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Roger Humphries

Roger Humphries is an American jazz drummer.

Born into a family of ten children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Humphries began playing drums at age four, and went professional at age 14. He led an ensemble at Carnegie Hall at age 16. Early in the 1960s, he began touring with jazz musicians; one of his more prominent gigs was in a trio with Stanley Turrentine and Shirley Scott in 1962. In 1964, he worked with Horace Silver, appearing on the album Song for My Father, where he played on four tracks, including the title tune. (On the same album Roy Brooks played on two tracks from a session recorded a year earlier). Following this Humphries drummed for Ray Charles.

Humphries's list of credits in jazz, R&B, and pop is extensive. Musicians he has played with, in addition to the above, include Lee Morgan, Grant Green, Billy Taylor, Bill Doggett, Benny Green, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Barry Harris, Clark Terry, J. J. Johnson, Billy Preston, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Jack McDuff, Gene Harris, George Harris, George Benson, Jon Faddis, Slide Hampton, Johnny Griffin, Herbie Mann, Randy Brecker, Joe Williams, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Hubert Laws, Dwayne Dolphin, Isley Brothers, and Illinois Jacquet.

Humphries led his own band in the early 1970s, R.H. Factor, and led ensembles under other names into the 1990s. He has also held teaching positions at the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. He released albums under his own name in 1993, 2003, and 2011.

Source: Wikipedia

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Album Review

Horace Silver: Live New York Revisited

Read "Live New York Revisited" reviewed by Stefano Merighi


Benchè il profilo artistico di Horace Silver sia preso a modello in modo paradigmatico per definire lo stile hard bop nel jazz moderno, è altresì interessante notare come Silver, sin dalle sue prime uscite, abbia sempre cercato di evitare gli schemi predeterminati che soprattutto le etichette discografiche cercavano di replicare dopo aver trovato la formula del successo. Ad esempio, Silver non amava le scalette miste, quelle cioè che infilavano d'abitudine uno standard proveniente da Tin Pan Alley all'interno di un ...

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Album Review

Horace Silver Quintet: Live New York Revisited

Read "Live New York Revisited" reviewed by Chris May


This fabulous album, recorded during three New York club engagements in 1964, 1965 and 1966, ranks among the finest in the pianist/composer's illustrious catalogue. There are several things going for it: the quality and shared intentionality of the two, slightly different, lineups; the choice of material and its careful sequencing; the vibrancy of the performances, which is enough to practically raise the dead; and the quality of the CD mastering by the ezz-thetics label's sonic jedi Michael Brändli, whose work ...

5
Album Review

Deanna Witkowski: Force of Nature

Read "Force of Nature" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Pianist Deanna Witkowski has been studying the life and work of pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams for twenty years. This has resulted in her writing a biography of the artist, Mary Lou Williams; Music For The Soul (Liturgical Press, 2021) and making this companion album of her interpretations of Williams' music. Working in a trio format with occasional trumpet from Clay Jenkins, Witkowski covers all phases of Williams' musical career, her time writing for Andy Kirk in ...

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Profile

Con Alma: Keeping Pittsburgh Jazz Thriving in Trying Times

Read "Con Alma: Keeping Pittsburgh Jazz Thriving in Trying Times" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Not mentioned nearly enough as a locale that nurtured some of jazz music's most memorable artists, jny: Pittsburgh can boast a jazz history that is unparalleled, especially for a city of its size. Just a partial list of icons that hailed from the area would include Ahmad Jamal, Art Blakey, Erroll Garner, George Benson, and Stanley Turrentine. Over the past several decades, the jazz scene there has continued to thrive under the auspices of such presenters as Manchester Craftsmen's Guild ...

411
Album Review

Herbie Mann & Phil Woods: Beyond Brooklyn

Read "Beyond Brooklyn" reviewed by George Kanzler


Herbie Mann and Phil Woods met when they were two barely adult beboppers jamming together at a joint called Tony's Bar on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn in 1951. A couple years later, Woods would play on Mann's Yardbird Suite LP. They finally shared the front line on an album again with this CD, the last Mann made before he died on July 2, 2003.Beyond Brooklyn is a fine envoi to Mann's career, featuring the flutist in many of ...

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Performance / Tour

Con Alma Announces Roger Humphries’ Thursday Night Residency

Con Alma Announces Roger Humphries’ Thursday Night Residency

Source: Mackenzie Horne

Con Alma is excited to announce a new Thursday night residency beginning on November 14. jny: Pittsburgh drumming legend Roger Humphries, whom Horace Silver once described as “one of my best drummers”, will take the Con Alma stage every Thursday from 8:00PM- 11:00PM. Perhaps most famous for his contributions to Silver’s Song for My Father and Cape Verdean Blues, Dr. Humphries is also renowned for his more recent work with the late guitarist Jimmy Ponder and bassist Dwayne Dolphin. He ...

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From: Force of Nature
By Roger Humphries

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