11/24/2023 0 Comments David aronson columbia records![]() Thirty years have now passed since Najee developed a solo career. ![]() What I thought was my misfortune ended up becoming a great blessing!” ![]() my saxophone on Christmas Eve was stolen, so all I had was a flute. He told a funny story how he picked up the flute. Billy Taylor) where he perfected his skills on tenor saxophone and flute. In high school, Najee studied jazz as a student on the Jazz mobile program (co-founded by Dr. Sheryl Aronson interviews Najee at the 88.5 annual KSBR Birthday Bash 2016. “ As a kid growing up in New York City, I would have never thought I would get this far making a living at what I love to do.” –Najee reminisces. In his heart, he knew he wanted to be a professional jazz musician. ![]() Najee was influenced at an early age by listening to his mother’s recordings of Miles Davis and other legendary American jazz artists. I went there because of the legendary teacher Joe Allard, who taught Michael Brecker, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy,” Najee comments. New England Conservatory of Music had a very strong jazz department. Nelson Rangell was one of my classmates, and on the Berklee side were Walter Beasley, Brandford Marsalis, and Eric Marienthal. “ We all played together (the Berklee and the conservatory students). An illustrious crowd of musicians surrounded him, not only on his campus, but also right around the corner as well at Berklee College of Music. Najee studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston back in the 1980s. Najee Performs at the 88.5 KSBR Annual Birthday Bash 2016. That’s what being a real musician is all about,” continues Najee. Someone calls a tune, and we all start to play and that’s it. At the Birthday Bash when we’re jamming together, we never know what’s going to happen. “ I was surprised that Brian wanted me to sit in with him, too. Then Brian Bromberg asked Najee to sit in on his set. Of course he played amazingly with just the prompt of a few chord changes.” he looked at me for a moment questioning my choice, but soon we were grooving to it. Najee was delighted to be playing with David Benoit that day. Nor do they know which composition they will be improvising. (Photo: Mikey Adam Cohen)Īt the KSBR Birthday Bash, the musicians do not know with whom they are jamming until all the players arrive. Najee Najee performs at the 88.5 annual KSBR Birthday Bash 2016. Each musician’s background steps profoundly into their home: straight-ahead jazz. Each artist exemplifies this era in the history of jazz, while at the same time remaining current and popular with fans during their own evolution. On Memorial Day Weekend at the annual KSBR Birthday Bash in Mission Viejo, California, I was able to interview the three musicians Najee, David Benoit, and Brian Bromberg. Back then the term for this type of music was called “ jazz fusion,” which helped create our contemporary jazz styles today. A respect for what came before filtered through the creations of these cutting-edge musicians who were now trying to put their own stamp on the modern day jazz melodies (and amplified sound). I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and jazz was still tied to its beginning roots however, rock, funk, and soul were now being infused into the mix because of the 60s Revolution in music. The record labels, GRP, Columbia, Blue Note, Verve, Atlantic come to mind as well. SENIOR EDITOR & DIRECTOR OF LOCAL PROJECTSĬopyright Channel 4 Television Corporation MMXIXįRONTLINE is a production of WGBH/Boston, which is solely responsible for its content.When I think of the word “ jazz,” I admit my heart strings are first pulled when listening to the cool, hip sounds of Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, and the list goes on. FOR FRONTLINEĭIGITAL WRITER & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGISTįRONTLINE/COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL FELLOWSHIPS MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, John and Helen Glessner Family Trust, FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler and additional support from Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan and Koo and Patricia Yuen through the Yuen Foundation. Original funding for this program was provided by public television stations, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, John D. Siobhan Sinnerton EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR ITN PRODUCTIONS Nevine Mabro EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR CHANNEL 4 Rough Cut Services EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS FOR CHANNEL 4 NEWS Published by Sony Sony/ATV Tree Publishingĭave Koz appears courtesy of Capitol Records LLC. Performed by Julio Iglesias (saxophone by Dave Koz)īy arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |