Orchestral pianist, violinist, conductor, composer, and arranger of the Swing to Bebop eras, Teddy Wilson was born Theodore Shaw Wilson on November 24, 1912, in Austin, Texas. He and his brother Gus Wilson, however, were reared on the campus of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), … Read MoreTeddy Wilson (1912-1986)
Woodrow Wilson “Buddy” Johnson was a popular bandleader and recording artist in the 1940s and 1950s whose compositions and arrangements made him an important figure in the transition from the big band sound to Rhythm & Blues. His many hit records earned his band a … Read MoreBuddy Johnson (1915-1977)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. Kirk was born Ronald Theodore Kirk in Columbus, Ohio, on August 7, 1935. He grew up in a neighborhood in Columbus called Flytown. Kirk was born with sight … Read MoreRahsaan Roland Kirk (1935-1977)
Desmond Power, a third-generation British subject born in Tientsin (now Tianjin), China in 1923, was incarcerated along with 1,500 other foreign nationals in 1943 in Weihsien, a Japanese Prisoner of War camp in North China during World War II. In the article below, Power recalls … Read MoreJazz in Occupied China: Black Jazzmen at the Japanese Prison Camp in Weihsien, China during World War II
Earl “Fatha” Hines was one of the most influential Jazz pianists during the twentieth century. His “trumpet style” piano playing has influenced jazz pianists since the 1920s. Hines’s career as a musician and bandleader spanned from the 1920s to his death in 1983. Earl Kenneth … Read MoreEarl “Fatha” Hines (1903-1983)
Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. His virtuosic ability with the trumpet, his distinctive gravelly low vocal style, his bright personality, and his band leadership abilities helped … Read MoreLouis Armstrong (1901-1971)
George Morrison dreamed of playing violin with a major orchestra. As things stood for black musicians in the early twentieth century, that dream would remain unrealized. Born in Fayette, Missouri, on September 9, 1891, Morrison came from a musical family and at an early age … Read MoreGeorge Morrison (1891-1974)
