News & Updates — reeds

From a family of musicians, Luis Morais was born on the island of São Vicente, Cabo Verde but grew up in Dakar, Senegal, where he was trained in music theory and composition. He started playing in Dakar nightclubs in the '50s as a tenor & alto saxophonist, flautist and clarinet player, playing in a variety of musical styles including mambo, merengue, son, boleros and cha cha, as well as Cape Verdean folk music (such as coladera & mornas.). As such, he is considered a leader of the Cape Verdean folk music scene in Senegal. After relocating to The Netherlands in...

Happy birthday to the underrated microtonal composer and reedsman Joe Maneri. In 1963 he recorded a demo of 12-tone music with ethnic influence and a sort-of free jazz for Atlantic Records that didn't see release until 1998 (Paniots Nine, released on John Zorn's Tzadik label, and later used in the movie American Splendor), which would've placed him in the avant-garde of jazz had it seen the light of day at the time. Instead, nothing much happened for Maneri, outside of Boston, until his son Mat encouraged him to be more active in the 1990s. He made several records in the...

(Photo, Paul Teeling) Well here's a wonderful treat! Peace & Rhythm and Klezperanto team up to bring you the official world premiere of the brand new Klezperanto video for "Arroz Con Coco", a tribute to the great Lucho Bermúdez of Colombia. Clarinetist Ilene Stahl is a veteran of the Klezmer Conservatory Band (often with violinist Itzhak Perlman) and she formed the Boston-based six-piece ensemble Klezperanto in 1999 to stretch into other styles of dance music. "We formed Klezperanto to play everything BUT traditional klezmer music!” she says. Indeed, the mix includes Balkan & Mediterranean styles, Eastern European, cumbia, danzas, ballads,...

Curtis Ousley aka King Curtis, the versatile saxophonist/songwriter/arranger/producer, is a huge figure in '60s R&B. From Fort Worth TX, he was schoolmates with fellow saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He played early with Lionel Hampton and cut sessions with The Coasters, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Nat Adderley, LaVern Baker and others. In '65 he had his biggest hit "Memphis Soul Stew" and became musical director for Aretha Franklin. Later he recorded with John Lennon. His life was cut short in tragic fashion when he was stabbed to death on the steps to his apartment. (In the picture above you can see Jimi...

John Stubblefield was a talented and highly underrated reedsman who sounded great on so many classic records. From segregated Little Rock, he toured with Solomon Burke before settling in Chicago in the late '60s, where he joined up with the AACM. He moved to NYC in the '70s and worked with Mary Lou Williams, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Nat Adderley and a stormy membership in the Charles Mingus band. At one point he was also director of the Jazzmobile. He recorded a few excellent albums under his own name and left the planet in...