2011 JazzMasters

National Endowment for the Arts
The Nation’s Highest Honor in Jazz

T here is general agreement that the United States has
produced three original art forms: movies, modern dance, and
jazz. All speak to the genius of American culture. Film is indicative of
1982–2011
our ability to convert new technology into a medium for mass consump-
tion, frequently achieving the status of high art. Modern dance, an in-
digenous kinesthetic art capable of an unbounded range of expression,
from treatments of contemporary issues to pure abstraction. And then
there is jazz.
Jazz lives at the very center of the American vernacular. It is the gift
NEA JAZZ MASTERS 1982–2011

of the generations of new urban African-American people whose capac-
ity for the synthesis of diverse strains of musical forms brought schot-
tisches, quadrilles, habaneras, and marches into the bases of the blues
and ragtime to create a whole new way of making music. It was built on
the discipline of collective improvisation, a remarkable skill when you
think about it, which allowed for maximum expression of the individual
within the context of the group. Jazz is democratic and virtually without Cecil Taylor (left) with A.B. Spellman.
hierarchy: the composer is one more collaborator in the group, and even Photo by Tom Pich
bandleaders do not stand above the soloists.

These qualities are entirely appropriate for what is best about Amer-
ica. The old jazz principle that “you’ve got to make it new” is so Ameri- America kept ears open to the United States Information Agency (USIA)
can that it could go on the dollar bill. These defining qualities have made all over the world. Uncounted numbers of jazz musicians have traveled
jazz arguably the United States’ most welcomed cultural export. It has abroad under the auspices of the State Department. Many of the Na-
taken root wherever it has been planted, moving into and becoming a tional Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters, such as Dizzy Gillespie,
part of the cultures of other countries and then becoming an aspect of Randy Weston, and Billy Taylor, have toured the globe as our cultural
their national expression, in the way that Russian jazz is vastly different representatives.
from Afro-Cuban jazz. Some years ago, just after apartheid had fallen, The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships program was created to say to jazz
I heard a young South African ensemble that comprised an Indian pia- musicians that their government values the way that they keep our culture
nist, a tabla player, a white female flutist, and a black bassist. Distinct rich by continually producing such fabulous music. Mastery is a difficult
traces of each of these musicians’ heritages were audible in their solos, status to achieve. No creative discipline has more than a few true masters,
yet they performed with intimate ease. I thought, how marvelous that, as for it takes exceptional talent, dedication, hard work, and opportunity
these young people are at a point in history when they can speak to each to become one. NEA Jazz Masters have demonstrated these qualities and
other as equals, jazz provides the vocabulary. more. The National Endoment for the Arts is honored to recognize these
It is no accident that jazz has been a favored medium of cultural great artists for the outstanding contributions they have made to Ameri-
diplomacy. For decades, Willis Conover’s jazz series on the Voice of can culture.
––A.B. Spellman
National Endowment for the Arts • 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20506-0001 • 202.682.5400 • www.arts.gov
not for sale
The National Endowment for the Arts was established
by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the
federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded
more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence,
creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals
and communities. The NEA extends its work through
partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders,
other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.
1982–2011
Credits
This publication is published by:

Office of Public Affairs
Jamie Bennett, Director
January 2011
Don Ball, Editor
Special thanks to poet and author (and former NEA Deputy Chairman)
A.B. Spellman for the “liner notes” essay. Spellman is the author of
Four Jazz Lives and, most recently, Things I Must Have Known.
Thanks to Paulette Beete, Liz Stark, Katja von Schuttenbach, and

Judy Zwolak for editorial assistance.
Designed by:
Fletcher Design, Inc./Washington, DC
Cover Photo: The Modern Jazz Quartet in performance, including NEA

Jazz Masters John Lewis (piano), Percy Heath (bass), and Milt Jackson
(vibes), and drummer Connie Kay. Photo by Lee Tanner
In addition to information provided by the artists, the following

reference texts were used in researching biographical information of
the NEA Jazz Masters:
All Music Guide to Jazz by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra,
and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Backbeat Books (allmusic.com)
American Musicians II by Whitney Balliett, Oxford University Press
Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather and Ira
Gitler, Oxford University Press
Four Jazz Lives by A.B. Spellman, University of Michigan Press
Jazz: The Rough Guide by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, and
Brian Priestley, Rough Guides
Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 4th Edition by Richard Cook and
Brian Morton, Penguin
Talking Jazz: An Oral History by Ben Sidran, Da Capo Press
Voice/TYY: (202) 682-5496

For individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Individuals who do not use conventional print may contact the Arts
Endowment’s Office for AccessAbility to obtain this publication in an
alternate format. Telephone: (202) 682-5532

1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506-0001
(202) 682-5400
Additional copies of this publication can be obtained for free by

contacting the NEA website: arts.gov.
This publication was printed on recycled paper.
A Message from the Chairman Photo by Michael Eastman
I t is my pleasure once again to introduce the new class of

NEA Jazz Masters. Like some of my other favorite art forms,
country music and musical theater, jazz is a homegrown art
form, created on American soil some hundred or so years ago. It’s
hard to think of an aspect of our country’s history and culture that
resources to high school teachers to explore jazz as an art form and a
means to understanding history.
To reach even more citizens in its pursuit to garner stronger
interest for the art form of jazz, the NEA is utilizing the Internet and
broadcast media. The NEA’s YouTube page features a section on
jazz hasn’t touched since its origin. NEA Jazz Masters, including interviews and panel discussions. The
And that is why we recognize this art form with the NEA Jazz agency’s Art Works podcasts, feature-length interviews with artists
Masters program. In addition to the $25,000 award, it also honors and those involved in the arts, include interviews with NEA Jazz
artists who have reached the highest pinnacles of their art; musicians Masters Hank Jones and David Baker, among many other artists. And
and advocates who have had—and continue to have—a significant for the first time, we will be presenting a live webcast of the awards
impact on jazz. And this year’s class again reflects this high standard ceremony and concert so that many more people can experience this
of artistic excellence. event.
In addition to providing these awards to stellar musicians, Another way we reach out to the public about jazz is through
the NEA also continues to award grants to arts organizations for the NEA-produced Jazz Moments, radio shorts featuring NEA Jazz
jazz-related activities, such as a recent grant to the Apollo Theater Masters; a CD of a sampling of the segments is included with
Foundation to support the inaugural Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival, this publication. These segments have been broadcast on stations
celebrating the legacy of jazz in that community. The agency also throughout the country and are available for free download on the
supports the NEA Jazz Masters Live initiative—administered in NEA website: arts.gov and through iTunes U.
partnership with regional arts organization Arts Midwest—which I would like to thank our partner in bringing the NEA Jazz Masters
provides grants to presenting organizations to support NEA Jazz awards ceremony and concert to you: Jazz at Lincoln Center, which
Masters’ appearances throughout the country. In addition to making has presented the event for the last three years. Join me in honoring
these legends better known to the general public, the initiative also the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters for their work in the jazz field and their
includes an educational component that provides special programming contributions to the nation’s cultural heritage.
to increase understanding of the music and its key practitioners.
Education is an important aspect of keeping jazz alive and well. So
the NEA also supports an important educational component designed
to bring this American treasure to more young people: NEA Jazz in Rocco Landesman
the Schools. Developed in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center and Chairman
supported by the Verizon Foundation, this online curriculum provides National Endowment for the Arts
NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 iii

Table of Contents
A Brief History of the Program.............................. 1
Program Overview............................................... 3
2011 NEA Jazz Masters........................................ 5
NEA Jazz Masters 1982–2010 (Year Fellowship Awarded)

Muhal Richard Abrams (2010).......... 12 Curtis Fuller (2007)........................ 50 Melba Liston (1987)........................ 88
Toshiko Akiyoshi (2007).................. 13 Dizzy Gillespie (1982) .................... 51 Tom McIntosh (2008)..................... 89
George Avakian (2010).................... 14 Benny Golson (1996)...................... 52 Jackie McLean (2001) .................... 90
David Baker (2000)........................ 15 Dexter Gordon (1986) .................... 53 Marian McPartland (2000) .............. 91
Danny Barker (1991)...................... 16 Jim Hall (2004) ............................. 54 Carmen McRae (1994).................... 92
Ray Barretto (2006)....................... 17 Chico Hamilton (2004) ................... 55 Jay McShann (1987)....................... 93
Kenny Barron (2010)...................... 18 Lionel Hampton (1988)................... 56 James Moody (1998) ...................... 94
Count Basie (1983)......................... 19 Slide Hampton (2005) .................... 57 Dan Morgenstern (2007).................. 95
Louie Bellson (1994)....................... 20 Herbie Hancock (2004) .................. 58 Anita O’Day (1997) ....................... 96
Tony Bennett (2006)....................... 21 Barry Harris (1989)....................... 59 Max Roach (1984).......................... 97
George Benson (2009)..................... 22 Roy Haynes (1995) ........................ 60 Sonny Rollins (1983) ...................... 98
Art Blakey (1988).......................... 23 Jimmy Heath (2003)....................... 61 Annie Ross (2010).......................... 99
Bob Brookmeyer (2006).................. 24 Percy Heath (2002)........................ 62 George Russell (1990) ...................100
Cleo Brown (1987)......................... 25 Joe Henderson (1999) .................... 63 Gunther Schuller (2008).................101
Ray Brown (1995).......................... 26 Luther Henderson (2004) ................ 64 Jimmy Scott (2007).......................102
Dave Brubeck (1999) ..................... 27 Jon Hendricks (1993) ..................... 65 Artie Shaw (2005) ........................103
Kenny Burrell (2005)...................... 28 Nat Hentoff (2004) ........................ 66 Wayne Shorter (1998) ...................104
Donald Byrd (2000)........................ 29 Billy Higgins (1997) ....................... 67 Horace Silver (1995) .....................105
Candido Camero (2008).................. 30 Andrew Hill (2008)......................... 68 Jimmy Smith (2005) ......................106
Benny Carter (1986) ...................... 31 Milt Hinton (1993) ........................ 69 Sun Ra (1982)..............................107
Betty Carter (1992) ....................... 32 Bill Holman (2010)......................... 70 Billy Taylor (1988) .......................108
Ron Carter (1998) ......................... 33 Shirley Horn (2005) ....................... 71 Cecil Taylor (1990) .......................109
Kenny Clarke (1983)...................... 34 Freddie Hubbard (2006)................. 72 Clark Terry (1991) .......................110
Buck Clayton (1991)....................... 35 Bobby Hutcherson (2010)................ 73 Toots Thielemans (2009)................111
Jimmy Cobb (2009)........................ 36 Milt Jackson (1997) ....................... 74 McCoy Tyner (2002)......................112
Ornette Coleman (1984) ................. 37 Ahmad Jamal (1994) ...................... 75 Rudy Van Gelder (2009).................113
Chick Corea (2006)........................ 38 J.J. Johnson (1996) ....................... 76 Sarah Vaughan (1989) ..................114
Miles Davis (1984) ......................... 39 Elvin Jones (2003) ......................... 77 Cedar Walton (2010).....................115
Buddy DeFranco (2006).................. 40 Hank Jones (1989) ........................ 78 George Wein (2005) ......................116
Dorothy Donegan (1992)................. 41 Jo Jones (1985) ............................. 79 Frank Wess (2007)........................117
Paquito D’Rivera (2005)................. 42 Quincy Jones (2008)....................... 80 Randy Weston (2001)....................118
Sweets Edison (1992)...................... 43 Andy Kirk (1991)........................... 81 Joe Wilder (2008).........................119
Roy Eldridge (1982) ...................... 44 Lee Konitz (2009).......................... 82 Joe Williams (1993) ......................120
Gil Evans (1985) ........................... 45 Yusef Lateef (2010)........................ 83 Gerald Wilson (1990).....................121
Art Farmer (1999) ......................... 46 John Levy (2006)........................... 84 Nancy Wilson (2004) .....................122
Ella Fitzgerald (1985) .................... 47 John Lewis (2001) ......................... 85 Teddy Wilson (1986) .....................123
Tommy Flanagan (1996) ................. 48 Ramsey Lewis (2007)...................... 86 Phil Woods (2007)........................124
Frank Foster (2002)....................... 49 Abbey Lincoln (2003) ..................... 87 Snooky Young (2009).....................125
NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony..................... 126

NEA Jazz Masters by Year................................. 128
Jazz Moments with NEA Jazz Masters Audio CD..... 129
NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson
leads his orchestra at the 2005 NEA
Jazz Masters awards concert in
Long Beach, California.
Photo by Vance Jacobs
vi NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

A Brief History
of the Program
A melding of African and European music and
cultures, jazz was born in the United States, a new musical
form that used rhythm, improvisation, and instruments in
unique and exciting ways. Jazz came to prominence in the early 20th
century on the dance floors of major cultural centers such as Kansas
City and New York. With the advent of sound recording techniques,
the increased availability of affordable gramophones, and the rise of
radio as popular entertainment, jazz quickly conquered the country.
By the 1930s and 1940s, jazz had become America’s dance music,
selling albums and performance tickets at dizzying rates and sweeping
millions of fans in foreign countries off their feet.
By the 1950s, however, with the advent of rock and roll and the
tilt in jazz toward bebop rather than the more popular swing, jazz
began a decline in its popularity. It was still seen as an important and
exciting art form, but by an increasingly smaller audience. Jazz was
still being exported overseas, though, especially by Voice of America
radio broadcasts and U.S. Department of State goodwill tours that
featured such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and
Dave Brubeck.
By the 1960s, when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
was created by Congress, jazz album sales were down and jazz
performances were becoming more difficult to find. Large dance
orchestras disbanded for lack of work, and musicians found themselves
in stiff competition for fewer and fewer gigs. The music, starting with NEA Jazz Masters Sonny Rollins, Hank Jones,
bebop and into hard bop and free jazz, became more cerebral and less and Dizzy Gillespie at a 1987 rehearsal at Wolf
dance-oriented, focusing on freeing up improvisation and rhythm. It Trap in Virginia.
Photo by Michael Wilderman
was moving to a new artistic level, and, if this high quality were to be
maintained, it would need some assistance.
NEA assistance to the jazz field began in 1969, with its first grant in
jazz awarded to pianist/composer George Russell (who would later go
on to receive an NEA Jazz Master award in 1990), allowing him to work
on his groundbreaking book, Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal
Organization, the first major academic work in jazz. Jazz funding
went from $20,000 in 1970 to $1.5 million in 1980 to approximately
$3 million in 2010, supporting a wide range of activities, including
jazz festivals and concert seasons, special projects such as Dr. Billy
Taylor’s Jazzmobile in New York and the Thelonious Monk Institute
NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 1

of Jazz’s Jazz Sports program, educational jazz programming on Americans. Additionally, the amount of the fellowship was increased
National Public Radio, artists-in-schools programs, and research. to $25,000.
While the NEA recognized and acted on the need for public In 2005, the NEA Jazz Masters initiative greatly expanded to include
funding for jazz, the pioneers of the field were rapidly aging, and many several new programs in addition to the fellowships. A two-CD anthology
died without the appropriate recognition of their contribution to this of NEA Jazz Masters’ music was produced by Verve Music Group. NEA
great American art form. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, two of Jazz Masters on Tour, sponsored by Verizon, brought jazz musicians
the giants of jazz in terms of both musicianship and composition, both to all 50 states throughout 2005-07 for performances, community
died in the early 1970s without the importance of their contributions events, and educational programs. This led to a new program, NEA
being fully acknowledged and appreciated. Jazz Masters Live––administered by regional arts organization Arts
In an effort to nationally recognize outstanding jazz musicians for Midwest––which brings these jazz legends to selected events for
their lifelong achievements and mastery of jazz, the Arts Endowment performances, master classes, and lectures. A new arts education
in 1982 created the American Jazz Masters Fellowships—now the NEA component was created in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center and
Jazz Masters Fellowships—given to musicians who have reached an with support from the Verizon Foundation, NEA Jazz in the Schools.
exceptionally high standard of achievement in this very specialized This educational resource for high school teachers of social studies,
art form. U.S. history, and music includes a five-unit, web-based curriculum and
In addition to the recognition, the NEA included a monetary DVD toolkit that explores jazz as an indigenous American art form and
award of $20,000 for each fellowship. The rigors of making a living in as a means to understand U.S. history (more information can be found
the jazz field are well documented. Jazz is an art form to which the free at www.neajazzintheschools.org). New broadcasting programming was
market has not been kind. Despite their unparalleled contributions to created, such as 14 one-hour shows on NEA Jazz Masters featured on
American art, many jazz greats worked for years just barely scraping the public radio series Jazz Profiles, hosted by NEA Jazz Master Nancy
by. The monetary award often has provided a much needed infusion Wilson; the Legends of Jazz television series (presented by NEA Jazz
of income. Master Ramsey Lewis); and Jazz Moments radio shorts for broadcast.
That such recognition was long overdue is exemplified by (A selection of Jazz Moments is included on the CD at the end of this
Thelonious Sphere Monk, one of the great American composers and publication.)
musicians. Monk was nominated for an NEA Jazz Master Fellowship Each passing year brings increased international recognition of
in the first year of the program, but unfortunately passed away the NEA Jazz Masters awards as the nation’s highest honor for out-
before the announcement was made (the fellowship is not awarded standing musicianship in the field of jazz. The recipients of the NEA
posthumously). The three who were chosen certainly lived up to the Jazz Masters award cover all aspects of the music: from boogie-woogie
criteria of artistic excellence and significance to the art form: Roy (Cleo Brown) to swing (Count Basie, Andy Kirk, Jay McShann); from
Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sun Ra. The panel in that first year bebop (Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke) to Dixieland (Danny Barker);
included stellar jazz musicians themselves, including some future NEA from free jazz (Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor) to cool jazz (Miles
Jazz Masters: trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonists Frank Foster, Davis, Gil Evans, Ahmad Jamal); and everywhere in between. What
Chico Freeman, Jackie McLean, and Archie Shepp. In addition, ties all these styles together is a foundation in the blues, a reliance
legendary Riverside record company co-owner and producer Orrin on group interplay, and unpredictable improvisation. Throughout
Keepnews (now an NEA Jazz Master) was on the panel. the years, and in all the different styles, these musicians have
From that auspicious beginning, the program has continued to demonstrated the talent, creativity, and dedication that make them
grow and provide increased awareness of America’s rich jazz heritage. NEA Jazz Masters.
In 2004, a new award was created for those individuals who helped to The award offers a solid platform for raising worldwide awareness
advance the appreciation of jazz. In 2005, the award was designated of America’s rich jazz heritage by not only honoring those who have
the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy in dedicated their lives to the music, but also by leading the way in efforts
honor of A.B. Spellman, a jazz writer, accomplished poet, innovative encouraging the preservation and nourishing of jazz as an important
arts administrator, and former NEA Deputy Chairman, who has musical form for generations to come.
dedicated much of his life to bringing the joy and artistry of jazz to all
2 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Program Overview
T he National Endowment for the Arts recognizes

the importance of jazz as one of the great American art
forms of the 20th century. As part of its efforts to honor
those distinguished artists whose excellence, impact, and significant
contributions in jazz have helped keep this important tradition and art
form alive, the Arts Endowment annually awards NEA Jazz Masters
Fellowships, the highest honor that our nation bestows upon jazz
musicians. Each fellowship award is $25,000.
The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is a lifetime achievement award.
The criteria for the fellowships are musical excellence and significance
of the nominees’ contributions to the art of jazz. The Arts Endowment
honors a wide range of styles while making the awards. There is also a
special award given to a non-musician, the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz
Master Award for Jazz Advocacy, which is awarded to an individual
who has made major contributions to the appreciation, knowledge,
and advancement of jazz.
Fellowships are awarded to living artists on the basis of nominations
from the general public and the jazz community. The recipients must
be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. An individual
may submit only one nomination each year, and nominations are
made by submitting a one-page letter detailing the reasons that the
nominated artist should receive an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb addresses the crowd
Nominations submitted to the Arts Endowment by the deadline at the 2010 NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony and
are reviewed by an advisory panel of jazz experts and at least one concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
knowledgeable layperson. Panel recommendations are forwarded to Photo by Frank Stewart
the National Council on the Arts, which then makes recommendations
to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Nominations
remain active for five years, being reviewed annually during this
period.
Information on the NEA Jazz Masters award is available on the
NEA website: arts.gov.

The Marsalis family in
concert, with Carlos
Henriquez on bass.
Photo by Jos L. Knaepen

2011
Fellows
HUbert Laws
David Liebman
Johnny Mandel
The Marsalis Family
Orrin Keepnews
NOTES:
Names in bold in biographies denote NEA Jazz
Masters awardees.
All recordings listed in Selected Discography are under
the artist’s name unless otherwise noted.
Years listed under recordings in Selected Discography
denote the years the recordings were made.

2011
HUBERT
LAWS
FLUTIST
Born November 10, 1939 in Houston, TX
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
Afro-Classic
Mosaic Contemporary, 1970
H
In the Beginning
Columbia, 1974
ubert Laws is one of the Remembers the Unforgettable Vaughan, and Stevie Wonder, among others.
very few to specialize on the Nat ‘King’ Cole He also worked on film scores for The Wiz and
flute in jazz, using it as his RKO, 1998 The Color Purple and collaborated on film
primary axe, and in doing so he has become Moondance soundtracks with Quincy Jones, Bob James,
the premier musician on the instrument. In Savoy Jazz, 2003 and Claude Bolling for California Suite and
three decades of playing, he has also mastered with Earl Klugh and Pat Williams on the music
Flute Adaptations of
pop, rhythm-and-blues, and classical genres. Rachmaninov & Barber for How to Beat the High Cost of Living.
Laws grew up in a musical family, with his Spirit Productions, 2008 In addition to his jazz work, Laws has appeared
grandfather playing the harmonica and his mother the as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic under
piano (which influenced his siblings as well as Laws—his the direction of Zubin Mehta, and with the orchestras of
brother Ronnie is a well-regarded saxophonist and Eloise, Debra, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, and Los Angeles, and the
and Johnnie are vocalists). Laws started on flute for his high school Stanford String Quartet. He performed in a sold-out Hollywood
orchestra, initially to play the William Tell Overture. He also became Bowl concert with fellow flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal and in the same
enamored with jazz at this time, and began playing regularly with a venue in 1982 with the Modern Jazz Quartet. While a member of the
Houston group that eventually became known as the Crusaders. New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras, he also
Laws won a classical scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard was featured at the Playboy Jazz Festival (Los Angeles), Kool Jazz
School in New York City, studying with master flutist Julius Baker. Festival (Rhode Island), and Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival.
At the same time, he was gigging at night, playing with jazz and Latin In addition he has recorded with opera singers Jessye Norman and
musicians such as Mongo Santamaria, Lloyd Price, and John Lewis, Kathleen Battle (on the 1991 release Spirituals in Concert).
as well as with classical orchestras such as Orchestra USA and the In 2006, a 30-year retrospective video on Laws was released
Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. with live performances. DownBeat readers’ polls have selected him
In 1964, he began recording as a bandleader, amassing more “Number One Flutist” for 12 years and a Critic’s Choice for seven
than 20 albums to his name. Laws is also an accomplished session consecutive years. He has performed annually at Carnegie Hall.
musician, and has worked on recordings with Chick Corea, Miles
Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Sarah

2011
0000
DAVID
LIEBMAN
SAXOPHONIST FLUTIST EDUCATOR
Born September 4, 1946 in Brooklyn, NY
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
Lookout Farm
Photo by Jan Persson/CTSIMAGES ECM Records, 1973
D
David Liebman & Richie Beirach, Mosaic Select
Mosaic, 1976-91
avid Liebman has shown an Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner Chick Corea followed by forming the David
ability to play in any style of jazz, CMP Records, 1985 Liebman Quintet, featuring guitarist John
especially on what has become Negative Space Scofield. In 1981, he founded Quest, a group
his instrument of choice, the soprano sax. Verve, 2005 that remained active with varying lineups until
In addition, he has been a strong advocate 1991 and has reunited in recent years. His
Lieb Plays Weill
of the music, having founded the International Daybreak, 2008 work has continued to move in many unusual
Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ), an directions, with projects ranging from Puccini arias
organization dedicated to bringing together educators to overdubbed solo recordings, from adaptations of
and students from jazz schools worldwide. jazz standards to world music and fusion.
He began classical piano lessons at age nine, soon switching Throughout his career, Liebman has been keen to work
to saxophone. His interest in jazz was sparked especially by hearing on the international jazz scene, playing with influential European
John Coltrane perform in various New York City clubs. Throughout musicians such as Joachim Kühn, Daniel Humair, Paolo Fresu, Jon
high school and college, Liebman continued playing jazz, learning Christensen, and Bobo Stenson.
“from the street” as was the way before jazz education was more In addition to serving as IASJ’s artistic director, he is presently
common, though he did spend periods studying with Joe Allard, artist-in-residence at the Manhattan School of Music and lectures at
Lennie Tristano, and Charles Lloyd. universities and clinic settings all over the world. He also has received
In the 1970s, Liebman came into his own, founding Free Life performance and teaching grants from the National Endowment
Communication, a cooperative of several dozen young musicians that for the Arts and the Canadian Arts Council. Additional educational
became an integral part of the fertile New York “loft” jazz scene. He activities include publishing instructional books and DVDs such as Self
soon found a spot as saxophonist/flutist in drummer Elvin Jones’ Portrait of A Jazz Artist; A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony
group, and then was hired by Miles Davis. Liebman played on Davis’ and Melody; and Developing A Personal Saxophone Sound.
last two recordings before the trumpeter’s temporary retirement in the Since 1973, he has consistently placed among the “Top Three” in
late 1970s, Get Up with It and On the Corner. the DownBeat Critics Poll in the category of soprano saxophone; other
At the same time, Liebman was also exploring his own music, awards include an honorary doctorate from the Sibelius Academy in
beginning a long relationship with pianist Richie Beirach in the Finland and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France.
group Lookout Farm. In 1977, he toured internationally with pianist

2011
JOHNNY
MANDEL
Composer Arranger Trumpeter Trombonist
Born November 23, 1925 in New York, NY
ED DISCOGRA
LECT PH
SE Y
Original Soundtrack Recording,

Photo by Carol Friedman
I Want To Live
J
Rykodisc, 1958
Frank Sinatra, Ring-a-Ding-Ding!

ohnny Mandel is considered Reprise, 1960 score. He went on to earn a reputation as a
one of the nation’s top composer/ Anita O’Day, Trav’lin’ Light film composer/arranger, including two of his
arrangers in jazz, pop, and film Verve, 1961 more famous numbers: “Suicide Is Painless,”
music. The breadth and quality of his work which was used as the theme for the movie
Original Soundtrack Recording, M*A*S*H
made it possible to be recorded by a wide variety Columbia, 1970
M*A*S*H (whose soundtrack includes a version
of jazz musicians and singers. played by Ahmad Jamal), and “The Shadow of
Shirley Horn, Here’s to Life
Mandel’s parents discovered that he—at the Your Smile” for the movie The Sandpiper, which
Verve, 1992
age of five—had perfect pitch, and started him on won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Song. He
piano lessons. He eventually moved on to playing horns has provided music for more than 30 films, including
(“I wanted to play an instrument you could kiss,” he is quoted The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! and
as saying), studying at the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard Being There.
School, both in New York City. In the 1940s, he played the trumpet By the early 1960s, Mandel’s reputation was such that the biggest
with Joe Venuti and Billy Rogers, and trombone in the orchestras names in jazz and pop wanted to work with him. Frank Sinatra chose
of Boyd Rayburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, Georgie Auld, and him as arranger for his 1961 release Ring-a-Ding-Ding! In 1966, he
Chubby Jackson. served as musical director on Tony Bennett’s The Movie Song Album
From 1951-53, he played and arranged music in the band of and collaborated again more recently, on Bennett’s album The Art of
Elliott Lawrence and Count Basie. Later he relocated to Los Angeles, Romance (2004). Other singers who have sought his talents out include
where he played the bass trumpet for Zoot Sims. He also showed a Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Shirley Horn, Diana Krall, Peggy Lee,
prowess for composing, writing the jazz compositions “Not Really Anita O’Day, Barbra Streisand, and Nancy Wilson.
the Blues” for Woody Herman, “Hershey Bar” and “Pot Luck” Mandel has received five Grammy Awards: Song of the Year for
for Stan Getz, “Straight Life” and “Low Life” for Count Basie, and Tony Bennett’s performance of “The Shadow of Your Smile” and Best
“Tommyhawk” for Chet Baker. Original Score for The Sandpiper (both 1965), Best Arrangment on an
Mandel moved to Hollywood in 1957 and began working on film Instrumental Recording for Quincy Jones’ song “Velas” (1981), Best
scores, utilizing his outstanding compositional and arranging gifts. Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for Natalie Cole’s
His score for the Susan Hayward movie I Want To Live is considered Unforgettable (1991) and for Shirley Horn’s Here’s to Life (1992).
the first time that jazz had been integrated successfully into a musical

