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Bill Reichenbach

William Frank Reichenbach Sr. was an American jazz drummer and percussionist, who co-developed the jazz-samba drumming style. He was the father of trombonist Bill Reichenbach Jr. and the singer Kurt Reichenbach. Reichenbach started his musical career even before he graduated from the McKinley Tech High School. During World War II, he played in a band of the Navy before he toured with the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and Art Mooney. Later he worked in the jazz clubs of his hometown, where he accompanied Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Teddy Wilson, and Zoot Sims. Charlie Byrd hired Reichenbach as an additional drummer for the Stan Getz album Jazz Samba, which was recorded in 1962 and which provoked a wave of enthusiasm for Bossa Nova in the United States. In the course of 1962, he replaced Buddy Deppenschmidt in the trio of Byrd, of which he was a member for twelve years. Then he returned to work in Washington D.C., as the house drummer at the Blues Alley. Reichenbach died following a series of strokes in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 84.


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6
Album Review

Dave Slonaker: Convergency

Read "Convergency" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


In December 1910, Virginia Woolf once observed, human character changed and, along with it, so did everything else. Politics, society, religion, sex, all of it, she thought, would leave the ancien regime behind. And, to a point, she was correct. Within a few years, the old world was gone, swept away by war and revolution. It was not coming back. Ever. Somehow, listening to the marvelous musical products of modern big bands, Woolf seems oddly relevant. The level ...

45
Album Review

Dave Slonaker Big Band: Convergency

Read "Convergency" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While big-band albums generally differ, sometimes widely, in tone and temperament, there are definitive criteria by which every one may be evaluated--arrangements, performers, sound quality, sequencing and, above all, the elusive but imperative swing quotient. Dave Slonaker checks all those boxes and more on Convergency, a superlative successor to his excellent Grammy-nominated debut album, Intrada, released in 2013. To begin with, Slonaker, best known as a film and television composer, is an excellent big-band writer and arranger, ...

9
Album Review

Dave Slonaker Big Band: Convergency

Read "Convergency" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Composer/conductor Dave Slonaker probably won't qualify as “prolific," at least based on recorded output alone, as he spends a lot of his time behind the scenes in film and television work—but one must appreciate the level of craftsmanship that he brings to his big band projects. His debut release, Intrada (Origin Records, 2014), received a well-earned Grammy nomination, and his sophomore effort is no less accomplished, with the well-designed compositions and outstanding ensemble work that justify all the attention it ...

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175

Performance / Tour

Trombonists Bill Reichenbach & Alex Ilse Be-Bop Quintet Live Upstairs at Vitello's Studio City

Trombonists Bill Reichenbach & Alex Ilse Be-Bop Quintet Live Upstairs at Vitello's Studio City

Source: All About Jazz

April Williams' Red Carpet Jazz Series Upstairs at Vitello's Restaurant in Studio City will present a rare performance of Jazz trombonists Bill Reichenbach & Alex Iles and their Be-bop Quintet at 8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Wednesday October 28, 2009. The Quintet will feature Alex Iles, trombone Bill Reichenbach, bass trombone Bevan Manson, piano Matthew Gordy, drums Mike Valerio, bass As a studio players, Bill & Alex have played on about 800 records, 500 ...

192

Education

La Jazzpro Connection Bill Reichenbach Trombone Master Class Series Studio City

La Jazzpro Connection Bill Reichenbach Trombone Master Class Series Studio City

Source: All About Jazz

THE LA JAZZPRO CONNECTION features Bill Reichenbach this Saturday August 8, 2009 as well as Alex Acuna, Peter Erskine, Larry Koonse, Bob Sheppard and in a new community music concept.It takes place Upstairs at Vitello's Jazz Lounge produced by April Williams 4349 Tujunga Ave. Studio City 818-632-4868 for information. Williams donates spaces in the series to young musicians who cannot afford to attend as well. She has a weekly lottery for Musical Opportunities. BOB SHEPPARD SAX PRO says “This is ...

168

Obituary

Bill Reichenbach: A Master Musician Kept His Life's Time in the Rhythm of Jazz

Bill Reichenbach: A Master Musician Kept His Life's Time in the Rhythm of Jazz

Source: All About Jazz

Bill Reichenbach never wanted to do anything except play the drums. When he was 5, he took apart a banjo and started beating out a rhythm on the soundbox. Through the years, he built a solid reputation as a steady rhythmic anchor at Washington nightclubs and for touring big bands. He was never well known beyond the jazz circuit, but for one golden moment, he unexpectedly found himself at the launch of a new national phenomenon. In 1961, Washington guitarist ...

Jennifer Wharton
trombone, bass

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Convergency

Origin Records
2022

buy

Jazz Samba

Verve Music Group
1962

buy

Convergency

From: Convergency
By Bill Reichenbach

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