Shafi Hadi
Shafi Hadi | |
---|---|
Birth name | Curtis Porter |
Born | September 21, 1929 |
Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Saxophones |
Associated acts | Charles Mingus, Hank Mobley |
Shafi Hadi (born Curtis Porter, 21 September 1929) is an American jazz tenor and alto saxophonist known for his recordings with Charles Mingus and with Hank Mobley.
Biography[]
Hadi was born Curtis Porter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2] At age 6, he received piano lessons from his grandmother.[2] Later, he studied musical composition at Howard University and University of Detroit.[2] Hadi performed with rhythm and blues artists such as Paul Williams, Ruth Brown, and the Griffin Brothers.[2]
Hadi recorded with bassist Charles Mingus between 1956 and 1958.[2] He also recorded with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley.[3] Hadi improvised the soundtrack music for John Cassavetes's film Shadows, then returned to Mingus's group in 1959.[2][4] He also collaborated with Mary Lou Williams on her 1977 composition "Shafi", although the extent of Hadi's contribution is unclear.[5][6]
During the 1950s, Hadi was also active in painting.[2]
Playing style[]
Brian Priestley describes Hadi's performance style as a "distinctive mixture of bop and blues, combined with a very individual tone."[5] Martin Williams, writing in 1958, described Hadi's playing as being "both contemporary and a reflection of an apprenticeship in rhythm and blues bands."[7]
Discography[]
As leader[]
- Debut Rarities, Vol. 3 (1957, Original Jazz Classics) – Shafi Hadi Sextet[1]
As sideman[]
With Langston Hughes
- Weary Blues (MGM, 1958)
With Charles Mingus
- The Clown (1957 ; Atlantic Records)
- Tijuana Moods (1957; (issued 1962) RCA Records)
- East Coasting (1957; Bethlehem Records)
- A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry (1957; Bethlehem)
- Mingus Ah Um (1959; Columbia Records)
- Tonight at Noon (1961; Atlantic)
With Hank Mobley:
- Hank Mobley (1957; Blue Note Records)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b arwulf, arwulf [sic]. "Debut Rarities, Vol. 3". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
Discographical indexes list the band under the name of the Shafi Hadi Sextet.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (1999). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford: Oxford UP. p. 283.[dead link][ISBN missing]
- ^ Wynn, Ron. "Shafi Hadi: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ Giddins, Gary (2004-09-20). "Shadows: Eternal Times Square". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Priestley, Brian (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides, Ltd. pp. 321–322. ISBN 1-84353-256-5. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Dutch Jazz Orchestra. "Mary Lou Williams - Dutch Jazz Orchestra CDs". Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Williams, Martin (1992) [1958]. "The Weary Blues and Other Poems Read by Langston Hughes". Jazz Changes. p. 196. ISBN 9780195359367. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
- 1929 births
- Living people
- Musicians from Philadelphia
- American jazz alto saxophonists
- American jazz tenor saxophonists
- American male saxophonists
- Bebop saxophonists
- 21st-century saxophonists
- Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
- 21st-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians