as many soloistic guitar/saxophone sections.
