Jazz musicians with the same names

[Larry Kart]

21 hours ago, JSngry said:

Which one was John Towner? 

Westcoast based, kinda bland. The NE JW was akin to Horace Silver and a gas. A Getz sideman.

[Teasing the Korean]

10 minutes ago, Larry Kart said:

Westcoast based, kinda bland.

I love John Williams' 1950s session work, in particular:

• Stanley Wilson - M Squad (RCA)
• Henry Mancini - Peter Gunn, Combo! (RCA)
• Robert Drasnin - Voodoo (Tops)
• Les Baxter - Jungle Jazz (Capitol)

Of course, playing music written by such fantastic arrangers often brings out the best in musicians.

 

[medjuck]

2 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Westcoast based, kinda bland. The NE JW was akin to Horace Silver and a gas. A Getz sideman.

Well if that's the one who became the film composer Benny Carter liked him. 

[Larry Kart]

The NE JW was a jazz pianist per see and a damn good one; I believe that he

and Horace Silver crossed paths in NE their formative years. John Towner Williams is the film composer.

 

 

 Horace silver   v   good one who came a film combo;we  the WC JW was nst pe      v v 

 

• 
• Moderator
• 
• •  13.2k
• Location:Highland Park, Il.

Posted just now · IP 

The NE JW was a jazz pianist per see and a damn good one; I believe that he

and Horace Silver crossed paths in NE their formative years. John Towner Williams is the film composer.

[optatio]

 Steve Davis (tb), Steve Davis aka Luquman Abdul Syeed (b), Steve Davis – USA (dr) and Steve Davis – GB (dr)

[AllenLowe]

Allen Lowe and Ellen Rowe (pianist)

Bill Evans Gil Evans and Mal Evans

[Niko]

George Brown and George Brown, drummers

Joe Thomas, Joe Thomas and Joe Thomas, saxophonists

[Teasing the Korean]

40 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

Allen Lowe and Ellen Rowe (pianist)

Allen Lowe

Allen Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe

[sgcim]

22 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

When I was living in Beantown and getting serious again about jazz, many years after my horrible university jazz experience, I got on Charlie Banacos's waiting list, which was around 2 to 3 years at that point. 

But I wanted to start studying with someone while I was waiting.

I was told that George Russell, Jr. at NEC was taking students.  I thought, "Wow!  I can study the Lydian Chromatic Concept with George Russell's son!"  But it turned out that he was not the son of THE George Russell.

What are the odds?  You have the same name, play piano, and teach at NEC!  

Anyway, I never studied with him.  Now I'm beginning to worry that maybe I was studying with the wrong Charlie Banacos also! 🤪

There was a George Russell jazz guitarist, too.

There was Bill Smith the clarinetist/composer and Bill Smith the jazz guitarist.

There was George Handy the great arr/composer/pianist and and the bunch of Handys already mentioned.

There were two alto sax players Vinny Dean and Chasey Dean

There was Eddie Costa and Don Costa and Johnny Costa

I used to work with Rudy Williams (cousin of Mingus) and there was the Savoy Sultans Rudy Williams, who the first Rudy Willams claimed he was, both alto sax players.

Everyone still thinks Dick Garcia was really a pseudonym for Hank Garland when he recorded in NY. It wasn't.

There was Joe Carbone (sax) John Carbone (Bass) and Joe Carbone (guitar)

 

 

[sgcim]

What was the story about Red Norvo wanting to get Red Mitchell in his band and mistakenly winding up with Red Callendar? Then there was Whitey Mitchell to further confuse things.

Then there was the time I played a concert at a school on LI, and I asked a teacher what his name was, and he said "Lee Konitz". He was a bass player!

Then there was a band that called themselves "Alexanders the Great" with Ray Alexander vibes and drums and Mousie Alexander Drums

[HutchFan]

Steve Smith (US drummer) and Steve Smith (Canadian bassist)

 

[sgcim]

Then there's the great keyboard player Dave Stewart who played with all the different Canterbury bands, and Dave Stewart , the pianist for the Eurythmics.

