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32-509: The Red Sea Jazz Festival was first held in 1987. It is a four-day-long event featuring 9-10 concerts per evening, 6 workshops with guest artists and nightly jam sessions . All performances are held outdoors at the Eilat port. The workshops take place at a nearby hotel. The festival offers a combination of performances by international jazz artists and local talent. It also provides a venue for collaborative efforts, with special productions exclusive to

64-435: A fertile meeting place and proving ground for both established soloists like Ben Webster and Lester Young as well as the younger jazz musicians who would soon become leading exponents of the bebop movement, including Thelonious Monk (Minton's house pianist), saxophone player Charlie Parker , and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie . The Minton's jams had competitive " cutting contests ," in which soloists would try to keep up with

96-473: A kind of play on words. We always used the word 'session' a lot, and I think the expression 'jam session' grew up out of this playful yelling back and forth. The New York scene during World War II was famous for its after-hours jam sessions. One of the most famous was the regular after-hours jam at Minton's Playhouse in New York City that ran in the 1940s and early 1950s. The jam sessions at Minton's were

128-415: A social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from very loose gatherings of amateurs to evenings where a jam session coordinator or host acts as a " gatekeeper " so that appropriate-level performers take

160-477: A space where African American artists could live, work, and collaborate together, free from the racial discrimination and segregation that was prevalent in other parts of the city at the time. Williams and his wife, Eva Taylor, purchased a large house on Ruscoe Street (108th Ave near Addisleigh Park ) and turned it into a gathering place for black artists, musicians, and intellectuals. They hosted regular parties and events, which attracted many notable figures from

192-473: Is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians , typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones , songs, and chord progressions . To "jam" is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements . Original jam sessions, also called "free flow sessions," are often used by musicians to develop new material (music) and find suitable arrangements . Both styles can be used simply as

224-636: The Acid Tests put on by the Merry Pranksters . Other bands in the late '60s incorporated live jam techniques like Cream yet the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers allowed the "jam band" to become a genre unto itself; more recent bands following in their steps include Phish , moe. , Umphreys Mcgee , and Widespread Panic , all of which feature extended improvisational sessions. Other bands such as

256-495: The Red Hot Chili Peppers also regularly perform live jam sessions. Bluegrass music also features a tradition of jamming. Bluegrass jams happen in the parking lots and campgrounds of bluegrass festivals , in music stores, bars and restaurants and on stages. Bluegrass jams tend to be segregated by the skill level of the players. Slow jams for beginners provide an entry point. Open bluegrass jams are open to all comers, but

288-567: The Vocalion label and the recordings mostly featuring washboard percussion, through 1935 (and a session in 1938). He also recorded for Bluebird in 1937, and again in 1941. In 1943, Williams sold his extensive back-catalogue of tunes to Decca Records for $ 50,000 and retired, but then bought a bargain used-goods store, the Harlem Thrift Shop. Williams died in Queens , New York City, in 1965, and

320-522: The 1920s was the leading African-American owned music publisher in the country. He toured briefly with W. C. Handy , set up a publishing office in Chicago, then settled in New York in the early 1920s. In 1921, he married blues singer and stage actress Eva Taylor , with whom he would frequently perform. They moved to Queens in the 1920s with the intention of creating a community of black artists. He envisioned

352-504: The Eilat Hotel Association and various business sponsors. In 2008, Israeli jazz bassist Avishai Cohen was named artistic director, replacing Dan Gottfried , who initiated the festival and served as artistic director for 22 years. During his tenure Gottfried has showcased over 1500 world-famous Jazz artists and established the reputation of the festival as one of the leading Jazz events worldwide. Under Cohen's direction in 2009,

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384-534: The Grateful Dead , AC/DC , Led Zeppelin , Santana , King Crimson , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Steely Dan , and the Allman Brothers Band would feature live improvised performances that could last 10 to 20 minutes or longer. In this context, jams are not casual congregations, but rather improvised portions of rehearsed public set lists. The Grateful Dead are often credited as being the first jam band, dating back as early as 1965 providing freeform improvisation at

416-586: The Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes , Zora Neale Hurston , and Duke Ellington . He was one of the primary pianists on scores of blues records recorded in New York during the 1920s. He supervised African American recordings (the 8000 race series) for the New York offices of Okeh phonograph company in the 1920s in the Gaiety Theatre office building in Times Square . He recruited many of

448-681: The Roots' label, from letting the artistically-free environment at the studio to continue. In 2018, leading up to the Grammy Awards , the Roots used their four-day residency at the Gramercy Theatre in New York to "revive a long tradition of jam-session concerts with unannounced special guests," including Common, Big K.R.I.T. , Wyclef Jean , Roxanne Shanté , Gary Clark Jr. , and Mtume . Clarence Williams (musician) Clarence Williams (October 8, 1898 or October 6, 1893 – November 6, 1965)

480-656: The artists who performed on the label. He also recorded extensively, leading studio bands frequently for OKeh, Columbia and occasionally other record labels. He mostly used "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings" for his hot band sides and "Clarence Williams' Washboard Five" for his washboard sides. He also produced and participated in early recordings by Louis Armstrong , Sidney Bechet , Bessie Smith , Virginia Liston , Irene Scruggs , his niece Katherine Henderson , and others. Two of his 1924 recording bands, "The Red Onion Jazz Babies" and "Clarence Williams' Blue Five" featured cornetist Armstrong and soprano saxophonist Bechet, two of

512-542: The collective's associated musicians, including rapper Mos Def 's Black on Both Sides (1999), singer Res 's How I Do (2001), and rapper Talib Kweli 's Quality (2002). Bilal held improvisatory jam sessions while recording his second album, Love for Sale , at Electric Lady, although its experimental direction alienated his label from releasing it, and a subsequent leak led to its indefinite shelving. Common's similarly experimental Electric Circus sold disappointingly, which discouraged MCA Records , Common and

544-522: The early 1910s, he was a well-regarded local entertainer also playing piano, and was composing new tunes by 1913. Williams was a good businessman and worked arranging and managing entertainment at the local African American vaudeville theater as well as at various saloons and dance halls around Rampart Street , and at clubs and houses in Storyville . Williams started a music publishing business with violinist/bandleader Armand J. Piron in 1915, which by

576-677: The festival showcased young talent and original compositions along with world-renowned jazz artists. The festival is held in the last week of August. A 3-day Winter Jazz Festival, held on the third weekend in January, was initiated in 2010. Israeli jazz acts included: Israeli acts included: Israeli acts included Yael Deckelbaum , Yoni Rechter , and Zohar Fresko, among others. Israeli acts included: Israeli acts included Ester Rada , Tatran and Tammy Scheffer among others. Israeli Acts included Marina Maximilian, Omer Avital and Ofri Nehemya among others. Jam sessions A jam session

608-527: The festival. Some of these special productions have included Randy Brecker & Mark Egan , The Jazz Beatles, Miroslav Vitous & John Abercrombie , and Charlie Haden & John Scofield . The festival draws audiences of 70,000, with an average of 2,500 people per concert. It is run as a non-profit organization and enjoys the support of the Municipality of Eilat, the Ministries of Culture and Tourism,

640-442: The house band and outdo each other in improvisational skill. Influenced by jazz, Cuban music saw the emergence of improvised jam sessions during the filin movement of the 1940s, where boleros , sones and other song types were performed in an extended form called descarga . During the 1950s these descargas became the basis of a new genre of improvised jams based on the son montuno with notable jazz influences pioneered by

672-613: The idea was usually to try to cut each other, each one trying to outdo the others and prove himself best. Those impromptu concerts of theirs were generally known as 'cuttin' contests.' Our idea…was to play together, to make the improvisation really collective… Down in that basement concert hall, somebody was always yelling over to me, 'Hey Jelly, what you gonna do?'—they gave me that nickname, or sometimes called me Roll, because I always wanted to play Clarence Williams ' '(I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None O' This) Jelly Roll'—and almost every time I'd cap them with, 'Jelly's gonna jam some now,' just as