2011
0000
THE
MARSALIS
FAMILY
Ellis Pianist, Educator
Born November 14, 1934 in New Orleans, LA
Branford Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader, Educator
Born August 26, 1960 in Breaux Bridge, LA
Wynton Trumpeter, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader, Educator
Born October 18, 1961 in New Orleans, LA
Delfeayo Trombonist, Producer, Educator
Born July 28, 1965 in New Orleans, LA
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S Born March 4, 1977 in New Orleans, LA
Ellis Marsalis, The Classic Ellis Marsalis
Photo by Jos L. Knaepen
Boplicity, 1963
I
Standard Time Vol. 3–
Wynton Marsalis,
The Resolution of Romance
t is perhaps not surprising that the Columbia, 1990 Ninth Ward to assist New Orleans musicians.
first group award of the NEA Jazz Masters Ellis & Branford Marsalis, Loved Ones In 1996, Wynton co-founded Jazz at
has gone to the Marsalis family, which Columbia, 1995 Lincoln Center (JALC), becoming its artistic
boasts five members who have impacted the field director and music director of the JALC
The Marsalis Family:
of jazz. Orchestra. In 1997, he became the first jazz
A Jazz Celebration
The story starts in New Orleans, with the Marsalis Music, 2001
artist to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music
birth of Ellis, Jr. in 1934. Although the city was for his work Blood on the Fields. In addition
noted for Dixieland and rhythm-and-blues, Ellis was Music Redeems to numerous awards and honorary doctorates he
Marsalis Music, 2009
more interested in bebop. In addition to his skillful piano received, Wynton was also awarded the National Medal
playing, he became the director of jazz studies at the New of Arts in 2005.
Orleans Center for Creative Arts high school in 1974, mentoring such Younger brother Delfeayo has proven himself a well-regarded
contemporary artists as Terence Blanchard, and Harry Connick, Jr. jazz producer, working with various family members throughout the
(Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason attended the center as well). years. His insistence upon recording “without usage of the dreaded
Later, he headed the jazz studies department of the University of New bass direct” for Branford in the 1980s was the key element to the
Orleans for 12 years. In 2008, Ellis was inducted into the Louisiana change in jazz recording techniques over the past 20 years. As a noted
Music Hall of Fame. trombonist, Delfeayo has also played on his brothers’ albums as well
The story doesn’t end with Ellis though—four of his sons as fronting his own band.
continued in the family business of music, including Branford and Jason, the youngest of the Marsalis sons, took up drumming at age
Wynton, both whom started out in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and six and began sitting in with his father’s band at age seven, then made
then began working together on albums that introduced some of the his recording debut at age 13 on Delfeayo’s Pontius Pilate’s Decision.
emerging stars in the music: Marcus Roberts, Kenny Kirkland, Jeff He joined the band Los Hombres Calientes with Irvin Mayfield
Watts, and Wessell Anderson, among others. and Bill Summers in 1998, playing on their first two albums, which
For two years during the 1990s, Branford was the musical director blended Afro-Cuban and Latin American elements with jazz.
of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, making jazz more widely The Marsalis family, together and individually, have made
known to the general public. After Hurricane Katrina devastated significant contributions to the preservation of jazz, the expansion of
New Orleans in 2005, Branford teamed with Harry Connick, Jr. and the art form, and the education of students of jazz.
Habitat for Humanity to create Musicians’ Village in the city’s Upper
2011 A.B. SPELLMAN NEA JAZZ MASTERS award FOR
JAZZ ADVOCACY
ORRIN
KEEPNEWS
PRODUCER WRITER
Born March 2, 1923 in New York, NY
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Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners
Photo courtesy of the Recording Academy Riverside Records, 1956
R
Bill Evans, Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Riverside Records, 1958
ecognized as one of the out- Cannonball Adderley, The Cannonball Adderley Keepnews launched Milestone Records in
standing record producers in the Quintet in San Francisco 1966 with a new partner, pianist Dick Katz,
jazz world, Orrin Keepnews Riverside Records, 1959 attracting such high quality artists as Joe
co-founded Riverside Records in the early Wes Montgomery, The Incredible Jazz Henderson, Lee Konitz, and McCoy Tyner.
1950s, launching or furthering the careers Guitar of Wes Montgomery In 1972, he relocated to San Francisco, heading
of several of the most notable names in jazz, Riverside Records, 1960 jazz activities at Fantasy Records (which had
beginning with such significant artists as Thelonious McCoy Tyner, Fly with the Wind acquired the Riverside catalog). Keepnews oversaw
Monk, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Sonny Rollins, Milestone Records, 1976 the reissue of many of the albums he had produced
and Cannonball Adderley. He has long been at the earlier in his career at Riverside, frequently including
forefront of producing reissues of both traditional and modern unissued alternate performances.
jazz recordings, and is also known for his informative, incisive, and He left Fantasy at the end of 1980 to concentrate on independent
extensively detailed liner notes. production and after a few years founded another label, Landmark
Graduating from Columbia University in 1943 and then serving in Records. Among its first releases were two unique albums, one
the Air Force, Keepnews returned to Columbia for graduate studies of compositions by Bill Evans and the other primarily involving
in 1946. Two years later, he became editor of The Record Changer Thelonious Monk material, both performed by the Kronos Quartet.
magazine, which was newly owned by his former college classmate He sold the company in 1993, but remains active in the recording
and noted jazz record collector, Bill Grauer. In 1952, Grauer and industry, primarily by working on reissue and remastering compilations
Keepnews founded Riverside, which originally focused on reissues on compact disc. A substantial collection of his essays, album notes,
of traditional jazz and blues recordings. In 1954, they signed pianist reviews, and other commentaries was published in book form in 1988
Randy Weston, their first modern jazz artist. From that point on, as The View from Within: Jazz Writings, 1948-87.
the label began to focus on the burgeoning modern jazz scene, with Keepnews has won four Grammy Awards: Best Album Notes for
Keepnews doing the producing. Promising new artists such as Clark Bill Evans’ The Interplay Sessions (1983); Best Album Notes and Best
Terry, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Heath were signed to the label, Historical Album for Thelonious Monk’s The Complete Riverside
quickly making Riverside a major force among the New York-based Recordings (1987); and Best Historical Album for The Duke Ellington
independent labels. But at the end of 1963, the label folded after the Centennial Edition – The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-
death of Grauer. 1973) (1999). In 2004, he was awarded a NARAS Trustees Award for
Lifetime Achievement.
1982–2010
NOTES:
Names in bold in biographies denote NEA Jazz
Masters awardees.
All recordings listed in Selected Discography are under
the artist’s name unless otherwise noted.
Years listed under recordings in Selected Discography
denote the years the recordings were made.
2010
MUHAL RICHARD
ABRAMS
Pianist Composer Educator
Born September 19, 1930 in Chicago, IL
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Levels and Degrees of Light
Delmark, 1967
M
Spiral Live at Montreux 1978
Novus, 1978
uhal Richard Abrams—pia- Abrams first traveled to Europe in 1973
Rejoicing with the Light
nist, composer, administrator, Black Saint, 1983
while still residing in Chicago. After relocating
and educator—is predominately to New York in 1977, he traveled extensively
a self-taught musician. He is highly respected by UMO Jazz Orchestra, to Europe and Japan, gradually acquiring
critics and musical peers as both a pianist and Plays the Music of a greater international reputation. In 1990
composer in a variety of musical styles, including Muhal Richard Abrams he became the first recipient of the prestigious
Slam, 1988
jazz, extended forms of improvisation, and classical Danish JAZZPAR Award, and almost a decade
music. Streaming later Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley issued a
In the 1950s, Abrams wrote arrangements for pianist Pi, 2005 proclamation declaring April 11, 1999, to be Muhal
King Fleming’s Jazz Orchestra. From 1957-59, he played Richard Abrams Day. In 2008, he was chosen by United
hard bop in Walter Perkins’ group MJT + 3 (Modern Jazz Two Plus States Artists to be a Prudential Fellow in the field of music. In 2010,
Three) and accompanied leading jazz performers during their visits he was selected for the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
to Chicago, including Kenny Durham, Art Farmer, Hank Mobley, Abrams’ compositional prowess is evident even beyond jazz.
Ray Nance, Max Roach, and Sonny Stitt. In 1961, Abrams began His Tranversion Op. 6 was performed by the Detroit Symphony
his foray into extended forms of composition and improvisation in his Orchestra and his String Quartet No. 2 was performed by renowned
Experimental Band, which included musicians such as saxophonists chamber ensemble Kronos Quartet.
Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman. During the last 30 years, Abrams has taught jazz composition and
Abrams is a co-founder of the Association for the Advancement improvisational classes at Columbia University, Syracuse University,
of Creative Musicians (AACM) in 1965, founder of the AACM School Stanford University, Mills College, University of California in San
of Music, and currently president of the AACM New York Chapter. Diego, the New England Conservatory in Boston, and the BMI
AACM, which has played a crucial role in the development of original Composers Workshop in New York City. He also taught internationally
approaches to extended forms of composition and improvisation, in Finland, Canada, and Italy.
has produced such distinguished members as Anthony Braxton, Abrams’ current activities include composing for various types
Kalaparush Ahra Difda, Leroy Jenkins, Steve McCall, Amina of instrumental combinations, performing solo piano concerts, and
Claudine Myers, Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Threadgill, and members touring throughout the world with various ensembles.
of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

2007
Toshiko
Akiyoshi
Bandleader Pianist Composer Arranger
Born December 12, 1929 in Dairen, Manchuria
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Photo by Lee Tanner

Long Yellow Road
RCA, 1974-75
O
Carnegie Hall Concert
Columbia, 1991
ver the course of a six- Four Seasons of Morita Village Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. In
decade career, pianist, band- BMG, 1996 1976, the band placed first in the DownBeat
leader, and composer-arranger Critics’ Poll, and Akiyoshi’s album Long
Hiroshima: Rising from the Abyss
Toshiko Akiyoshi has made a unique and vital True Life, 2001
Yellow Road was named best jazz album
contribution to the art of big band jazz. Born in of the year by Stereo Review. In the 1970s,
Toshiko Akiyoshi and the SWR Band,
Manchuria, where she began playing the piano Akiyoshi began exploring Japanese themes in
Let Freedom Swing
at age six, Akiyoshi moved back to Japan with Hanssler 2007
her compositions and arrangements, mixing them
her parents at the end of World War II. Her family, with the strong jazz base in her music.
enduring the hardships of the period, could not provide In 1982, the couple returned to New York, where
her with an instrument, and so, just to touch a piano, she took Akiyoshi re-formed her band with New York musicians. The
her first job as a musician playing in a dance-hall band. band enjoyed a critically successful debut at Carnegie Hall as part of
She was not exposed to real jazz until a Japanese record the 1983 Kool Jazz Festival. Akiyoshi has recorded 22 albums to date
collector introduced her to the work of Teddy Wilson, whose with the orchestra. Her recording Four Seasons of Morita Village was
music immediately impressed her. In 1952, pianist Oscar Peterson awarded the 1996 Swing Journal Silver Award, and her big band
discovered Akiyoshi while he was on a Jazz at the Philharmonic tour albums have received 14 Grammy Award nominations. Akiyoshi is
of Japan and recommended that producer Norman Granz record the first woman ever to place first in the Best Arranger and Composer
her. Thanks to this opportunity, she came to the United States in category in the DownBeat Readers’ Poll.
1956 to study at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. She moved In 1995, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra was invited to
to New York in 1959, playing at Birdland, the Village Gate, the Five play in China, and in 1996 Akiyoshi completed her autobiography
Spot, and the Half Note; but despite a brief attempt in the 1960s to Life With Jazz, which is now in its fifth printing in Japanese. Among
showcase her talents as a composer and arranger for large ensembles, the many honors she has received are the Shijahosho (1999, from the
she did not have the opportunity to form a big band until she moved to Emperor of Japan); the Japan Foundation Award, Order of the Rising
Los Angeles in 1972 with her husband, saxophonist/flutist Lew Sun, Gold Rays with Rosetta (2004, from the Emperor of Japan); and
Tabackin. The following year, the couple formed the Toshiko Akiyoshi the Asahi Award (2005, from the Asahi Shimbun newspaper).

2010
0000
A.B. SPELLMAN NEA JAZZ MASTERS award FOR
JAZZ ADVOCACY
GEORGE
AVAKIAN
Producer Manager Critic Jazz Historian Educator
Born March 15, 1919 in Armavir, Russia
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Photo by Ian P. Clifford Louis Armstrong, Plays W. C. Handy
G
Columbia, 1954
Duke Ellington, Ellington at Newport

Columbia, 1956
eorge Avakian is a record same time, he was acquiring a reputation as
producer and industry executive Miles Davis and Gil Evans, Miles Ahead a jazz researcher and critic of some renown,
known particularly for his pro- Columbia, 1957 having pieces printed in Tempo, DownBeat,
duction of jazz and popular albums at Columbia Benny Goodman, In Moscow Metronome, Mademoiselle, Pic, and the New
Records, including the first regular series of RCA Victor, 1962 York Times. Concerned about the lack of jazz
reissues of jazz albums. In 1948, he helped education, in 1946 Avakian started a course in
Sonny Rollins, Our Man in Jazz
establish the 33 1/3-rpm LP as the primary format RCA Victor, 1962-63 jazz history at the university level at New York
for popular music. University.
Avakian was born in Russia to Armenian parents, In 1948, Avakian introduced the LP record format
who moved the family to New York City in the early 1920s. In created by Columbia engineers and produced the industry’s
his teens he became enamored of jazz through radio programs such as first 100 long-playing discs of popular music and jazz. Two years later,
Let’s Dance with Benny Goodman. While a student at Yale University, he released the original 1938 recording of Benny Goodman’s Carnegie
Avakian convinced Decca Records to let him produce a 78-rpm record Hall concert—one of the first jazz albums to sell more than a million
of Eddie Condon, Pee Wee Russell, and others from the 1920s jazz copies. This inspired him to use the long-play format for something
scene in Chicago. Entitled Chicago Jazz, the recordings marked the new—the live recording.
first time jazz songs were produced in an album format rather than From 1959 onward, Avakian served as producer at Warner
as singles. Brothers, World Pacific, RCA Victor, and Atlantic, among others.
In 1940, he was asked by Columbia to produce the industry’s During the early 1960s, Avakian branched out, becoming the manager
first annotated reissue album series, called Hot Jazz Classics, which of Charles Lloyd and later of Keith Jarrett.
included seminal out-of-print selections from Louis Armstrong, Bessie He has received a knighthood from the Knights of Malta (1984);
Smith, Bix Beiderbecke, Fletcher Henderson, and Duke Ellington. He the former Soviet Union’s highest decoration (the Order of Lenin
included the first-ever unreleased and alternate takes in the series. In (1990)); a Lifetime Achievement Award from DownBeat magazine
effect, he had created the first history of jazz on records. (2000); and Europe’s prestigious jazz award, the Django d’ Or (2006).
After service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Avakian In 2008, France bestowed on him the rank of Commandeur des Arts et
began his 12-year tenure as a Columbia Records executive, eventually Lettres, and in 2009 he received the Trustees Award from the National
presiding over its Popular Music and International Divisions. At the Association of Recording Arts and Sciences for contributions to the
music industry worldwide.
2000
0000
DAVID
BAKER
trombonist cellist composer ARRANGER educator
Born December 21, 1931 in Indianapolis, IN
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george russell, Stratusphunk
Photo by Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES original jazz classics,1960
A
The Harlem Pipes
Liscio, 1985–86, 2003
true jazz renaissance man, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, worked on purely chamber and orchestral
David Baker has been active in Tribute to a Generation works. By the early 1970s, he had returned
the jazz community as musician, Smithsonian Folkways, 1992–1998 to the trombone––playing on Bill Evans’
composer, educator, conductor, and author. Of Steppin’ Out 1972 album Living Time, with George
all the NEA Jazz Masters, he is one of the most Liscio, 1998 Russell arranging––while continuing to play
active as a college and university educator. buselli/WAllarab jazz orchestra,
the cello as well. Although a strong player on
Baker’s music career began on the trombone Basically Baker both instruments, he is most renowned for his
in the early 1950s as he worked with local groups, as GM recordings, 2004 compositions.
well as Lionel Hampton, while working on his doctorate Baker became a distinguished professor of
at Indiana University. He lived in California in 1956-57, music at Indiana University and chairman of the Jazz
playing in the bands of Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson, and Department in 1966. He has published in numerous scholarly journals
returned to Indiana in 1958, leading his own big band for two years. and has written several musical treatises as well as having more than
He then attended the School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 1959- 2,000 compositions, 500 commissions, 65 recordings, and 70 books on
60, joining a stellar class of musicians that included members of the jazz and African-American music to his credit. Since 1991, Baker has
Ornette Coleman Quartet. Shortly thereafter he worked with the been the artistic and musical director of the acclaimed Smithsonian
George Russell band, playing on some of his influential early albums. Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
In Russell’s band, Baker’s trombone playing displayed exceptional He has received numerous awards and citations, including being
technique, utilizing avant-garde effects to accent the songs. nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for his composition Levels, a
An accident to his jaw eventually forced Baker to abandon his concerto for bass, jazz band, woodwinds, and strings; and receiving an
promising career as a trombonist. He switched to the cello in 1962, Emmy Award for his musical score of the PBS documentary For Gold
concentrating on composition. As a composer he has contributed and Glory. He has served as a member of the NEA’s National Council
a broad range of works, from small ensemble to orchestral, often on the Arts, was founding president of the National Jazz Service
straddling the fence between jazz and chamber music. He has also Organization, and is former president of the International Association
for Jazz Education.

1991
DANNY
BARKER
guitarist banjoist vocalist composer educator
Born January 13, 1909 in New Orleans, LA

Died March 13, 1994
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Blue Lu Barker, 1938-39
Photo by Lee Tanner
Classics, 1938-39
U
Blue Lu Barker, 1946-49
Classics, 1946-49
pholder of the New Orleans Save the Bones recordings in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
tradition of jazz and blues, this Orleans, 1988 In 1947, Barker appeared on the This Is Jazz
master guitar and banjo player was radio series, and began playing banjo again.
Blue Lu Barker, Live at
as well known for his humor and storytelling New Orleans Jazz Festival He returned to New York in 1949, working
as for his playing. Many of the younger New Orleans, 1989 with trombonists Wilbur De Paris and Conrad
Orleans musicians also credit him with providing Janis, and accompanied his wife on gigs. In the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jelly
invaluable information, instruction, and mentoring. Columbia, 1993
early 1960s, he led his own band at Jimmy Ryan’s
He started his musical training on the clarinet, on 52nd Street, then returned to the Crescent City
instructed by the great Barney Bigard, and moved on to in 1965. Barker continued playing up to the end of his
the drums, taught by his uncle, Paul Barbarin. These instances life, even appearing on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s 1993
of musical guidance and instruction available in New Orleans would recording, Jelly. A number of his compositions have been widely
inspire him to carry on the tradition of mentoring younger musicians. interpreted, such as “Save the Bones for Henry Jones.”
He later took up the ukulele and the banjo, and began finding work Just as important as his performing career were his educational
with jazz and blues artists such as the Boozan Kings and Little activities. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1965, he
Brother Montgomery. In 1930 he moved to New York, where he met worked for 10 years as an assistant curator for the New Orleans Jazz
his wife, vocalist Blue Lu Barker, with whom he frequently recorded. Museum, helping to continue interest in the culture and tradition of
He also wrote many of the songs she performed, such as “Don’t You the music. He also mentored young musicians through his leadership
Feel My Leg.” By then he had switched from banjo to guitar and of the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band. Barker was a writer as
found work with Sidney Bechet, James P. Johnson, Albert Nicholas, well, co-authoring with Jack Buerkle a study on New Orleans music,
Fess Williams, and Henry “Red” Allen. He spent the rest of the 1930s Bourbon Street Black, and writing his memoirs, A Life in Jazz.
working with the big bands of Lucky Millinder, Benny Carter, and
Cab Calloway, with whom he stayed for seven years.
In the late 1940s he traveled as a freelance musician, making

2006
0000
RAY
BARRETTO
pERCUSSIONist bANDLEADER
Born April 29, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY

Died February 17, 2006
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Photo by Lee Tanner

Charanga Moderna
T
Tico, 1962
Hard Hands
he most widely recorded con- Fania, 1968 a house musician for the Prestige, Blue Note,
guero in jazz, Ray Barretto grew up Rican/Struction and Riverside record labels.
listening to the music of Puerto Rico Fania, 1979 Barretto’s first job as a bandleader came
and the swing bands of Duke Ellington, Count Ancestral Messages in 1961, when Riverside producer Orrin
Basie, and Benny Goodman. Barretto credited Concord Picante, 1992 Keepnews asked him to form a charanga for
Dizzy Gillespie’s recording of “Manteca,” a recording, Pachanga With Barretto. His next
Homage to Art Blakey and
featuring conguero Chano Pozo, with his decision the Jazz Messengers album, Charanga Moderna, featured “El Watusi,”
to become a professional musician. Sunnyside, 2002 which became the first Latin number to penetrate
He first sat in on jam sessions at the Orlando, a Billboard’s Top-20 chart. In 1963, “El Watusi” went
G.I. jazz club in Munich. In 1949, after military service, he gold. In 1975 and 1976, Barretto earned back-to-back
returned to Harlem and taught himself to play the drums, getting Grammy nominations for his albums Barretto (with the prize-winning
his first regular job with Eddie Bonnemere’s Latin Jazz Combo. hit “Guarere”) and Barretto Live…Tomorrow. His 1979 album for
Barretto then played for four years with Cuban bandleader/pianist Fania, Rican/Struction, considered a classic of salsa, was named Best
José Curbelo. In 1957, he replaced Mongo Santamaria in Tito Album (1980) by Latin N.Y. magazine, and Barretto was named Conga
Puente’s band, with which he recorded his first album, Dance Player of the Year. He won a Grammy Award in 1990 for the song
Mania. After four years with Puente, he was one of the most sought- “Ritmo en el Corazon” with Celia Cruz.
after percussionists in New York, attending jam sessions with artists Barretto was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall
including Max Roach and Art Blakey and recording with Sonny of Fame in 1999. He was voted Jazz Percussionist of 2004 by the
Stitt, Lou Donaldson, Red Garland, Gene Ammons, Eddie “Lockjaw” Jazz Journalists Association and won the DownBeat critics poll for
Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader, and percussion in 2005. His recording Time Was, Time Is was nominated
Dizzy Gillespie. Barretto was so much in demand that in 1960 he was for a 2005 Grammy Award.

2010
KENNY
BARRON
Pianist Composer Educator
Born Born June 9, 1943 in Philadelphia, PA
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Peruvian Blue
Photo by Lee Tanner 32 Jazz, 1974
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Sphere, Four in One
Elektra, 1982
ith more than 40 albums to Wanton Spirit comprised Barron, Buster Williams, and
his name, and scores more that Verve, 1994 Monk band alumni Ben Riley and Charlie
he has appeared on, Kenny Canta Brasil Rouse. After Rouse’s passing in 1988, the
Barron’s imprint on jazz is large. The pianist Sunnyside, 2002 band took a hiatus before reuniting in 1998
has been recognized the world over as a master The Traveler (with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz replacing
of performance and composition. Sunnyside, 2007 Rouse) and releasing a recording for Verve
Barron started playing professionally Records.
in Philadelphia as a teenager with Mel Melvin’s Barron’s own recordings have earned him
orchestra, which also featured Barron’s brother Bill on nine Grammy nominations, among them Spirit Song,
tenor saxophone. At age 19, Barron moved to New York City Sambao, Night and the City (a duet recording with Charlie
and was hired by James Moody after the tenor saxophonist heard him Haden), and Wanton Spirit (a trio recording with Roy Haynes
play at the Five Spot. In 1962, he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band, an and Haden). He has won numerous jazz critics and readers’ polls
association that developed his appreciation for Latin and Caribbean from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and Jazziz magazines; and is a seven-
rhythms. After five years with Gillespie, Barron began to perform time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Best Pianist”
with Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, Buddy Rich, and Stanley honors.
Turrentine. In 1971, he joined Yusef Lateef’s band, an experience As a composer, Barron’s works have been featured in film and
that Barron acknowledges as having been a key influence on his documentaries, and he most recently scored the film Another Harvest
improvisational skills. Three years later, Barron recorded Sunset to Moon. In 2009 he was named a Living Legacy by the Mid Atlantic Arts
Dawn, his first album as a leader. Foundation and was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame in
Throughout the 1980s, Barron collaborated with the great tenor 2005.
saxophonist Stan Getz, touring with his quartet and recording As a long-standing professor of music at Rutgers University (1974-
several albums, one of which was nominated for a Grammy Award 2000), Barron mentored many of today’s established jazz talents,
(People Time). In 1982, he co-founded the quartet Sphere, which including David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, and Regina Bell. He
was dedicated to Thelonious Monk’s music and inspiration. Sphere continues to tour internationally solo and with his trio.

1983
COUNT
BASIE
bandleader pianist organist composer arranger
Born August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, NJ

Died April 26, 1984
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The Original American
Photo by Lee Tanner
Decca Recordings
T
MCA, 1937-39
April in Paris
Verve, 1956
hough a pianist and occasional and Herschel Evans on saxophones; Buck
organist, William “Count” Basie’s The Complete Atomic Basie Clayton and Sweets Edison on trumpets;
fame stems mainly from his history Roulette, 1957 and Benny Morton and Dicky Wells on
as one of the great bandleaders. Basie’s Count Basie and the Kansas City 7 trombones. With a swinging rhythm section
arrangements made good use of soloists, allowing Impulse!, 1962 and top-notch soloists in the horn section,
musicians such as Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Basie’s band became one of the most popular
The Basie Big Band
Sweets Edison, and Frank Foster to create some Pablo, 1975 between 1937-49, scoring such swing hits as “One
of their best work. Although his strength was as a O’Clock Jump” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.”
bandleader, Basie’s sparse piano style often delighted Lester Young’s tenor saxophone playing during this
audiences with its swinging simplicity. period, in particular on such recordings as “Lester Leaps In”
Basie’s first teacher was his mother, who taught him piano. Later, and “Taxi War Dance,” influenced jazz musicians for years to come.
the informal organ lessons from his mentor Fats Waller helped him In addition, Basie’s use of great singers such as Helen Humes and
find work in a theater accompanying silent films. In 1927, Basie found Jimmy Rushing enhanced his band’s sound and popularity.
himself in Kansas City, playing with two of the most famous bands in Economics forced Basie to pare down to a septet in 1950. By
the city: Walter Page’s Blue Devils and the Bennie Moten band. In 1952 he had returned to his big band sound, organizing what became
1935, Basie started his own Kansas City band, engaging the core of the euphemistically known as his “New Testament” band, which began
Moten band. They performed nightly radio broadcasts, which caught a residency at Birdland in New York. The new band retained the
the attention of music producer John Hammond. In 1936, Hammond same high standards of musicianship as the earlier version, with such
brought the Basie band to New York, where it opened at the Roseland standouts as Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Eddie “Lockjaw” Smith, Thad
Ballroom. By the next year, the band was a fixture on 52nd Street, in Jones, and Joe Williams. Foster’s composition “Shiny Stockings” and
residence at the Famous Door. Williams’ rendition of “Every Day” brought Basie a couple of much-
During this time the key to Basie’s band was what became needed hits in the mid-1950s. In addition to achieving success with his
known as the “All-American Rhythm Section”––Freddie Green on own singers, he also enjoyed acclaim for records backing such stars as
guitar, Walter Page on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. The horns Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Tony Bennett. Basie continued
were also quite potent, including Lester Young, Earl Warren, to perform and record until his death in 1984.

1994
0000
LOUIE
BELLSON
drummer composer arranger bandleader educator
Born July 6, 1924 in Rock Falls, IL

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Live in Stereo at the
Photo by Lee Tanner
Flamingo Hotel, Vol. 1
R
Jazz Hour, 1959
Dynamite!
Concord, 1979
eferred to by Duke Ellington a dozen books on drums and percussion, and
as “not only the world’s greatest East Side Suite was a six-time Grammy Award nominee. In
drummer…[but also] the world’s Musicmasters, 1987 1998, he was hailed—along with Roy Haynes,
greatest musician,” Louie Bellson had expressed Live from New York Elvin Jones, and Max Roach—as one of four
himself on drums since age three. At 15, he Telarc, 1993 “Living Legends of Music” when he received the
pioneered the double bass drum set-up, and two American Drummers Achievement Award from
The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson
years later he triumphed over 40,000 drummers to Percussion Power, 2005 the Zildjian Company.
win the Gene Krupa drumming contest. Bellson also was a highly sought-after educator,
Bellson performed on more than 200 albums as giving music and drum workshops and clinics, teaching
one of the most sought-after big band drummers, working not only his dynamic drumming technique but also jazz
with such greats as Duke Ellington (who recorded many of Bellson’s heritage. He was awarded four honorary doctoral degrees from
compositions), Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry Northern Illinois University, Denison University, Augustana College,
James, Woody Herman, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie and DePaul University.
Armstrong, and Lionel Hampton. He toured with Norman Granz’s In 2003, a historical landmark was dedicated at his birthplace in
all-star Jazz at the Philharmonic, and worked with many vocalists, Rock Falls, Illinois, inaugurating an annual three-day celebration
including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Joe there in his honor. His 2005 recording, The Sacred Music of Louie
Williams, and his wife, Pearl Bailey, for whom he served as musical Bellson, showcased his prowess for blending orchestral music, choir,
director. He also appeared in several films in the 1940s, including The and big band. In 2007, Bellson was one of 36 musicians receiving the
Power Girl, The Gang’s All Here, and A Song is Born. Living Jazz Legend Award from the Kennedy Center and one of three
A prolific composer, Bellson had more than 1,000 compositions and honored as ASCAP Jazz Living Legends by the American Society of
arrangements to his name, embracing jazz, swing, orchestral suites, Composers, Authors and Publishers.
symphonic works, and ballets. As an author, he published more than

2006
TONY
BENNETT
VOCALIST
Born August 3, 1926 in Queens, NY
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The Beat of My Heart
Photo by Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES
Columbia, 1957
C
In Person with Count Basie
and His Orchestra
Columbia, 1958
alled “the best singer in the In 1962, Bennett recorded “I Left My
business” by Frank Sinatra, Tony The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album Heart in San Francisco,” the song that would
Bennett was born as Anthony Columbia, 1975 become his signature, and for which he won
Dominick Benedetto in 1926 in the Astoria On Holiday: A Tribute to Billie Holiday Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and
section of Queens, New York. By age 10, he Columbia, 1996 Best Solo Male Vocal Performance. Over the
had attracted such notice that he was tapped to next years, while putting out singles and albums
Playin’ with my Friends:
sing at the opening ceremony for the Triborough Bennett Sings the Blues that were consistently among the most popular in
Bridge. He attended the High School of Industrial Columbia, 2001 the country, he continued to infuse his singing with
Arts, worked as a singing waiter, and then performed the spontaneity of jazz and to record and tour with
with military bands during his Army service in World War II. bands composed almost exclusively of jazz musicians.
After the war, he continued his vocal studies formally at the American In the 1970s, Bennett formed his own record company and made
Theatre Wing school and informally in the 52nd Street jazz clubs. His albums including two duet recording with pianist Bill Evans. His
break came in 1949, when Bob Hope saw him working in a Greenwich 1992 release, Perfectly Frank, a tribute to Frank Sinatra, and 1993
Village club with Pearl Bailey, invited him to join his show at the Steppin’ Out, a tribute to Fred Astaire, went gold and won him back-
Paramount, and changed his stage name to Tony Bennett. to-back Grammy Awards. Bennett received Grammy’s highest award,
Bennett’s recording career began in 1950, when he signed with Album of the Year, in 1994 for his live recording, MTV Unplugged,
the Columbia label, with the number one hit “Because of You,” and was honored with the academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in
followed by his cover of Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart.” With 2001. Also in 2001, he founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
a string of hits to his credit, Bennett was able to exert greater artistic (named for his friend) in Queens, a public school dedicated to teaching
influence over his recordings, allowing him to express his interest in the performing arts.
jazz, notably The Beat of My Heart, on which he was accompanied
primarily with jazz percussionists, and his work with Count Basie, In
Person with Count Basie and His Orchestra.

2009
0000
GEORGE
BENSON
Guitarist Vocalist
Born March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, PA
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The New Boss Guitar
Photo by Lee Tanner of George Benson
Prestige/OJC, 1964
A
The Other Side of Abbey Road
A&M, 1969
ppreciated as both a mu- Despite his success, Benson’s desire to
sician and performer, George Weekend in L.A. combine his singing and guitar playing was
Benson plays the dual role of expert Warner Brothers, 1977 blocked until he worked with music producer
improviser and vibrant entertainer. Rounding Tenderly Tommy LiPuma. The result was Breezin’, the
out his singular approach with a strong sense Warner Brothers, 1989 first jazz record to attain platinum sales. The
of swing, he is considered one of the greatest Absolute Benson 1976 blockbuster, his first in a long association
guitarists in jazz. GRP, 1999 with Warner Brothers Records, brought Benson
Benson began his career as a guitarist working to the attention of the general public with such
the corner pubs of his native Pittsburgh. Legendary hits as his soulful rendition of Leon Russell’s “This
jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery came across Benson early on, Masquerade,” which featured the guitarist scatting along with
complimenting him and urging him to continue his already impressive his solo break. He followed up with many pop hits, including a sultry
work. In the early 1960s, Benson apprenticed with organist Brother version of “On Broadway” and the irresistible “Give Me the Night”
Jack McDuff; he found the organist’s gritty swing a fertile ground for (produced by Quincy Jones).
the sly, confident, and adventurous guitar lines that earned him an In the mid-1990s Benson followed LiPuma to the GRP label
early reputation as a master. where they released three well-received albums highlighting Benson’s
By the time legendary talent scout John Hammond signed Benson vocal and guitar prowess. In 2006, Benson and vocalist/songwriter Al
to Columbia, the guitarist’s name was becoming known throughout the Jarreau released Givin’ It Up with Benson’s current label, Concord
industry. In the late 1960s he sat in on Miles Davis’ Miles in the Sky Music Group.
sessions, and also put a personal spin on the tunes from the Beatles’ Benson has won ten Grammy Awards, thrilling many crowds
Abbey Road. Joining the CTI label in 1970, Benson was united with around the world with his performances, including recent appearances
many of jazz’s finest instrumentalists—including Stanley Turrentine, at Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka celebration and the Mawazine Festival in
Ron Carter, and Freddie Hubbard—and released classic albums, Morocco.
such as Beyond the Blue Horizon.

1988
ART
BLAKEY
drummer bandleader
Born October 11, 1919 in Pittsburgh, PA

Died October 16, 1990
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A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1-2
Photo by Lee Tanner
Blue Note, 1954
A
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers
with Thelonious Monk
Atlantic, 1957
rt Blakey’s Jazz Messengers The Messengers made a concerted effort at
not only supplied consistently Moanin’ rekindling the black audience for jazz that
exciting and innovative music Blue Note, 1958 had begun to erode when the ballroom era of
for nearly 40 years, but also provided the Buhaina’s Delight jazz declined.
experience and mentoring for young musicians Blue Note, 1961 Blakey powered his bands with a distinctive,
to learn their trade. Though self-taught, Blakey take-no-prisoners style of drumming that
Keystone 3
was already leading his own dance band by age Concord, 1982 recalled the thunderous and communicative drum
14. Blakey’s first noted sideman job came in 1942 traditions of Africa. Though his drumming became
with Mary Lou Williams, whom he joined for a club among the most easily recognized sounds in jazz, Blakey
engagement at Kelly’s Stables in New York. The following year always played for the band, prodding on his immensely
he joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, where he stayed until talented colleagues’ solos.
joining Billy Eckstine’s modern jazz big band in 1944. A subsequent From the first Jazz Messengers band he formed, Blakey has
trip to Africa, ostensibly to immerse himself in Islam, revealed to him welcomed generations of exceptional young musicians who have
that jazz was truly an American music, which he preached from the evolved into prominent bandleaders and contributors themselves.
bandstand thereafter. He adopted the Muslim name of Abdullah Ibn That list, reading like a Who’s Who of jazz, includes Donald Byrd,
Buhaina, but continued to record under Art Blakey. Curtis Fuller, Johnny Griffin, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Wayne
In the early 1950s, he worked with such greats as Miles Davis, Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Woody Shaw, Joanne
Charlie Parker, Horace Silver, and Clifford Brown. The latter Brackeen, Bobby Watson, James Williams, and three of the Marsalis
two became members of the Jazz Messengers, which was originally a brothers (Wynton, Branford, and Delfeayo). His mentoring of these
cooperative unit. Brown, then Silver, left to form their own bands and musicians, helping them to hone their skills and preparing them to
Blakey became the leader of the Jazz Messengers. The Messengers went lead their own bands, has helped keep the jazz tradition alive and
on to play in a style that critics called hard bop, a logical progression thriving. For the remainder of his career, Blakey continued to take
on the bebop style that was more hard-driving and blues-oriented. the Jazz Messengers message across the globe.

2006
0000
BOB
BROOKMEYER
TROMBONist PIANist COMPOSER arranger EDUCATOR
Born December 19, 1929 in Kansas City, MO
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Photo by Lee Tanner Gerry Mulligan Quartet,

At Storyville
A
Pacific Jazz, 1956
The Blues Hot and Cold

n innovative composer and Verve, 1960 Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, formed in 1965.
gifted arranger for both small Back Again After a decade spent in California as a studio
and large ensembles, as well as Sonet, 1978 musician, Brookmeyer returned to New
an outstanding performer on valve trombone York in 1978 to play with Stan Getz and Jim
Paris Suite
and piano, Bob Brookmeyer has been making Challenge, 1993
Hall, and then in 1979 rejoined the Mel Lewis
music for more than 50 years. A professional Orchestra, becoming its musical director after
performer with dance bands since the age of 14, Get Well Soon the departure of Thad Jones.
Challenge, 2002
he studied composition for three years at the Kansas From 1981 to 1991, Brookmeyer was busy as a
City Conservatory of Music, where he won the Carl Busch composer and performer in Europe, working in both
Prize for Choral Composition. In the early 1950s, he traveled classical and jazz idioms. He began teaching at the Manhattan
to New York as a pianist with Tex Benecke and Mel Lewis and stayed School of Music in 1985 and directed the BMI Composers Workshop
on to freelance with artists including Pee Wee Russell, Ben Webster, from 1989 to 1991. He has served as musical director of the Schlewsig-
and Coleman Hawkins. Holstein Musik Festival Big Band/New Art Orchestra, the Stanley
After a period with Claude Thornhill, Brookmeyer joined Stan Knowles Distinguished Visiting Professor at Brandon University in
Getz in late 1952, an association that took him to California, where Manitoba, and director of the New England Conservatory’s Jazz
Gerry Mulligan asked him to join his quartet. Brookmeyer gained Composers’ Workshop Orchestra. A composer whose work has been
renown as a member of that group (1954-57) and as a member of widely published, studied, and performed, Brookmeyer has received
the experimental Jimmy Giuffre 3 (1957-58), comprising Giuffre’s grants in composition from the National Endowment for the Arts and
reeds, Jim Hall’s guitar, and Brookmeyer’s valve trombone. His long nominations from the National Association of Recording Arts and
association with Mulligan included work with the Concert Jazz Band, Sciences for composing and performing, and he was commissioned by
which Brookmeyer helped to form and maintain, and for which he the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic to write a piece for an EMI
wrote arrangements. disc featuring trumpet player Till Broenner. A concert-length piece for
In 1961, Brookmeyer and Clark Terry formed their legendary the New Art Orchestra, Spirit Music, was released in 2007.
quintet, which lasted until 1968. Brookmeyer was also busy during
this time as lead trombonist and arranger-composer for The Thad

1987
CLEO
BROWN
PIANIST VOCALIST
Born December 8, 1909 in Meridian, MS

Died April 15, 1995
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Various Artists,
Photo courtesy of Ray Avery Photo Archives/CTSIMAGES
Boogie Woogie Stomp
C
ASV/Living Era, 1930s-40s
The Legendary Cleo Brown

President, 1930s
leo Brown bears the distinction pianist. Brown began to gain international
of being the first woman Here Comes Cleo renown for her work, and she continued to
instrumentalist honored with the Hep, 1935-36 perform regularly in New York, Hollywood,
NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. Her family 1935-1951 Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
moved to Chicago in 1919 and four years later, Classics, 1935-51 until 1953, making records for Capitol Records
at age 14, she started working professionally and performing with the Decca All-Stars, among
Living in the Afterglow
with a vaudeville show. Her brother Everett, who Audiophile, 1987 others.
worked with “Pine Top” Smith, taught her the boogie Brown then dropped out of the music business
woogie piano style that became her trademark. completely and took up full-time nursing. After retiring
Brown performed in the Chicago area during the late from nursing in 1973, she returned to music, spending her
1920s. In 1935, she replaced Fats Waller on his New York radio series latter years as a church musician in her Seventh Day Adventist
on WABC, and soon began recording. Her version of “Pine Top’s Church in Denver, Colorado. In 1987, Marian McPartland sought
Boogie Woogie” was influential on pianists that came after her, and she out Brown as a guest on her long-running radio series, Piano Jazz.
is credited with being an early influence on Dave Brubeck, who played A recording of the program was released as Living in the Afterglow,
during the intermissions of her shows, and Marian McPartland, Brown’s last recording. Although all the numbers are gospel songs
among others. Through the 1950s she worked frequently at that city’s (many are originals by Brown), they are played in the same rollicking
Three Deuces club, establishing a reputation as a two-fisted, driving style as her 1930s recordings.

1995
0000
RAY
BROWN
BASSIST EDUCATOR
Born October 13, 1926 in Pittsburgh, PA

Died July 2, 2002
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The Ultimate
Oscar Peterson,
Photo by Lee Tanner Oscar Peterson
Verve, 1956-64
R
Much in Common
Verve, 1962-65
ay Brown’s dexterity and rich Dizzy Gillespie’s rhythm section and later as
Summer Wind: Live at the Loa
sound on the bass made him one Concord, 1988 a member of the Milt Jackson Quartet, the
of the most popular and prolific precursor to the Modern Jazz Quartet. In the
Some of My Best Friends Are....
musicians in jazz for more than 50 years. The late 1970s, Brown formed his first full-time
The Sax Players
Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD notes that Brown Telarc, 1995 trio, which was to become his favored touring
is the most cited musician in the first edition of Ray Brown with John Clayton
and performance unit over the next couple of
the guide, both for his own small ensemble work and Christian McBride, Super decades. He utilized a variety of up-and-coming
and as a sideman, testifying to his productivity. Bass 2, Telarc, 2001 musicians in his bands, including pianists Gene
Brown started on piano at age eight and began Harris, Monty Alexander, Benny Green, and Geoff
playing the bass at 17, performing his first professional Keezer and drummers Jeff Hamilton, Lewis Nash,
job at a Pittsburgh club in 1943. His first significant tour was Gregory Hutchinson, and Kariem Riggins.
with bandleader Snookum Russell in 1944; he moved to New York Brown was also involved in jazz education, including authoring
the following year. By 1946 he was working in Dizzy Gillespie’s band, the Ray Brown Bass Book 1, an instructional volume. He served as
and in 1948 he formed a trio with Hank Jones and Charlie Smith. In mentor to numerous young musicians, including those who have passed
1948, he married Ella Fitzgerald and became musical director on her through his groups and special guests he invited to play on a series of
solo and Jazz at the Philharmonic tours until their breakup in 1952. 1990s recordings for the Telarc label titled Some of My Best Friends
In 1951, he began a stint with the Oscar Peterson Trio that lasted until are.... These have included pianists, saxophonists, trumpeters, and
1966. It was in Peterson’s group that Brown’s prowess on the bass vocalists. Some of the great younger bassists, such as John Clayton
began getting attention, anchoring the trio’s sound in both the piano- and Christian McBride, count him as a major influence on their
guitar and piano-drums configurations. sound. In 2003, Brown was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall
In the mid-1960s, Brown co-led a quintet with vibraphonist of Fame.
Milt Jackson, with whom he had worked in the 1940s as part of

1999
DAVE
BRUBECK
pianist composer
Born December 6, 1920 in Concord, CA
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Jazz at Oberlin
Photo by Tom Pich
Original Jazz Classics, 1953
D
Time Out
Columbia, 1959
ave Brubeck, declared a The Real Ambassadors “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” based on a Turkish
“Living Legend” by the Library Columbia/Legacy, 1961 folk rhythm, and Desmond’s “Take Five”
of Congress, continues to be one appeared on jukeboxes throughout the world.
Classical Brubeck
of the most active and popular jazz musicians Telarc, 2002 Throughout his career, Brubeck has
in the world today. His experiments with odd continued to experiment with integrating jazz
London Flat, London Sharp and classical music. In 1959, he premiered
time signatures, improvised counterpoint, and a Telarc, 2004
distinctive harmonic approach are the hallmarks of and recorded his brother Howard’s Dialogues
his unique musical style. for Jazz Combo and Orchestra with the New York
Born into a musically inclined family—his two older Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein. In 1960, he
brothers were professional musicians—he began taking piano composed Points on Jazz for the American Ballet Theatre,
lessons from his mother, a classical pianist, at age four. After graduating and in later decades composed for and performed with the Murray
from College of the Pacific in 1942, he enlisted in the Army, and while Louis Dance Co. His musical theater piece, The Real Ambassadors
serving in Europe led an integrated G.I. jazz band. starring Louis Armstrong and Carmen McRae, was also written and
At the end of World War II, he studied composition at Mills College recorded in 1960 and performed to great acclaim at the 1962 Monterey
with French classical composer Darius Milhaud, who encouraged Jazz Festival. The classic Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond,
him to introduce jazz elements into his classical compositions. This Eugene Wright, and Joe Morello was dissolved in December 1967
experimentation with mixed genres led to the formation of the Dave and Brubeck’s first of many oratorios, The Light in the Wilderness,
Brubeck Octet that included Paul Desmond, Bill Smith, and Cal premiered in 1968.
Tjader. In 1949, Brubeck formed an award-winning trio with Cal He has received many honors in the U.S. and abroad for his
Tjader and Ron Crotty, and in 1951 expanded the band to include contribution to jazz, including the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy
Desmond. Brubeck became the first jazz artist to make the cover Lifetime Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, and
of Time magazine, in 1954, and in 1958 performed in Europe and the Austrian Medal of the Arts. In 2008, Brubeck received the
the Middle East for the U.S. State Department, leading to the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy from the U.S. State
introduction of music from other cultures into his repertoire. In 1959, Department for “introducing the language, the sounds, and the spirit
the Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded an experiment in time signatures, of jazz to new generations around the world.”
Time Out. The album sold more than a million copies, and Brubeck’s

2005
0000
KENNY
BURRELL
Guitarist Composer Educator
Born July 31, 1931 in Detroit, MI
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Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
Photo by Lee Tanner Prestige/OJC, 1958
K
Midnight Blue
Blue Note, 1963
enny Burrell pioneered the Guitar Forms Burrell’s compositions have been
guitar-led trio with bass and Verve, 1964 recorded by artists including Ray Brown,
drums in the late 1950s. Known Kenny Burrell & the Boys Choir of Harlem, June Christy, Grover Washington, Jr., Frank
for his harmonic creativity, lush tones, and Love is the Answer Wess, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His extended
lyricism on the guitar, he is also a prolific and Concord Jazz, 1997 composition for the Boys Choir of Harlem was
highly regarded composer. Born in Detroit in 75th Birthday Bash Live! premiered at New York’s Lincoln Center, and his
1931, he found musical colleagues at an early age Blue Note, 2006 “Dear Ella,” performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater,
among Paul Chambers, Tommy Flanagan, Frank won a 1998 Grammy Award.
Foster, Yusef Lateef, and the brothers Thad, Hank, and In addition to performing and recording, he is a
Elvin Jones. While still a student at Wayne State University, professor of music and ethnomusicology at the University of
he made his first major recording in 1951 with Dizzy Gillespie, John California at Los Angeles. A recognized authority on the music of Duke
Coltrane, Percy Heath, and Milt Jackson. Ellington, he developed the first regular college course ever taught
After graduation, he toured for six months with the Oscar Peterson in the United States on Ellington in 1978. In 1997, he was appointed
Trio and then moved to New York, where he performed in Broadway director of the jazz studies program at UCLA, where he has enlisted
pit bands, on pop and R&B studio sessions (with Lena Horne, Tony such faculty members as George Bohanon, Billy Childs, Billy Higgins,
Bennett, and James Brown), in jazz venues, and on jazz recordings. Harold Land, Bobby Rodriguez, and Gerald Wilson.
He went on to work and/or record with such artists as Nat King Cole, Kenny Burrell is the author of two books, Jazz Guitar and Jazz
Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Gene Ammons, Kenny Dorham, Benny Guitar Solos. In 2004, he received a Jazz Educator of the Year Award
Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, and Jimmy Smith. As a leader, he has from DownBeat. He is a founder of the Jazz Heritage Foundation and
recorded more than 90 albums and is a featured guitarist on more the Friends of Jazz at UCLA and is recognized as an international
than 200 jazz recordings, including ones with Art Blakey, Herbie ambassador for jazz and its promotion as an art form.
Hancock, and Quincy Jones.

2000
DONALD
BYRD
trumpetER flugelhornIST educator
Born December 9, 1932 in Detroit, MI
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First Flight
Photo by Lee Tanner
Denmark, 1955
A
At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1 + 2
Blue Note, 1960
pioneer jazz educator on Electric Byrd In the early 1960s, he became a bandleader
African-American college and uni- Blue Note, 1970 of his own touring quintet. During 1965-66
versity campuses, as well as general he was a house arranger for the Norwegian
Black Byrd
colleges and universities, Donald Byrd has also Blue Note, 1974 Radio Orchestra. It was also at this time that
been a leading improviser on trumpet. Raised in he became more active as an educator, teaching
the home of a Methodist minister and musician,
A City Called Heaven
Landmark, 1991
at New York’s Music & Art High School. He held
he learned music in the then highly regarded music clinics for the National Stage Band Camps, giving
education system in the Detroit high schools. Byrd private lessons and instruction. Among the college
went on to earn degrees from Wayne State University and university teaching appointments that followed were
and the Manhattan School of Music, eventually earning a Rutgers University, Hampton University, Howard University,
doctorate from the University of Colorado School of Education. He North Carolina Central University, North Texas State, and Delaware
studied music with the famed teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris in State University. He also earned a law degree between teaching
1963. appointments.
Byrd played in the Air Force band during 1951-52, then relocated to At Howard University, where he was chairman of the Black Music
New York. Some of his earliest gigs in New York were with the George Department, he brought together a group of talented students to form
Wallington group at Cafe Bohemia. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Donald Byrd & the Blackbyrds, a pop-jazz band that had a hit record
Messengers in December 1955. Following his Messengers experience, for Blue Note, and continued to record—sans Byrd—for the Fantasy
he worked in a variety of bands with Max Roach, John Coltrane, Red label. His recorded innovations included the use of a vocal chorus,
Garland, and Gigi Gryce, refining his playing skills. In 1958 he co-led which resulted in his popular recording of “Cristo Redemptor,” as
a band with fellow Detroiter Pepper Adams, which continued for the well as his engagements of gospel texts.
next three years.

2008
0000
CANDIDO
CAMERO
percussionist
Born April 22, 1921 in Havana, Cuba
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The Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor,
Photo by Tom Pich Trio with Candido
Prestige/OJC, 1954
S
Candido
Verve, 1956
o well known and respected, his (at a time when other congueros were playing
first name alone—Candido—is all Brujerias de Candido: Candido’s only one) in addition to a cowbell and guiro
that is necessary for jazz aficionados Latin McGuffa’s Dust (a fluted gourd played with strokes from a
Tico, 1971
to know who he is. Credited with being the stick). He created another unique playing
Candido camero/Carlos valdes/
first percussionist to bring conga drumming giovanni hidalgo, Conga Kings
style by tuning his congas to specific pitches
to jazz, Candido Camero is also known for his Chesky, 1999 so that he could play melodies like a pianist. He
contributions to the development of mambo and became one of the best known congueros in the
Hands of Fire
Afro-Cuban jazz. Latin Jazz USA, 2006
country, appearing on such television shows as the
Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1921, Camero first began Ed Sullivan Show and the Jackie Gleason Show.
making music as a young child, beating rhythms on empty He has recorded and performed with seemingly
condensed milk cans in place of bongos. He worked for six years everybody in the jazz field, including such luminaries as Tony
with the CMQ Radio Orchestra and at the famed Cabaret Tropicana. Bennett, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Slide
He came to the United States in 1946 with the dance team Carmen Hampton, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, Gerry Mulligan, Charlie
and Rolando, and very soon after was playing with Billy Taylor, who Parker, Sonny Rollins, and Clark Terry. Among his many awards
wrote in 1954, “I have not heard anyone who even approaches the are the Latin Jazz USA Lifetime Achievement Award (2001) and a
wonderful balance between jazz and Cuban elements that Candido special achievement award from the American Society of Composers,
demonstrates.” Authors and Publishers as a “Legend of Jazz” (2005).
By the early 1950s, Camero was a featured soloist with the Stan The subject of the 2006 documentary, Candido: Hands of Fire,
Kenton Orchestra, with whom he toured the U.S. playing three congas Camero (entering his 90s) continues to perform throughout the world.

