Moe Koffman Things Are Looking Up -1978- Jazz (vinyl)

Moe Koffman Things Are Looking Up -1978- Jazz (vinyl)

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Born inToronto, Koffman began his musical studies in his native city withGordon Delamont. He attended theToronto Conservatory of Music, now theRoyal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, where he was a student ofSamuel Dolinbut later dropped out of school to perform in dance bands. In 1950, he moved to the United States, where he played withbig bandsincluding those ofSonny DunhamandJimmy Dorsey. In 1955, he returned to Toronto where he formed a quartet and later a quintet. He recordedSwinging Shepherd Bluesin 1957 which helped establish his reputation as a flautist and ranked him alongsideHerbie MannandYusef Lateefand laterJeremy Steigas great influential jazz flute players. “Swinging Shepherd Blues” was a hit in the United States, reaching #23 on theBillboardpop chart.

Koffman was inspired byRahsaan Roland Kirkto play multiple instruments at once; and had a modified set of straps to hold a tenor and an alto saxophone so that he could put forward incredible chords and improvise at the same time. One of the more famous session musicians in Toronto, he appeared in countless commercials, background music, and film and TV soundtracks. Most work on bass flute in Canadian soundtracks from 1950 to 1990 in Toronto sessions was done by Koffman on this rare instrument. Koffman was also an exponent ofcircular breathingtechniques for his large volumes of sound, and joined fellow CanadianMaynard Fergusonand new age multi-instrumentalist musician Ron Allen in this talent.

During the 1970s, Koffman recorded several popular albums with arrangements of works by classical composers includingBach,MozartandVivaldi. He also was a guest performer with a number of symphony orchestras across Canada.

He performed withDizzy GillespieandPeter Appleyardduring the 1980s. He often performed withRob McConnell’sBoss Brass. From 1956 to 1990, Koffman booked performers forGeorge’s Spaghetti Housein Toronto, where he performed weekly. His compositions “Curried Soul” and “Koff Drops” have been used as the opening and closing themes respectively for theCBCradio showAs It Happensfor over 30 years, and are consequently probably his best-known recordings.

Koffman died of cancer inOrangeville, Ontarioin 2001 at the age of 72. He had been diagnosed withnon-Hodgkin’s lymphomaabout a year earlier. Some of his music forDuke Street Recordsremains unreleased; however Music for the Night was released and re-issued in 2007, and Devil’s Brew was re-issued in 2009.

He was appointed to theOrder of Canadain 1993 and inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2002, Moe Koffman was aMasterWorks honouree (video clip)by theAudio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.

Label:GRT 9230-1078Format:Vinyl, LP, AlbumCountry:CanadaReleased:1978Genre:Jazz
Sleeve Condition (Out of 10) ~ 10
Label Condition (Out of 10) ~ 10
Vinyl Condition ~ (Out of 10)
Side 1 -10
side 2 – 10
BIN # 15/ *67 / *151

Tracklist