Moe Koffman

Morris " Moe" Koffman ( born December 28, 1928 in Toronto, Ontario, † March 28, 2001 in Orangeville, Ontario) was a Canadian jazz musician ( flute, soprano, alto and tenor sax, clarinet).

Koffman attended the Toronto Conservatory of Music, but left the conservatory with no qualifications to play in dance bands. In 1950 he went to the United States, where he was active in the bands of Sonny Dunham and Jimmy Dorsey, but also in other big bands. In 1955 he returned to Toronto, where he founded his own combo. The first recording under his own name have been very successful; be "Swinging Shepherd Blues " reached number 28 in 1958 in the American singles chart and made it in America as a flutist similar known as Herbie Mann and Yusef Lateef.

Inspired by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Koffman played various instruments (eg alto and tenor saxophone) at the same time and also dealt early with the circular breathing. He worked not only on the jazz scene, but also in the studios where he was recognized as a bass flute.

In the 1970s, Koffman took several albums with arrangements of works by classical composers such as Bach, Mozart or Vivaldi, which was created in collaboration with Doug Riley. He also was a guest soloist with various symphony orchestras in Canada on tour, but was also regularly in George 's Spaghetti House in Toronto to hear the jazz program, he also organized. During the 1980s, he joined together with Dizzy Gillespie, and from 1991 with Peter Appleyard. In addition, he often played with the groups of Rob McConnell.

Koffman 1981 he received the William Harold Moon Award from PRO Canada; In 1991 he was awarded the Prize of the City of Toronto. He was honored with the Order of Canada in 1993. In 1993 and 1994 he was nominated as a flutist of the year in the Annual Jazz Report Awards.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Hot And Cool Sax ( 1957)
• The Shepherd Swings Again ( 1958)
• Tales Of Koffman (1962 )
• The Moe Koffman Quartet ( 1963)
• Moe Koffman Goes Electric ( 1967)
• The Four Seasons (1972 )
• Master Session (1973 )
• Things are looking up (1978 )
• Back to Bach ( 1979)
• Oop pop a Da with Dizzy Gillespie ( 1989) ( Universal)