1986
BENNY
CARTER
saxophonIST trumpetER arranger
composer bandleader
Born August 8, 1907 in New York, NY

Died July 12, 2003
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All of Me
Photo by Lee Tanner
Bluebird, 1934-59
B
Jazz Giant
Original Jazz Classics, 1957-58
enny Carter made memorable Further Definitions with another new band in tow, he settled in
impressions as a great bandleader Impulse!, 1961-66 Los Angeles, his longtime home base. With
and improviser with a highly lucrative film studios calling, Carter began
Harlem Renaissance
influential style. Largely self-taught, Carter’s MusicMasters, 1992 scoring films and television. He became one
first instrument was the trumpet, although the of the first African Americans to be employed
Benny Carter and Phil Woods,
alto saxophone eventually became his principal in the field, easing the way for other black
Another Time, Another Place
instrument. Some of his earliest professional jobs Evening Star 1996 composers. His first film work was in 1943 on
were with bands led by cornetist June Clark and Stormy Weather.
pianist Earl Hines, where his unusual ability to play Starting in 1946, with his composing and arranging
both trumpet and saxophone was highly regarded. In 1930- skills in constant demand, Carter disbanded his orchestra
31 he spent a year with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, then and became largely a freelance player. He participated in tours with
for a short time he succeeded Don Redman as musical director of Jazz at the Philharmonic and wrote arrangements for major singers
McKinney’s Cotton Pickers. During the early 1930s, he also made his such as Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan,
first recordings with the Chocolate Dandies, which included Coleman and Louis Armstrong. Many of his subsequent recordings, such as the
Hawkins. In 1932, Carter formed his own big band. At various times widely hailed Further Definitions, were evidence of the depth of his
the band included such significant players as Ben Webster, Chu composing and arranging mastery.
Berry, Teddy Wilson, Dicky Wells, Bill Coleman, and Sid Catlett. Carter has received numerous awards during his long lifetime,
In 1934, Carter dissolved his band, migrating to Europe the next including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, a
year, where he served as a staff arranger for the BBC Orchestra in DownBeat International Critics Poll in the arranger’s category in
London until 1938. His work in Europe took on an ambassadorial 1988, Jazz Artist of the Year in both DownBeat and JazzTimes
tint: he freelanced with musicians in England and France and led a International Critics’ polls in 1990, and the National Medal of Arts
multiethnic band in Scandinavia in 1937. Growing restless, Carter in 2000. In 1996, a documentary on Carter, Symphony in Riffs, was
returned to the U.S. in 1938 and assembled a new big band, which released.
became the house band at the Savoy Ballroom through 1940. In 1942,

1992
0000
BETTY
CARTER
vocalIST BANDLEADER Educator
Born May 16, 1930 in Flint, MI

Died September 26, 1998
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I Can’t Help It
Photo by Lee Tanner Impulse!, 1958-60
B
At the Village Vanguard
Verve, 1970
etty Carter developed a The Audience with Betty Carter one of the first jazz artists to do so. Selling her
legendary reputation, along with Verve, 1979 own recordings through various distributors,
Art Blakey, as one of the great Look What I Got she was able to sustain her performing
mentors for young jazz musicians. Equally Verve, 1988 career. Carter was uncomfortable with studio
legendary was her singing prowess, creating Feed the Fire recordings, but live recordings, like The
a distinctive style of improvisation that could Verve, 1993 Audience with Betty Carter, demonstrate her
transcend any song. remarkably inventive singing and her ability to
Carter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory, drive the band.
a skill that served her well later in her career in writing Carter’s bands served a dual purpose: to create her
original songs. Growing up in Detroit, she was exposed to own great music and to help young musicians develop their
numerous jazz greats who passed through town, even getting a golden craft. Many of the musicians who passed through her groups went on to
opportunity as a teenager to sit in with Charlie Parker. Carter’s big lead their own groups, such as Geri Allen, Stephen Scott, Don Braden,
break came in 1948, when she was asked to join the Lionel Hampton and Christian McBride. She also developed a mentoring program
band. Developing her vocal improvisations during the three years with called Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead through links with organizations such
the band led to her singular singing style. Hampton, impressed with as the International Association for Jazz Education, 651 Arts, and
her saxophone-like improvisatory vocals, dubbed her “Betty Bebop.” the Kennedy Center. The program was a one- to two- week teaching
After leaving Hampton’s band, she worked variously with such greats seminar where nationally selected promising young jazz musicians
as Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and Sonny Rollins before creating her learned from Carter and other seasoned musicians, culminating in a
own band. final concert of instructors and students together. Jazz Ahead was one
Although she recorded for major record labels early in her of Carter’s proudest achievements, and she worked with the program
career, Carter became increasingly frustrated with record company up until her death. She received the National Medal of Arts in 1997.
dealings and disparities and formed her own label Bet-Car in 1971,

1998
RON
CARTER
bassIST cellIST composer educator
Born May 4, 1937 in Ferndale, MI
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Miles Davis,
Photo by Lee Tanner
E.S.P.
R
Columbia, 1965
Live at Village West

Concord, 1982
on Carter’s dexterity and “Eighty-One”—and the rhythm section of
harmonic sophistication on the Eight Plus Carter, Williams, and Hancock powered the
bass have few rivals in the history Dreyfus, 1990 horn section to greater heights. He remained
of jazz. In addition to the bass, he has also Brandenburg Concerto with Davis from 1963-68, whereupon he grew
employed both the cello and the piccolo bass (a Blue Note, 1995 tired of the rigors of the road, preferring
downsized bass pitched somewhere between cello to freelance, lead his own groups, and teach.
Dear Miles
and contrabass), one of the first musicians to use EMI 2006 Among the cooperative bands he performed with
those instruments in jazz settings. during the remainder of the 1960s were the New York
His pursuit of music began with the cello, at age Jazz Sextet and the New York Bass Choir. Throughout
10. One of the many students aspiring to be musicians in the the 1970s, he was a recording studio bassist in high demand,
Detroit public schools, he switched to the bass at Cass Tech High though he never stopped gigging with a variety of artists and bands,
School. He studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, including several touring all-star units such as the CTI All-Stars,
New York, and eventually made his way to New York City, where V.S.O.P. (ostensibly a reunion of the Davis band minus the leader),
he earned his master’s degree in Music from the Manhattan School and the Milestone Jazzstars, which included Sonny Rollins on tenor
of Music in 1961. He began freelancing, playing with a host of jazz saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, and Al Foster on drums.
greats, such as Chico Hamilton, Randy Weston, Bobby Timmons, His freelance work has continued throughout his career, including
Thelonious Monk, and Art Farmer. Carter cut three substantial chamber and orchestral work, film and television soundtracks,
albums with the great saxophonist Eric Dolphy, two under Dolphy’s and even some hip hop recordings. Carter continues to record with
name and one under his own. Carter’s Where? and Dolphy’s Out young musicians such as Stephen Scott and Lewis Nash, and his
There were groundbreaking in that Carter played cello against George college and university teaching career has also been quite active. He
Duvivier’s bass, creating a rich lower texture against which Dolphy is distinguished professor of music, emeritus of the City College of New
could contrast his playing. York, and has received honorary doctorate degrees from the Berklee
In 1963, he joined Miles Davis in what would become the School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the New England
trumpeter’s second great quintet that included Wayne Shorter, Conservatory in Boston. He has also written several books on playing
Tony Williams, and Herbie Hancock. Davis even recorded the bass, including Building A Jazz Bass Line.
some of Carter’s compositions—notably “R.J.,” “Mood,” and

1983
0000
KENNY
CLARKE
drumMER bandleader
Born January 2, 1914 in Pittsburgh, PA

Died January 26, 1985
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The Artistry
Modern Jazz Quartet,
Photo by Herman Leonard Photography LLC/CTSIMAGES of the Modern Jazz Quartet
Prestige, 1952-55
K
Bohemia After Dark
Savoy, 1955
enny Clarke, known among A stint in the Army from 1943-46
musicians as “Klook” for one of Discoveries introduced him to pianist John Lewis. After
his characteristic drum licks, is Savoy, 1955 their discharge he and Lewis joined Gillespie’s
truly a jazz pioneer. He was a leader in the Kenny Clarke Meets the Detroit Jazzmen bebop big band, which gave Clarke his first
rhythmic advances that signaled the beginning of Savoy, 1956 taste of Paris during a European tour. After
the modern jazz era, his drum style becoming the Clarke-Boland Big Band returning to New York, he joined the Milt
sound of bebop and influencing drummers such as RTE, 1968 Jackson Quartet, which metamorphosed into the
Art Blakey and Max Roach. Modern Jazz Quartet in 1952. Though he and Lewis
Clarke studied music broadly while in high school, remained friends, Clarke chafed at what he felt was
including piano, trombone, drums, vibraphone, and theory. the too-staid atmosphere of the MJQ. In 1956, he migrated
Such versatility of knowledge would later serve him well as a bandleader. to Paris, which became his home for nearly 30 years, working with
Clarke moved to New York in late 1935, where he first began developing Jacques Helian’s band and backing up visiting U.S. jazz artists.
his unique approach to the drums, one with a wider rhythmic palette During the years 1960-73, he co-led the major Europe-based jazz
than that of the swing band drummers. Instead of marking the count big band with Belgian pianist Francy Boland, the Clarke-Boland Big
with the top cymbal, Clarke used counter-rhythms to accent the beat, Band. The band featured the best of Europe’s jazz soloists, including
what became known as “dropping of bombs.” a number of exceptional U.S. expatriate musicians living in Europe.
He found a kindred spirit in Dizzy Gillespie when they hooked Among these were saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Sahib Shihab,
up in Teddy Hill’s band in 1939. A key opportunity to further and trumpeter Idrees Sulieman. After the disbanding of his big band,
expand his drum language came in late 1940 when he landed a gig in Clarke found numerous opportunities both on the bandstand and
the house band (with Thelonious Monk on piano, and Nick Fenton teaching in the classroom. He remained quite active as a freelancer,
on bass) at Minton’s Playhouse. It was this trio that welcomed often working with visiting U.S. jazz musicians, until his death in 1985.
such fellow travelers as guitarist Charlie Christian, Gillespie, In 1988, Clarke was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
and a host of others to its nightly jam sessions. These sessions
became the primary laboratory for their brand of jazz, which came
to be called bebop.

1991
BUCK
CLAYTON
trumpetER composer arranger
bandleader educator
Born November 12, 1911 in Parsons, KS

Died December 8, 1991
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The Classic Swing of
Photo by Lee Tanner Buck Clayton
A
Buck Special
Vogue, 1949-53
valued member of a variety of Wilson, Eddie Condon, Sidney Bechet, and
classic big bands, Wilbur “Buck” Jam Sessions from the Vaults Humphrey Littleton. His ability to improvise
Clayton was versatile enough Columbia, 1953-56 in a variety of styles made him much in
to thrive as a bandleader, session man, and Buck and Buddy demand for sessions, especially with vocalists
trumpet soloist. Clayton first studied piano with Original Jazz Classics, 1960 such as Billie Holiday.
his father beginning at age six, taking up the A Swingin’ Dream Physical issues with his embouchure—how
trumpet at age 17. He played in his church’s Stash, 1988 the mouth forms against the mouthpiece of the
orchestra until 1932 when he moved to California, instrument—caused him to relinquish the trumpet
taking various band jobs. In 1934, Clayton assembled his from 1972 until late in the decade, when he was able to
own band and took it to China for two years. resume playing for a U.S. State Department-sponsored tour
He joined Count Basie’s band in Kansas City in 1936 at the height of Africa. By 1979, however, he stopped playing permanently. While
of its popularity, playing his first prominent solo on “Fiesta in Blue.” he was unable to perform, Clayton wrote arrangements for various
He wrote several arrangements for Basie, including “Taps Miller” bands. That skill was fully exercised when he put together his own big
and “Red Bank Boogie,” before joining the Army in 1943. Following band in the mid-1980s, playing almost exclusively his own compositions
his discharge, he performed around New York through the end of the and arrangements. He also became an educator, teaching at Hunter
decade. Jazz at the Philharmonic tours took him overseas, and he College in the 1980s. He continued to freelance for the remainder of
made record sessions with artists like Jimmy Rushing and wrote charts his career, spending much of his last two decades teaching, lecturing,
for Duke Ellington and Harry James. In the early 1950s, he partnered and arranging. His autobiography, Buck Clayton’s Jazz World,
with pianist Joe Bushkin in the first of the influential Embers quartets. co-authored with Nancy M. Elliot, was published in 1987.
Other artists he worked with include Benny Goodman, Teddy

2009
JIMMY
COBB
Drummer EDUCATOR
Born January 20, 1929 in Washington, DC
ED DISCOGRA
LECT PH
SE Y
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

Photo by Lee Tanner
Columbia, 1959
A
Wes Montgomery, Smokin’ at
the Half Note
n accomplished accompanist Verve, 1965 Cobb released his first CD (and music
and soloist, Jimmy Cobb is best Joe Henderson, Four! video) for the A&E network in 1986; it
known for being a key part of Miles Verve, 1968 featured Freddie Hubbard, Gregory Hines,
Davis’ first great quintet in the late 1950s. Marsalis Music Honor Series and Bill Cosby. In 2006, Cobb was produced
Largely self-taught, Cobb spent his younger Marsalis Music/Rounder, 2005 by Branford Marsalis for the Marsalis Music
days in his hometown of Washington, DC, playing Honor Series, recorded around Cobb’s 75th
Cobb’s Corner
engagements with Charlie Rouse, Frank Wess, and Chesky, 2006
birthday. In the last few years, he has released
Billie Holiday, among others. He left DC in 1950, several albums as a leader—New York Time,
joining Earl Bostic, with whom he cut his first recordings, Cobb’s Corner, and West of 5th—playing with stalwart
before finding work with Dinah Washington, Pearl Bailey, musicians such as pianists Cedar Walton and Hank Jones
Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley. and relative newcomers such as bassist Christian McBride and
In 1957, Cobb began playing with Miles Davis, eventually trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
becoming part of a formidable rhythm section that included Paul Jimmy Cobb continues to play music in New York City, where he
Chambers on bass and Wynton Kelly on piano. Between 1957 and lives with his wife and two children. He now leads the Jimmy Cobb
1963, Cobb played (along with saxophonists John Coltrane and “So What” Band, celebrating 50 years of Kind of Blue and the music
Cannonball Adderley) on some of Davis’ most noted records: Kind of Miles Davis, and travels the international circuit. Cobb currently
of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come, Live at teaches master classes at Stanford University’s Jazz Workshop and
Carnegie Hall, Live at the Blackhawk, and Porgy and Bess, among has taught at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the
others. In 1963, Cobb left the Davis band to continue working as a trio University of Greensboro in North Carolina, the International Center
with Chambers and Kelly. The trio disbanded in the late 1960s, and for the Arts at San Francisco State University in California, and
Cobb worked with singer Sarah Vaughan for nine years. He then international educational institutions.
freelanced for the next 20 years with artists such as Sonny Stitt, Nat
Adderley, Ricky Ford, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George Coleman,
David “Fathead” Newman, and Nancy Wilson.

1984
ORNETTE
COLEMAN
saxophonIST trumpetER violinIST composer
Born March 9, 1930 in Ft. Worth, TX
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The Shape of Jazz to Come
Photo by Lee Tanner
Atlantic, 1959-60
Free Jazz
O
Atlantic, 1960
rnette Coleman is one of At the Golden Circle, his quartet was invited to participate in what
the true jazz innovators, whose Stockholm, Vol. 1-2 became a historic session at the Lenox School
sound is instantly recognizable Blue Note, 1965 of Jazz in Massachusetts, being championed
and unquestionably unique. Coleman’s work In All Languages by John Lewis and Gunther Schuller; and
has ranged from dissonance and atonality to Verve/Harmolodic, 1987 the band began an extended engagement at the
liberal use of electronic accompaniment in his Five Spot Cafe in New York. Meanwhile, Ornette
Sound Grammar
ensembles, as well as the engagement of various Sound Grammar, 2005 Coleman was developing an approach to his music
ethnic influences and elements from around the globe. that he was to dub “harmolodics.”
While experimenting with time and tone, his strong blues Coleman’s albums for Atlantic were quite
roots are always evident. controversial at the time. Perhaps the most controversial of
For the most part, Coleman has been self-taught, beginning this series of albums was Free Jazz, recorded with a double quartet as
on the alto saxophone at age 14. Coleman’s earliest performing essentially one continuous collective improvisation, which influenced
experiences were mostly with local rhythm-and-blues bands. Coleman avant-garde recordings in the 1960s and 1970s. After that recording,
settled in Los Angeles in 1952. His search for a different sound Coleman took time off from playing and recording to study trumpet
and approach, a means of escaping traditional chord patterns and violin.
and progressions, led some critics to suggest that he did not know how Since that time Coleman has expanded his compositional outlook.
to play his instrument. In reality, he was studying harmony and theory His writing includes works for wind ensembles, strings, and symphony
zealously from books while supporting himself as an elevator operator. orchestra (notably his symphony Skies of America, recorded with
His performances in clubs and jam sessions were often met with the London Philharmonic). Coleman’s ongoing experiments have
derision if not outright rejection and anger from his fellow musicians taken him to Northern Africa to work with the Master Musicians
and critics. Coleman soldiered on, honing his sound with like-minded of Joujouka, and he has performed with an electric ensemble he
musicians, including trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Billy Higgins, calls Prime Time. He is a recipient of Guggenheim Fellowships for
and bassist Charlie Haden. composition, a MacArthur grant, and the prestigious Gish Prize in
The year 1959 was an important one for Coleman and his band: he 2004. In 2007, he received the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his recording
signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records, recording the first Sound Grammar and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
album to really present his new sound, Tomorrow Is The Question!;

2006
0000
CHICK
COREA
Keyboardist COMPOSER ARRANGER
Born June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, MA
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Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Photo by Lee Tanner Blue Note, 1968
A
Return to Forever
ECM, 1972
groundbreaking artist both as Live in Montreux In 1971, Corea formed the ensemble
a keyboardist (piano, electric piano, Stretch, 1981 Return to Forever with Stanley Clarke on
synthesizer) and as a composer- Rendezvous in New York bass, Flora Purim on vocals, her husband
arranger, Chick Corea has moved fluidly among Stretch, 2001 Airto Moreira on drums, and Joe Farrell
jazz, fusion, and classical music throughout Chick Corea and Gary Burton,
on reeds. Within a year, the samba-flavored
a four-decade career, winning national and The New Crystal Silence group had become an innovative, high-energy
international honors including 16 Grammy Awards. Concord, 2007 electric fusion band, incorporating the firepower
He ranks with Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett as of drummer Lenny White and guitarist Al DiMeola.
one of the leading piano stylists to emerge after Bill Evans Spearheaded by Corea’s distinctive style on Moog
and McCoy Tyner, and he has composed such notable jazz synthesizer, Return to Forever led the mid-1970s fusion
standards as “Spain,” “La Fiesta,” and “Windows.” movement with albums such as Where Have I Known You Before,
Corea began playing piano and drums at an early age and enjoyed Romantic Warrior, and the Grammy Award-winning No Mystery. In
a childhood home filled with the music of Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, 1985, Corea formed a new fusion group, The Elektric Band, and a few
Dizzy Gillespie, and Lester Young, as well as Mozart and Beethoven. years later he formed The Akoustic Band. In 1992, he established his
From 1962 to 1966 he gained experience playing with the bands of own record label, Stretch Records.
Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo, Blue Mitchell, Herbie Mann, On the occasion of his 60th birthday in 2001, Corea put together
and Stan Getz. He made his recording debut as a leader with Tones an unprecedented musical gathering at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New
For Joan’s Bones (1966) and in 1968 recorded the classic trio album York City. The three-week event resulted in a double CD, Rendezvous
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes. in New York, and a two-hour film of the same name. In 2008, he
Following a short period with Sarah Vaughan, Corea then joined reunited the classic Return to Forever band and embarked on a world
Miles Davis’ group, gradually replacing Herbie Hancock. Davis tour. In 2010, he was selected for the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
persuaded Corea to play electric piano on the influential albums Filles He continues to create projects in multifaceted settings for listeners
de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and Miles Davis at around the world.
the Fillmore.

1984
MILES
DAVIS
trumpetER flugelhornIST composer bandleader
Born May 25, 1926 in Alton, IL

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Birth of the Cool
Photo by Lee Tanner
Capitol, 1949-50
M
Kind of Blue
Columbia, 1959
iles Davis was arguably the The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel by George Russell’s theories, had begun
most influential jazz musician in Columbia, 1965 playing in modes rather than standard chord
the post-World War II period, changes, which led to his most famous album
Bitches Brew
being at the forefront of changes in the genre for Columbia, 1969
(and the all-time biggest-selling jazz album),
more than 40 years. Kind of Blue, in 1959. Davis also continued an
Born into a middle-class family, Davis started Amandla important musical partnership with Gil Evans,
Warner Brothers, 1989
on the trumpet at age 13. His first professional recording four releases in five years: Miles Ahead,
music job came when he joined the Eddie Randall Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Quiet
band in St. Louis in 1941. In the fall of 1944 Davis took Nights.
a scholarship to attend the Juilliard School, a convenient In 1964, Davis assembled a new band of younger
passport to New York. It didn’t take him long to immerse himself in musicians, which became known as his second great quintet. This
the New York scene and he began working 52nd Street gigs alongside included Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, and Wayne
Charlie Parker in 1945. Soon, Davis found work with Coleman Shorter. By this time, the Miles Davis Quintet was recording mostly
Hawkins and the big bands of Billy Eckstine and Benny Carter. originals, with all the band members contributing memorable tunes.
During the late 1940s, a number of musical contemporaries began Davis’ horn playing also changed, increasing the spacing of notes to
to meet and jam regularly at the small apartment of arranger-pianist create more suspense in the music.
Gil Evans. Among them were saxophonists Gerry Mulligan and Lee In 1968, Davis again changed direction, leading the way for
Konitz, and pianist John Lewis. Out of this group of musicians, Davis electric jazz with the release of In a Silent Way. By the 1969 release
formed the nonet to record his first major musical statement, Birth of of Bitches Brew, as he deepened the electronic elements and rock
the Cool. In addition to the standard piano, bass, and drums rhythm rhythms of his music, the transformation was complete. By the mid-
section, Davis’ nonet horn section used French horn and tuba along 1970s, following the debilitating effects of a 1972 auto accident, Davis
with trombone and alto and baritone saxophones, lending the band a went into semi-retirement. He returned to the scene in 1980 and
unique harmonic sound. resumed touring in 1981, attracting newer fans. From then to 1991,
In 1955, Davis assembled his first important band with John Davis remained vital and popular, receiving the Grammy Lifetime
Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, Acheivement Award in 1990.
adding Cannonball Adderley in 1958. By this time Davis, influenced

2006
0000
BUDDY
DeFRANCO
clarinetist EDUCATOR
Born February 17, 1923 in Camden, NJ
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Cooking the Blues
Photo by Lee Tanner Verve, 1955
A
Blues Bag
Affinity, 1964
brilliant improviser and Hark Gillespie, Stan Getz, Lenny Tristano, Billy
prodigious technician who has Pablo/OJC, 1985 Eckstine, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Ray
bridged the swing and bebop eras, Cookin’ the Books Brown, Mel Torme, Louie Bellson, Oscar
Buddy DeFranco was born in Camden, New Arbors Jazz, 2003 Peterson, and the John Pizzarelli Trio, as
Jersey, and raised in South Philadelphia. He well as several Metronome All-Star sessions.
Charlie Cat 2
began playing the clarinet at age nine; at 14, he Arbors Jazz, 2006 He was a featured artist in numerous Jazz at
won a national Tommy Dorsey Swing Contest and the Philharmonic tours of Europe, Australia, and
appeared on the Saturday Night Swing Club with East Asia. In 1966, he became the leader of the Glenn
Gene Krupa. Johnny “Scat” Davis soon tapped him for Miller Orchestra, a post he maintained until 1974.
his big band, inaugurating DeFranco’s road career in 1939. Since the mid-1970s, DeFranco has combined a busy
DeFranco subsequently played in the bands of Gene Krupa (1941) teaching career with extensive touring and recording. His numerous
and Charlie Barnet (1942-43) and in 1944 became a featured soloist television performances have included appearances on The Tonight
with Tommy Dorsey. Meanwhile, the modern jazz revolution was in Show with both Steve Allen and Johnny Carson. He was a featured
progress, led by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Excited by the soloist on Stars of Jazz; had his own program on public television,
improvisatory freedom of their music, DeFranco became the first jazz The Buddy DeFranco Jazz Forum; and with his long-time musical
clarinetist to make his mark in the new idiom of bebop. colleague, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, shared the spotlight on a
In 1950, DeFranco joined the famous Count Basie Septet. He segment of the PBS series Club Date. DeFranco has played at concerts
toured Europe with Billie Holiday in 1954, led a quartet for three and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, New
years with Art Blakey, Kenny Drew, and Eugene Wright, and then Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, and Argentina. To date, he has
joined with Tommy Gumina in a quartet that explored polytonal recorded more than 160 albums, has won the DownBeat All Stars
music, further solidifying his reputation as a “musician’s musician.” award 20 times, and the Metronome poll 12 times. The University
His other notable concert and recording appearances have included of Montana, Missoula, now hosts the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival
dates with Art Tatum, Nat “King” Cole, Charlie Parker, Dizzy each April.

1992
DOROTHY
DONEGAN
pianIST vocalIST educator
Born April 6, 1924 in Chicago, IL

Died May 19, 1998
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Dorothy Romps: A Piano
Retrospective
B
Rosetta, 1953-79
Makin’ Whoopee
Black & Blue, 1979 spice her performances with uncanny
lessed with an enormous
orchestral capacity at the keyboard, The Explosive Dorothy Donegan impressions of other pianists and singers.
Dorothy Donegan was fluent in Progressive, 1980 She spent the bulk of her career
several styles of jazz as well as with European Live at the 1990 Floating Jazz Festival performing in trios with bass and drums.
classical music. Underrated by some due to Chiaroscuro, 1990 Her appearance at the Sheraton Centre Hotel
her proclivity towards showy flamboyance and in 1980 broke all previous attendance records.
Live at the Floating
her penchant for entertaining an audience, she Jazz Festival 1992 In 1983, she appeared on Marian McPartland’s
was nonetheless an exceptional pianist with a rich Chiaroscuro, 1992 NPR radio program, Piano Jazz. Despite her many
harmonic sense. years of performing, she didn’t appear at the legendary
Given her virtuosity, it’s no wonder her earliest influence jazz club Village Vanguard in New York City until 1987. The
and one of her champions was the peerless master of the piano, Art New York Times jazz critic John S. Wilson wrote at the time: “Miss
Tatum. Encouraged by her mother to be a professional musician, Donegan has never let her show-business surface interfere with her
Donegan was playing piano for a dollar a night at Chicago’s South virtuosity or her sensitivity as a pianist. No one since Art Tatum has
Side bars when she was only 14. She subsequently attended the brought together a flow of running lines, breaks, changes of tempo
Chicago Conservatory, Chicago Music College, and the University of and key, oblique references and rhythmic intensity as skillfully as
Southern California, where she studied classical piano. Miss Donegan does.”
In 1943, Donegan gave a concert at the Orchestra Hall in Chicago, In the early 1990s, her show-stopping appearances on Hank
the first African-American performer to do so. This created publicity O’Neal’s Floating Jazz cruises brought her talents to the attention
that led to some work in film (Sensations of 1945) and theater (Star of another generation of jazz fans. She also lectured at several
Time). Her playing career was largely centered around nightclub colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northeastern, and
engagements, as Donegan was more comfortable in a live setting than the Manhattan School of Music, and received an honorary doctoral
a studio. degree from Roosevelt University in 1994. Donegan performed at
In the 1950s, she developed her flamboyant performance style, the White House in 1993 and gave her last major performance at the
which at times tended to obscure her extraordinary piano playing, Fujitsu Concord Jazz Festival in 1997.
deep sense of swing, and wide-ranging repertoire. She would often

2005
0000
PAQUITO
D’RIVERA
SAXOPHONIST CLARINETIST FLUTIST COMPOSER
Born June 4, 1948 in Havana, Cuba
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Blowin’
Photo by Michael Wilderman Columbia, 1981
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Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation Orchestra,
Live at the Royal Festival Hall
Enja, 1989
he winner of several Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie
Awards, Paquito D’Rivera is Portraits of Cuba Hall for his contributions to Latin music. That
celebrated both for his artistry in Chesky, 1996 same year, as part of the band Dizzy Gillespie
Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical Brazilian Dreams and the United Nation Orchestra, he was
composer. Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed MCG Jazz, 2001 featured with James Moody, Slide Hampton,
at age 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, Funk Tango Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Arturo Sandoval,
studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music and, Sunnyside, 2006 Steve Turre, and others on the Grammy Award-
at 17, became a featured soloist with the Cuban winning recording, Live at the Royal Festival Hall.
National Symphony. He has appeared at, or written commissions for, Jazz
D’Rivera co-founded the Orquesta Cubana de Música at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the National
Moderna and served as the band’s conductor for two years. In 1973, Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, London Philharmonic,
he was co-director of Irakere, a highly popular ensemble whose Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra, Simón Bolivar Symphonic
explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical, and traditional Cuban music Orchestra, and Montreal’s Gerald Danovich Saxophone Quartet. He
had never before been heard. The band toured extensively and in 1979 serves as artistic director of jazz programming at the New Jersey
was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Ensemble. Chamber Music Society and is artistic director of the Festival
In 1981, while on tour in Spain, D’Rivera sought asylum in the Internacional de Jazz en el Tambo (Punta del Este, Uruguay) and the
United States embassy. Since then he has toured the world with his Duke Ellington Festival in Washington, DC. His memoir, My Sax Life,
ensembles—the Paquito D’Rivera Big Band, the Paquito D’Rivera was released in 2005.
Quintet, and the Chamber Jazz Ensemble. He has become the consummate multinational ambassador,
His numerous recordings include more than 30 solo albums. In creating and promoting a cross-culture of music that moves effortlessly
1988, he was a founding member of the United Nation Orchestra, a among jazz, Latin, and classical. D’Rivera received the National
15-piece ensemble organized by Dizzy Gillespie to showcase the fusion Medal of Arts in 2005.
of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. In 1991, he received a

1992
SWEETS
EDISON
TRUMPETER
Born October 10, 1915 in Columbus, OH

Died July 27, 1999
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Frank Sinatra,
Photo by Lee Tanner
Songs for Swingin’ Lovers
K
Capitol, 1955-56
Jawbreakers
nown in the jazz world as Original Jazz Classics, 1962 –– accenting the vocals and setting up the
“Sweets,” for both his disposition Edison’s Lights mood of the songs –– is some of his finest.
and his playing ability, Harry Original Jazz Classics, 1976 His echoing trumpet on Sinatra’s Songs for
Edison was a consummate big band section Swing Summit Swingin’ Lovers, for example, helped set
trumpeter and skilled soloist whose ability to Candid, 1990 the pace of the songs, playing off Sinatra’s
enhance a piece without overpowering it was phrasing of the lyrics. Edison provided some
Live at the Iridium
renowned. Telarc, 1997
of the bright moments in Holiday’s output in the
A self-taught musician, his earliest gig came in high 1950s on albums such as Songs for Distingué Lovers.
school with the Earl Hood band. From 1933-1935, he His tasteful playing created a great demand from singers
played in the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra, a prominent territory for his services, and besides Sinatra and Holiday, Edison
band of the time. He moved to New York in 1937, spending six months played behind Ella Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Sarah Vaughan,
with Lucky Millinder’s band before joining Count Basie. It was with and Nat “King” Cole. Edison was also a welcome addition to the big
Basie that he truly began to distinguish himself, not only as a strong bands he worked with, including Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, and
member of the trumpet section, but also as a distinctive soloist. His Quincy Jones.
warm sound, using repeated notes that he would bend and ripple, Although he left the Basie band as a full-time member in 1950, he
was a welcome contrast to the usual high-note, piercing solos of most rejoined the band on many subsequent occasions for the rest of his
trumpet players. Edison stayed with the Basie band until it disbanded career. He worked as musical director for such artists as Redd Foxx
in 1950. and Joe Williams, and collaborated with other soloists, such as Eddie
Rarely a bandleader under his own name, he spent the bulk of “Lockjaw” Davis and Oscar Peterson. Valued for his superb sense
his career working with singers and with big bands on the road and of dynamics, he carved out a beautiful trumpet style noted for its
in the recording studio. Edison’s work with Billie Holiday and the simplicity and good taste. He also found a home in film and television
Nelson Riddle Orchestra backing Frank Sinatra during the 1950s soundtrack work.