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704-691: The late 1990s to the early 2000s, held jam sessions while recording their respective albums at Electric Lady Studios . This began in 1997 when the singer D'Angelo and the drummer-producer Questlove (of The Roots ) prepared to record the former's Voodoo (2000) album at the studio. Their sessions there over the next five years resulted in the Roots' albums Things Fall Apart (1999) and Phrenology (2002), singer Erykah Badu 's second album Mama's Gun (2000), rapper Common 's albums Like Water for Chocolate (2000) and Electric Circus (2002), and singer Bilal 's debut album 1st Born Second . Badu has said that "just about everything from [ Mama's Gun ]

736-519: The likes of Julio Gutiérrez and Cachao . During the 1960s, descargas played an important role in the development of salsa , especially the salsa dura style. As the instrumental proficiency of rock musicians improved in the 1960s and early 1970s, onstage jamming—free improvisation—also became a regular feature of rock music; bands such as Pink Floyd , Cream , The Rolling Stones , the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Deep Purple , The Who ,

768-420: The most celebrated of these performances, which survives in versions recorded by both bands. Although the narrative of a rivalry during these recordings is frequently discussed in scholarship, Armstrong and Bechet do have moments of friendly collaboration, such as the shared break in "Texas Moaner Blues." King Oliver played cornet on a number of Williams's late 1920s recordings. He was the recording director for

800-404: The most important early jazz soloists, in their only recordings together before the 1940s. Clarence Williams' Blue Five, a studio band only, formed after the success of King Oliver's recordings in order to explore the market for blues-oriented music. The rivalry between Armstrong and Bechet, who tried to outdo each other with successive solo breaks, is exemplified in "Cake Walkin' Babies from Home",

832-591: The musicians would say he was "jammin' the beat," since he would clap on the one and the three. Thus these sessions became known as "jam sessions." Mezz Mezzrow also gives this more detailed and self-referential description, based on his experience at the jazz speakeasy known as the Three Deuces: I think the term 'jam session' originated right in that cellar. Long before that, of course, the colored boys used to get together and play for kicks, but those were mostly private sessions, strictly for professional musicians, and

864-507: The players in an open jam will expect a certain level of proficiency from participants. The abilities to hear chord progressions and keep time are essential, and the ability to play improvised leads that contain at least a suggestion of the melody is desirable. Jams that require advanced musical proficiency are generally private events, by invitation only. Members of the Soulquarians , an alternative-minded black music collective active from

896-468: The short-lived QRS Records label in 1928. Most of his recordings were songs from his publishing house, which explains why he recorded tunes like " Baby Won't You Please Come Home ", "Close Fit Blues" and "Papa De-Da-Da" numerous times. Among his own compositions was "Shout, Sister, Shout" (1929), which was recorded by him, and also covered by the Boswell Sisters , in 1931. In 1933, he signed to

928-446: The stage to sophisticated improvised recording sessions by professionals which are intended to be broadcast live on radio or TV or edited and released to the public. One source for the phrase "jam session" came about in the 1920s when white and black musicians would congregate after their regular paying gigs to play the jazz they could not play in the " Paul Whiteman " style bands they played in. When Bing Crosby attended these sessions,

960-415: Was a jam." According to music journalist Michael Gonzales, their sessions were marked by an experimentation with "dirty soul, muddy water blues, Black Ark dub science, mix-master madness, screeching guitars, old school hip-hop, gutbucket romanticism, inspired lyricism, African chats and aesthetics, pimpin' politics, strange Moogs , Kraftwerk synths and spacey noise." The musical approach also influenced

992-535: Was an American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer , and publisher. Williams was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana , to Dennis, a bassist, and Sally Williams, and ran away from home at age 12 to join Billy Kersands ' Traveling Minstrel Show , then moved to New Orleans . At first, Williams worked shining shoes and doing odd jobs, but soon became known as a singer and master of ceremonies. By

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1024-538: Was interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale on Long Island . On her death in 1977, his wife, Eva Taylor, was interred next to him. Clarence Williams' grandson was actor Clarence Williams III . Clarence Williams' name appears as composer or co-composer on numerous tunes, including a number which by Williams' own admission were written by others but which Williams bought all rights to outright, as

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