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Ted Dunbar
Ted Dunbar (January 17, 1937 in Port Arthur, Texas) was a jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. He published four volumes on jazz. He trained as a pharmacist at Texas Southern University, but by the 1970s only did pharmacy work part-time. He was also a trained numerologist and had studied other aspects of mysticism. He became interested in jazz at age seven and in the 1950s he joined several groups while studying pharmacy at Texas Southern University. At one point he received accolades from Ebony (magazine) and Down Beat. In the 1950s he became influenced by Wes Montgomery. In 1966 he moved to New York City and gained more experience.[1] In 1972 he became one of the first jazz professors at Rutgers University and taught Kevin Eubanks, Vernon Reid and Peter Bernstein, as well as many others. He died in 1998 of a stroke.
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Ted Dunbar's Bebop List
by Rick Stone
Yeah, I know I went WAY over the 10-20 song, 70 minute limit, but this is a VERY important list. These are the tunes I practiced EVERY day (in this order) for several years from a list given to me by my teacher Ted Dunbar in 1990. TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1 Confirmation5:53Charlie ParkerThe Charlie Parker Story2 Donna Lee2:32Charlie Bird" ParkerThe Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes3 Four7:14Miles DavisWorkin'4 Little Willie Leaps2:50Charlie Bird" ParkerThe Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes5 Freedom ...
read moreRe: Ted Dunbar (October issue, no.42, pg. 11)
by AAJ Staff
I wish to thank Mr. Donald Elfman regarding his writing the tribute to my close friend and colleague, the late Ted Dunbar.However, there are errors in his tribute which appears in the October 2005 issue of All About Jazz-New York (pg.11).Ted related to me that he went to Indianapolis, IN, my hometown, to interview for a job as a pharmacist at Hook's Drug Store in the early 1960's. His decision to take the job and move ...
read moreRichard Davis: Forest Flowers
by Todd S. Jenkins
Continuing a pattern that’s becoming all too common with 32 Jazz reissues, this set is a heavily flawed collection of performances by a generally fine bassist. The label heads seem to rummage through the dusty closets of name artists, seeking out weak sessions that probably wouldn’t see the light of day again if the performers weren’t famous for better works. Such is the case with Forest Flowers, culled from three lesser Richard Davis sets from the 70s.
Davis is a ...
read moreRichard Davis: Forest Flowers
by Glenn Astarita
Most jazz aficionados should be familiar with the artistry of bassist Richard Davis who over the years has performed with the best and brightest, spanning multiple genres. Davis is also a preeminent bowed bassist and with Forest Flowers, “32 Jazz” sees good reason to re-release material Davis recorded during the mid to late 70’s, as these works represent sessions that were originally issued on the now defunct “Muse” label. Here, we find Davis performing with bassist Bill Lee, trumpeter Marvin ...
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