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Tom Malone

Tom "Bones" Malone began his professional career on a job playing lead trumpet with Brenda Lee at a club in Jackson, MS, while enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi. In response to a call from Warren Covington, leader of The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, he expanded into contracting musicians. After transferring to North Texas State University, Malone continued working as both a player and a contractor for a variety of groups. Upon graduation, Malone worked in bands of Woody Herman (1969), Duke Pearson (1970), Louie Bellson (1971), Doc Severinsen and Blood, Sweat & Tears (1973). In 1973, Malone began a close, 15-year association with Gil Evans, who exerted considerable musical influence on him. With Evans, Malone recorded seven albums and toured Europe, Japan and the Far East.

A call in the early 1970s from Saturday Night Live (SNL), a new,revolutionary, late-night comedy show on NBC, proved highly fruitful for Malone, who arranged for the show from 1975 to 1985. A single SNL comedy skit featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd mushroomed into The Blues Brothers; Malone wrote the chart for that first skit, then continued as an integral member of the Blues Brothers musical organization. His writing and performance may be found on all Blues Brothers recordings and in The Blues Brothers (Universal) film score. In 1993, Malone reunited with SNL veterans Paul Schaffer, keyboards, and Will Lee, bass, in the CBS Orchestra, now in its thirteenth year as house band for The Late Show with David Letterman. In 1997, Blues Brothers 2000 was released on Universal; the film score includes considerable contribution by Malone.

As a leader, Malone is featured on Standards of Living (Big World) and Soul Bones (Malaco). An extremely active writer and performer in New York, Malone may be heard on a list of jazz, R&B, rock and classical recordings far too extensive to ennumerate. A versatile musician, Malone plays piccolo, flute, alto flute, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, piccolo trumpet, trumpet, flügelhorn, bass trumpet, euphonium, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, electric bass, and synthesizer programmer. In addition to performing, arranging, producing and composing, Malone is an active clinician in educational settings. Malone plays Bach trumpets and trombones and Selmer saxophones.

Tom "Bones" Malone joined the CBS Orchestra on November 1, 1993. On the show each night he is seen playing a variety of horn instruments, including the trombone, trumpet and saxophone. Before joining the CBS Orchestra, Malone contributed approximately 25 arrangements to the "Late Show with David Letterman". He is probably best known, though, for his work on "Saturday Night Live" as the musical director for the "SNL" band from 1981-85. Malone has performed with such acts as James Brown, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, and Diana Ross, as well as playing network themes on shows such as "CBS This Morning," "Murder She Wrote," and the 1992 Olympics theme on CBS. "Bones" Malone is originally from Sumrall, Mississippi and currently lives in Manhattan.

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Album Review

Héctor Lavoe: La Voz

Read "La Voz" reviewed by Rob Garratt


Craft Recordings have been on a roll of late, following 2021's excellently presented Ornette Coleman boxset, Genesis of Genius, with 2023's Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series and imminent Sonny Rollins set Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums. So it is only natural that jazz-inclined audiophiles will start turning their attention to what other treasures the LA-based reissue specialists are digging out of the vaults. And so we arrive at Craft's new “special reissue" of salsa star ...

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Frank Zappa: Waka/Wazoo

Read "Waka/Wazoo" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


Il programma dela pubblicazione di inediti zappiani in occasione del loro cinquantesimo anniversario, iniziato con il box set The Hot Rats Session e proseguito con i cofanetti dedicati alle Mothers del 1970 e 1971 e alla colonna sonora del film 200 Motels, prosegue ora con quello che probabilmente è il titolo più atteso, da tempo annunciato e ora finalmente disponibile. Il nuovo cofanetto Waka/Wazoo contenente 4 CD di materiale inedito e un Blu-Ray celebra i 50 anni dalla pubblicazione di ...

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Interview

Tom "Bones" Malone: Amazing Career That's One In A Million, Part 2

Read "Tom "Bones" Malone: Amazing Career That's One In A Million, Part 2" reviewed by Matthew Alec


Part 1 | Part 2 World-famous trombonist and multi-instrumentalist Tom “Bones" Malone talks about his incredible career spanning Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers, Gil Evans, Frank Zappa, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Late Show with David Letterman, and so much more with All About Jazz contributor and saxophonist Matthew Alec of Cleveland Time Records at Cleveland's Bop Stop jazz club back in January 2022. AAJ: So, in regards to Saturday Night ...

314
Interview

Tom "Bones" Malone: Amazing Career That's One In A Million, Part 1

Read "Tom "Bones" Malone: Amazing Career That's One In A Million, Part 1" reviewed by Matthew Alec


Part 1 | Part 2 World-famous trombonist and multi-instrumentalist Tom “Bones" Malone talks about his incredible career spanning Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers, Gil Evans, Frank Zappa, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Late Show with David Letterman, and so much more with All About Jazz contributor and saxophonist Matthew Alec of Cleveland Time Records at Cleveland's Bop Stop jazz club back in January 2022. All About Jazz: Mr. Tom “Bones" Malone, ...

605
Album Review

Matthew Alec: Cleveland Time

Read "Cleveland Time" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Tenor saxophonist Matthew Alec is on a mission--and it's all about furthering the jazz scene in his native Cleveland. This starts with his own music, of course, going back to his first band Winslow, a fixture in the Cleveland scene from 2005-2016, and now continuing with his current ensemble, the Soul Electric. Its first release, Cleveland Time, is a strong dose of funk-based fusion, and an auspicious start for Alec's new label, Cleveland Time Records. The album's opener, ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Chicken

Cleveland Time Records
2022

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Live at the Bop Stop!

Cleveland Time Records
2022

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Waka/Wazoo

Zappa Records
2022

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Cleveland Time...

Cleveland Time Records
2021

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Cleveland Time

Cleveland Time Records
2021

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Baby You Got Me

From: Cleveland Time
By Tom Malone

Blues for McCoy

From: Cleveland Time
By Tom Malone

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