Results for Tommy Flanagan
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Artist:

Tommy Flanagan

Tommy Flanagan

Born:
Mar 16, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan

Died:
Nov 16, 2001 in New York City

  • Real Name: Tommy Lee Flanagan
  • Genre: Jazz
  • Active: '40s - '90s
  • Instrument: Piano

Biography

Known for his flawless and tasteful playing, Tommy Flanagan received long overdue recognition for his talents in the 1980s. He played clarinet when he was six and switched to piano five years later. Flanagan was an important part of the fertile Detroit jazz scene (other than 1951-1953 when he was in the Army) until he moved to New York in 1956. He was used for many recordings after his arrival during that era; cut sessions as a leader for New Jazz, Prestige, Savoy, and Moodsville; and worked regularly with Oscar Pettiford, J.J. Johnson (1956-1958), Harry "Sweets" Edison (1959-1960), and Coleman Hawkins (1961). Flanagan was Ella Fitzgerald's regular accompanist during 1963-1965 and 1968-1978, which resulted in him being underrated as a soloist. However, starting in 1975, he began leading a series of superior record sessions and since leaving Fitzgerald, Flanagan has been in demand as the head of his own trio, consistently admired for his swinging and creative bop-based style. Among the many labels he has recorded for since 1975 are Pablo, Enja, Denon, Galaxy, Progressive, Uptown, Timeless, and several European and Japanese companies. For Blue Note, he cut Sunset and Mockingbird in 1998, followed a year later by Samba for Felix. Despite a heart condition, Flanagan continued performing until the end of his life, performing two-week stints at the Village Vanguard twice a year, recording and touring. He died on November 16, 2001, in Manhattan from an arterial aneurysm. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Representative Songs:

"Let's," "Willow Weep for Me," "Relaxin' at Camarillo"

Representative Albums:

Beyond the Blue Bird, Let's Play the Music of Thad Jones, Lady Be Good...For Ella

Similar Artists:

Hugh Lawson, Wynton Kelly, Elmo Hope, John Hicks, Barry Harris, Kenny Drew, Sonny Clark, John Bunch, Joe Bonner

Performed Songs By:

James Van Heusen, Billy Strayhorn, Charlie Parker, J.R. Monterose, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Thad Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis

Worked With:

Rudy Van Gelder, Paul Chambers, Kenny Burrell, Coleman Hawkins, Doug Watkins, Art Taylor, Elvin Jones, Milt Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald

Followers:

Eri Yamamoto, Terry Lower, Darrell Grant, Kenny Cox
 
 
Wikipedia: Tommy Flanagan
Tommy Flanagan
Background information
Birth name Thomas Lee Flanagan
Born 16 March, 1930
Origin Flag of the United States Detroit, Michigan, USA
Died 16 November, 2001
Genre(s) Bop
Hard bop
Mainstream jazz
Occupation(s) Pianist
Instrument(s) Piano
Associated
acts
Ella Fitzgerald
John Coltrane
Kenny Dorham Quartet

Thomas Lee Flanagan 16 March, 193016 November, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Detroit, Michigan, particularly remembered as an accompanist of Ella Fitzgerald. He played on a number of critically acclaimed recordings, such as John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus and The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery.

The Tommy Flanagan Trio (with bassist Wilbur Little and drummer Elvin Jones) released their first album, Tommy Flanagan Trio Overseas, in 1957. As an accompanist, Flanagan worked with Ella Fitzgerald from 1963–65 and 1968–78. But beginning in 1975, Flanagan began once again to perform and record as a leader. He continued to work with other players, however, forming a trio with Tal Farlow and Red Mitchell, among other projects.

Flanagan's style was both modest and exceptionally musical. Although he would not be considered an innovator, such as Bill Evans or McCoy Tyner, Flanagan embodied many of the most important qualities associated with jazz: swing, harmonic sophistication, melodic invention, bluesy feel and humour. Interestingly, he appeared on a number of highly innovative albums. (His awkward solo on the extremely fast and harmonically complex title-track of Giant Steps is a rare [if famous] instance on record of the usually unflappable pianist being caught off-guard.)

During his career, Flanagan was nominated for four Grammy Awards — two for Best Jazz Performance (Group) and two for Best Jazz Performance (Soloist). He died on November 16, 2001, of an arterial aneurysm.

Select Discography

As a leader

As a sideman

Trivia

Eric Jackson, host of WGBH-Boston's nightly jazz program Jazz with Eric in the Evening uses "Peace", a cut from Flanagan's "Something Borrowed, Something Blue," as the introduction to his show every night. In the current schedule, it plays from approximately 8:00 to 8:07 p.m. [1], [2]

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Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tommy Flanagan" Read more

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