Kenny Graham & His Satellites • Moondog And Suncat Suites

Artist Biography

There were many sad things about the death of Kenny Graham in 1997, one of the minor tragedies being that it ended his reports, previously issued at a clip of one per decade, on what "the millionaire Beatles" were up to. Graham's caustic, alternately amusing and reactionary short essays were just one facet of his creativity, expressed on a selection of woodwind instruments until health issues forced him to concentrate on composing and arranging. Graham was also a progressive jazz bandleader on the British jazz scene, introducing his own take on Afro-Cuban jazz as early as 1950 with Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists. The latter outfit's stylistic experiments were eventually too much for the public at large, whose abandonment of jazz as a popular music was one of Graham's pet peeves. He came up on the dance band scene, working with popular bandleaders such as Ambrose, but had no patience for the self-contained electric rock & roll combos who would lure the dancers away.

Graham's first instrument was banjo, supposedly putty in his hands at the tender age of five. From there he went to a combination of tenor saxophone, clarinet, and flute, while also doing some choir singing. As a player, his main period of activity was the '50s. After his hospitalization in 1958, he began working on charts for bandleaders such as Ted Heath and was also involved as music director for sessions by famed blues performers Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White. The British MGM label released an LP of Graham's own music entitled Moondog and Suncat Suites, sometimes mistaken for a Cat Stevens effort. Many of Graham's essays are available on a website under his name.

by Eugene Chadbourne

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-graham-mn0001940526

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Biografía del artista

Hubo muchas cosas tristes sobre la muerte de Kenny Graham en 1997, una de las tragedias menores fue que terminó con sus informes, anteriormente publicados en un clip de uno por década, sobre lo que "los Beatles millonarios" estaban haciendo. Los ensayos cortos cáusticos, alternativamente divertidos y reaccionarios de Graham fueron sólo una faceta de su creatividad, expresada en una selección de instrumentos de viento de madera hasta que los problemas de salud le obligaron a concentrarse en la composición y los arreglos. Graham también fue un líder de banda de jazz progresivo en la escena del jazz británico, introduciendo su propia visión del jazz afrocubano ya en 1950 con los afrocubistas de Kenny Graham. Los experimentos estilísticos de este último grupo fueron finalmente demasiado para el público en general, cuyo abandono del jazz como música popular fue una de las preocupaciones de Graham. Apareció en la escena de las bandas de baile, trabajando con directores de banda populares como Ambrose, pero no tuvo paciencia con los combos de rock & roll eléctrico que atraían a los bailarines.

El primer instrumento de Graham fue el banjo, supuestamente masilla en sus manos a la tierna edad de cinco años. De ahí pasó a una combinación de saxofón tenor, clarinete y flauta, mientras que también cantaba en el coro. Como intérprete, su principal período de actividad fue en los años 50. Después de su hospitalización en 1958, empezó a trabajar en las listas de éxitos de directores de banda como Ted Heath y también participó como director musical en sesiones de los famosos intérpretes de blues Big Bill Broonzy y Josh White. El sello británico MGM publicó un LP de la propia música de Graham titulado Moondog and Suncat Suites, a veces confundido con un esfuerzo de Cat Stevens. Muchos de los ensayos de Graham están disponibles en un sitio web bajo su nombre.

por Eugene Chadbourne

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-graham-mn0001940526

 

 

 

Tracks: Moondog Suite
1 - One Four
2 - 2 West 46th Street
3 - Two Four
4 - Chant
5 - Three Four
6 - Utsu
7 - Four Four
8 - Lullaby
9 - Five Four
10 - Fog On The Hudson
Suncat Suite
11 - Sunrise
12 - Sunbeam
13 - Tropical Sun
14 - Sunstroke
15 - Sunset
16 - Sunday


Credits:
    Bass – Sammy Stokes
    Bass Clarinet – Danny Moss
    Clarinet – Vic Ash
    Drums, Percussion – Phil Seamen
    Flute – Jack Ellory
    Oboe – Ivor Slaney
    Percussion – Eddie Taylor
    Percussion, Drums – Don Lawson
    Piano, Vibraphone [Vibes], Accordion, Celesta – Stan Tracey
    Producer / Engineer  – Joe Meek
    Tenor Saxophone, Percussion, Whistle – Kenny Graham
    Vocals – Yolanda
    Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone [Vibes] – Martin Slavin

Notes:
The first suite (Moondog Suite) are compositions by New York Street musician Moondog whilst the second suite (Suncat Suite) is a Kenny Graham composition inspired by the music of Moondog.
"Review and Ratings of New Jazz Albums", Billboard magazine, 2 September 1957, p. 28.

Label: Trunk Records ‎– JBH036CD
Released: 2010
Original Released: 1957
Genre: Jazz

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