Historical Dictionary of Jazz. John S. Davis
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became a more active educator in 1964, teaching at Glassboro State College, where he served as a faculty member for the next three decades. He further expanded his compositional skills into developing long, large-scale jazz pieces in addition to working on scores for several movies and television shows. He succumbed to cancer in 2001.
ALBUM
A reference to a collection of recorded songs based around a common theme or idea. Originally used in reference to several 78 rpm recordings that made up a long classical work, such as a symphony, the word was later used to define recordings that lasted longer than 30 minutes. In the 1960s, the idea of “album artists” was founded by rock groups like the Moody Blues, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin, who created recordings around a central theme that featured no singular material. Jazz recordings like Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain (1960, Columbia) and Porgy & Bess (1958, Columbia) were constructed with the album idea. See also RECORD LABEL.
ALEXANDER, MONTGOMERY BERNARD “MONTY” (1944–)
Inspired by Nat “King” Cole, Louis Armstrong, and calypso music from his native Jamaica, Alexander began studying jazz piano at the age of 14. After moving to the United States in 1961, Alexander struggled at first to find steady work in Miami and then Las Vegas until heard by Jilly Rizzo, a club owner and friend of Frank Sinatra. After being hired to perform in Rizzo’s club (sometimes accompanying Sinatra), he soon met vibraphonist Milt Jackson. This encounter was important as Jackson referred Alexander to bassist Ray Brown, who invited him to join his trio. Alexander soon relocated to New York and saw his career quickly take shape. He was a regular performer at Minton’s Playhouse with both Jackson and Brown and was featured on several recordings made by both.
Alexander led his own groups from 1974 onward, with the first group featuring John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton. This group recorded Alexander’s first album, Live! Montreux Alexander (1976, Verve). Alexander enjoyed trying to capture the feel of his native Jamaica by using steel drums and other Caribbean percussion on several albums he would record over the next few decades. Alexander maintained a steady touring and recording career throughout the 1980s and 1990s while also performing with jazz legends including Barney Kessel, Johnny Griffin, Shelly Manne, and Marshal Royal. In 2000, he was given the title Commander in the Order of Distinction for outstanding services to Jamaica as a worldwide music ambassador. In 2008, Alexander was the featured pianist on the Tony Bennett Christmas album as part of the Count Basie Orchestra, filling the chair of Basie. He served as director of two major works featured at Jazz at Lincoln Center (Lords of the West Indies and Harlem Kingston Express). He received a Grammy nomination in 2012 for Best Reggae Album. In 2018, Alexander received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies.
ALI, RASHIED (1935–2009)
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a musical family, Ali began his musical training at an early age, as he was surrounded by music. His mother had sung with Jimmie Lunceford, and his brother, Muhammed, was a drummer with Albert Ayler. Ali was born Robert Patterson Jr. but elected to change his name to Rashied Ali when his father, Robert Patterson Sr., converted to Islam and also took the name Rashied Ali. He studied with Philly Joe Jones after serving in the military, where he played with military bands during the Korean War.
After moving to New York in 1963, Ali quickly found work playing drums with Bill Dixon, Paul Bley, Pharoah Sanders, and Alice Coltrane before replacing Elvin Jones as drummer in John Coltrane’s group in 1965. A pioneer of free jazz drumming, Ali can be heard on Coltrane’s album Meditations (1965, Impulse!) and Interstellar Space (1967, Impulse!) recorded before Coltrane’s death. Although a very prominent performer, Ali did not record very much until later in his life. In the 1980s, he formed the group Phalanx, which featured James “Blood” Ulmer on guitar, Sirone on bass, and George Adams on tenor saxophone. Ali experimented with much new music and incorporated the use of multimedia in two groups, the Gift of the Eagle and Cosmic Legends, and recorded several albums with groups that included Henry Grimes and Marilyn Crispell. In 2009, Ali died in a New York hospital due to a sudden heart attack.
ALLEN, GERI (1957–2017)
Allen, born in Pontiac, Michigan, was a pianist and educator who studied under the mentorship of Marcus Belgrave while a student at the Cass Technical High School. She first came to prominence in the 1980s after receiving a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. She became part of the M-Base collective in 1982, making connections between African culture, popular and more formal music, poetry, and dance, with a commitment to experimental improvisation. She recorded with Steve Coleman, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, and Paul Motian, among many others. She spent 10 years as an educator at the University of Michigan and returned to the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 as the director of its jazz studies program. In 2014, she helped found the All-Female Jazz Residency, a summer program at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She was also the musical director of the Mary Lou Williams Collective, recording and performing the music of Williams. In her later years, she recorded with Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, McCoy Tyner, and saxophonist David Murray.
ALLEN, HENRY “RED” (1908–1967)
Son of New Orleans brass band leader Henry Allen Sr., Henry “Red” Allen was one of the foremost trumpet players in the early swing style. Influenced by and in many ways seen as following in the footsteps of fellow trumpeter Louis Armstrong, Allen played in an energetic and convincing manner and was known for his innovative rhythmic freedom and idiomatic trumpet devices (trills, half-valve effects, growls, falls, etc.) that he used to create interesting and memorable solos. Red Allen moved to New York City in 1927 to play with King Oliver’s band and would soon become a featured soloist in Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra as well, demonstrating his expertise at playing the blues through the many wonderful recordings he produced with the band. Additionally, Allen recorded and played with the likes of Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Billie Holiday, and Benny Goodman. Allen continued to play and tour with his own group throughout the United States and Europe until his death in the spring of 1967. Notable recording: Swing Out (1929–1932, Topaz).
ALLEN, STEVE (1921–2000)
Pianist, composer, jazz aficionado, and comedian, Steve Allen was instrumental in bringing a greater audience to jazz music via television. The Steve Allen Show, which aired on NBC from 1956 to 1958, featured several broadcasts of jazz performances, including one unforgettable one with the Count Basie Orchestra from the Birdland jazz club. Allen was strongly influenced by jazz, and his love of it prompted him to feature jazz musicians as guests as often as possible. In fact, Allen was one of the first television hosts to showcase many African American jazz artists on live television. Always an avid musician and composer, Allen won a Grammy in 1963 for Best Jazz Composition for his tune “Gravy Waltz.”
ALLISON, JOHN “MOSE,” JR. (1927–2016)
Allison’s study of piano began at the age of five while he was in grammar school and remained a focal part of his academic life until he chose to pursue a full-time career in music. Studying first at the University of Mississippi followed by a stint at Louisiana State University (where he received a B.A. in English), Allison led a successful piano trio while completing his studies. After graduating, Allison pursued a career in music and moved to New York, where he worked with many of the cool jazz or West Coast jazz leaders, including Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan,