NOTED GUITARIST MUNDELL LOWE AT CalJAS HOUSE CONCERT
Biography of Mundell Lowe
| BORN IN LAUREL, Mississippi, Mundell left home at the age of thirteen. After working in Nashville, he found his way to Bourbon Street in New Orleans and the beginning of his jazz career. While serving in World War Il, he met the influential John Hammond, who introduced him to Ray McKinley. Mundell worked with McKinley’s band for a year and a half, developing his distinctive instrumental style, and then moved on to work in New York at Café Society and stints at the Village Vanguard and The Embers, among others. Mundell worked with Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Helen Humes and Charles Mingus, to name but a few. These gigs overlapped with an early morning TV show at NBC with Cy Coleman, “A Date in Manhattan,” and later “The Kate Smith Hour” with Stan Getz, Doc Severinsen, and Kai Winding.FROM THE EARLY FIFTIES to the mid-Sixties, he was an active performer, working with George Duvivier on bass and Ed Shaughnessy on drums in Dave Garroway’s “Today Show” studio band. He also played with the extraordinary pianist Hank Jones when they both worked in the NBC and CBS orchestras of the early Fifties. After seventeen years at NBC as a guitarist and arranger, Lowe was transferred to the News and Special Events Department to work as a composer.MUNDELL MOVED TO LOS ANGELES, California, Christmas 1965—actually, he left to visit some friends, and never went back to New York! He met Jackie Cooper, then-head of Screen Gems, and began the West Coast phase of his career composing music for some of their television and film properties. Lowe augmented his TV and film work with making his own LPs as well as two successful projects with noted singers Sarah Vaughan (‘After Hours”) and Carmen McRae (‘Bittersweet”).
EVEN THOUGH HE HAD made special appearances with Peggy Lee and the White House, toured Japan with Benny Carter several times, and was a regular performer at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Mundell found he was spending more time writing than playing, which he found frustrating. He made up his mind to turn that around and, during the 1980s, he stepped out of the studio world of film and television and returned to performing, the first love of his long and rich musical career. MARCH 8 SEE COMING EVENTS |
CalJAS GOES TO ORANGE COUNTY WITH MUNDELL LOWE, RON ESCHETE, AND LUTHER HUGHES
On March 8, The California Jazz Arts Society House Concert Series presents Mundell Lowe, Ron Eschete, and Luther Hughes in a very intimate concert setting. Selected vocals will be performed by Becky Hughes, and Dale Boatman. The concert will be presented at the home of LUTHER and BECKY HUGHES in Westmintser.
See COMING EVENTS for details.
WELCOME BACK-2015 HOUSE CONCERT SERIES TO BEGIN
Dale Boatman
January 5, 2015
SHERRY WILLIAMS TO PERFORM AT CaLJAS HOUSE CONCERT
FEBRUARY 1
The California Jazz Arts Society
House Concert Series
PRESENTS
Sherry Williams
with
Llew Matthews, piano
Luther Hughes, bass
7:00 til 9:30
at
Dale and Sue Boatman’s
SEE COMING EVENTS FOR DETAILS
Dr. BOBBY RODRIGUEZ TO JOIN LARRY FOX
OCTOBER 25
ALL THAT JAZZ
DR. BOBBY RODRIGUEZ WILL BE LARRY’S GUEST THIS WEEK….see COMING EVENTS..CalJAS Promotes
STEAMERS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Hi Everyone, I received this from CalJAS Artist Ron Kobayashi and thought you might be interested!
Hi Dale! Hope you are well. Wanted to invite you to Steamers next Wednesday Oct. 15 for the 20th Anniversary of Steamers. You’ve been such a big part of the Socal Jazz scene, and Steamers specifically, it would be an honor to have you come sit in if you are available. We’re also planning to take a group photo of all the musicians to document what I hope will be a sizable gathering of OC/Socal Jazz musicians all at the same location at the same time. Hope you can make it and help spread the word. Thanks so much!
Stephanie Haynes Concert Sold Out
A LAST MINUTE CANCELLATION HAS OPENED UP FOUR SEATS
EMAIL [email protected]
The October 19 House Concert featuring Stephanie Haynes, Rich Eames, and Luther Hughes is now at capacity. Cancellations invariably happen, so email [email protected] if you wish to be put on the standby list.
Bruce Forman Joins Kate Reid
Bruce Forman at CalJAS House Concert
We are pleased to announce that CalJAS Member and favorite, Bruce Forman will join Kate Reid at the November 9, CalJAS House Concert. Bruce has accompanied several of our performers in the past, including, Kristin Korb, Bill Cunliffe, Danielle DeAndrea, and his wife Pammy. This will be the first time Kate and Bruce have appeared together at a CalJAS event.
For more information, go to COMING EVENTS.
Bruce Babad named Scholarship Director
The California Jazz Arts Society is proud to announce that Bruce Babad will serve as our new Student Scholarship Director. Bruce, who currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Fullerton College has worked closely with CalJAS President, Dale Boatman, identifying and presenting single lesson scholarships to talented high school and college students.
CalJAS looks forward to Bruce’s leadership in this endeavor!
Welcome to the new CalJAS Website
Hello CalJAS and Members and guests!!!
As President of the California Jazz Arts Society, I am very excited to introduce you to our new CalJAS website, which will allow us to offer much more than just our traditional weekly news page. To begin, you will mostly see information that you are already familiar with, but, hopefully, in a much more enjoyable presentation. Soon, however, you will notice many more offerings including upgraded event information, links to our CalJAS Artists, photos, videos, and music. The new CalJAS Store will offer CalJAS merchandise, CalJAS sponsored CD’s for sale, instructional books, classic pre-owned jazz albums for collectors, and even the sale or rental of affordable music instruments or equipment. Through the CalJAS Store, visitors and members may also easily join our organization or make additional donations through Paypal, or credit card. As a “sometimes”writer, I look forward to presenting our growing family of performers and supporters in much more depth and detail through written interviews and booklets. And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we can better encourage, assist, and support the idea of CalJAS and the presentation of intimate concerts, to artists and enthusiasts across California!
But, be patient with us. Getting a new website off the ground takes time. We have been working diligently to get our site up and running even before many of these ideas have been initiated. For the next few months I will continue sending occasional emails announcing new additions to the site. But please visit often and see for yourselves!
We owe a big THANK YOU to CalJAS Member, and good friend, Roger Krechmery for all his hard work and effort to build this site for us. The day after I announced that we were looking for someone to help us put together our own site, Roger contacted me and volunteered his services. I immediately jumped on his offer, and he has worked tirelessly over the last couple of months constructing not only what serves our present needs, but also what we envision for the future. I am deeply grateful.
Lastly, none of this would be possible without the continued support of our members. Thanks to all of you who have been there for us during the last ten years. WE APPRECIATE YOU !!!
Musically yours,
Dale Boatman, President; California Jazz Arts Society