1982
0000
ROY
ELDRIDGE
trumpetER PIANIST vocalIST
Born January 30, 1911 in Pittsburgh, PA

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After You’ve Gone
Photo by Lee Tanner GRP/Decca, 1936-46
A
Little Jazz: The Best of the Verve Years
Verve, 1951-60
lso known as “Little Jazz,” Roy and Diz potent soloists. In 1941, he joined drummer
Roy Eldridge was a fiery, energetic Verve, 1954 Gene Krupa’s band. Not only did he provide
trumpeter, the bridge between the Just You Just Me trumpet fireworks for Krupa’s outfit, he also
towering trumpet stylists Louis Armstrong and Stash, 1959 sang, recording a memorable duet with the
Dizzy Gillespie. Some of the great rhythmic Montreux ’77 band’s female singer, Anita O’Day, on the
drive of Eldridge’s later trumpet exploits could Original Jazz Classics, 1977 tune “Let Me Off Uptown” in 1941. Later, after
be traced to his beginnings on the drums, which he Krupa’s band disbanded in 1943 and a period of
began playing at age six. Eldridge’s older brother Joe, freelancing, he toured with the Artie Shaw band in
who played alto saxophone, was his first teacher. 1944. Then Eldridge led his own bands, usually small
In 1930, Eldridge moved to New York, heading straight to swing groups.
Harlem where he gained work with a number of dance bands before In 1948, Norman Granz recruited Eldridge for his Jazz at the
joining the Teddy Hill band. By 1935, Eldridge and saxophonist Chu Philharmonic, an ideal situation since Eldridge was one of the ultimate
Berry (who would later join the Count Basie Orchestra) were Hill’s jam session trumpeters. He toured briefly with Benny Goodman and
principal soloists, and after gigs they would go around town on cutting took up residence in Paris in 1950, where he made some of his most
contests, challenging musicians to see who could play the best; with his successful recordings. He returned to New York in 1951 and continued
lightning speed and awesome range, Eldridge rarely lost. After Hill’s freelancing with small bands, including work with Coleman Hawkins,
band, Eldridge became the lead trumpeter in the Fletcher Henderson Benny Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, and Johnny Hodges. He made
Orchestra, where his upper register abilities were highlighted. It didn’t notable albums for Verve Records alongside Hawkins and continued
take long for Eldridge to exert himself as a bandleader, forming his freelancing and leading a house band at Jimmy Ryan’s club in New
own octet in 1936 in Chicago, a band that included his brother Joe. York. In 1971, he was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
By the end of the 1930s, after freelancing with a wide array A stroke in 1980 stopped him from playing the trumpet, but Eldridge
of bands, Eldridge gained notice as one of the swing bands’ most continued to make music as a singer and pianist until his death in 1989.

1985
GIL
EVANS
pianIST composer arranger bandleader
Born May 13, 1912 in Toronto, Canada

Died March 20, 1988
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Out of the Cool
Impulse!, 1960
A
The Individualism of Gil Evans
Verve, 1963-64
s an arranger, Gil Evans has Svengali seeking fresh approaches. These musical and
few peers in jazz history. His style Atlantic, 1973 conversational exchanges led to the recording
is instantly recognizable, often Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the of Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool session for
using unusual brass colorations for jazz, such Music of Jimi Hendrix Capitol Records. That album was marked
as combinations of tuba and French horn. Bluebird, 1974-75 by cooler, less bustling tempos than were
Arranging started early for Evans, leading his characteristic of bebop, the modern jazz of
Bud and Bird
own band when he was 16 and taking piano gigs Evidence, 1986 the day. Several Evans arrangements stood out,
at local hotels. In junior college, he and Ned Briggs especially “Moondreams” and “Boplicity.”
joined forces to lead a 10-piece band modeled after the Evans spent much of the 1950s as a freelance
popular Casa Loma Orchestra. The band was in residence arranger, until 1957 when he began working with Davis on
as the house band at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, the first of their four collaborations, Miles Ahead, featuring Davis on
California, for two years. flugelhorn as the only soloist, an unusual arrangement in jazz at the
In 1937, singer Skinny Ennis took over leadership of the band, time. Over the next few years, Evans and Davis worked together on
retaining Evans as pianist and arranger as they moved to Hollywood, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Quiet Nights.
where they were regularly featured on the Bob Hope radio show. In In the 1960s, Evans began making his own recordings, displaying
1941, Claude Thornhill, who had been associated with the Hope show, his unusual voicings and distinctive settings for some of the best soloists
hired Evans as an arranger for his first orchestra, which lasted for of the time, such as Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter, and Eric Dolphy. In
seven years. Evans was influenced by Thornhill’s unusual voicings, the 1970s, Evans began exploring the music of Jimi Hendrix and
particularly for brass and woodwinds. taking on some of the accoutrements usually associated with rock
Evans settled permanently in New York in 1947 and his unusual music, including guitars, synthesizers, and electric bass. In the 1980s,
arrangements for Thornhill began to attract the attention of some Evans would have occasional weekly shows at New York clubs such as
of the nascent beboppers of the time, including Miles Davis, John the Village Vanguard and Sweet Basil, and wrote music for the movie
Lewis, and Gerry Mulligan. It was around this time that Evans’ soundtracks of Absolute Beginners and The Color of Money.
apartment became a meeting ground for these and other musicians

1999
0000
ART
FARMER
trumpetER flugelhornIST flumpetER
Born August 21, 1928 in Council Bluffs, IA

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When Farmer Met Gryce
Photo by Lee Tanner Original Jazz Classics, 1954-55
O
The Jazztet, Meet the Jazztet
MCA/Chess, 1960
ne of the more lyrical of the Live at the Half Note 1962 and then again for several years starting
post-bop musicians, Art Farmer Atlantic, 1963 in 1982. The Jazztet’s tightly arranged music
helped to popularize the flugelhorn Blame It on My Youth defined mainstream jazz for several years.
in jazz. Later in his career, he switched to Contemporary, 1988 In the early 1960s, Farmer switched to the
a hybrid instrument known as the flumpet, Silk Road flugelhorn, finding a rounder, mellower sound
an instrument that combined the power of the Arabesque, 1996 with the instrument. He also co-led a band with
trumpet with the warmth of the flugelhorn. guitarist Jim Hall until 1964. He worked in Europe
He and his twin brother, bassist Addison Farmer, from 1965-66, and when he returned stateside he
were raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Farmer took up the again co-led a band, this time with Jimmy Heath. In
piano, violin, and tuba before settling on the trumpet at 14. 1968 Farmer moved to Vienna, joined the Austrian Radio
He later moved to Los Angeles and worked with Horace Henderson Orchestra, and worked with such European outfits as the Clarke-
and Floyd Ray, eventually traveling east to New York with the Johnny Boland Big Band, and Peter Herbolzheimer.
Otis Revue in 1947. In New York, he studied with Maurice Grupp In the 1980s, Farmer formed a new quintet featuring Clifford
and freelanced in the clubs. In 1948 he returned to the West Coast Jordan, which performed regularly in New York and toured Japan.
and found work with Benny Carter, Gerald Wilson, Roy Porter, Jay At the same time, Farmer continued to perform in Europe with his
McShann, and Wardell Gray. He toured with Lionel Hampton in European band that included pianist Fritz Pauer. In 1991, he began
1952-53, moving once again to New York after the tour. using the flumpet especially designed for him by David Monette. In
Between 1954-56, he intermittently co-led a band with Gigi Gryce, 1994, he was the recipient of the prestigious Austrian Gold Medal of
then joined Horace Silver from 1956-58. He played with Gerry Merit and, also, a Life Time Achievement Concert was held at Jazz
Mulligan from 1958-59, with whom he appeared in two films: I Want to at Lincoln Center in his honor. In 1998 and 1999, he toured with
Live and The Subterraneans. Farmer’s performances with the various his quintet in celebration of the Academy Award-nominated film A
groups earned him a reputation for being able to play in any style. Great Day in Harlem.
Greater fame came in the flourishing of the Jazztet, the legendary
sextet that he co-led with saxophonist Benny Golson from 1959 to

1985
ELLA
FITZGERALD
vocalIST
Born April 25, 1917 in Newport News, VA

Died June 15, 1996
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75th Birthday Celebration
Photo by Lee Tanner
GRP, 1938-55
I
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald
& Louis Armstrong on Verve
Verve, 1956-57
t is quite apropos that Ella Fitz- time her regular trio leader was bassist Ray
gerald was the first vocalist recipient Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook Brown, to whom she was married from 1947
of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, Verve, 1956-57 to 1953. By 1955, Granz had become her
as she is considered by most people to be the The Complete Ella in Berlin manager and had begun recording Fitzgerald
quintessential jazz singer. The purity of her Verve, 1960-61 for his Verve label. This affiliation led to her
range and intonation, along with her peerless recording with numerous greats, including Louis
Montreux ’77
sense of pitch, made her a signature singer. In Original Jazz Classics, 1977 Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and
addition, her scat singing, using the technique of a Oscar Peterson. Among the landmark recordings she
master instrumental improviser, was her hallmark. These made with Granz were her historic songbook treatments
characteristics make her an enduring purveyor not only of jazz of the music of Ellington, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving
and the art of improvising, but also of the classic American songbook. Berlin, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart, Harold Arlen, Johnny
Fitzgerald was raised in Yonkers, New York, and her first artistic Mercer, and Ira and George Gershwin.
proclivities were as a dancer, even though she sang with her school Fitzgerald’s superb intonation and crystal clear voice was also
glee club. At 17, she entered the famous amateur show competition blessed with a rhythmic flexibility to effortlessly swing. Though
at the Apollo Theater, which led to her being hired as a singer for she came up in the swing era, Fitzgerald also could hang with the
Chick Webb’s orchestra. She soon became a popular attraction at best of the beboppers. Her ability to scat with the most skilled
the Savoy, and Fitzgerald recorded her first song, “Love and Kisses,” instrumentalists served her well on such notable voice-as-instrument
with Webb in June 1935. Three years of steady work later, she had hits as “Lady Be Good,” “Flying Home,” and “How High The Moon.”
her first major hit with her rendition of “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.” That Each became enduring parts of her repertoire. She forged memorable
lightweight ditty remained a popular request throughout Fitzgerald’s partnerships with her piano accompanists, most notably Tommy
ensuing decades. Flanagan and Paul Smith.
When Webb died in 1939, Fitzgerald assumed leadership of In 1987, she received the National Medal of Arts. In her lifetime,
the band for the next two years, beginning her solo career. In 1946 she won 13 Grammy Awards and sold more than 40 million albums.
she began an enduring relationship with producer Norman Granz,
becoming part of his Jazz at the Philharmonic concert tours. At the

1996
0000
TOMMY
FLANAGAN
PIANIST
Born March 16, 1930 in Detroit, MI

Died November 16, 2001
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Thelonica
Photo by Lee Tanner Enja, 1982
T
Beyond the Bluebird
Timeless, 1990
ommy Flanagan was noted as Giant Steps One of his most significant recordings was
both a stimulating accompanist and Enja, 1992 with John Coltrane on the wildly influential
a superb small ensemble leader, Lady Be Good … For Ella recording, Giant Steps. His playing on the
playing with some of the biggest names in jazz. Verve, 1994 complex title track, using space between the
A product of a noteworthy arts education system Sunset and the Mockingbird: notes to contrast Coltrane’s rapid-fire attack,
in the Detroit public schools, he began his musical The Birthday Concert was especially inspired.
pursuits on clarinet at six years old, switching to the Blue Note, 1997 He also met and began performing with Ella
piano at age 11. At 15, he made his professional debut. Fitzgerald, an association that lasted until the end of
Thereafter he performed with fellow Detroiters Milt the 1970s, his trio touring exclusively with her from 1968-
Jackson, Rudy Rutherford, Billy Mitchell, Kenny Burrell, 78. After leaving Fitzgerald in 1978, some of his best, most
and Thad and Elvin Jones as part of the fertile Detroit jazz scene in compelling work was in the trio format, with George Mraz on bass and
the 1950s. Elvin Jones or Lewis Nash on drums. Influenced by the playing and
Flanagan moved to New York in 1956, securing his first job as arrangements of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, Flanagan’s
a replacement for Bud Powell at Birdland. Powell, along with Art lyrical playing and harmonic sophistication placed him in the top
Tatum and Nat “King” Cole, was a major influence on Flanagan’s echelon of jazz pianists. He was an especially tasteful interpreter of
playing. Throughout the 1950s, he worked with many of the biggest Billy Strayhorn, Thad Jones, and Tadd Dameron’s music. Flanagan
names in jazz, including J.J. Johnson, Miles Davis, Harry “Sweets” was a multiple jazz poll winner, and in 1992 was recipient of the
Edison, Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Jim Hall, and Tony prestigious Danish Jazzpar Prize. During his career, he also was
Bennett, playing on some of the landmark recordings of that decade. nominated for four Grammy Awards.

2002
FRANK
FOSTER
saxophonIST composer arranger
bandleader educator
Born September 23, 1928 in Cincinnati, OH
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Count Basie, Verve Jazz Masters
Verve, 1954-65
A
Fearless
lthough best known for his Shiny Stockings (“Blues Backstage,” “Down for the Count,”
work in the Count Basie Orchestra Denon, 1977-78 the entire Easin’ It album, just to name a
(and as the composer of the Count few), with his most popular number being
Leo Rising
Basie hit, “Shiny Stockings”), Frank Foster’s Arabesque, 1996 “Shiny Stockings.”
saxophone playing owes more to the bebop of In the 1970s, Foster played with con-
Loud Minority Big Band,
Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt than the swing We Do It Diff’rent temporary musicians such as Elvin Jones, George
of Basie. Mapleshade 2002 Coleman, and Joe Farrell and began expanding his
Foster began playing clarinet at 11 years old before compositions. He also was an extremely successful
taking up the alto saxophone and eventually the tenor. freelance writer, creating a large body of work for jazz,
By the time he was a senior in high school, he was leading including works contributed to albums by singers Sarah
and writing the arrangements for a 12-piece band. Foster studied at Vaughan and Frank Sinatra, and a commissioned work for the 1980
Wilberforce University in Ohio before heading to Detroit in 1949 with Winter Olympics, Lake Placid Suite, written for jazz orchestra. In
trumpeter Snooky Young for six weeks, becoming captivated by its 1983, Dizzy Gillespie commissioned Foster to orchestrate Gillespie’s
burgeoning music scene. Drafted into the Army, Foster left Detroit song “Con Alma” for a performance and recording by the London
and headed off to basic training near San Francisco, where he would Philharmonic Orchestra.
jam in the evenings at Jimbo’s Bop City. Foster led his own band, the Loud Minority, until 1986 when
After being discharged in 1953, two life-changing events happened he assumed leadership of the Count Basie Orchestra from Thad
to Foster: he sat in with Charlie Parker at Birdland and he was Jones. While playing the favorites, he also began introducing original
asked to join Count Basie’s band, where he stayed until 1964. material into the playlist. Foster resigned as the musical director of
Foster’s fiery solos contrasted nicely with Frank Wess’ ballad the orchestra in 1995 and began recording albums again. In addition
work, providing Basie with an interesting saxophone combination. to performing, he has also served as a musical consultant in the New
Foster, already an accomplished composer by this time, learned York City public schools and taught at Queens College and the State
from Basie how to simplify arrangements to make the music swing. University of New York at Buffalo. To date, Foster has received four
He soon was providing compositions and arrangements for the band Grammy Awards.

2007
0000
CURTIS
FULLER
trombonist EDUCATOR
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Blues-ette
Photo by Lee Tanner Savoy, 1956
A
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers,
Ugetsu
Riverside/OJC, 1963
remarkably fluent trombonist, Messengers one of the defining bands of the
whose impeccable sense of time Crankin’ hard-bop era. In 1968, Fuller toured Europe
and ambitious solos made him a MRL, 1973 with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. During the
mainstay of the hard-bop scene, Curtis Fuller The Jazztet, Real Time 1970s, he experimented for a time playing hard
was born in Detroit, where he spent 10 years Contemporary, 1986 bop arrangements in a band featuring electronic
of his childhood in an orphanage. His interest in Keep It Simple instruments, heading a group with guitarist Bill
jazz was piqued when a nun at the orphanage took Savant, 2003 Washer and bassist Stanley Clarke. He concluded
him to see Illinois Jacquet’s band, which featured J.J. that phase with the 1973 album Crankin’.
Johnson on trombone. He soon took up the instrument. Fuller toured with the Count Basie band from 1975
A stint in an Army band (where he played with Cannonball to 1977; co-led the quintet Giant Bones with Kai Winding
Adderley) helped him mature into a professional with virtuoso skills. in 1979 and 1980; and played with Art Blakey, Cedar Walton, and
After working in Detroit with Kenny Burrell and Yusef Lateef, he Benny Golson in the late 1970s and early ’80s. During the 1980s,
moved to New York, where he made his recording debut as a leader on Fuller toured Europe regularly with the Timeless All-Stars and
Transition in 1955. He also became a strong presence on the Blue Note performed and recorded with a reconvened Jazztet.
label, working with Clifford Jordan, John Coltrane (on the classic In more recent years, Fuller has become known nationally
Blue Train), and his own The Opener (with Hank Mobley). Always and internationally as a master clinician in jazz studies programs,
in demand—he also played on late-1950s sessions for Prestige, United having worked with students and young professionals at institutions
Artists, and Savoy—Fuller is the only trombonist to have recorded including Skidmore College, Harvard University, Stanford University,
with Coltrane, Bud Powell, and Jimmy Smith. the University of Pittsburgh, Duke University, the New England
In 1959, he became a founding member of the Jazztet with Benny Conservatory of Music, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Golson and Art Farmer, then joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers Performing Arts. He holds an honorary doctorate from Berklee
in 1961. For the next four years, working in a front line with Wayne College of Music.
Shorter and Freddie Hubbard, Fuller helped make this edition of the

1982
DIZZY
GILLESPIE
trumpetER composer ARRANGER bandleader
Born October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, SC

Died January 6, 1993
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The Complete RCA Victor
Recordings 1937-1949
Bluebird, 1937-49
J
Dizzy’s Diamonds
OHN BIRKS “DIZZY” Gillespie’s ef- Verve, 1954-64 including that of Earl “Fatha” Hines. Hines’
fect on jazz cannot be overstated: band contained several musicians Gillespie
Birk’s Works: Verve Big Band Sessions
his trumpet playing influenced every would interact with in the development of
Verve, 1956-57
player who came after him, his compositions bebop, such as singer Billy Eckstine, who
have become part of the jazz canon, and his Gillespiana/Carnegie Hall Concert formed his own band featuring Gillespie on
bands have included some of the most significant Verve, 1960-61 trumpet in 1944.
names in the business. He was also, along with Max + Dizzy, Paris 1989 The year 1945 was crucial for both bebop and
Charlie Parker, one of the major leaders of the bebop A&M, 1989 Gillespie. He recorded with Parker many of his small
movement. ensemble hits, such as “Salt Peanuts,” and formed his
Gillespie’s father was an amateur bandleader who, although own bebop big band. Despite economic woes, he was able
dead by the time Gillespie was ten, had given his son some of his earliest to keep this band together for four years. His trumpet playing was
grounding in music. Gillespie began playing trumpet at 14 after briefly at a peak, with rapid-fire attacks of notes and an amazing harmonic
trying the trombone, and his first formal musical training came at the range. A number of future greats performed with Gillespie’s big band,
Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. including saxophonists Gene Ammons, Yusef Lateef, Paul Gonsalves,
Gillespie’s earliest professional jobs were with the Frankie Fairfax Jimmy Heath, James Moody, and John Coltrane. The rhythm section
band, where he reportedly picked up the nickname Dizzy because of John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Kenny Clarke, and Ray Brown became
of his outlandish antics. His earliest influence was Roy Eldridge, the original Modern Jazz Quartet.
whom he later replaced in Teddy Hill’s band. From 1939-41, Gillespie He took various bands on State Department tours around the
was one of the principal soloists in Cab Calloway’s band, until world starting in 1956, the first time the U.S. government provided
he was dismissed for a notorious bandstand prank. While with economic aid and recognition to jazz. Those excursions not only kept
Calloway he met the Cuban trumpeter Mario Bauza, from whom he Gillespie working, they also stimulated his musical interests as he began
gained a great interest in Afro-Cuban rhythms. At this time he also incorporating different ethnic elements into his music, such as the
befriended Charlie Parker, with whom he would begin to develop Afro-Cuban rhythms he weaved into his big band arrangements. Never
some of the ideas behind bebop while sitting in at Minton’s Playhouse losing his thirst for collaboration, Gillespie worked with a variety of
in Harlem. jazz stars as well as leading his own small groups on into the 1980s.
From 1941-43, Gillespie freelanced with a number of big bands,

1996
0000
benny
GOLSON
saxophonIST composer ARRANGER EDUCATOR
Born January 25, 1929 in Philadelphia, PA
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Benny Golson’s New
Photo by Lee Tanner York Scene
B
Tenor Legacy
Arkadia Jazz, 1996
enny Golson is as renowned for the Jazztet lasted from 1959-62. In 1963, he
his distinctive compositions and One Day, Forever moved to California and began to concentrate
arrangements as for his innovative Arkadia, 1996-2000 on composing and arranging. He scored music
tenor saxophone playing. Major cornerstones Terminal 1 for European and American television and
of his career have included not only notable Concord Jazz, 2004 films, and essentially discontinued touring until
additions to the jazz canon, but also his work in New Time, New ‘Tet 1982, when he and Farmer revived the Jazztet
film and television studios, and his contributions to Concord Jazz, 2008 briefly. Thereafter he played more frequently,
jazz education. working in all-star aggregations, and completing
Golson began on the piano at age nine, moving to the commissioned assignments, such as an original orchestral
saxophone at age 14. He earned a degree from Howard University, work for the 100th anniversary of the Juilliard School of
then joined Bull Moose Jackson’s band in 1951. Arranging and Music in 2005. His soundtrack credits include M*A*S*H, Mission
composing became a serious pursuit for him at the early encouragement Impossible, Mod Squad, and Ironside.
of composer-arranger Tadd Dameron, whom he met in Jackson’s In 1987, Golson participated in a U.S. State Department tour
band. Other early band affiliations included Lionel Hampton, Johnny of Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, and
Hodges, and Earl Bostic. He toured with the Dizzy Gillespie big band Singapore. As a tribute to Art Blakey, Golson organized the Art
from 1956-58, then joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. His robust Blakey Legacy Band tour of the U.S., Europe, and Japan from 1998
playing added extra kick to the band, and his solo on Bobby Timmons’ to 2000.
song “Moanin’” is a classic. With the Messengers, Golson’s writing As an educator he has lectured, given clinics, and performed
skills blossomed as he contributed pieces for the band that have forever extended residencies at New York University, Stanford University,
entered the jazz canon, including “Along Came Betty,” “Blues March,” University of Pittsburgh, Cuyahoga Community College, Rutgers
“I Remember Clifford” (written upon the death of his friend Clifford University, William Paterson College, and Berklee College of Music.
Brown), “Killer Joe” (which later became a hit for Quincy Jones), and Among his awards are a 1994 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2007
“Are You Real?” Mellon Living Legend Legacy Award. Currently, he is working on two
After leaving the Messengers, he and Art Farmer formed the books: a major college textbook and his autobiography.
hard bop quintet known as the Jazztet. The original incarnation of

1986
DEXTER
GORDON
saxophonIST
Born February 27, 1923 in Los Angeles, CA

Died April 25, 1990
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Dexter Gordon on Dial:
Photo by Lee Tanner
The Complete Sessions
D
Spotlite, 1947
Doin’ Alright
exter Gordon was one of the Blue Note, 1961
acclaim, eventually settling in Copenhagen
leading bebop tenor saxophonists, Go! in 1962.
with his near-vibratoless sound Blue Note, 1962 Gordon continued to play in Europe as
and prodigious ability to improvise. He was a Something Different a soloist, making a series of recordings for
strong influence on the tenor saxophonists who Steeplechase, 1975 the Danish label Steeplechase. He added the
came after bebop, especially Sonny Rollins and soprano sax to his arsenal in the early 1970s.
Great Encounters
John Coltrane. Columbia, 1978 During a trip back to the States in 1976, he took
Gordon took up the clarinet at age 13, switching to a gig at the Village Vanguard and the response to his
the saxophone at 15. His first formal teacher was Lloyd playing was overwhelming. He found willing partners
Reese, who had other notable students, including Charles in several musicians of a younger generation, including
Mingus and Buddy Collette. Gordon left school in 1940 and joined a trumpeter Woody Shaw. The response prompted him to return
local band before taking a position with the Lionel Hampton band permanently to the U.S., where he made a series of well-received
from 1940-43, cutting his first recordings with the band in 1942. records for the Columbia label. Included was a notable return to his
Back home in Los Angeles, Gordon played with Lee Young (brother two-tenor battle days, this time with fellow expatriate Johnny Griffin.
of Lester) and Jesse Price, and made a subsequent record with Nat In 1980, he was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
“King” Cole at the piano. The culmination of the decade-long renewal of interest in Gordon
Gordon began to garner attention when he moved to New York in was his starring role in the film Round Midnight, which garnered an
1944 to join the Billy Eckstine Orchestra. He recorded with Eckstine Oscar nomination. Thereafter, until felled by ill health, he continued
and made his own recordings for the Savoy label. Through the to tour with his own potent quartets and returned to his former record
remainder of the 1940s, he played and recorded with the major figures label, Blue Note, for a brief time following his film success. His last
in bebop, such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Tadd Dameron. major concert appearance was with the New York Philharmonic, along
Between 1947 and 1952, he locked horns with fellow tenor saxophonist with Ron Carter and Tommy Flanagan, performing Ellingtones, a
Wardell Gray for a series of classic two-tenor duels, including their concerto written for Gordon by David Baker.
classic recording of “The Chase.” Continuing to freelance throughout
the 1950s, he began touring Europe as a soloist in the early 1960s to

