By the time Mose John Allison, Jr. was in grade school, he was already composing boogie-woogie tunes on the piano. While still in his teens, Mose was sitting in with R&B bands—including one led by another teenage bluesman, B. B. King—on Memphis’s famed Beale Street. In 1956, Mose migrated to New York where the jazz […]
Read MoreBorn in 1901 in New Orleans, Louis Armstrong was an all-star virtuoso who came to prominence in the 1920s and would go on to influence countless musicians with his daring trumpet style and unique vocals. His “scat” singing transformed vocal tradition—Armstrong used his horn like a singer’s voice and his voice like a musical instrument. […]
Read MoreJazz icon, Count Basie, was born William James Basie on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey. Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. He was the arbiter of the big-band swing sound, and his unique style of fusing blues and jazz established swing as a predominant music style. He led […]
Read MoreBorn in 1926, Anthony Dominick Benedetto—known professionally as Tony Bennett—is a legend of the music business. Founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, his hometown, Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman, and, afterward, continued to […]
Read MoreBorn on April 13, 1928, Teddy Charles (Cohen) is considered one of the great jazz vibraphonists and composers of all time. He has played alongside such jazz legends as Charlie Mingus, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis—his distinctive vibes style making a major contribution to the development of be-bop and hard bop, and creating many of […]
Read MoreJohn Coltrane was born in 1926 in North Carolina. He moved to Philadelphia in 1943, was inducted into the Navy in 1945, and returned to civilian life in 1946. He worked a variety of jobs through the late forties until he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s big band in 1949 as an alto saxophonist. He went on […]
Read MoreBorn in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, bandleader Vince Giordano began his odyssey into the world of music at the age of five. The discovery of a slew of 78 rpm records in his grandmother’s attic ignited the flame. He began music on the violin but switched to the tuba in the 7th grade […]
Read MoreBorn in Brooklyn in 1926, Randy Weston remains one of the world’s foremost composers and pianists. His piano style owes much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk (he paid tribute to both on his Portraits of Duke Ellington album), but it is highly distinctive in its percussive and highly rhythmic qualities. In the late 1940s, […]
Read MoreBorn in 1953, composer John Zorn grew up in Queens and has been a central figure in the New York downtown scene since 1975. He has written music for documentaries, underground films, television advertisements, and cartoons. Zorn’s own label Tzadik Recordings has established a diverse catalogue releasing the best in avant-garde and experimental music, and […]
Read MoreRoy Haynes was born in Roxbury near Boston in 1925 and has been playing steadily since his pro debut at age 17. He has had an impact on jazz from the swing era through the onset of bebop, hard bop, jazz fusion, and avante-garde explorations. He has played with an array of jazz masters such […]
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