Occupation – Composer
Christian Uzoma Onyeji (1967- )
Christian Uzoma Onyeji Sr., a composer, ethnomusicologist, and pianist, is deeply dedicated to promoting classical music drawn from Nigerian-based content...
King Curtis (1934-1971)
King Curtis, a famed saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and producer, was one of the most influential musicians of his generation. He...
Donny Hathaway (1945-1979)
Donny Hathaway—singer, pianist, producer, composer, and one of R&B’s strongest talents—was born Donny Edward Pitts on October 1, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois....
Dorothy Ashby (1932-1986)
Jazz harpist-composer Dorothy Ashby was born Dorothy Jeanne Thompson in Detroit, Michigan, on August 6, 1932, the daughter of self-taught guitarist Wiley Thompson....
Korla Pandit (1921-1998) (aka Redd, John Roland, aka Rolando, Juan)
Korla Pandit, the first African American to have his own television show, was a composer, organist, and pianist who starred...
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: For His Times and Ours
In the article below Hilary Burrage, Executive Chair of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation, a United Kingdom (UK)-based non-profit organisation, describes...
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela (1939-2018)
As one of the most popular and influential jazz musicians from Africa, Hugh Masekela’s life reflects the creative ways of...
José Mauricio Nunes Garcia (1767-1830)
José Mauricio Nunes Garcia (1767-1830) was an Afro-Brazilian composer and organist who was the grandson of slaves. Over 240 works...
William Grant Still (1895-1978)
Considered by many as the dean of African American composers, William Grant Still, the son of educators, was born in...
