Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen: nacido en 1946. El internacionalmente célebre contrabajo Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen recibió, en 1991, el premio musical del Consejo Nórdico, siendo la primera vez que un instrumentista recibe este premio de composición. Ørsted Pedersen, que probablemente es el instrumentista danés más solicitado en el extranjero, ha realizado giras y grabado discos con los más grandes solistas de jazz, y posee, además, una habilidad especial para interpretar las canciones y aires populares daneses, tal como lo ha demostrado en su colaboración con el pianista Kenny Drew. La talla internacional de Ørsted Pedersen se manifestó muy pronto: a los 16 años recibió una oferta de Count Basie y grabó un disco con el pianista Bud Powell. A partir de los años setenta, durante largos períodos de tiempo, ha sido el contrabajo titular de la orquesta de Oscar Peterson. Además, ha formado parte en muchas ocasiones de un trío, ya sea al lado del trompetista Palle Mikkelborg y del pianista de teclados Kenneth Knudsen, ya dirigiendo su propio trío, por lo general, con un guitarrista y un batería.

Erik Wiedemann
Nordfoto

Philip Catherine: Londres (1942) Catherine es un guitarrista eléctrico del nivel de Bill Frisell o John Scofield, por nombrar a dos míticos del Jazz. La única diferencia es que proviene de Europa y no del ámbito norteamericano, lo que en cierta medida le confiere un atractivo especial. Su pasión por la guitarra empezó cuando, siendo un adolescente, descubre al gran Django Reinhardt(1910-1953), gitano nacido en Bélgica, y que es ,quizás, el guitarrista más influyente de todos los tiempos en la historia del jazz.

Su comienzo como músico profesional fue a fines de los años 60,cuando realizó su primera gira europea como guitarrista de la banda de Lou Bennett; mientras que su debut discográfico fue con el violinista francés Jean-Luc Ponty, en 1971. Sin embargo, el nombre de Philip Catherine comenzó a conocerse por el gran público gracias a sus discos de dúo de guitarras acústicas con Larry Coryell, a fines de los 70, donde fusionaban jazz, blues y rock de manera muy particular.

Tras este período en el que hasta el público rockero escuchaba sus discos, Catherine volvió a su senda jazzista, tocando junto a figuras de la talla del contrabajista Charlie Mingus, el violinista francés Stephane Grappelli, su compatriota el armoniquista Toots Thielemans o el malogrado Chet Baker, a quien acompañó en los últimos años de su vida.

Precisamente, al repasar su extensa discografía encontramos que tiene en su haber igual cantidad de discos junto a Coryell que junto a Baker: media docena con cada uno. Por su parte, ha editado 16 fonogramas como solista o con grupos propios. El primero, September Man(1974) y el más reciente Blue Prince(2000), grabado en París con Bert Joris en trompeta, Hein Van de Geynen contrabajo y Hans van Oosterhouten batería; un álbum que no tiene un solo tema flojo y cuyo sonido general es excelente.

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Alvin Queen: was born on August 16th, 1950, in the Bronx (New York). The music that was part of his daily environment was rich and varied. There was Gospel every Sunday at his grandmother's church where she sang and played the tambourine. Rhythm'n'blues came early into Alvin's life thanks to his parents love for Ruth Brown, who offered to very young Alvin Queen his first professional gig.
And of course there were always shows at the Apollo where he saw The John Coltrane Quartet for the first time.

Alvin was attracted by the drums at a very early age. Too poor to pay for lessons, his mother accepted an offer from the director of the local drum school, Andy Lalino, who had noticed that the young Alvin was gifted and offered to give him lessons in exchange for running a few odd jobs.
Alvin wasn't ready to give up his shoe shine gig just yet though.
He stayed in touch with most of that era's musicians by working in front of the clubs shining shoes for guys like Art Blakey, Ben Webster and Thelonious Monk.

And he got a lot of support from people along the way, like Elvin Jones, who let him sit in with John Coltrane back in 1962. The word spreads quickly among musicians, so Alvin's talent didn't remain a secret for very long. Ruth Brown was already calling on him in 1966, and after that there were Don Pullen and Horace Silver.

He did a one year stint with George Benson that included appearances on "The Johnny Carson Show". Following George, there was a long collaboration with Charles Tolliver, who offered him his first European tour in 1971.

During this period, Alvin was becoming more and more in demand by all  kinds of musicians.
There were people like the revolutionary Pharoah Sanders along with the giants of jazz like Milt Jackson, Wild Bill Davis, Leon Thomas, Mercer Ellington, Art Farmer, Jimmy Garrison, Al Grey, Kenny Drew, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, George Braith, Arnett Cobb, Al Cohn, Dolo Cocker, Bob Cunningham, Dorothy Donegan, Buddy de Franco, Eddie Gomez, Plas Johnson, Jack Lesberg, Joe Newman, Horace Parlan, Red Richards, Jay McShann, Carrie Smith, Buddy Tate, Mickey Tucker, Randy Weston, Joe Lee Wilson, Jimmy Woode, Niels Henning Osted Pederson, Reggie Workman, Dizzy Gillespie, Warren Vache, Terence Blanchard, Manny Boyd and Robin Eubanks.
Then there was the "soul" organist, John Patton, followed by Lonnie Smith, Larry Young, Freddy Roach and even the legendary gospel groups including Five Blind Boys From Alabama, Swan Silver Tones, Stars of Faith, Shirley Caesar and James Cleveland. Seeking a haven from the commercial pressures put on jazz musicians in America, Alvin decided to move to Geneva in 1979.

Since then he has created his own label (Nilva Records) and recorded many famous artists including Junior Mance, Sal Nistico, John Collins, John Hicks and Ray Drummond, but he remains constantly on the lookout for new talents.

In addition to contributing to the Swiss music scene, Alvin Queen has continued to be very busy with his international tours. His vast experience makes him one of the most requested drummers by all kinds of soloists like Swing Era veterans Doc Cheatham, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Clark Terry.
He's also worked with West Coast legendary figures Al Cohn and Zoot Sims as well as young lions with a promising career like Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Nicolas Payton, Christian McBride and Kevin Mahagony. Alvin remains popular with lots of saxophone players including Guy Lafitte, Bennie Wallace, Branford Marsalis, Jessie Davis, David Sanchez, Lou Tabackin, Bill Saxton, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Dexter Gordon and George Coleman, who might remember this young man's first steps with John Coltrane at the age of.... twelve.

Más datos y Biografía aquí.