Cal Collins Quartet

b. Calvin Collins, 5 Might 1933, Medora, Indiana, USA, d. 26 August 2001, Dillsboro, Indiana, USA. Collins was created and raised within an atmosphere of bluegrass and nation music. Although he previously taken up your guitar, he started hearing jazz piano players, especially Art Tatum, Body fat Waller, George Shearing and Nat ‘Ruler’ Cole. In the 50s he resolved in Cincinnati, Ohio, playing acoustic guitar in local night clubs where he occasionally accompanied going to jazzmen including Andy Simpkins and Harold Jones. It had been not before middle-70s that he attained wider identification when he became a member of Benny Goodman, an engagement that lasted nearly four years. This publicity resulted in a recording agreement with Carl Jefferson’s Concord Information where he was teamed with Warren Vaché Jnr. , Pal Tate, Al Cohn, Marshal Royal and Scott Hamilton. Collins was also documented by Helen Morr of Mopro Information, who allied him with John Von Ohlen and all of those other excellent house music group’s tempo section at Cincinnati’s Blue Wisp Membership. Through the 80s and early 90s Collins proved helpful frequently with all-star groupings, as a single and in addition as an accompanist to jazz-orientated performers, notably Rosemary Clooney, performed numerous club, university and celebration engagements over the USA and far away. Collins was also popular as a instructor and clinician. In 1991 he was an associate from the Woody Herman All Superstars led by Terry Gibbs on the tour of Germany and was highlighted at some concerts in California beneath the universal title, ‘Experts from the String Electric guitar’. Although he drew his early motivation from jazz pianists Collins was also inspired by nation music’s Merle Travis. His jazz electric guitar mentors had been Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian plus some of the last mentioned’s moving single-line artistry is normally echoed in Collins’ greatest work, particularly when he performed the blues. His curiosity about pianists resulted in his developing an unconventional design of playing where he utilized his still left thumb to make a walking bass series while playing elaborate patterns with all five fingertips of his correct hand.