News

On January 27, 2007 John performed with the legendary saxophonist, Ernie Watts art the Germantown Performing Arts Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Two-time Grammy Award winner, Ernie is one of the "most versatile and prolific saxophone players on the music scene. In a diverse career that has spanned more than thirty years, he has been featured on more than 500 recordings by artists ranging from Cannonball Adderley to Frank Zappa, always exhibiting his unforgettable trademark sound". He has also performed with Mulgrew Miller, Eddie Gomez, Aretha Franklin, Gerald Wilson, Steely Dan and Gerald Wilson.

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Walter "Maynard" Ferguson, one of the most influential musicians and band leaders in the history of Jazz, passed away August 23rd at 8:00 pm Pacific Time at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California. He was 78 years old.

Maynard Ferguson started his career at the age of 13 when he performed as a featured soloist with the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra. He played with some of the great Big Band Leaders of the 1940's including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Barnett, Jimmy Dorsey and Stan Kenton. In 1945, at age 17, Ferguson became the leader of his own Big Band. The 78-year old musical phenomenon went on to record more than 60 albums, receiving numerous honors and awards including the GRAMMY® nomination for "Gonna Fly Now." In 2005, Ferguson was awarded Canada's highest civilian honor, the "Order of Canada" from the Right Honorable Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. In addition to those accolades, Ferguson has been the recipient of DownBeat Magazine's prestigious "DownBeat" Award.

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Our prayers are with Dr. John Maupin and family in the loss of his son Virgil.  Both frequented F. Scott's in Green Hills to hear "Birdsong" perform. Dr. Maupin has recently accepted a position as President of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Our thoughts and prayers are with Geary Moore (jazz guitarist) in the recent death of his mother.  His previous performance with "Birdsong" was cancelled but another date will be scheduled in the near future. When he is rescheduled, please come to F. Scott's to show him your love and support. .

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The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's major new exhibit pays tribute to lengendary Ray Charles beginning on March 10, 2006 entitled "I Can't Stop Loving You: Ray Charles and Country Music. This exhibit replaces "Nightrain to Nashville" and will be presented for two years. More details are available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.

On March 11, 2006 Hank Crawford, long time music director and alto saxophonist will be featured as he presents a musical tribute to Ray Charles and his music. " With an unmistakable blues wail, full of emotion and poignancy, altoist Hank Crawford bridges the gap between that tradition and that of jazz more completely than any other living horn player."

He will be accompanied by Richard Johnson on piano (www.doronjazz.com), Marcus Finnie on drums and John Birdsong on string bass.

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John Birdsong was recently awarded a plaque signed by Governor Bredesen in recognition and appreciation of 35 years of loyal and outstanding service as an employee of the State of Tennessee.

His immediate plans are to continue working for the State as well as enjoying his passion for music.

Who says he can't continue to do both?

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On Saturday, December 17, 2005, John Birdsong perfomed with Frank Morgan in Memphis, Tennessee. Frank is a jazz alto saxophonist who is considered one of the living masters of bebop and ballads. Fully recovered from his 1998 stroke, Frank is playing better than ever and getting great reviews from critics and recent presenters alike. His recovery has added a new chapter to a personal history of overcoming adversity, following his mid-80's comeback from three decades of drug addiction and prison, which resulted in mainstream media attention rare for a jazz musician (including a Jane Pauley primetime special) and remains uniquely compelling today. Frank's first appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz aired last fall, and his first CD since 1997,  CITY NIGHTS   (recorded live over Thanksgiving weekend 2003 at the Jazz Standard in NYC for High Note) spent seven weeks in the Top Ten on the JazzWeek radio charts. Look for volume two of that live session, Raising the Standard, which  was released this summer.

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The Nashville community mourns the recent death our friend, Walter Duncan who supported performers of all gentres of music throughout  the Nashville community.

His positive spirit and humorous personality will be sincerely missed. Our prayers are extended to his family during their time of loss and bereavement.

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On Friday, August 26 from 7 - 11 p.m. "Birdsong" celebrated 10 years of performing at F. Scott's Restaurant and Jazz Bar. The featured guest for the evening was Clifford Adams, trombonist/vocalist for Kool and the Gang.

His first road tour occurred in 1970 with veteran vocalist Patti Labelle and the Bluebells. During 1973, he toured with the pop group the Stylistics. He made subsequent tours with jazz artists Lou Donaldson, Johnny Hammond Smith and Groove Holmes. He moved to New York in 1974 where he performed with Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Billy Taylor, Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean, Clark Terry, etc. In 1976, he performed with the Ellington Orchestra, which featured vocalists Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams and Sarah Vaughn. He also had the opportunity to perform with Lionel Hampton during that year and with the Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Orchestra, featuring Nancy Wilson, at Carnegie Hall. He began playing with the pop group Kool & the Gang in 1977 and the association continues to the present time.

While he enjoys his performance with the Gang, his true love is jazz and he performs whenever his schedule will permit. At F. Scott's, he will be joined by Michael Alvey on piano, Rick Reed on drums and John Birdsong on string bass.

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Great jazz bassist, Keter Betts died on August 6 at his home in Silver Springs, Maryland.  He performed for Ella Fitzgerald in the mid-1960's and again from 1971 to 1993. He has also performed with Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson, Tommy Flanagan, Woody Herman, Nat Adderly and Clifford Brown. Keter was instrumental with launching the bosa nova craze in America in the 1960s.

John was fortunate to take string bass lessons from Keter a few years ago in Washington, D. C.

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On August 12 "Birdsong" celebrated 10 years of performing at F. Scott's.

Our featured guest was Russell Hospedales (jazz vocalist) from Los Angeles, California. Russell began his professional vocal career with Birdsong several years ago and currently performs internationally. His performances are in the traditional style of Mel Torme, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra singing standard tunes such as "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", "Fly Me To The Moon", "It Had To Be You" and "Old Devil Moon".  Joining him was Rick Jackson on piano, Marcus Finnie on drums and John Birdsong on string bass.

We appreciate your continued  support of John Birdsong and his desire to share his passion for music with friends.

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Kirk Whalum (international jazz saxophonist) recently joined Donald Brown (pianist) ,  Renaldo Ward  (drummer - Memphis) and John Birdsong at F. Scott's.  It was truly a night to remember!

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Congratulations to Jim White, jazz drummer, who has recently completed his Master of Arts degree (M.A.) in Jazz Studies from Middle Tennessee State University.  He has also accepted a "tenure-tracked" position at the University of Colorado under the directorship of Dana Landry, jazz pianist. We're extremely proud of his accomplishments!

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Ernest Vantrease, (jazz, blues, gospel and contemporary keyboardist) has accepted an offer to join the B.B. King Blues Band. Ernest previously performed with Ray Charles for over 30 years until his recent death.  Congratulations are extended to our long time friend!

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John Birdsong (jazz bassist) and Marcus Finnie (drummer) accompanied internationally known jazz vocalist, Deborah Brown to Tel Aviv, Israel on April 24, 2005 to perform a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Richard Johnson, frequent pianist for Wynton Marsalis and Clark Terry joined them during the performance.  Photos will be added to the gallery in the near future.

Check out Deborah's website at www.deborahbrownjazz.com

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John performed with Sonny Fortune, internationally acclaimed jazz saxophonist  in Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday, May 14 at Cafe Soul to "sold-out" performances.

"The great alto saxophonist, flutist and composer is also a riveting improviser who can play inside or out with a logic and passion that never loses the listener, as evidenced on his current CD, Continuum."

Sonny has recorded with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Elvin Jones, George Benson, Nat Adderly and McCoy Tyner.

Check out his website at www.sonnyfortune.com

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Marcus (Stix) Finnie, frequent drummer for "Birdsong", is congratulated for his performance with Smokie Norful on the Grammy award winning "Best Urban Gospel" tune, "Nothing Without You". Stix is currently performng with Donna Summers, Larry Carlton and Billy Preston.

We're extremely proud of Marcus for these accomplishments!

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On February 26, 2005, the TSU Jazz Collegiates honored Hank Crawford and Dr. Andrew Goodrich (legenday jazz saxophonists) at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Ernest Vantrease (piano), Rick Reed (drums) and John Birdsong (string bass) performed with Hank Crawford and Dr. Andrew Goodrich during the event.

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Donald Brown (pianist/composer) has performed with Birdsong at F. Scott's on several occasions over the past year. Donald was the former music director for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and was an influential instructor at Berkley.

Three of his recent CD's have been reviewed in the December 2004 issue of the Downbeat Magazine.

The reviews are as follows:

                    Continuum (Act One)  (four stars)

                    ".....Brown stamps his own tonal personality on a group of      

                     compositions and arrangements by members of the

                     collectively billed Continuum".

                    Donald Brown (Autumn in New York)  (three stars)

                    "...Brown references Tommy Flanagan, Ahmad Jamal, MCoy

                     Tyner and others, always sustaining a line that  reflects his

                     point of view".

                    Donald Brown and the Bush Messengers                  

                    At This Point in My Life   (four stars)

                   " Danceable grooves, compelling melodies and  multithematic

                     naratives infuse the seven Brown originals."

We look forward to Donald performing with Birdsong again in the Spring 2005.

Check out his website at www.donaldbrown.com

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