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| Sonny Dallas Memorial Concert A Memorial Concert for jazz bassist Sonny Dallas is scheduled for Monday September 17, 2007 at St. Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Street, New York City. Organized by New York area saxophonists Richard Tabnik and Bob Keller, the concert willfeature remembrances and performances by some of Sonny's close friends from over the years. Schedules for some performers remain to be finalized but several musicians associated with jazz pianist Lennie Tristano will be present including saxophonist Jimmy Halperin and pianist Connie Crothers. The 'house rhythm section' will consist of bassist Ed Schuller and drummer RogerMancuso. Jazz bassist and singer Sonny Dallas, 76, has passed away on July 22 on Long Island after aseries of heart related illnesses. Born Francis Dominic Joseph Dallas in Rankin, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh, he launched his music career as a singer in local bands. This led to his interest in playing bass. He studied bass with Herman Clements, principal bassist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, who also taught jazz bassists Ray Brown and Paul Chambers. By the mid '50s, he began working with bandleaders Charlie Spivak, Ray Eberle, and Claude Thornhill. He relocated to New York in 1955, and began performing and recording with a long list of jazz greats such as guitarist Sal Salvador, clarinetist Tony Scott, trumpeters Chet Baker and Buck Clayton, guitarist Sal Salvador, saxophonists Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Phil woods, Gene Quill, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, drummer Elvin Jones, and pianists Mary Lou Williams, Bill Evans, George Wallington, and Lennie Tristano. He performed and recorded with Tristano for nine years and appeared with the Lennie Tristano Quintet on the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival All-Stars tour as well as appearing with the Quintet on the 1964 CBS Broadcast “Look Up and Live”. Then Sonny moved to Long Island where he lived in an apartment in Lennie Tristano's house in Hollis, NY. Sonny and Lennie would play informal sessions at home in 1964 and 1965. These sessions led to many gigs with Lennie's Quintet as well as Lennie's album “Note to Note”. Sonny also had a close friendship and performed with singer, Jackie Paris. A “Downbeat” article listed Sonny as one of the top ten greatest jazz bassists. He played on more than twenty critically acclaimed jazz recordings including “Motion”, “You and Lee”, with the Lee Konitz Trio, “Phil Talks With Quill” with the Phil Woods Qunitet as well as “Descent into the Maelstrom” and “Note to Note” with Lennie Tristano. He is included in “The Encyclopedia of Jazz” by Leonard Feather (1960, page 173). While living on Long Island, he earned a Master of Arts degree in music education at CW Post University and began a long teaching career at Suffolk County Community College and Dowling College. He taught music classes, led jazz ensembles, and taught countless private students over the last thirty-five years while continuing to perform on an occasional basis, primarily with Lee Konitz. He was featured in an interview with Rick Petrone broadcast on WYRS-FM in l981, and was honored with a lifetime achievement in jazz award in 2005. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |