Pianist
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Berl Olswanger, dubbed "Mr. Music of Memphis" by the local press, grew up in Memphis in the 1920s and 1930s. He quickly developed an affinity for the piano and began playing professionally at the age of 12. After a stint on WMC radio in his twenties, he joined the tour of the George Olsen Orchestra, which led him across the country from New York to Hollywood as he accompanied legendary acts like Bing Crosby and Jack Benny.
With the start of the Second World War, Berl landed in the Navy. Admiral "Bull" Halsey immediately recognized the young pianist’s talent and placed him in charge of all music and entertainment for the South Pacific. After the War and Berl’s return to Memphis, impresario Ike Myers asked him to make no public appearances in order to prepare for a Middle Brow concert at Ellis Auditorium.
The concert was a sell-out. Mr. Myers gave Berl all the proceeds to go to New York where the William Morris Agency represented him for bookings. The Morris Agency said it would take several years to build up his name in order to be a drawing card at concerts and arranged for Berl to start by touring with Danny Kaye as his accompanist. After getting a good look at show business in New York, Berl decided that he loved Memphis more and left for home.
During the rest of his life he opened several music stores, influenced local music education, composed famous jingles, and wrote classic songs, including those he recorded at Pepper Records. From the 1940s until the 1980s in Memphis, if music was involved, Berl was there in some way. As the local press made clear, Berl could have been a big star, but he chose to live in Memphis with the family and friends he loved. Memphis, in turn, loved him. As a columnist for the Memphis Press-Scimitar wrote when Berl died in 1981: "His music will be missed, true, but what I will miss even more than his music will be Berl Olswanger, the man." The life of “Mr. Music of Memphis” was legendary on both a local and national scale.
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Berl Olswanger
Berl Olswanger and the Olswanger Beat -
Berl Olswanger
Berl Olswanger at Pepper Records -
Berl Olswanger
Berl Olswanger at the Piano
Composer
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Composer and double bass player Adriano Orrù was born in Nuoro, Italy in 1958 and currently lives in Cagliari, Italy. He devotes his time to jazz, radical improvisation, chamber music. He also works as a music teacher. In addition Meloni and Oxley, Orrù has collaborated with artists such as Giancarlo Schiaffini, Paolo Fresu, Ettore Fioravanti, Roberto Cipelli, Marco Tamburini, Tino Tracanna, Andy Gravish, Tim Hodkinson, Victor Nubla, Simon Balestrazzi, Mauro Cossu, Clara Murtas, Alessandro Garau, Stefano Figliola, Alessandro Olla, Paolo Angeli, Manuel Attanasio, Mauro Usai, Paolo Sanna, Roberto Pellegrini, Riccardo Pittau, and Massimo Carboni.
Together with the pianist Silvia Corda, he co-wrote a performance for six musicians and a spoken voice entitled Portrait in Three Colors, which was dedicated to Charles Mingus. Orrù currently appears with the Silvia Corda Trio, and several of his compositions can be heard on Impronte, a CD produced by Splasc(h) in 2001. In 2004, he established the composition and improvisation ensemble Impromptu featuring Giancarlo Schiaffini. In 2005, he released his first CD as a solo artist, Solos and Duets, featuring Giancarlo Schiaffini on trombone, Paolo Angeli on Sardinian prepared guitar, and Roberto Pellegrini on percussion. He has also worked with Moex, an ensemble focused on electric-acoustic experimentation. For more information, visit www.adrianoorru.com.
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Ensemble
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The Oscuro Quintet is an international group of 5 accomplished musicians of diverse disciplines pursuing their collective passion for tango and contemporary music.
As Philadelphia's first tango music ensemble, the quintet evokes the passion and the grace of tango from dance floors to concert halls with a mind toward both the music of the past and the vanguard of progression.
You can learn more about the Oscuro Quintet and see upcoming performances at oscuroquintet.com.
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Composer
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Tony Oxley was born in Sheffield, England. Oxley, a self-taught pianist by the age of eight, first began playing the drums at age seventeen. While in the Black Watch military band from 1957 to 1960 he studied music theory and improved upon his drumming technique. Oxley moved to London in 1966 and became house drummer at Ronnie Scott�s, where he accompanied visiting musicians including Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Charlie Mariano, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins and Bill Evans. In 1969 Oxley appeared on the John McLaughlin album Extrapolation. Later that year, he formed his owned quintet consisting of Derek Bailey, Jeff Clyne, Evan Parker and Kenny Wheeler, and released the album Baptized Traveller. Following this album the group was joined by Paul Rutherford on trombone and became a sextet, releasing the album 4 Compositions for Sextet in 1970. Through the 1980s he worked with various musicans, including Tony Coe and Didier Levallet, and formed his own Celebration Orchestra during the latter half of that decade. Oxley toured extensively with Anthony Braxton in 1989, and also began a long lasting working relationship with Cecil Taylor. Today, Oxley continues to perform and record music.
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