The Pazant Brothers

Led by the world-renown musical tandem Edward and Alvin Pazant, the Pazant Brothers Orchestra is comprised of veterans who bring hundreds of years of combined experience to the stage, culled from playing with the likes of heavyweights such as Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Art Blakey. Ed and Al Pazant’s musical heritage runs long and deep. Growing up in the musically rich southern town of Beaufort, South Carolina, the brothers were immersed from a very young age. “Our grandparents played everything—drums, horns, piano--our father had a quartet and my mother played the most soulful ballads you could imagine,” Ed recounts. One of his earliest childhood memories is trying to stand on his tip-toes to “look over the top of the piano keys.” A few years older than Al, Ed first learned the piano, but was quickly drawn to the power of the horns. “See, every year the local Marine marching band would play for the parades, and all those shiny horns got me hooked.” By the age of ten he had mastered the clarinet, then moved onto sax, flute and oboe, along the way leading his own band, The Harlem Knights. Alvin likewise was stimulated by all of the musical activity around him, both within the family and out on the streets. “See, you’d hear brass bands, military bands, jazz groups, rock n’ roll outfits, blues singers everywhere.” Al remembers. But it was hearing Louis Armstrong on wax that really pushed him to make the trumpet his instrument of choice. “It was a done deal after that,” he says. The brothers would go onto study music at university. Ed became a “woodwind specialist” and got his lucky break when none other than Lionel Hampton took notice of Ed’s skills and hired him for his orchestra, a gig that would last fourteen years. “That was when the real education started. My first show for Hamp was with Billie Holiday in Central Park of all places.” Ed says. Al also joined the Hampton school of swing upon finishing college, reuniting with his brother. This was the beginning of many years of professional collaboration for the two siblings, who formed their own band, The Pazant Brothers in 1964. The band began playing at the legendary Small’s Paradise, and immediately became a hit around New York City, particularly Harlem, where there was a plethora of clubs and musicians. “Competition was always tight, so you had to be at the top of your game, constantly,” Al recalls. The Pazant brothers became known for their versatility and their ability to swing. In 1966, the duo was hired by Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers to record Pucho’s debut on Prestige records. This relationship has carried through on a dozen classic albums and lasts until this very day. “The Pazants can do it all,” Pucho says, “the big band swing, the funk bag, the latin bag, you name it.” The list of notable artists that either one or both of the Pazants have recorded and/or performed with over the last forty years is a lengthy one, including Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster, Illinois Jacquet, Dizzy Gillespie, Pucho, Bernard Purdie, Sonny Phillips, Phil Upchurch, Kool & the Gang, James Brown, the Dells, the Manhattans, Country Joe & the Fish, the Doors, Roberta Flack, Melba Moore, Jo Thompson, Della Reese, Mighty Sparrow, Reuben Wilson, Melvin Sparks, Eddie Floyd, Eartha Kitt, Sun Ra, George Gee, the Boston Pops Symphony, the New Orleans Symphony and, of course, the Cotton Club All-stars, which the Pazant brothers have led since 1978. In addition, they have recorded under their own name since the late ‘60s, for labels such as Priscilla, De-Lite, Vanguard, Lexington, and Ace records, and have dazzled audiences across the world, from Spain to Japan, Italy to France, Nigeria to England. Moreover, they’ve played for three U.S. presidents, Gerald Ford, George Bush, Sr. and Bill Clinton. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.