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)
Grover Washington was a popular American jazz saxophonist, with a style reflecting soul-jazz and jazz funk, as well as a songwriter, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Buffalo, New York, on December 12, 1943, to Grover Washington Sr., a tenor saxophonist, and Lillian Washington, … Read MoreGrover Washington (1943-1999)
Composer/ Improvisational Jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was born on October 13, 1940, in Little Rock, Arkansas, as Farrell Sanders. An only child, Sanders’ mother worked as a cook in a school cafeteria, and his father worked for the City of Little Rock. They, too, were … Read MorePharoah Sanders (1940- )
The musical moment in jazz fusion in the United States was 1954 when pianist Joseph Leslie Sample, born on February 1, 1939, began with tenor saxophonist Wilton Lewis Felder, born on August 31, 1940, and percussionist Nesbert “Stix” Hooper, born August 15, 1938, came together … Read MoreThe Crusaders (1954-2010)
Virtuoso technician Classical, jazz, composer Nestor Miguel Torres was born on April 25, 1957, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to Nestor Torres Sr., pianist and vibraphone, and Ana E. Salcedo Baldovino-Torres. His first percussion and piano teacher was his father. However, Torres, skipping two grades, began … Read MoreNestor Torres (1957- )
Billy Taylor was an African American jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, educator, and broadcaster. Born in Greenville, North Carolina on July 24, 1921, Taylor was one of two children of William, Sr., a dentist and Antoinette, a schoolteacher. When Taylor was young his family moved … Read MoreBilly Taylor (William Edward Taylor, Jr.) (1921-2010)
Eubie Blake was born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 7, 1883. He died one hundred years later on February 12, 1983, having become one of the most important figures in early 20th-century African American music and a major contributor to ragtime and … Read MoreEubie Blake (1883-1983)
John William Coltrane emerged as one of the most innovative and influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. Born in Hamlet, North Carolina on September 23, 1926, the son of John Robert and Alice Blair Coltrane, he grew up in High Point, North Carolina where … Read MoreJohn William Coltrane (1926-1967)
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington is one of the greatest jazz composers, performers, and bandleaders in American history. His compositions, and the travels of his band, exposed the world to jazz and earned him the nickname, “The Ambassador of Jazz.” Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in … Read MoreEdward “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974)
