On June 15th, 1968, we lost a seminal jazz musician, innovative guitarist, composer, sideman, younger brother of Monk Montgomery, older brother of Buddy Montgomery, multi-label recording artist, and fusion jazz pioneer-Wes Montgomery (John Leslie Montgomery). TOV covered this artist’s birthday in the March 6th post. Please refer to it for more information. Wes Montgomery is most known for his soul/smooth jazz guitar play during the 1950's-up thru the mid 1960's. He got his nickname from a shortened version of his middle name, that improperly pronounced by his siblings: Les=Wes. His first guitar was purchased by his older brother Monk, in 1935, and only had four strings. He learned it well, but felt like he started at square one, when he got a six-string guitar in 1943.
Wes was inspired to buy it when he heard a Charlie Christian record at a party, and learned to play by copying Charlie's songs. He never learned to read music, and never took any formal lessons. By his mid 20's, he’d developed a strong local following-and Lionel Hampton took notice while on tour. Hampton hired Wes, and he would stay with him until 1950 when he moved on to work with Charles Mingus & Eddie Higgins. His brothers, Buddy & Monk, hired him for their quintet with Pookie Johnson. In the late 1950's Buddy & Wes started their own band called The Mastersounds; and in 1959, he made his recording debut as bandleader of The Wes Montgomery Trio (Riverside Records). Some of his best work was done closer to his death, in the mid 1960's on the Verve imprint. Wes Montgomery was 45 when he passed.
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On June 15th, 1969, rapper, movie producer, movie director, screenwriter, sports enthusiast, owner/founder of The Big3 Basketball League, gangster rap legend, and pop culture icon-Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson) was born in Los Angeles, California. To the mainstream, Cube is most likely more well-known for his Friday film series, which spawned catchphrases like: "Bye Felicia!," "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!," "When you gone let me f_____k Ms. Parker?" "Playing with my money is like playing with my emotions!," "How the F you get fired on your day off?!," "More like Freddie Jackson!," and "What you got on my 40 homie?" etc. But most golden era hip hop heads remember him from his brief stint with NWA, his collaborations with Public Enemy, and his solo work on Priority Records.
One of his best releases on the label was-Kill at Will (1990). It's an EP (Extended Play) that’s been certified platinum. It features Chuck D and the Lynch Mob with production work from Sir Jinx and Ice Cube (Dead Homiez). From the late 80s to the mid 90s, Cube was holding down the West Coast gangster rap sound. He was the primary songwriter for NWA and enjoyed a highly successful solo career. He produced several acts like Yo-Yo, Kam, Del, WC, Mac 10 and the Lynch Mob. He was accused of biting the style innovated at the Good Life open mic sets (L.A., CA) and Cypress Hill’s unreleased chorus (mid 90s). After the mid 90s, he was unable to sustain his success in the music industry. However, the movie industry was wide open to Cube and he not only acted in several movies, he also directed, wrote and produced some of his own: Friday, Players Club and Babershop. Ice Cube is 50 today.
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On June 14th, in 1996, we lost a seminal jazz musician, world renown vocalist, jazz culture icon, Harlem Renaissance figure, songwriter and bandleader-Ella (Jane) Fitzgerald. TOV covered the artist’s birthday on the April 25th post. Please refer to it for more information. Ella was a highly prolific jazz/pop vocalist. She earned the nicknames: ‘The Queen of Jazz’ & the ‘First Lady of Song’ by being able to improvise and use her brassy/woodwind tone to over the melodies played by Chick Webb & Duke Ellington’s orchestras. She was born in Newport News, Virginia but moved to Yonkers, NYC, NY when she was 3. She enjoyed dancing during her primary years, but also got into gospel and jazz-the Boswell Sisters and Louis Armstrong mostly (late 20s).
She patterned her style off the church choir and the Boswell Sisters. Her mother passed in her early teens and Ella was orphaned by the time she was 15 because she was skipping school and not going home consistently. She honed her chops singing on the street corners of Harlem during the early 30s. In 1934, she debuted her skills during Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, winning first prize (17 years old). Her first professional gig was with Tiny Bradshaw (early 1935). He introduced her to Chick Webb who hired Ella to sing for his band. Her staple song-A Tisket, A-Tasket was created with Webb’s Orchestra in 1938. The track showcases Ella’s singing style and octave range. Before she cut this track, most people weren’t hearing the ‘real’ Ella. She went on to lead the band after Webb could no longer play, making her one of the first Black women to lead an orchestra. She was 79 when she passed.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On June 15th, in 1923, jazz musician, swing pianist, sideman, arranger, bandleader and jazz standard composer-Erroll Garner was born in Pittsburgh, PA. TOV covered the artist’s death on the January 2nd post. Please refer to it for more information. Erroll’s most known for composing the jazz standard-Misty (1955). He had perfect pitch-able to replicate melodies by ear. He was short in stature, and had to sit on phone books to reach the keys. He also never learned to read music well. These perceived drawbacks kept him from securing gigs that he was over-qualified for. However, his music is created based on feeling, not written notes. He was 53 when he passed.
On June 15th, in 1927, classical pianist, educator, composer, violinist, arranger, former Philadelphia Orchestra member and the youngset student to graduate from Oberlin Conservatory of Music-Natalie Hinderas (Natalie Leota Henderson) was born in Oberlin, OH. Her mother was a classically trained pianist and professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She taught Natalie how to play when she was 3. She started taking formal lessons when she was 6. Hinderas was considered a child prodigy and received her graduate degrees in music from Juilliard and the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. She later became a professor of music at Howard & Temple University. She was 60 when she passed.
On June 15th, in 1956, reggae musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Steel Pulse-David ‘Dread’ Hinds was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, UK. His parents were 1st-generation migrants to the UK from Jamaica (1950s). Many Jamaicans were encouraged to come to the UK to help rebuild it after WWII. Hinds started Steel Pulse in 1975 with Basil Gabbidon. They became the first band to win a Grammy for Best Reggae Album that weren’t from Jamaica (1986). They also were the first reggae band to appear on the Tonight Show. They continue to release albums and tour. Hinds is 63 today.
On June 15th, in 1988, we lost an unsung pop vocalist, soul singer and former preacher-Jimmy Soul (James Louis McCleese). Jimmy was an intriguing individual that served as the ‘clean-up man’ for Gary U.S. Bonds. He became a pastor when he was 7 and toured extensively as a gospel singer during his teens. He went secular in his late teens and released singles that Gary turned down on the SPQR/London Records label. He had 1 gold single-If You Wanna Be Happy (1963). His tone and style made him a classic vocalist. His nickname of ‘Soul’ was given to him during his childhood via the church, the members said he had ‘Soul’. He was 45 when he passed away.
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