Don Joseph

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Don Joseph (born April 13, 1923 in Staten Island , † March 12, 1994 ibid) was an American jazz musician ( trumpet , cornet ).

Life

Joseph grew up in Staten Island and had his own quintet in the 1940s, in which alto saxophonist Manny Albam also played; By the end of the decade, he worked for Buddy Rich , Alvino Rey and Lucky Millinder . In 1950 he was a member of the Gene Roland Rehearsal Band in sessions with Charlie Parker ( It's A Wonderful World ); In 1953 he was involved in the sessions with Bill Triglia and Red Mitchell at Robert Reisner's Open Door jazz club . In 1954 he played with Art Mardigan ( The Jazz School ), in 1955 with Tony Fruscella . In 1961 he took part in a session under the direction of Dave Schildkraut , in which the singer Jackie Paris also took part ( Jackie's Blues ); after that he was forgotten when he largely withdrew from the music business - also for health reasons.

The album One Of A Kind (Uptown) was created under his own name in Rudy Van Gelder's studio in 1984 , with Al Cohn , Bill Triglia, Red Mitchell and Joey Baron participating. Joseph also played with Bill Crow , Turk Van Lake , Gerry Mulligan ( The Arranger ) and Chuck Wayne throughout his career . In his later years he lived in Staten Island, where he continued to perform and teach in local clubs. He also served as the school band leader for Farrell Catholic High School. He showed his great interest in literature, especially in William Shakespeare , with free recitations between his appearances as a musician.

Appreciation

The writer Jack Kerouac paid literary tribute to the musician in his short story New York Scenes (from the volume Lonesome Traveler 1960):

"LET'S GO SEE if we can find Don Joseph!"
"Who's Don Joseph?"
"Don Joseph is a terrific cornet player, who wanders around the village with his little mustache and his arms hanging at the sides with the cornet since Bix and more. - He stands at the juke box in the bar and plays with the music for a beer. - He looks like a handsome movie actor. He's the great super glamorous secret Bobby Hackett of the jazz world. "

The critic Scott Yanow included the forgotten musician in his list of Trumpet Kings (Backbeat Books, 2001).

Discographic notes

  • Gene Roland Band Featuring Charlie Parker: The Band That Never Was (Spotlite, 1950)
  • Gerry Mulligan: Mullenium (Columbia / Legacy 1957)
  • Chuck Wayne: String Fever (RCA / Fresh Sound , 1957)
  • Don Joseph Featuring Al Cohn : One of a Kind ( Uptown , 1985), with Bill Triglia , Red Mitchell , Joey Baron

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ See Martin Kunzler , Jazz-Lexikon, article: Manny Albam.
  3. ↑ Lawrence O. Koch: Yardbird suite: a compendium of the music and life of Charlie Parker
  4. ↑ Information at microgroove.jp
  5. ^ Discography at jazzdiscography.com
  6. ↑ Portrait at jazzarcheology (pdf)
  7. ^ Information from All About Jazz
  8. ↑ Information on Don Joseph in Arts Journal
  9. ↑ Jack Kerouac: Lonesome Traveler on Google Books
  10. ↑ Gordon Jack: Don Joseph, jazz poet. Jazz Journal, July 20, 2020, accessed on July 20, 2020 (English).
  11. ↑ Jazz journal international, Volume 57
personal data
SURNAME Joseph, Don
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician (trumpet, cornet)
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Staten Island
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1994
Place of death Staten Island