2004
0000
JIM
HALL
GuitarIST composer
Born December 4, 1930 in Buffalo, NY
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Jimmy Giuffre 3, Trav’lin’ Light
Photo by Lee Tanner Atlantic, 1958
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Sonny Rollins, The Bridge
RCA, 1962
azz guitarist Jim Hall’s technique Ron Carter and Jim Hall, experience has produced a control of rhythm
has been called subtle, his sound Live at Village West and harmony so that Hall’s playing, while
mellow, and his compositions Concord, 1982 grounded in scholarly technique and science,
understated; yet his recording and playing Something Special sounds both rich and free.
history is anything but modest. He has recorded Music Masters, 1993 He eventually formed his own trio in 1965,
with artists ranging from Bill Evans to Itzhak Jim Hall and Bill Frisell, Hemispheres
which still performs and records today. Well-
Perlman and performed alongside most of the jazz ArtistShare, 2007-08 studied in classical composition, Hall has produced
greats of the 20th century. The first of the modern many original pieces for various jazz orchestral
jazz guitarists to receive an NEA Jazz Masters award, his ensembles. His composition for jazz quartet, “Quartet
prowess on the instrument puts him in the company of Charlie Plus Four,” earned him the Jazzpar Prize in Denmark. In
Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Django Reinhardt. 2004, Towson University in Maryland commissioned a work by Hall
After graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall for the First World Guitar Congress, Peace Movement, a concerto for
became an original member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet in 1955 and guitar and orchestra performed by Hall and the Baltimore Symphony.
of the Jimmy Giuffre 3 the following year—both small but musically His influence on jazz guitarists, including such disparate ones as
vital ensembles of the era. Hall continued to hone his craft on Ella Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, is immense. Hall continues to explore
Fitzgerald’s South American tour in 1960, a fruitful time in which his new avenues of music, even appearing on saxophonist Greg Osby’s
exposure to bossa nova greatly influenced his subsequent work. From 2000 recording, Invisible Hand, with legendary pianist Andrew Hill.
there, he joined Sonny Rollins’ quartet from 1961-62, and appears on He also has worked in smaller settings as well, often in duets with
The Bridge, Rollins’ first recording in three years after a self-imposed jazz greats such as pianists Bill Evans and Red Mitchell, and bassists
retirement. The interplay between Rollins’ fiery solos and Hall’s Ron Carter and Charlie Haden. In addition to numerous Grammy
classic guitar runs make this one of jazz’s most essential recordings. nominations, Hall has been awarded the New York Jazz Critics Circle
Hall then co-led a quartet with Art Farmer, recorded a series Award for Best Jazz Composer/Arranger.
of duets with noted saxophonist Paul Desmond, and performed as
a session musician on numerous recordings. His extensive ensemble

2004
CHICO
HAMILTON
PercussionIST bandleader composer educator
Born September 21, 1921 in Los Angeles, CA
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Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings
Photo by Lee Tanner
of the Chico Hamilton Quintet
F
Mosaic, 1955-59
Man From Two Worlds

Impulse!, 1962
oreststorn “Chico” Hamilton is tenor sax and flute, and George Bohanon
not only a subtle, creative drummer, Dancing to a Different Drummer on trombone, bringing a fresh, new sound to
but also a skillful bandleader who Soul Note, 1993 jazz once again. Over the years, Hamilton’s
continually discovers talented newcomers. As Foreststorn bands have had various personnel, but the
a teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Hamilton Koch, 2000-01 quality of the musicianship has remained
started playing regularly for the first time with high. Some of the players Hamilton nurtured
Believe
a band that included classmates Charles Mingus, Joyous Shout!, 2000-05 in his bands include Jim Hall, Eric Dolphy, Ron
Dexter Gordon, and Illinois Jacquet. He made Carter, Arthur Blythe, Larry Coryell, and John
his recording debut with Slim Gaillard, and studied Abercrombie.
drumming with jazz great Jo Jones during his military service During the 1960s, Hamilton formed a company to score
from 1942-46. feature films and commercials for television and radio. In 1987,
After working briefly with Jimmy Mundy, Count Basie, and Hamilton was on the originating faculty at Parsons New School of
Lester Young, Hamilton joined Lena Horne’s band in 1948, staying Jazz in New York. During the same year, he formed a new quartet
with her on and off for six years, including a tour of Europe. During called Euphoria, and began touring in Europe. The quartet met
this time, he also became an original member of the legendary Gerry with great popularity, and in 1992, their album Arroyo placed in the
Mulligan Quartet, which included Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Bob Jazz Album of the Year category in the DownBeat Reader’s Poll. In
Whitlock. Successfully recording with them for three years (1952-55) 1995, a documentary of Hamilton’s extraordinary life and career,
on the Pacific Jazz label, Hamilton got his first shot as bandleader. Dancing to a Different Drummer, directed by Julian Benedikt, was
In 1955, he formed the Chico Hamilton Quintet, utilizing an presented twice on the French-German Arts Network, ARTE. In
unusual combination of instruments: cello, flute, guitar, bass, and June 1999, Hamilton received a Beacons of Jazz award from the
drums. One of the important West Coast bands, the Hamilton group Mannes College of Music at the New School University in New York
made their film debut in the movie The Sweet Smell of Success, as City, where he is currently teaching. Never one to rest on his laurels,
well as highlighting Jazz on a Summer’s Day, the film about the 1958 Hamilton released four new albums in 2006 in celebration of his 85th
Newport Jazz Festival. His second great band started in 1962 with birthday. In 2007, he was a member of the NEA’s National Council
Albert Stinson on bass, Gabor Szabo on guitar, Charles Lloyd on on the Arts.

1988
0000
LIONEL
HAMPTON
vibraphonist drumMER pianIST vocalIST bandleader
Born April 20, 1908 in Louisville, KY

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The Complete Lionel Hampton
Photo by Jan Persson/CTSIMAGES Bluebird, 1937-39
F
Hamp: The Legendary
Decca Recordings
Decca, 1942-63
eaturing outstanding side- driven by Illinois Jacquet’s unforgettable
men and soloists, as well as his Hamp and Getz tenor saxophone solo.
own swinging vibe playing, Lionel Verve, 1956 Hampton’s popular big band boasted
Hampton’s bands during the 1940s and 1950s Reunion at Newport such potent musicians as Dexter Gordon,
were among the most popular and most exciting Bluebird, 1967 Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Johnny Griffin,
in jazz. Hampton was raised in the Midwest, Made in Japan Charles Mingus, Art Farmer, Clark Terry, Cat
primarily in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he received Timeless, 1982 Anderson, Wes Montgomery, and singers Dinah
his first musical training. His career began behind the Washington, Joe Williams, Betty Carter, and Aretha
drums, taking his first music job in a newsboys’ band Franklin. He toured the globe and continued to nurture
sponsored by the Chicago Defender. young talent, often providing some of the earliest band
In 1928, Hampton moved west to California, landing first in experiences to musicians who went on to become leaders in their
the Paul Howard Orchestra, later working with bandleaders Eddie own right. His band became the longest established orchestra in jazz
Barefield and Les Hite. In 1929 he took up the vibraphone with the history.
Hite band, which at the time was led by Louis Armstrong, becoming a Lionel Hampton received numerous awards of merit, including
pioneering figure in the use of vibes in a jazz band. several honorary doctoral degrees, the National Medal of Arts, and
Hampton made his recorded debut on an Armstrong version of the Kennedy Center Honors. His diligent work with the jazz festival at
“Memories of You” in 1930. By 1934, Hampton had become leader of the University of Idaho in Moscow led to it being renamed the Lionel
his own band, performing at Sebastian’s Cotton Club in Los Angeles. Hampton International Jazz Festival in 1985. The university’s music
Benny Goodman saw Hampton perform at one of his gigs and recruited department shortly followed suit and became the Lionel Hampton
him to augment his trio, with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa, for a School of Music. Winner of numerous polls, Hampton had been an
1936 recording date. Hampton remained in Goodman’s band through honored soloist into the 1990s, performing in numerous festivals as
1940, occasionally replacing Krupa on the drums. Hampton became part of all-star assemblages. In 2001, he donated his vibraphone to the
well known with the Goodman band, and started his own big band, Smithsonian Institution.
achieving his biggest recorded hit with “Flying Home” in May 1942,

2005
SLIDE
HAMPTON
Trombonist ARRANGER COMPOSER Educator
Born April 21, 1932 in Jeannette, PA
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Slide Hampton and His
Photo by Lee Tanner
Horn of Plenty
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Strand, 1959
World of Trombones
1201 Music, 1979
lide Hampton’s distinguished Herman, he elected to stay in Europe,
career spans decades in the evolution Roots performing with other expatriates such as
of jazz. At the age of 12 he was already Criss Cross, 1985 Benny Bailey, Kenny Clarke, Kenny Drew,
touring the Midwest with the Indianapolis- Dedicated to Diz Art Farmer, and Dexter Gordon. Upon
based Hampton Band, led by his father and Telarc, 1993 returning to the U.S. in 1977, he began a
comprising other members of his musical family. series of master classes at Harvard University,
Spirit of the Horn
During these tours, Hampton encountered jazz MCG Jazz, 2003 the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, De
musicians such as J.J. Johnson and Wes Montgomery, Paul University in Chicago, and Indiana University.
who became early influences. By 1952, at the age of 20, During this period he formed the illustrious World of
he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel Hampton Trombones: an ensemble of nine trombones and a rhythm
band. He then joined Maynard Ferguson’s band, playing trombone section.
and providing exciting charts on such popular tunes as “The Fugue,” In 1989, with Paquito D’Rivera, he was musical director of
“Three Little Foxes,” and “Slide’s Derangement.” Dizzy’s Diamond Jubilee, a year-long series of celebrations honoring
As his reputation grew, he soon began working with bands led by Dizzy Gillespie’s 75th birthday. Hampton’s countless collaborations
Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Barry Harris, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, with the most prominent musicians of jazz were acknowledged by
and Max Roach, again contributing both original compositions and the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Arrangement with a Vocalist
arrangements. In 1962, he formed the Slide Hampton Octet, which for Dee Dee Bridgewater’s recording “Cotton Tail.” Most recently,
included stellar horn players Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and he has served as musical advisor to the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band.
George Coleman. The band toured the U.S. and Europe and recorded A charismatic figure, master arranger, and formidable trombonist,
on several labels. Hampton holds a place of distinction in the jazz tradition.
From 1964 to 1967, he served as music director for various
orchestras and artists. Then, following a 1968 tour with Woody

2004
0000
HERBIE
HANCOCK
keyboardist composer
Born April 12, 1940 in Chicago, IL
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The Complete Blue
Photo by Lee Tanner Note Sixties Sessions
Blue Note, 1962-69
H
Head Hunters
Columbia, 1973
erbie Hancock’s talent as Blue Note. It was toward the end of his tenure
a pianist was evident when, at V.S.O.P. with Davis that he began to use electric piano.
age 11, he performed Mozart’s Columbia, 1977 After leaving the band in 1968, Hancock
D Major Piano Concerto with the Chicago Village Life continued to explore the use of electronic
Symphony Orchestra. He began playing jazz Columbia, 1985 instruments in his music. In 1973, he formed
in high school, initially influenced by Oscar River: The Joni Letters a quartet whose first recording, Head Hunters,
Peterson and Bill Evans. Also at this time, a passion Universal, 2007 launched him into jazz stardom and became a best-
for electronic science began to develop, so Hancock selling jazz album. In the late 1970s, Hancock revived
studied both electrical engineering and music composition the old Miles Davis band (Freddie Hubbard stood in for
at Grinnell College in Iowa. His love of electronics led Hancock Davis) under the name V.S.O.P. and they toured extensively.
to be a pioneer in the use of electric piano, clavinet, and synthesizer Throughout his career, he has demonstrated stunning artistic
in jazz. versatility. In 1983, “Rockit,” a single that resulted from a collaborative
In 1961, trumpeter Donald Byrd asked the young pianist to join effort with the rock band Material, became a hit on MTV. Hancock
his group in New York, leading to Blue Note offering him a recording then switched gears completely, partnering with Gambian kora
contract. His first album as leader, Takin’ Off, which included the virtuoso Foday Musa Suso on two albums, Village Life and Jazz
hit single “Watermelon Man,” demonstrated a gift for composition Africa. He also has written scores for several films, including Blow-Up
and improvisation. His talent impressed Miles Davis enough to in 1966, Death Wish in 1974, and Round Midnight, for which he won
ask Hancock to join his band in 1963. In the five years he worked an Academy Award in 1987.
with Davis, who became a mentor as well as an employer, Hancock Hancock has won 12 Grammy Awards in the past two decades, and
established his standing as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Along continues to work as a producer and in both the electric and acoustic
with Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums), Hancock altered spheres of jazz. In 2008, he won the Grammy Album of the Year for
the role of the rhythm section in jazz to include expanded solos and River: The Joni Letters, the first jazz album to win that award in 43
spontaneous changes in mood and tempo. He also composed a number years.
of pieces for the band as well as for his outstanding solo recordings with

1989
BARRY
HARRIS
pianIST COMPOSER ARRANGER educator
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Chasin’ The Bird
Photo by Tom Pich
B
Barry Harris Plays Tadd Dameron
Classics, 1975
arry Harris is part of an For The Moment in the 1960s and 1970s with fellow Detroiter
exceptional crew of Detroit-bred Uptown, 1984 Yusef Lateef, Charles McPherson, and
jazz musicians, including Tommy Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Coleman Hawkins. In addition to sideman
Flanagan and Donald Byrd, who rose through Vol. 1 & 2 work, Harris led various trios and duos at
the extraordinary arts education program in the Concord, 1990 piano bars and restaurants around New York.
public school system during the 1930s and 1940s. He also began to get work as an arranger and
Live from New York, Vol 1
Harris’ earliest musical mentor was a church piano- Lineage, 2004 composer, showing a particular adeptness for his
playing mother who exposed him to piano lessons at treatment of strings. A consummate freelancer, he
age four. He became seriously immersed in jazz in the found work in a variety of diverse settings and continued
mid-1940s and fell under the spell of Thelonious Monk, Charlie to play, inaugurating the Lincoln Center’s Penthouse piano
Parker, and Bud Powell. As a professional, he would become a key series in 1997.
translator of Monk’s music. By the early 1980s, Harris’ acumen as a teacher and mentor to
Detroit was blessed with a high-energy jazz scene during the developing pianists had become legendary. He was able to expand these
1940s, and Harris was house pianist at one of the hottest spots, the interests when he opened the Jazz Cultural Center in 1982 on Eighth
Blue Bird Lounge. At the Blue Bird and later at the Rouge, he backed Avenue in Manhattan. The Center served as workshop, educational
such traveling soloists as Miles Davis, Wardell Gray, Max Roach, facility, and performance space for Harris and his affiliated artists,
Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz, and Lester Young. Displaying an early but unfortunately only lasted until 1987. Harris soldiered on, though,
interest in passing the torch through education, Harris began teaching continuing to teach and mentor young musicians, holding weekly
his bebop theories as early as 1956, tutoring young talent such as Joe workshop sessions in New York City for aspiring performers. He
Henderson. It is a tradition he has carried on throughout his life. also continues to present and produce annual multimedia concert
At the urging of Cannonball Adderley, Harris left Detroit in 1960 spectaculars at places like Symphony Space and the Manhattan
and moved to New York. In addition to Adderley, Harris found work Center in New York.

1995
0000
ROY
HAYNES
DRUMMER
Born March 13, 1925 in Roxbury, MA
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We Three
Photo by Vance Jacobs Original Jazz Classics, 1958
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Out of the Afternoon
Impulse!, 1962
eemingly ageless, Roy Haynes Te Vou! early 1960s were George Shearing, Kenny
has played the drums from the bebop Dreyfus, 1995 Burrell, Lennie Tristano, and Stan Getz.
days of the 1940s to the present day The Roy Haynes Trio In addition, his style of drumming was an ideal
with the same restless energy. Haynes has Verve, 2000 accompaniment to singers, accenting the vocals
remained fresh in his outlook and in his thirst for Whereas without overpowering them, and he worked
collaborating with younger artists and those who Dreyfus Jazz, 2006 with Sarah Vaughan, and Lambert, Hendricks
play in challenging styles, as is shown in his work & Ross.
with such disparate artists as Roland Kirk, Danilo He later joined vibist Gary Burton, who had
Pérez, and Pat Metheny. He also has been a favorite been a member of Getz’s band. After Burton’s band,
sideman for any number of artists because of his crisply which was one of the precursors of the jazz-rock movement,
distinctive drumming style. Thelonious Monk once described Haynes’ Haynes formed the Hip Ensemble, featuring such musicians as George
drumming as “an eight ball right in the side pocket.” Adams, and Hannibal Marvin Peterson. The band had a decidedly
Haynes became interested in music through his father, a church contemporary flavor, often employing various guitarists. He also has
organist. In his earliest professional playing years in the mid-1940s, enjoyed an occasional playing relationship with Chick Corea, dating
he worked in Boston with Sabby Lewis, Frankie Newton, and Pete back to their Stan Getz days. He joined Corea’s Trio Music band in
Brown. In 1945, he joined the Luis Russell band, remaining until 1981. Haynes received the prestigious Danish award, the JAZZPAR
1947, whereupon he joined Lester Young’s band. In the late 1940s Prize, in 1994.
to mid-1950s, he worked with such greats as Miles Davis, Charlie While periodically leading his own bands, he has also worked
Parker, Bud Powell, and Kai Winding. He later played in Monk’s with artists such as Billy Taylor, Hank Jones, and Ted Curson,
band at the Five Spot Cafe before forming his own band in 1958. and as an innovative drummer in a variety of settings. His bands
Some of his most noted work in the early 1960s came when he have included some of the more exceptional young musicians on
subbed for Elvin Jones in the John Coltrane Quartet, both on gigs and the scene, ranging from his Hip Ensemble to his various quartets.
on records. His drumming style was a marked change for Coltrane from He continues to influence the next generation of drummers with his
Elvin Jones’ approach—lighter, less aggressive—and it gave the quartet distinctive sound.
a different sound. Among his other affiliations during the late 1950s to

2003
JIMMY
HEATH
SaxophonIST FlutIST Composer
Arranger Educator
Born October 25, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA
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Really Big!
Photo by Tom Pich
Riverside/OJC, 1960
T
On the Trail
Riverside/OJC, 1964
he second of the illustrious Little Man, Big Band and arranging abilities, he has set a high
Heath Brothers to receive an NEA Verve, 1992 standard of accomplishment in the jazz field.
Jazz Master Fellowship (bassist Heath Brothers, Jazz Family
He has made more than 100 recordings and
Percy received the award in 2002), Jimmy Concord, 1998 composed more than 100 original works.
was the first Heath to choose music as a career As an educator, Heath has taught at
Turn Up the Heath
path. Starting on alto saxophone (and acquiring Planet Arts, 2006
Jazzmobile, Housatonic Community College,
the nickname “Little Bird” due to the influence City College of New York, and Queens College,
Charlie “Yardbird” Parker had on his style), one of where he retired from full-time teaching in 1998.
his first professional jobs came in 1945-46 in the Midwest He holds honorary degrees from Sojourner-Douglass
territory band led by Nat Towles, out of Omaha, Nebraska. College and the Juilliard School, and has a chair endowed in
Returning to Philadelphia, he briefly led his own big band with a his name at Queens College. He continues to conduct workshops and
saxophone section that included John Coltrane and Benny Golson— clinics throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
also products of the city’s jazz scene. Gigs followed with Howard Since the mid-1970s, Jimmy had been teaming up with brothers
McGhee in 1948 and with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band from 1949-50. Percy and Albert “Tootie” as the Heath Brothers, a band which also at
In the early 1950s, Heath switched to tenor sax, playing with Miles times included contributions from Jimmy’s son, the noted percussionist,
Davis in 1953 and then again briefly in 1959, among other gigs. In composer, and rhythm-and-blues producer, Mtume. In addition, he
the 1960s, he began his own recordings as a leader, and frequently has performed with other jazz greats, such as Slide Hampton and
teamed up with Milt Jackson and Art Farmer. By that time he had Wynton Marsalis, and indulged in his continuing interest in the
honed his talent as a composer and arranger, creating such widely dynamics of arranging for big band. In 2010, his memoir, I Walked with
performed compositions as “Gingerbread Boy” and “C.T.A.” By Giants, was published. He remains active as an educator, saxophonist,
combining his versatile style of performing and his outstanding writing and composer.

2002
0000
PERCY
HEATH
BassIST Cellist
Born April 30, 1923 in Wilmington, NC

Died April 28, 2005
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The Artistry of
Modern Jazz Quartet,
Photo by Lee Tanner the Modern Jazz Quartet
Prestige, 1952-55
P
Jimmy Heath, Really Big!
ercy Heath was the heights with his performances. During his
backbone of the popular jazz Heath Brothers, Marchin’ On! time with MJQ, Heath performed on film
group Modern Jazz Quartet, Strata East, 1976 soundtracks and with symphony orchestras
and a superb bassist so sought after that Heath Brothers, Brotherly Love and string quartets, always exhibiting style and
he appeared on more than 200 jazz albums. Antilles, 1991 poise in every setting.
Heath was a member of one of the great families Modern Jazz Quartet,
During the break from the MJQ in 1975-82,
of jazz (along with the Joneses and Marsalises), Celebration Heath worked with Sarah Vaughan and began
with brothers Jimmy (on saxophone) and Albert Atlantic, 1992 performing with the Heath Brothers band, which
“Tootie” (on drums) also being stellar jazz musicians. included Jimmy and Tootie, sometimes playing cello
Heath started on the violin in his school orchestra but instead of bass. The Heath Brothers were featured in Danny
began to seriously study music at the Granoff School of Music in Scher’s 2006 documentary, Brotherly Love.
Philadelphia after his service in the Air Force. In 1947, he joined his His talents on bass were much in demand as the house bass player
brother Jimmy in Howard McGhee’s band, ending up in New York for both Prestige and Blue Note record labels, providing a confident,
where he performed regularly with jazz greats such as Miles Davis, J.J. straight-ahead style of playing reminiscent of the great Ray Brown.
Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Fats Navarro, and Charlie Parker. Heath Heath received many honors in his career, such as the Maria
joined Dizzy Gillespie’s sextet from 1950-52, where he met the other Fischer Award, France’s Cross of Officer of Arts and Letters, and an
members of the soon-to-be Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ): John Lewis, honorary doctoral degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston,
Milt Jackson, and Kenny Clarke. Heath stayed with MJQ, off and on, Massachusetts. In addition, Heath performed at the White House for
from its beginning in 1952 for more than 40 years. Lewis’ arrangements Presidents Nixon and Clinton.
brought the bass into greater prominence, prompting Heath to greater

1999
JOE
HENDERSON
SAXOPHONIST
Born April 24, 1937 in Lima, OH

Died June 30, 2001
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Page One
Photo by Lee Tanner
Blue Note, 1963
O
Four!
Verve, 1968
ne of the more distinctive tenor The State of the Tenor, Vol. 1 & 2 66, and Andrew Hill in 1965, both Blue Note
saxophone voices to have emerged Blue Note, 1985 artists. Lee Morgan’s album The Sidewinder,
during the 1960s, Joe Henderson’s Lush Life: The Music of especially on the hit title track, contains some
rich tone and strong sense of rhythm influenced Billy Strayhorn of his best solos of the period. During the late
scores of tenor saxophonists who followed him. Verve, 1991 1960s, he was part of the cooperative band, the
In concert, his aggressive playing was often Jazz Communicators, with Freddie Hubbard
Big Band
tempered by a melodic touch on ballads. Verve, 1992-96 and Louis Hayes.
Growing up in Lima, Ohio, he first played the At the end of the decade he spent more than a
drums, switching to tenor saxophone at age 13. After high year with the Herbie Hancock Sextet (1969-70), and
school he studied at Kentucky State College, then Wayne State joined the pop band Blood, Sweat & Tears for a short time
in Detroit from 1956-60, as well as under the private tutelage of pianist in 1971. Thereafter he worked mainly as a leader and freelance
Barry Harris. One of his first jazz jobs was alongside saxophonist saxophonist. His bands employed a number of outstanding musicians
Sonny Stitt. In 1960, he then led his own band in Detroit until entering and, following his Blue Note years, he made a series of rewarding discs
the Army that year, playing in the Army band until 1962. for the Milestone label.
After leaving the Army, Henderson eventually moved to New In the 1990s, Henderson experienced a resurgence in popularity
York, where he worked with organist Jack McDuff, then co-led a with a series of well-received albums on the Verve label. His recordings
band with Kenny Dorham during 1962-63. His first recording as a of the music of Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, and Antonio Carlos
leader in 1963, Page One, was one of the most popular releases for Jobim in inventive arrangements were inspired, and he showed a skill
the Blue Note label, and led to one of his richest recording periods for big band arrangement with his 1996 release, Big Band. Henderson
both as a leader and sideman. He played with Horace Silver in 1964- stopped performing in 1998 after suffering a stroke.