There were two Black musicians (three counting Rudy Williams who lied about being the Savoy Sultans Rudy Williams) who I'm not sure who the hell they were. I recorded an album with a pianist named Al "Jabaz" Williams, who used to work for Motown, and then the jazz pianist Al Williams.

Then I  played in the Ray Abrams big band, and I still don't know if he was the more well known Ray Abrams. Bernard Purdie was the drummer. Maybe someday I'll find out who was who...LOL!

Edited February 9 by sgcim

[JSngry]

The real Ray Abrams had a distinctively shaped head. 

[sgcim]

2 minutes ago, JSngry said:

The real Ray Abrams had a distinctively shaped head. 

I just did a search on it, and I did play in the Ray Abrams Big Band. What confused me is after RA died in 1998, they kept it going under the same name. I played with them in the 1980s. It's now a band that celebrates brooklyn jazz musicians.

[medjuck]

3 hours ago, sgcim said:

There was a George Russell jazz guitarist, too.

There was Bill Smith the clarinetist/composer and Bill Smith the jazz guitarist.

There was George Handy the great arr/composer/pianist and and the bunch of Handys already mentioned.

There were two alto sax players Vinny Dean and Chasey Dean

There was Eddie Costa and Don Costa and Johnny Costa

I used to work with Rudy Williams (cousin of Mingus) and there was the Savoy Sultans Rudy Williams, who the first Rudy Willams claimed he was, both alto sax players.

Everyone still thinks Dick Garcia was really a pseudonym for Hank Garland when he recorded in NY. It wasn't.

There was Joe Carbone (sax) John Carbone (Bass) and Joe Carbone (guitar)

 

 

Bill Smith, editor of Coda, played Alto sax.

[Chuck Nessa]

29 minutes ago, medjuck said:

Bill Smith, editor of Coda, played Alto sax.

and soprano.

[Big Beat Steve]

10 hours ago, sgcim said:

What was the story about Red Norvo wanting to get Red Mitchell in his band and mistakenly winding up with Red Callendar? Then there was Whitey Mitchell to further confuse things.

 

As far as I recall (reading about it) this mixup was between Red Mitchell and Red Kelly.

[Rabshakeh]

On 2/8/2024 at 1:41 PM, EKE BBB said:

Stride pianist Joe Turner and blues shouter Big Joe Turner, often mistook in web pages and even discographies.

 

 

On 2/8/2024 at 4:13 PM, HutchFan said:

This is also true of Etta Jones and Etta James.  Despite having different last names, they often get mixed up.

 

Also Kenny Clarke and Kenny Clare, not helped by the fact that they both played drums on MPS records at the same point in time.

[Niko]

Kenny Clarke, born Thomas Spearman is a great example for this thread... Also, all those Austrian Free Jazz players like Muhammad Malli from the Masters of Unorthodox Jazz

 

Edit: sorry, meant the other stage names thread

Edited April 11 by Niko

[Rabshakeh]

Wild Bill Davis the organist and Wild Bill Davison the trumpeter is another near miss example. 

[Pim]

I’ve been mixing up Lonnie Smith and Lonnie Liston Smith for years. There even has been atime I thought they were the same person.

also Avishai Cohen the bassist and Avishai Cohen the trumpeter.

[Rabshakeh]

42 minutes ago, Pim said:

I’ve been mixing up Lonnie Smith and Lonnie Liston Smith for years. There even has been atime I thought they were the same person.

also Avishai Cohen the bassist and Avishai Cohen the trumpeter.

I've been knocked by both of these. 

I like Non-Liston Lonnie's approach of adding "Dr." to his name. 

19 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Also Kenny Clarke and Kenny Clare, not helped by the fact that they both played drums on MPS records at the same point in time.

I said this at the start of the thread. Losing it.

[Rabshakeh]

Another one:

Steve Reid, the Loft era free jazz drummer, and Steve Reid, the 1980s commercial jazz drummer who was in mall jazz legends The Rippingtons.

Wikipedia gets them confused. I highly doubt that the first Steve Reid played with David Koz.

Edited 12 hours ago by Rabshakeh

[jazztrain]

Bennie Moten (band leader) and Benny Moten (bass)

Henry “Red” Allen and Harley “Red” Allen

[jazzbo]

Bennie Green and Benny Green