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Teodross Avery
As a musician, Dr. Teodross Avery stands as one who defines live music—best experienced front row, and full throttle. His commanding presence, on stage and off, reflects his musical ingenuity and skill. With an outstanding pedigree, both professionally and academically, Teodross is a saxophonist to watch, as evidenced by many of today’s biggest names in music relying on his wide musical reach.
While growing up in Oakland and Vacaville, California, Teodross’ parents exposed him to a wide range of music including traditional Eastern and Western African music, Soul, Rock, and Jazz. At ten, his father started him with classical guitar lessons. Jolted by the sound of John Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps,’ Teodross switched to the saxophone at thirteen. As a testament to his young promise, the great Wynton Marsalis purchased a saxophone for him. At 17, Teodross eventually won a full music scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
While at Berklee, renowned A&R exec, Carl Griffin of GRP/Impulse Records, heard of Teodross’ cutting edge sound and eventually signed him at 19, stating, “I was so thoroughly impressed with his lyricism and writing talent”. In 1994, Teodross launched his first album In Other Words, which was welcomed by critical acclaim, including a five star review in USA Today. Still an undergraduate, Teodross was now feverishly in demand by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Betty Carter and Ramsey Lewis. He balanced all of these demands and completed college while on the road in 1995.
After graduating, with a wealth of professional experience to add, Teodross did what any other talented musician would do – he tackled New York City. After just one week in New York, he performed at the legendary Bluenote Jazz Club with the Cedar Walton Sextet, featuring Art Farmer on trumpet. He also played and/or recorded in groups that were either led by or included jazz titans such as Hank Jones, Ben Riley, Harold Mabern, Cyrus Chestnut, Lewis Nash, Donald Harrison, Bobby Watson, The Roy Hargrove Big Band and (3X) Grammy Award winner, Dee Dee Bridgewater, among many others. He landed a performing role in the successful film Love Jones in 1995. He then launched his second album, My Generation, under the GRP/Impulse label, in 1996. “This album was ahead of it’s time. I was starting to mix Jazz with the Hip Hop sound of The Roots (The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon) by adding frontman, Black Thought and the Rock-influenced sound of John Scofield,” says Teodross.
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Ben Rosenblum, Teodross Avery, John Taylor and Others
by Jerome Wilson
This show is a mixture of older and newer jazz, featuring current artists like Teodross Avery and Ben Rosenblum and names from the past such as John Taylor and Booker Little. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project Lilian" from A Thousand Pebbles (One Trick Dog) 00:58 Paul Desmond Alone Together" from Take Ten (RCA) 8:36 ...
read moreMark de Clive-Lowe & Friends: Freedom: Celebrating The Music Of Pharoah Sanders
by Chris May
Albums by artists who are best known for their work outside jazz are best approached with caution. Keyboard player Mark de Clive-Lowe's Freedom: Celebrating The Music Of Pharoah Sanders is one such. Before moving to Los Angeles, Clive-Lowe lived in London, where he was prominent in the late 1990s/early 2000s broken beat movement, which, without getting too complicated about it, fused electronic dance music with a little jazz and funk. Clive-Lowe, however, is no wannabe jazz musician. ...
read morePopular Tracks: 2019
by Michael Ricci
All About Jazz tracks how often a featured song is heard, and the following represent the most popular in 2019. If you missed them the first time around, give them a listen now, and enjoy! After the Rain Teodross Avery After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane Tompkins Square Featured: September 23, 2019 Shifted Sal La Rocca Shifted Igloo ...
read moreTeodross Avery: After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane
by Jakob Baekgaard
All modern saxophonists worth their salt relate to John Coltrane in one way or another. Coltrane pushed boundaries and showed new paths in music and never stopped searching. Fortunately, new generations have been ready to take over and pick up on the lessons Coltrane taught. One of them is saxophonist Dr. Teodross Avery. Spurred by his father, Avery started out playing classical guitar, but hearing Coltrane's Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1959) helped him realize that the saxophone was ...
read moreA John Coltrane Birthday Salute by Saxophonist Teodross Avery
Source:
Tompkins Square
In honor of John Coltrane's birthday, Teodross Avery shares an alternate take of Coltrane's Africa". Another version appears on After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane, released on Tompkins Square in May (2019). The title track (listen here) is the #1 Top Listened" track of 2019 on All About Jazz. The CD and LP both sold out quickly at source, but can still be found on Amazon and other stores online. Praise for After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane ...
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Teodross Avery's 'After The Rain: A Night For Coltrane' (Tompkins Square) Out Now
Source:
Tompkins Square
In the beginning there was John Coltrane. Growing up in a family that listened to a vast and global array of music, Teodross Avery experienced an epiphany at 13 when he first heard Trane’s epochal harmonic steeplechase Giant Steps. Taking up the tenor saxophone, he emerged in the mid-1990s as one of the most powerful young voices on the scene, with two critically hailed releases for GRP/Impulse! Avery’s long and productive journey has taken him down many musical paths, from ...
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After the Rain
From: After the Rain: A Night for...By Teodross Avery