2004
LUTHER
HENDERSON
COMPOSER Arranger musical Director pianIST
Born March 14, 1919 in Kansas City, MO

Died July 29, 2003
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Sarah Vaughan, No Count Sarah
Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times/Redux Mercury, 1958
Jam, he rearranged Jelly Roll Morton’s
I Got a Right to Sing the Blues
W
Eileen Farrell,
Columbia, 1960 jazz compositions and musical fragments
into a hit musical; Ain’t Misbehavin’ used
Original Cast Recording, Ain’t Misbehavin’
hen he was four, Luther the music of jazz great Fats Waller as a
RCA, 1978
Henderson moved to Harlem base.
with his family and became American Composers Orchestra, Four Symphonic
Henderson’s talents extended to the
neighbors with Duke Ellington. Ellington would Works by Duke Ellington
Music Masters, 1989
arena of television, where he held positions
become a major influence on Henderson’s life, as musical director, orchestrator, arranger,
beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Canadian Brass Quintet, Red Hot Jazz:
and pianist for the Columbia Pictures
he adapted and orchestrated some of Ellington’s The Dixieland Album
Philips, 1993
television special Ain’t Misbehavin’ for which
larger works, such as “Harlem—A Tone Parallel” he received an Emmy nomination. Albums to
and “Three Black Kings,” for performance in a concerto his credit included several with the Canadian Brass
grosso format by Henderson’s orchestra and another symphony Quintet and Eileen Farrell’s I Got a Right to Sing the Blues,
orchestra. Henderson’s classical training at the Juilliard School and which was re-released in 1992. For Columbia Records, the Luther
music study at New York University led Ellington to dub Henderson Henderson Orchestra recorded six albums. In addition, Henderson
“his classical arm.” His talents included composing, arranging, contributed to various albums recorded by the Duke Ellington
conducting, and performing, and he was hired by Ellington in 1946 to Orchestra, the Andre Kostelanetz Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic,
orchestrate his Broadway musical, Beggar’s Holiday. Mandy Patinkin, Polly Bergen, Anita Ellis, and others. Henderson’s
Henderson worked on more than 50 Broadway productions in composition “Ten Good Years,” with lyricist Martin Charnin, was
various capacities. For Ain’t Misbehavin’, he was the original pianist recorded by Nancy Wilson on her Coconut Grove album.
as well as orchestrator, arranger, and musical supervisor. For Lena Henderson died of cancer in 2003. His widow, Billie Allen-
Horne: The Lady and Her Music, he was the musical consultant and Henderson, created the Luther Henderson Scholarship Fund at the
arranged several selections. He orchestrated such musicals as the Juilliard School in New York in 2006 for students of color to pursue
Tony Award-winning Raisin, Play On!, and Jelly’s Last Jam. As a musical study.
dance arranger, Henderson’s credits included Flower Drum Song, Do
Re Mi, Funny Girl, and No, No Nanette. His skill in bringing a jazz
sensibility to musical theater was much in demand. For Jelly’s Last

1993
JON
HENDRICKS
vocalIST lyricIST educator
Born September 16, 1921 Newark, OH
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Lambert, Hendricks & Ross,
Photo by Tom Pich Sing a Song of Basie
Verve, 1957
J
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Everybody’s Boppin’
Columbia, 1959-61
on Hendricks helped create the the band. Lambert and Hendricks continued
singing style known as “vocalese,” or Love for a while with new singer Yolande Bavan,
crafting songs and lyrics out of the Muse, 1981-82
eventually breaking up in 1964. Hendricks
note sequences of famous jazz instrumental Freddie Freeloader found work as a soloist, then moved to
solos, as a member of the great jazz vocal Denon, 1989-90 England in 1968. In the early 1970s he put
ensemble Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. A gifted Wynton Marsalis, Blood together another trio, this time with wife Judith
lyricist, he has added words to classics by Count on the Fields and daughter Michelle, an arrangement he has
Basie, Horace Silver, Miles Davis, and Art Blakey, Columbia, 1994 occasionally revisited over the years.
brilliantly mirroring the instrumental effects. Evolution of the Blues, an extended stage work
He grew up largely in Toledo, Ohio, one of 17 children. Hendricks had first performed with Lambert and Ross at
His singing career began at age eight at parties and dinners. Later he the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1960, went on a five-year run at the
sang on a radio show on which he was occasionally accompanied by Broadway Theatre in San Francisco in the 1970s. Thereafter he took
another Toledoan, the great pianist Art Tatum. Returning home from a variety of university teaching positions in California, and continued
service in the Army, he studied at the University of Toledo and taught to work with Judith, Michelle, and youngest daughter Aria, with
himself to play drums. In 1952, he relocated to New York and found occasional male singers such as Bobby McFerrin, Kevin Burke, and
his initial work as a songwriter, working for such artists as Louis Miles Griffith. He has written for and played with the Manhattan
Jordan and King Pleasure. One of his earliest recordings came on a Transfer, a jazz vocal group heavily influenced by Hendricks.
version of the Woody Herman band feature “Four Brothers.” Also, he was one of three singers in Wynton Marsalis’ Pulitzer
His collaboration with vocalist Dave Lambert began in 1957 when Prize-winning oratorio, Blood on the Fields. He has written lyrics
he re-recorded “Four Brothers,” which led to their association with to a number of jazz standards, including “Four,” “Hi Fly,” “Along
singer Annie Ross on a collection of Count Basie songs. Sing a Song of Came Betty,” “Desifinado,” and “No More Blues.” In 2000, he was
Basie, using innovative multitracked arrangement of vocals, became appointed distinguished professor of jazz studies at the University of
a hit when released in 1958 and gave birth to Lambert, Hendricks Toledo in Ohio. A documentary about Hendricks’ time in the military,
& Ross as a full-time act. They subsequently toured with the Basie Blues March: Soldier Jon Hendricks, was released in 2009.
band and were a top-selling act for nearly four years, until Ross left

2004
0000 NEA JAZZ MASTERS FELLOWSHIP FOR
JAZZ ADVOCACY
NAT
HENTOFF
critic journalist producer
Born June 10, 1925 in Boston, MA
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Jazz Country
Photo by Tom Pich Harper Collins, 1965
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The Jazz Life
Harper Collins 1975
ne of the major voices in Jazz Is Jazz Critics and Scholars (with Albert J.
jazz literature, Nat Hentoff has Random House, 1976 McCarthy, 1974), Boston Boy: Growing Up
written about and championed Boston Boy: Growing Up With Jazz with Jazz and Other Rebellious Passions
jazz for more than half a century, produced and Other Rebellious Passions (1986), Listen to the Stories: Nat Hentoff on
recording sessions for some of the biggest names Random House, 1986 Jazz and Country Music (1995), and American
in jazz, and written liner notes for many more. The Nat Hentoff Reader Music Is (2004). His work has appeared in such
Through his work, he has helped to advance the DaCapo Press, 2001 venerable publications as the New York Times,
appreciation and knowledge of jazz. It is fitting that New Republic, JazzTimes, and New Yorker, where
he is the first to receive the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship he was a staff writer for more than 25 years. In addition
for Jazz Advocacy. to his status as a renowned jazz historian and critic, Hentoff
Hentoff began his education at Northeastern University in Boston, also is an expert on First Amendment rights, criminal justice, and
his hometown, and went on to pursue graduate studies at Harvard education and has written a number of books on these topics.
University. As a graduate student, he hosted a local radio show and In 1980, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in education
became immersed in the Boston jazz scene. In 1953, after completing as well as a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
a Fulbright Fellowship at the Sorbonne in Paris, he spent four years for his coverage of the law and criminal justice. Five years later, he
as an associate editor at DownBeat magazine, where he laid the was awarded an honorary degree from Northeastern University. The
foundation for a truly remarkable career as a jazz journalist. Hentoff multidisciplinary body of work that Hentoff has produced represents
was co-editor of Jazz Review from 1958 to 1961, and worked for the an articulation of the interconnectedness of the ideals of constitutional
Candid label as A&R director from 1960 to 1961, producing recording rights and jazz music and is without a doubt a major contribution
sessions by jazz icons such as Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, and to the dialogue surrounding the uniquely American jazz tradition.
Abbey Lincoln. Currently, Hentoff writes about music for the Wall Street Journal
His books on music include Jazz Country (1965), Jazz: New and has a column in the United Media syndicate, which distributes the
Perspectives on the History of Jazz by Twelve of the World’s Foremost column to 250 papers nationwide.

1997
BILLY
HIGGINS
DRUMMER
Born October 11, 1936 in Los Angeles, CA

Died May 3, 2001
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Ornette Coleman,
Photo by Lee Tanner
Change of the Century
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Atlantic, 1959
Soweto
Red, 1979
nown among musicians and His drumming was an important addition
fans as “Smiling Billy,” Billy Mr. Billy Higgins to many recordings, such as Andrew Hill’s
Higgins was first introduced to Evidence, 1984 Point of Departure, Herbie Hancock’s Takin’
the broader jazz public when he came to the 3/4 For Peace Off, and Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder, the
East Coast with the Ornette Coleman Quartet Red, 1993 last two being especially popular jazz albums.
in 1959 for their extended engagement at the Five He would intermittently work with Coleman
Charles Lloyd and Billy Higgins,
Spot Cafe. Although he does not have many records Which Way Is East again in the 1960s and 1970s as well. Outside of
under his own name, Higgins was often in great ECM, 2001 Coleman, a frequent musical collaborator was Cedar
demand as a sideman, providing sensitive accompaniment Walton, an association that began in 1966 and continued
in a variety of settings. into the 1990s, often in Walton’s Eastern Rebellion band.
Higgins started on the drums at age 12. By the time he was 19, he In 1989, Higgins co-founded a cultural community center, the
was working in rhythm-and-blues bands, with musicians such as Amos World Stage, in Los Angeles to advance the position of African-
Milburn and Bo Diddley. Other early affiliations included singers American music, literature, and art. In the 1990s his career was
Brook Benton, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. halted by kidney disease, leading to a subsequent kidney transplant.
He also began working with jazz artists such as Dexter Gordon, After resuming playing, he remained much in demand for record
Don Cherry, James Clay, and Walter Benton. He joined the Red dates. During 1999-2001, he worked frequently with Charles Lloyd
Mitchell band in 1957, but soon left to join Ornette Coleman’s new when not leading his own bands, recording some of his most inventive
band, with which he worked steadily in 1958 and 1959. In the early drumming while playing against Lloyd’s saxophone.
1960s, he worked with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Sonny
Rollins. By then he had become one of the most in-demand freelance
drummers on the scene, particularly on many Blue Note sessions.

2008
0000
ANDREW
HILL
Pianist Composer Arranger Bandleader Educator
Born June 30, 1931 in Chicago, IL

Died April 20, 2007
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Point of Departure
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Passing Ships
Blue Note, 1969
ecognized by Blue Note Live at Montreux where he established the successful Summer
Records’ founder Alfred Lion Freedom, 1975 Jazz Intensive. He also performed and taught
as his “last, great protégé,” Dusk at Harvard and Wesleyan universities among
pianist Andrew Hill spent 40 years composing, Palmetto, 1999 others.
performing, recording, and mentoring young Time Lines He returned to New York City in the 1990s,
musicians. Blue Note, 2005 reestablishing himself as a pianist, ensemble
Born in Chicago in 1931, Andrew Hill began leader, and composer. In 2000, Hill released Dusk,
teaching himself to play piano at age 10, and was later a song cycle loosely based on Jean Toomer’s 1923
introduced to German composer and music theorist-in- book Cane, with yet another phenomenal band. The
exile Paul Hindemith. He started performing in 1952 with album brought him to the attention of and garnered him
touring jazz musicians, including Charlie Parker, Dinah Washington, acclaim from a larger jazz audience, claiming a place on best-album-
Coleman Hawkins, and Miles Davis. of-the-year lists in Fortune Magazine, San Diego Union Tribune,
He moved to New York in 1961 and shortly thereafter was Philadelphia Inquirer, JazzTimes, and DownBeat.
contracted by Alfred Lion at Blue Note Records as a leader and a The new attention led to reissues of his classic Blue Note recordings
sideman, producing his early classics for the label, such as Point of of the 1960s and new issues of some previously unreleased recordings
Departure and Black Fire. Hill’s Blue Note sessions with acclaimed from that time period. One of the most interesting was Passing Ships,
musicians such as Eric Dolphy, Kenny Dorham, John Gilmore, Roy a previously unknown nonet recording that prefaced his big band
Haynes, Joe Henderson, and Elvin Jones cemented his reputation as recording in 2002, A Beautiful Day, by more than 30 years. In 2003,
a musician and composer of some renown. he received the prestigious Danish award, the JazzPar Prize.
Hill served as composer-in-residence at Colgate University of After fighting lung cancer for many years, Hill succumbed to the
Hamilton from 1970-72. In California, he performed in concert and disease in April 2007. He was notified of the NEA Jazz Masters award
taught classes at public schools and social service institutions before before his passing, and his wife accepted the award on his behalf.
becoming an associate professor of music at Portland State University,

1993
MILT
HINTON
bassIST educator photographer
Born June 23, 1910 in Vicksburg, MS

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cab calloway,
Photo by Lee Tanner
Are You Hep to the Jive?
M
columbia/legacy, 1937-47
The Judge at his Best

Chiaroscuro, 1973-95
ilt Hinton’s career spanned Hinton’s early career experience was
the gamut of jazz generations, Back to Bass-ics centered around the Cab Calloway Orchestra,
working from the early Progressive, 1984 with which he worked from 1936-51. After
swing days of the 1930s with Cab Calloway Branford Marsalis, Trio Jeepy leaving Calloway, he worked with the big
through the end of the millennium with the Columbia, 1988 bands of Joe Bushkin, Jackie Gleason, Phil
new guard of jazz, such as Branford Marsalis Moore, and Count Basie. He played with Louis
Laughing at Life
and Christian McBride. His ability to make a Columbia, 1995 Armstrong between 1952-55, then became a staff
contribution in any setting allowed for his vast array musician for CBS, one of the first African-American
of work. As a soloist, Hinton, nicknamed “The Judge,” musicians welcomed into the TV studios. From 1956
was adept at the early bass tradition of slapping the strings. on, Hinton was a much in-demand studio musician, adept
In addition to his love of music, Hinton was a perceptive and widely at different styles of playing, from the pop of Paul Anka to the jazz
exhibited photographer. Much of the history of jazz can be found in of Teddy Wilson. He also was in demand in live settings, performing
his photographs, which were published in several magazines and in with Jimmy McPartland, Benny Goodman, Ben Webster, Sammy
two extraordinary coffee-table books. Davis, Jr., Judy Garland, and Harry Belafonte, among others. In the
Like many African-American families in the early part of the 20th 1960s, he became a staff musician at ABC, working on the Dick Cavett
century, Hinton’s family migrated north from Mississippi to Chicago, Show. In the last decades of his life, Hinton continued to play and
where he was raised. His mother was a church musician, playing record, inspiring new generations of jazz musicians and fans.
organ and piano, and directing the choir. She bought him a violin for He received numerous honorary doctoral degrees and taught jazz
his 13th birthday, which he studied for four years from 1923-27. Later at several colleges and universities, including Hunter College, Baruch
he picked up the bass horn and tuba while studying music at Wendell College, Skidmore College, and Interlochen Music Camp. A 2003
Phillips High School in Chicago. In 1928, he found his voice when he documentary, Keeping Time: The Life, Music + Photographs of Milt
switched to string bass. One of his earliest professional affiliations Hinton, chronicled his career.
was with violinist Eddie South, with whom he played intermittently
between 1931-36. Other early affiliations included Zutty Singleton,
Erskine Tate, Art Tatum, and Jabbo Smith.

2010
BILL
HOLMAN
Composer Arranger Saxophonist
Born May 21, 1927 in Olive, CA
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The Fabulous Bill Holman
Coral, 1954-57
B
Bill Holman’s Great Big Band
Capitol, 1960
ill Holman’s unique and com- In 1975, Holman launched the Bill Holman
The Bill Holman Band
plex arrangements have long been Band but recording was elusive; the recording
JVC, 1987
appreciated by musicians and critics of The Bill Holman Band in 1987 was his
alike, although he is best known on the West Brilliant Corners: The Music first release as a leader in 27 years. Since
Coast. of Thelonious Monk 1980, Holman increasingly has become more
JVC, 1997
He took up clarinet in junior high school and active in Europe, including writing, conducting,
tenor saxophone in high school, by which time he Hommage and performing extended works for the WDR
was leading his own band. After serving in the U.S. Jazzed Media, 2005-06 Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, Germany, and the
Navy and studying engineering, Holman decided in the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands.
late 1940s that he wanted to write big band music and enrolled To date, Holman has received 14 Grammy nominations
at the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles. He also studied and won three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Arrangement
composition privately with Russ Garcia and saxophone with Lloyd of “Take the ‘A’ Train” for Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show
Reese. Orchestra (1987); Best Instrumental Composition for “A View from
By 1949, Holman’s career was well underway. After writing for the Side” for the Bill Holman Band (1995); and Best Instrumental
Charlie Barnet, in 1952 he began his association with Stan Kenton, Arrangement of “Straight, No Chaser” for the Bill Holman Band
for whom he would compose (and perform) for many years to come. (1997). He was voted “Best Arranger” in the JazzTimes Readers’ Poll
During the 1950s, he also was active in the West Coast jazz movement, four times; and received the “Arranger of the Year” award three times
playing in small bands led by Shorty Rogers and Shelly Manne and in DownBeat magazine’s Readers’ Poll and Critics’ Poll.
co-leading a quintet with Mel Lewis. During the following decade, In 2000, the Bill Holman Collection of scores and memorabilia
Holman expanded his writing efforts, working for bands led by jazz became part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection in
greats such as Louie Bellson, Count Basie, Bob Brookmeyer, Washington, DC. In 2006, he was inducted into the Rutgers Jazz Hall
Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Gerry Mulligan, Doc Severinsen, and of Fame, and in 2008, he was doubly honored: a Golden Score Award
others. In addition, he wrote for high-profile vocalists such as Natalie from the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers and a
Cole (including her Grammy Award-winning album Unforgettable), place in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Tony Bennett, Carmen MacRae, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, and Jazz Wall of Fame.
Sarah Vaughan.

2005
0000
SHIRLEY
HORN
vocalIST pianIST
Born May 1, 1934 in Washington, DC

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Embers and Ashes
Photo by Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES Stereo-Craft, 1960
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Violets for Your Furs
Steeple Chase, 1981
hirley Horn began leading her You Won’t Forget Me her to old fans, won her new followers, and
own group in the mid-1950s, and Verve, 1990 revitalized her career, allowing her to take
in 1960 recorded her first album, I Remember Miles to the road with her trio and record more
Embers and Ashes, which established her Verve, 1998 albums.
reputation as an exceptional and sensitive jazz May the Music Never End Her association with the Verve label, which
vocalist. Born in 1934 in Washington, DC, she Verve, 2003 began in 1987, gave a new showcase to her
studied classical piano as a teenager at Howard inimitable style and cemented her reputation as
University’s Junior School of Music. a world-class jazz artist. Six of her more than 20
Under the influence of artists such as Oscar Peterson albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards,
and Ahmad Jamal, she then began a career as a jazz pianist and she has collaborated with jazz artists including Hank
and soon after discovered the great expressive power of her voice. Jones, Kenny Burrell, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Buck Hill,
When Miles Davis heard Embers and Ashes, he brought her to New Branford Marsalis, and Toots Thielemans.
York, where she began opening for him at the Village Vanguard. Soon In 1990, she collaborated with Miles Davis on her critically
she was performing in major venues throughout the United States and acclaimed album You Won’t Forget Me. Her 1992 recording Here’s
recording with Quincy Jones for the Mercury label. to Life was that year’s top-selling jazz album and earned a Grammy
For some years she spent much of her time in Europe, then took Award for arranger Johnny Mandel. In 1998, Horn paid tribute to
a ten-year hiatus to raise her family in Washington. She continued her mentor with the brilliant recording I Remember Miles, winning the
to appear in and around the DC area, and in the 1980s she returned Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Health problems in
to the recording studio. The overwhelming critical success of her the early 2000s forced her to cut back on her appearances.
1981 appearance at Holland’s North Sea Jazz Festival reintroduced

2006
FREDDIE
HUBBARD
trumpeter
Born April 7, 1938 in Indianapolis, IN

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Ready for Freddie
Photo by Lee Tanner
Blue Note, 1961
O
Hub-Tones
Blue Note, 1962
ne of the greatest trumpet Straight Life Hubbard remained with the Jazz
virtuosos ever to play in the jazz Columbia, 1970 Messengers until 1964, when he left to form
idiom, and arguably one of the Live his own small group, which over the next
most influential, Freddie Hubbard played CLP, 1983 years featured Kenny Barron and Louis
mellophone and then trumpet in his school band Hayes. Throughout the 1960s, Hubbard also
New Colors
and studied at the Jordan Conservatory with the Hip Bop Essence, 2000
played in bands led by other legends, including
principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Max Roach, and was a significant presence on the
Orchestra. As a teenager, he worked with Wes and Blue Note recordings of Shorter, Herbie Hancock,
Monk Montgomery and eventually founded his own and Hank Mobley. Hubbard was also featured on four
band, the Jazz Contemporaries, with bassist Larry Ridley and classic, groundbreaking 1960s sessions: Ornette Coleman’s
saxophonist James Spaulding. After moving to New York in 1958, he Free Jazz, Oliver Nelson’s Blues and the Abstract Truth, Eric
quickly astonished fans and critics alike with his depth and maturity, Dolphy’s Out to Lunch, and John Coltrane’s Ascension.
playing with veteran artists Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide In the 1970s, Hubbard achieved his greatest popular success with
Hampton, J.J. Johnson, Eric Dolphy, and Quincy Jones, with whom a series of crossover albums on Atlantic and CTI Records, including
he toured Europe. the Grammy Award-winning First Light. He returned to acoustic hard
In June 1960, on the recommendation of Miles Davis, he recorded bop in 1977 when he toured with the V.S.O.P. quintet, which teamed
his first solo album, Open Sesame, for Blue Note Records, just weeks him with the members of Miles Davis’ 1960s ensemble: Shorter,
after his 22nd birthday. Within the next 10 months, he recorded two Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. In the 1980s, Hubbard
more albums, Goin’ Up and Hub Cap, and then in August 1961 made again led his own groups, often in the company of Joe Henderson, and
what many consider to be his masterpiece, Ready for Freddie, which he collaborated with fellow trumpet legend Woody Shaw on a series of
was also his first Blue Note collaboration with Wayne Shorter. That albums for the Blue Note and Timeless labels.
same year, Hubbard joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, replacing
Lee Morgan. By now, he had indisputably developed his own sound
and had won the DownBeat “New Star” award on trumpet.

2010
0000
BOBBY
HUTCHERSON
Vibraphonist Marimba Player Composer
Born January 27, 1941 in Los Angeles, CA
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Eric Dolphy,
Photo by Francis Wolff © Mosaic Images Out to Lunch
Blue Note, 1964
B
Dialogue
Blue Note, 1965
obby Hutcherson’s sound and Lunch is considered one of his most masterful
innovative style on the vibraphone Solo/Quartet sideman performances, providing a vibrant
helped revitalize the instrument in Contemporary/OJC, 1981-82 texture to the piano-less quintet. In 1965, Blue
the 1960s, adding an adventurous new voice to Skyline Note released his astounding debut record
the free jazz and post bop eras. Verve, 1998 as a bandleader, Dialogue. Hutcherson was
As a child, Hutcherson studied piano with his For Sentimental Reasons accompanied on the album by some of the biggest
aunt, but his interest in becoming a professional Kind of Blue, 2006 names emerging in jazz at the time: drummer Joe
musician was sparked after hearing vibraphonist Milt Chambers, bassist Richard Davis, pianist Andrew
Jackson playing on a recording of the Thelonious Monk Hill, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, and saxophonist Sam
song “Bemsha Swing.” Jackson’s playing impressed him so Rivers.
much that he began working with his father (a brick mason) to save up In 1967, he returned to California and co-lead a quintet with
money for a vibraphone. Studies under renowned vibraphonist Dave saxophonist Harold Land for several years. Hutcherson eventually
Pike followed, and soon Hutcherson played at local Los Angeles school settled in Montara, a small coastal town south of San Francisco, where
dances in his friend Herbie Lewis’ group. he continues to live. Hutcherson is a founding member of the SFJAZZ
In 1960, Hutcherson joined an ensemble co-led by Al Grey Collective, an all-star octet that debuted in 2004. In 2008, Hutcherson
and Billy Mitchell. A year later, the group performed at New was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Sedona
York’s legendary Birdland club and the vibraphonist made his first Jazz on the Rocks festival in Arizona.
live appearance opposite bassist Charles Mingus. Hutcherson soon In addition to his own recordings and tours, Hutcherson also
relocated to New York City and signed with the Blue Note label. appears on other artists’ records, including Tyner’s Manhattan
According to Hutcherson’s own account, he made 45 records as a Moods (1993) and Hammond B-3 organist Joey DeFrancesco’s Organic
bandleader and appeared on more than 250 records as a sideman Vibes (2006). Hutcherson continues to perform at a masterful level on
during his years with Blue Note—working with jazz luminaries such his instrument, playing with both his contemporaries and the new
as Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Jackie McLean, and McCoy generation of jazz musicians.
Tyner, among others. His work on Eric Dolphy’s recording Out to

1997
0000
MILT
JACKSON
vibraphonist pianist bandleader
Born January 1, 1923 in Detroit, MI

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Modern Jazz Quartet, MJQ
Photo by Lee Tanner Original Jazz Classics, 1954-56
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Plenty, Plenty Soul
Atlantic, 1957
haracterized by a slower Bags Meets Trane Kay eventually replacing Clarke. The MJQ
vibrato than his predecessors, Atlantic, 1959 would become an enduring jazz institution
Milt Jackson’s ability to swing Milt Jackson + Count Basie + The Big Band, for more than 40 years, with Jackson’s blues-
and to create vocal-like inflections made his Vol. 1 & 2 drenched solos being a crucial ingredient in
an instantly recognizable sound on the vibes. Original Jazz Classics, 1978 their sound. When the MJQ wasn’t touring,
Another jazz musician whose earliest experience Sa Va Bella Jackson occasionally led bands featuring Jimmy
was in the church, he sang gospel duets with his Warner Brothers, 1996 Heath and Ray Brown and worked on recording
brother and played the guitar. At age 11, he began sessions that included Cannonball Adderley and Ray
playing the piano, moving to the xylophone and the vibes Charles.
in his early teens. After studying music at Michigan State He left the MJQ in 1974, leading his own groups or playing
University, his musical career actually began with a touring gospel with all-star aggregations until 1981, when the MJQ reunited for a
ensemble in the early 1940s. Upon hearing him in Detroit, Dizzy concert in Japan. Following that concert, the quartet made annual
Gillespie arranged for Jackson, known by the nickname “Bags,” to tours from 1982 through the early 1990s. For most of the remainder of
come to New York in 1945 to join his band. After leaving Gillespie’s his career he worked with his own groups, which often included such
pioneering bebop big band in 1948, he went on to play with Howard musicians as Mickey Roker, Bob Cranshaw, and Mike LeDonne.
McGhee, Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron, and Charlie Parker, The winner of numerous jazz polls, Jackson’s vibe-playing
applying the bebop sound to the vibes. dominated the field for much of his career, leading to his induction
He replaced Terry Gibbs in the Woody Herman band during into the Percussion Hall of Fame and DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame,
1949-50, returning to the Gillespie band from 1950-52. Thereafter among other honors.
he formed his own quartet, featuring John Lewis, Ray Brown, and
Kenny Clarke. The Milt Jackson Quartet then became the Modern
Jazz Quartet, with Percy Heath replacing Brown, and Connie

1994
AHMAD
JAMAL
PIANIST COMPOSER
Born July 2, 1930 in Pittsburgh, PA
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At the Pershing/But Not for Me
Chess, 1958
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Free Flight
Impulse!, 1971
ne of the subtlest virtuosos Big Byrd: The Essence, Part 2 Strings as pianist. This led to formation of his
of jazz piano, Ahmad Jamal’s Verve, 1994-95 trio Three Strings in 1950-52, which debuted
uncanny use of space in his playing After Fajr at Chicago’s Blue Note club, and later became
and leadership of his small ensembles have been Birdology/Dreyfus Jazz, 2004 the Ahmad Jamal Trio. His 1958 album At
hallmarks of his influential career. Among those the Pershing became a surprising smash hit,
It’s Magic
he has influenced is most notably Miles Davis. Dreyfus Jazz, 2007
highlighted by his interpretation of “Poinciana.”
Davis made numerous and prominent mentions of With the popularity of the album and the advocacy
Jamal’s influence on his playing, particularly in his of Davis, Jamal’s trio was one of the most popular
use of space, allowing the music to “breathe,” and his jazz acts in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
choice of compositions. Several tunes that were in Jamal’s For the most part, Jamal has worked in piano-
playlist, such as the standard “Autumn Leaves” and Jamal’s own bass-drums trios, using the intricate relationship of the band to
“New Rhumba,” began appearing in the playlist of Davis’ 1950s explore his sound, directing the trio through seemingly abrupt time
bands. Jamal’s textured rhythms on piano influenced Davis’ piano and tempo shifts. His piano virtuosity has also been welcomed by a
players as well, from Wynton Kelly in the 1950s to Herbie Hancock number of orchestras and his abilities as a composer are considerable.
in the 1960s. His approach has been described as being chamber-jazz-like, and
Jamal’s piano studies began at age three, and by age 11, he was he has experimented with strings and electric instruments in his
making his professional debut with a sound strongly influenced by Art compositions.
Tatum and Erroll Garner. Following graduation from Pittsburgh’s Among his many awards are the Living Jazz Legend Award from
Westinghouse High School, he joined the George Hudson band in the Kennedy Center and the Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des
1947. In 1949, he joined swing violinist Joe Kennedy’s group Four Lettres from France.

