Lindsey Horner Mighty Rain CD

Elgart's diverse musical talent emerged at an early age. By the time he was 17, he was on the roadplaying in the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman's first herd, Bobby Bryne, Jack Jenny, JoeMarsala, Charlie Spicak and Red Norvo. In 1952, Larry and his brother formed their own orchestraand with their first Columbia recording, 'Sophisticated Swing,' they were an overnight sensation. Theband began touring universities and ballrooms and soon became known as America's #1 CollegeProm Favorite.

The unique style of the band was then, as it is today, built around Larry's graceful sound and stylisticphrasing, known as the Elgart touch. He shapes the contours of an arrangement to fit his alto sax,making it his own distinctive interpretation. There is no mistaking Larry's musical stamp on whateverthe orchestra plays. Further addition to the orchestra's identity is the pianoless rhythm section, thenon-muted rich brass, emphasized by the bass trombone and the use of a percussionist augmentingthe drums.

In his first album for NPC Audioworks, the incandescent young saxophonist Kola Ogunkoya offers a euphonious smorgasbord of world musical favorites. The enchantingly mysterious sound of the wind instrument, saxophone, clears the way for dundun, the talking drum, which in turn opens the way for the rattling piano, congas, maracas, and omele, which eventually introduce the overpowering, but melodious, vocal of Kola Ogunkoya himself. Popularly known as Gbedumaster, Kola Ogunkoya is a multi-instrumentalist who has a solid background in Afro Jazz, Afro Pop, Afro Beat, and World Beat; with this album, he combines all the genres.

Born on August 20, 1967 in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, the son of an itinerant police officer, Kola developed an early interest in musical instruments by watching a police marching band play across the barracks. He attended Ima Blom-Blom Nursery & Primary School at Owerri. He was barely in primary four when his father was transferred to Lagos. At an early age Kola experienced some of the vices of our society like discrimination, nepotism, and ethnocentrism. Although both his parents are Yoruba from the Western part of Nigeria, Kola was born in Iboland - the Eastern Nigeria. So when it came the time to go to school in Lagos, his inability to communicate in Yoruba did him in. After wasting a whole year at home, Kola's father decided to take him and his other sibling to their hometown of Shagamu in Ogun State. Kola and his brother were admitted to St. Paul Primary School, Post Office Road in Shagamu, but they had to start from scratch due to no-nonsense academic stringencies in the West. However, a couple of years later, Kola went back to join his parents in Lagos where he attended Ojuwoye Primary School at the back of Olosan Police Barracks in Mushin.