Jazz Highlights

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Birthdays of notable jazz musicians:

Ed Soph, Drums, 1945, Coronado, CA

Ed studied drums in Houston where he worked with Arnett Cobb. While at North Texas State University (1963-68) he worked for summer seasons with Ray McKinley and Stan Kenton. During the late '60s and early '70s Ed toured and recorded with Woody Herman, then returned briefly to university for graduate study. He moved to New York in 1971 and again worked with Herman, Bill Waltrous, and Clark Terry. Later he recorded with Joe Henderson and then went to Australia where he worked with Dave Liebman. From the late '70s he has taught privately and at colleges and workshops. He has also contributed articles about drumming to several magazines.

Hank D'Amico, Clarinet, 1915, Rochester, NY

Hank played the violin first , but by the time he was in high school he was playing the clarinet and saxophone. His first professional gig was with Paul Specht in 1936. Later he played with Red Norvo and several other small groups. In 1938 he performed on radio with a group of his own and then returned to Norvo's band. In 1942 after short periods with Les Brown, Norvo, and Benny Goodman, Hank worked for CBS in New York and also played with Miff Mole in Toronto. From 1944 to 1954 he was a staff musician for ABC in New York. During this period he managed to play with Jack Teagarden. During the late '50s and most of the '60s he led his own band and worked mainly in the New York area. D'Amico was strongly influenced by Benny Goodman, and was considered to be one of the most fluent swing clarinetists. Hank D'Amico died in 1965.