1996
0000
J.J.
JOHNSON
trombonist composer arranger
Born January 22, 1924 in Indianapolis, IN

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The Eminent Jay Jay
Photo by Lee Tanner Johnson, Vol. 1 & 2
Blue Note, 1953-55
O
Stan Getz & J.J. Johnson
ften referred to as the
at the Opera House he re-joined Winding in 1958. The group was
Verve, 1957
“Charlie Parker of the trombone” instrumental in demonstrating the power and
due to his uncanny musical The Great Kai and J.J. possibilities of the trombone in modern jazz.
Impulse!, 1960
dexterity and fluency, James Louis “J.J.” In the late 1950s, he began to gain
Johnson dominated his instrument for more than Live at the Village Vanguard recognition as a composer. Two of his extended
40 years, and was known as a potent composer EmArcy, 1988 works, “El Camino Real” and “Sketch for
and arranger. He was a perennial jazz magazine Tangence Trombone and Orchestra,” were commissioned
poll winner for his peerless trombone playing. Verve, 1994 by the Monterey Jazz Festival. A commission from
Between ages nine and 11, he studied piano with Dizzy Gillespie resulted in “Perceptions,” a large-scale
his family’s church organist, picking up the trombone at work for orchestra that was recorded for Verve Records. In
age 14. His first professional experience came with the bands of addition to his work as a composer, he performed with groups led by
Clarence Love and Snookum Russell. It was in the Russell band that Miles Davis, Clark Terry, and Sonny Stitt, then moved to California
he met jazz trumpeter Fats Navarro, an early influence on the young in 1970. There he immersed himself in lucrative television and film
trombonist. After leaving Russell, he spent three years with Benny scoring. His scores can be heard on such television programs as
Carter’s band, then gigged with Count Basie in 1945-46. He worked Mayberry RFD, That Girl, Mod Squad, Six Million Dollar Man, and
briefly with Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman, then toured the Starsky and Hutch.
Far East with Oscar Pettiford. The difficulty of making a living in In 1987, he returned to his hometown Indianapolis and began
the jazz field affected Johnson; from 1952-54 he held a day job as a playing, touring, and recording again. His awards include an honorary
blueprint reader. Then came one of his most significant early bands, doctoral degree from Indiana University and the Indiana Governor’s
a two-trombone group he co-led with Kai Winding—the Jay and Kai Arts Award in 1989.
Quintet—from 1954-56; after a period of freelancing and bandleading,

2003
ELVIN
JONES
Drummer composer
Born September 9, 1927 in Pontiac, MI

Died May 18, 2004
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The Complete
John Coltrane,
Photo by Lee Tanner
Africa/Brass Sessions
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Impulse!, 1961
Poly-Currents
Blue Note, 1969
he propulsive style of and provided innovative accompaniment to
drummer Elvin Jones powered the David Murray, Special Quartet the rest of the rhythm section: pianist McCoy
John Coltrane Quartet during his Columbia, 1990 Tyner and bassists Jimmy Garrison and
six-year stint with the group and influenced It Don’t Mean A Thing Reggie Workman.
countless percussionists that followed him over Enja, 1993 In 1965, Jones left the Coltrane group
the past 40 years. As with fellow 2003 NEA Jazz and formed his own band, a trio with Garrison
Bill Frisell, With Dave Holland
Master Jimmy Heath, and a number of other jazz and Elvin Jones and reed player Joe Farrell, beginning a series of
greats, Elvin Jones was the product of a musical Nonesuch, 2001 recordings for the Blue Note label. Since that time,
family. His brothers include pianist Hank Jones and Jones’ trios and his latter day bands, known as the Jazz
cornetist Thad Jones. The youngest of 10 siblings, Jones Machine, have welcomed numerous adventurous players.
began learning the drums during his middle school years, studying These have ranged from Steve Grossman, Sonny Fortune, and Roland
the styles of Chick Webb, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, and the beboppers Prince to such younger players as Delfeayo Marsalis, Nicholas
that followed them, including Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, and Art Payton, David Sanchez, and John Coltrane’s son Ravi.
Blakey. Jones frequently performed free for schools and other institutions,
After serving in the Army from 1946-49, he returned to Detroit, and at jazz clinics. Aside from music, he made his acting debut as Job
immersing himself in the fertile jazz scene there in the early 1950s, Caine in the 1970 film Zachariah. He toured extensively with his
before heading to New York in 1955. After playing with Harry “Sweets” group Jazz Machine and made later recordings with Cecil Taylor,
Edison, J.J. Johnson, and Sonny Rollins (at Rollins’ famous Village Dewey Redman, Dave Holland, and Bill Frisell.
Vanguard session), he joined the John Coltrane Quartet in 1960. His
dynamic drumming pushed Coltrane’s improvisations to new heights,

1989
0000
HANK
JONES
PIANIST
Born July 31, 1918 in Vicksburg, MS

Died May 16, 2010
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The Jazz Trio of Hank Jones
Photo by Michael Wilderman Savoy, 1955
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Upon Reflection
Verve, 1993
ank Jones, a member of the Charlie Haden/Hank Jones, Steal Away served him well when he joined the staff of
famous jazz family that includes Verve, 1994 CBS as a studio musician, remaining for
brothers cornetist Thad and For My Father 17 years. Although his studio work found
drummer Elvin, served as a pianist in a vast Justin Time, 2004 him working on productions like the Ed
array of settings, always lending a distinctive, Sullivan Show, Jones continued his touring and
West of 5th
swinging sensibility to the sessions. Although born Chesky, 2006 recording experiences in a variety of settings. His
in Mississippi, Jones grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, broad range and ability to fit in different settings
listening to such performers as Earl Hines, Fats also landed him in Broadway stage bands, where he
Waller, and Art Tatum. A performer by the time he was served as pianist and conductor for such shows as Ain’t
13, Jones played with territory bands that toured Michigan Misbehavin’.
and Ohio. In one such band he met saxophonist Lucky Thompson, Jones was the first regular pianist in brother Thad’s co-led
who got him a job in the Hot Lips Page band in 1944, prompting Jones’ orchestra with Mel Lewis, beginning in 1966. Throughout the 1970s,
move to New York. 1980s, and 1990s, Jones continued to be much in demand for
Once in New York, Jones became exposed to bebop, embracing record dates and tours. Among his affiliations was the Great Jazz
the style in his playing and even recording with Charlie Parker. Trio, a cooperative unit with Ron Carter and Tony Williams, who
Meanwhile, he took jobs with such bandleaders as John Kirby, were later supplanted by Buster Williams and Ben Riley. Jones
Coleman Hawkins, Andy Kirk, Billy Eckstine, and Howard McGhee. has also experienced his share of piano duos, with the likes of
He toured with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1947- Tommy Flanagan—with whom he became acquainted when both
51. As a result, he became Ella Fitzgerald’s pianist, touring with her were developing around the Detroit area—George Shearing, and John
from 1948-53. These experiences served to broaden his musical palette Lewis.
and sophistication. In 2008, Jones received the National Medal of Arts and the
A consummate freelancer, Jones found work with artists such following year the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. As a
as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Milt Jackson, and Cannonball leader and valued sideman, Jones can be found on thousands
Adderley. The versatility Jones acquired through such affiliations of recordings.

1985
JO
JONES
DRUMMER
Born July 10, 1911 in Chicago, IL

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Count Basie, The Original
Photo by Herman Leonard Photography LLC/CSTIMAGES
American Decca Recordings
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MCA, 1937-39
The Essential Jo Jones

Vanguard, 1955
onathan “Jo” Jones’ uncanny way In 1934 came the affiliation with which his
around the drums, ability to truly swing Jo Jones Trio artistry is forever identified, drumming with
a band without ever overpowering it, Fresh Sounds, 1959 the Count Basie band, with which he worked
and slick, smiling sense of showmanship made Jo Jones Sextet on and off for more than 15 years. Jones’
him one of the most influential of the early swing Fresh Sounds, 1960 drumming was the final ingredient to what
band drummers. Jones made an art form of the became known as the “All-American Rhythm
The Main Man
use of brushes on the drum kit, with accents timely Original Jazz Classics, 1976 Section.” Besides Jones, this included guitarist
and thoroughly appropriate for whatever band with Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page, and Basie on
which he played. Jo Jones is credited with the transfer piano. They provided the irresistible pulse that drove
of the essential pulse of jazz music from the bass drum to the the Count Basie band of the day to be called the swinging-est
hi-hat cymbal, influencing such modern drummers as Max Roach. band in the land. Jones served two years in the Army from 1944-
His technique was to leave the hi-hat cymbals just slightly apart, 46, then returned to the Basie band, where he remained a full-time
which produced a sound different from the relative staccato approach member until 1948.
of his predecessors. Never one to engage in extended solos, his delight Thereafter, though frequently reuniting with Basie on special
was in driving a band with his incomparable swing. occasions, Jones became a freelance drummer. He played on tours
Jones grew up in Alabama, touring with various shows and with Jazz at the Philharmonic, and recorded with many of the jazz
carnivals as a tap dancer and instrumentalist while still in his teens. greats, including Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges,
His first major jazz job came when he joined the territory band Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, Art Tatum, and Benny Goodman.
known as Walter Page’s Blue Devils in Oklahoma City in the late Jones was constantly in demand for a variety of all-star swing sessions
1920s. Jones stayed in the Midwest for quite some time, working with and made numerous recordings as a highly valued sideman. In 1979,
trumpeter Lloyd Hunter and moving to Kansas City in 1933. Jones was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for his
contributions to Alabama’s musical heritage.

2008
0000
QUINCY
JONES
Bandleader Trumpeter Composer
Arranger Producer
Born March 14, 1933 in Chicago, IL
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This Is How I Feel About Jazz
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Paramount, 1956
Bossa Nova
uincy Jones has distinguished Mercury, 1962 a highly successful career as a film score
himself in just about every Walking in Space composer. To date he has written scores for
aspect of music, including as a A&M, 1969 more than 35 films, including In Cold Blood,
bandleader, record producer, Miles Davis/Quincy Jones, Live at Montreux
In the Heat of the Night, and The Italian Job.
musical composer and arranger, trumpeter, Warner Bros., 1991 In addition to his film scoring, he also
and record label executive. He has worked with continued to produce and arrange sessions in the
Quincy Jones/Sammy Nestico Orchestra,
everyone from Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Basie & Beyond 1960s, notably for Frank Sinatra on his albums
Count Basie to Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Warner Bros., 2000 with Count Basie, It Might As Well Be Swing in 1964
Michael Jackson. and Sinatra at the Sands in 1966. He later produced
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones was brought up in Seattle. Sinatra’s L.A. Is My Lady album in 1984.
He began learning the trumpet as a teenager. He moved to New York Returning to the studio with his own work, he recorded a series
City in the early 1950s, finding work as an arranger and musician of Grammy Award-winning albums between 1969 and 1981, including
with Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, and Lionel Hampton. In 1956, Walking in Space and You’ve Got It Bad, Girl. Following recovery
Dizzy Gillespie chose Jones to play in his big band, later having him from a near-fatal cerebral aneurysm in 1974, he focused on producing
put together a band and act as musical director on Gillespie’s U.S. albums, most successfully with Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and
State Department tours of South America and the Middle East. The Thriller, and the “We Are the World” sessions to raise money for the
experience honed Jones’ skills at leading a jazz orchestra. victims of Ethiopia’s famine in 1985. In 1991, he coaxed Miles Davis
Jones moved to Paris, France, in 1957 and put together into revisiting his 1950s orchestral collaborations with Gil Evans
a jazz orchestra that toured throughout Europe and North America. at the Montreux Jazz Festival, conducting the orchestra for Davis’
Though critically acclaimed, the tour did not make money, and Jones last concert. Jones holds the record for the most Grammy Award
disbanded the orchestra. nominations at 79, of which he won 27.
He became music director for Mercury Records in 1960, rising to In the 1980s and 1990s, Jones ventured into filmmaking,
vice president four years later. Also in 1964, he composed his first film co-producing with Steven Spielberg The Color Purple, and managing
score for Sidney Lumet’s The Pawnbroker. After the success of that his own record label Qwest Records, along with continuing to make
film, he left Mercury Records for Los Angeles to pursue what became and produce music.

1991
ANDY
KIRK
bandleader saxophonist
Born May 28, 1898 in Newport, KY

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1929-1931
Classics, 1929-31
A
1936-1937
Classics, 1936-37
ndy Kirk, though virtually 1937-1938 band, the Benny Moten Orchestra, and Jay
unknown nowadays outside of jazz Classics, 1937-38 McShann’s band—one of the purveyors of
circles, led one of the hottest swing the Kansas City swing sound. Particularly
Kansas City Bounce
bands in the country during the 1930s, rivaling Black and Blue, 1939-40 popular was their recording of “Until the Real
Basie’s. His band, the Clouds of Joy, also Thing Comes Along” in 1936.
1940-1942 Although the leader of the band, Kirk usually
introduced some of the biggest names in jazz, Classics, 1940-42
most notably Mary Lou Williams. was not a soloist, utilizing the talent in his band for
Kirk grew up in Denver, Colorado, where he came the spotlight instead. His genius lay in realizing how
under the musical tutelage of Paul Whiteman’s father, best to make use of his band members’ skills. Realizing
Wilberforce Whiteman. His first job, as bass saxophonist and the awesome writing and arranging aptitude of Mary Lou
tuba player, came with the George Morrison Orchestra in 1918. In Williams, for example, he made her the chief composer and arranger
1925 he relocated to Dallas and joined Terence Holder’s Dark Clouds for the Clouds of Joy from 1929-42. Other notable band members who
of Joy, a band he eventually took over in 1929, changing the name Kirk highlighted as soloists included Shorty Baker, Don Byas, Kenny
to the Clouds of Joy (sometimes known as the Twelve Clouds of Joy, Kersey, Howard McGhee, Fats Navarro, and Dick Wilson. The band
depending on the number of musicians in the band). continued to tour and record until disbanding in 1948.
He moved the band to Kansas City, where they made their Kirk led another band in California in the early 1950s, then went
first recordings in 1929-30, including Mary Lou Williams’ “Froggy into other professions. In the 1970s he led pickup bands on occasion,
Bottom,” which has been covered countless times since. Kirk’s though he spent the remainder of his life working for his Jehovah’s
band was highly popular, becoming—along with the Count Basie Witness church.

2009
0000
LEE
KONITZ
Saxophonist Composer Educator
Born October 13, 1927 in Chicago, IL
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Subconscious-Lee
Photo by Michael Wilderman Prestige/OJC, 1949-50
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The Lee Konitz Duets
Milestone/OJC, 1967
ee Konitz is one of the more The New York Album In the early 1960s, as opportunities for
distinctive alto saxophonists in jazz Soul Note, 1987 performances declined, Konitz withdrew
since Charlie Parker (and one of New Nonet from the music business and took on day
the few that did not outright copy Parker’s Omnitone, 2006 work. He continued to develop his unique
style), pairing his individual style and voice with Lee Konitz-Ohad Talmor Big Band,
sound, however, occasionally working with such
a strong sense of innovation. Portology musicians as Paul Bley, Martial Solal, Charlie
Born to an Austrian father and a Russian Omnitone, 2007 Haden, and Brad Mehldau. He also worked as
mother in Chicago, Konitz as a youth studied clarinet, a private teacher, conducting lessons by tape with
then alto saxophone with various teachers. In the early students worldwide. Konitz joined with Warne Marsh,
1940s, Konitz met noted pianist Lennie Tristano, under whose his fellow sideman from early Tristano sessions, to tour
influence and tutelage Konitz’s mature style in jazz began to emerge. Europe and record in 1975-76; he also founded his own nonet and
His recordings with Tristano include the 1949 releases “Intuition” and performed regularly during the 1980s. In 1992, Konitz won the
“Digression”—precursors to the “free jazz” movement of the 1960s. prestigious Danish JAZZPAR Prize.
In 1947, Konitz played with the Claude Thornhill Orchestra, With his insatiable musical curiosity, Konitz records in a variety
meeting Gil Evans, who was then arranging for Thornhill. Evans of different settings. His later albums include French impressionist
brought Konitz along to participate in Miles Davis’ nonet performances music with a string quartet (Lee Konitz & The Axis String Quartet
and recordings (Birth of the Cool, 1948-50), considered the beginning Play French Impressionist Music from the 20th Century), work with
point for what came to be called “cool jazz.” Konitz went on to play the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos (Portology), and an album with the
with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker’s influential band and worked big band Mark Masters Ensemble (One Day with Lee). Konitz divides
from 1952-53 in Stan Kenton’s big band. From then on, he mainly led his time between residences in the United States and Germany and
his own small groups, occasionally touring abroad. continues to travel and perform around the globe.

2010
YUSEF
LATEEF
Saxophonist Flutist Oboist Composer Educator
Born October 9, 1920 in Chattanooga, TN
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Eastern Sounds
Prestige/OJC, 1961
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Live at Pep’s
Impulse!, 1964
virtuoso on the traditional jazz time, he began recording under his own name
The Doctor is In…and Out
instruments of saxophone and flute, Atlantic, 1976 for Savoy Records. In 1960, he moved to
Yusef Lateef also brings a broad New York City and joined Charles Mingus’
spectrum of sounds to his music through his The African-American Epic Suite band. He then performed and recorded
Act, 1993
mastery of such Middle Eastern and Asian reed with Cannonball Adderley from 1962-64. His
instruments as the bamboo flute, shanai, shofar, Yusef Lateef and Adam Rudolph, albums as leader on Impulse! (1962-66) and
argol, sarewa, and taiwan koto. A major force In the Garden Atlantic (1967-76) are considered some of his most
Meta/YAL, 2003
on the international musical scene for more than six exciting and diverse recordings.
decades, he was one of the first to bring a world music As a composer, Lateef has compiled a body of
approach to traditional jazz. work for soloists, small ensembles, chamber and symphony
Lateef was born William Emanuel Huddleston in Chattanooga, orchestras, stage bands, and choirs. His extended works have
Tennessee, and moved with his family to Detroit in 1925. In Detroit’s been performed by orchestras in Germany and the United States—
fertile musical environment, Lateef established personal and musical including the Atlanta, Augusta, and Detroit symphony orchestras—
relationships with such jazz legends as Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, and the Symphony of the New World. In 1987, he won a Grammy
Paul Chambers, Tommy Flanagan, Milt Jackson, Barry Harris, the Award for his recording Yusef Lateef’s Little Symphony, on which
Jones brothers (Hank, Thad and Elvin), and Lucky Thompson. By Lateef played all the instruments.
the time he was 18 years old, he was touring professionally with swing Lateef holds a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree
bands led by Lucky Millinder, Roy Eldridge, Hot Lips Page, and in music education from the Manhattan School of Music. From 1987
Ernie Fields, performing under the name Bill Evans. In 1949, he was to 2002, he was a professor at the University of Massachusetts in
invited to perform with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra. At that time Amherst, from which he was awarded a doctorate in education.
he converted to Islam and took the name by which he is now known: Lateef has performed extensively throughout the United States,
Yusef Lateef. Europe, Japan, and Africa. His touring ensembles have included
From 1955–59 he led a quintet in Detroit that included Ernie master musicians such as Kenny Barron, Albert “Tootie” Heath, and
Farrell, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, and Hugh Lawson. During that Cecil McBee.

2006 A.B. Spellman NEA JAZZ MASTERS Award FOR
JAZZ ADVOCACY
JOHN
LEVY
manager bassist
Born April 11, 1912 in New Orleans, LA
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Stuff Smith, The 1943 Trio
Photo by Leroy Hamilton
Progressive, 1943
R
The Complete
Billie Holiday,
Decca Recordings
GRP, 1944-50
enowned as a leading repre- the group’s full-time manager, making music-
sentative of jazz musicians, and as Erroll Garner, Penthouse Serenade industry history and establishing the career
the first African American to work Savoy, 1945 he would follow for the next half-century.
in the music industry as a personal manager, Billy Taylor, 1945-49 Levy’s client roster over the years has
John Levy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Classics, 1945-49 included Nat and Cannonball Adderley, Betty
in 1912. His mother was a midwife and nurse, Carter, Roberta Flack, Herbie Hancock,
George Shearing, Complete Savoy
and his father was an engine stoker on the railroad. Trio and Quintet Sessions Shirley Horn, Freddie Hubbard, Ahmad Jamal,
When Levy was six, his family moved to Chicago, Jazz Factory, 1945-50 Ramsey Lewis, Abbey Lincoln, Herbie Mann, Wes
where a well-meaning schoolteacher would encourage him Montgomery, Carol Sloane, Joe Williams, and Nancy
to find a steady job at the post office. He did work there for a Wilson, as well as Arsenio Hall (the only comedian he
while, but he also began gigging around town as a jazz bassist. has managed among some 100 entertainers). In recognition of his
In 1944, Levy left Chicago with the Stuff Smith Trio to play an achievements, Levy has received awards such as a certificate of
extended engagement at the Onyx club on New York City’s 52nd appreciation from Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (1991), induction
Street. Over the next years, he was to play with many jazz notables, into the International Jazz Hall of Fame (1997), and the Lifetime
including Ben Webster, Buddy Rich, Errol Garner, Milt Jackson, Achievement Award of the Los Angeles Jazz Society (2002). His
and Billy Taylor, as well as with Billie Holiday at her comeback autobiography, Men, Women, and Girl Singers: My Life as a
performance at Carnegie Hall in 1948. Musician Turned Talent Manager, written with his wife Devra Hall,
In 1949, George Shearing heard Levy play at Birdland with was published in 2001 and expanded into a photo book, Strollin’: A
Buddy Rich’s big band and hired him for his own group, which Jazz Life through John Levy’s Personal Lens, released in 2008 on the
featured Buddy DeFranco. As Levy toured the country playing with occasion of his 96th birthday. John Levy continues to be active today
the original George Shearing Quintet, he gradually took on the role of in representing his clients.
road manager. Finally, in 1951, Levy put aside performing to become

2001
0000
JOHN
LEWIS
pianist composer ARRANGER educator
Born May 3, 1920 in La Grange, IL

Died March 29, 2001
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Modern Jazz Quartet, Django
Photo by Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES Original Jazz Classics, 1953-55
J
Grand Encounter
Blue Note, 1956
ohn Lewis’ artistry flowered during The Wonderful World of Jazz In 1951, the Gillespie band rhythm
his historic tenure as musical director Atlantic, 1960 section of 1946—Lewis, Clarke, Jackson,
of the longest continuing small ensemble Kansas City Breaks and Brown—reunited in the recording studio
in the annals of jazz, the Modern Jazz Quar- DRG, 1982 as the Milt Jackson Quartet, later becoming
tet, with whom he was able to realize his unique Private Concert the Modern Jazz Quartet. By the time those
vision of fusing blues, bebop, and classical music EmArcy, 1990 recordings were issued, Percy Heath had
into an artful, elegant balance. replaced Brown. In 1954, the Modern Jazz Quartet
Lewis’ mother was a primary musical influence began touring and Connie Kay replaced Clarke on
during his younger years growing up in Albuquerque, drums the following year. During his more than 40 years
New Mexico. After high school, Lewis joined the Army in 1942, with MJQ, Lewis honed his composing and arranging skills,
where he met drummer Kenny Clarke and trumpeter/bandleader experimenting with form and sound, while collaborating with guests
Dizzy Gillespie. ranging in diversity from Sonny Rollins to the Beaux Arts String
In 1946, Lewis and Clarke joined the rhythm section of Gillespie’s Quartet to singer Diahann Carroll to full orchestras. Perhaps his most
pioneer big band, which included vibraphonist Milt Jackson and widely interpreted composition is “Django,” which he wrote in honor
bassist Ray Brown. The Gillespie band provided a convenient of the legendary Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
canvas for Lewis to write compositions and craft arrangements, Throughout his career, Lewis wrote for a vast number of musical
utilizing the talents of some of the finest young musicians in jazz. configurations in a dizzying array of styles, from solo piano to
Lewis’ first extended composition for Gillespie was his 1947 “Toccata symphonies, from ballets to film and television scores. Lewis was part
for Trumpet,” which premiered at Carnegie Hall. Other early of the first wave of what composer Gunther Schuller dubbed the
contributions to the Gillespie book included Lewis’ arrangements of Third Stream—an effort at forging a third stream through the fusing
the tunes “Two Bass Hit” and “Emanon.” of the two primary streams: jazz and European classical music.
Coinciding with his work with the Gillespie band, Lewis continued As an educator, he served as director of faculty at the Lenox School
his music studies at the Manhattan School of Music, eventually earning of Jazz, where he first championed Ornette Coleman; on the trustee
his master’s degree in 1953. Lewis also worked with other jazz greats board of the Manhattan School of Music; and in faculty positions at
in between tours with Gillespie’s band, including serving as pianist and Harvard University and City College of New York.
arranger for the Miles Davis recording Birth of the Cool in 1950.

2007
RAMSEY
LEWIS
Pianist Composer Educator Broadcaster
Born May 27, 1935 in Chicago, IL
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The In Crowd
Chess, 1965
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Dancing in the Streets
Cadet, 1968
ith a style that springs Ramsey Lewis/Billy Taylor, Expanding his career through teaching,
from his early gospel experi- We Meet Again programming, and work in radio and
ence, his classical training, and Columbia, 1988-89 television, he also has become an ambassador
a deep love of jazz, pianist and composer Appassionata for jazz. Lewis has served as Art Tatum
Ramsey Lewis has built a decades-long career as Narada, 1999 Professor in Jazz Studies at Roosevelt
one of America’s most popular performers. Born University; as artistic director of the Jazz at
With One Voice
in Chicago, where he continues to make his home, Narada, 2005 Ravinia series of the Ravinia Festival; and as
he began taking piano lessons at the age of four and host of a weekday morning drive-time radio show on
credits his teacher Dorothy Mendelsohn with awakening Chicago’s WNUA-FM, for which he has been awarded
him to the communicative power of music. He recalls her telling R&R’s 1999 and 2000 Personality of the Year Award. He
him to “‘Listen with your inner ear,’ and ‘Make the piano sing.’ These hosts the syndicated Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, a two-hour
concepts were revelations!” radio program that airs throughout the United States, and was the
During these early years, though, Lewis had no experience with co-producer (with PBS television station WTTW-Chicago) and host
jazz, except for the records his father would play at home from artists of a television series of the same name, which featured emerging and
such as Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Meade “Lux” Lewis. He was established jazz musicians.
already 15, and an accomplished gospel pianist, when a fellow church Active in community affairs, especially on behalf of youth, Lewis
musician, Wallace Burton, asked him to join his band and helped helped organize the Ravinia Festival’s Jazz Mentor Program. In
Lewis learn the fundamentals of jazz. With his very first trio album, recognition of his activities, he was featured as the “Person of the
Ramsey Lewis and the Gentlemen of Swing, Lewis captivated a large Week” on ABC Nightly News in February 1995 and received the
and diverse jazz audience. By 1965, he was one of the nation’s most prestigious Lincoln Academy of Illinois Laureate Award in Springfield,
successful jazz pianists, topping the charts with “The ‘In’ Crowd,” Illinois, in April 1997. He currently tours and performs with his own
“Hang On Sloopy,” and “Wade in the Water.” Since then, he has trio, featuring Larry Gray on bass and Leon Joyce on drums.
won three Grammy Awards and the Recording Academy Governor’s
Award (2000), and earned seven gold records and three honorary
doctorates.

2003
0000
ABBEY
LINCOLN
Vocalist composer
Born August 6, 1930 in Chicago, IL

Died August 14, 2010
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We Insist!
Max Roach,
Photo by Lee Tanner Freedom Now Suite
Candid, 1960
S
Straight Ahead
Candid, 1961
trongly influenced by jazz Over the years, she has worked with some of
icons Billie Holiday and Louis Abbey Sings Billie, Vol. 1 & 2 the biggest names in jazz, including Sonny
Armstrong, both of whom she met Enja, 1987 Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins,
early in her career, Abbey Lincoln’s distinctive The World Is Falling Down Miles Davis, Jackie McLean, Clark Terry,
vocal style, thought-provoking writing, and Verve, 1990 and Stan Getz.
spirited personality secured her a place among Abbey Sings Abbey In addition to her music, Lincoln also pursued
the jazz luminaries. Verve, 2006 acting, appearing in the films Nothing But A Man
Born in Chicago and raised in rural Michigan, and For Love of Ivy and on television series, such as
Lincoln began performing while still in high school. In Mission: Impossible and the Flip Wilson Show. She also
1951, she moved to the West Coast, working under various taught drama at the California State University. She did not
names (Gaby Lee, Anna Marie, Gaby Wooldridge) before settling on record any albums as a leader from 1962-72, but made a grand return
Abbey Lincoln. She recorded her first album with jazz great Benny to jazz with her 1973 recording, People In Me, her first album of all
Carter in 1956 and appeared in the 1957 film, The Girl Can’t Help It. original material.
Lincoln then recorded a series of albums for the Riverside label with Lincoln returned to her influences in 1987, recording two albums
drummer Max Roach, who had introduced her to the label’s owner. in tribute to Billie Holiday, and then a series of recordings for Verve
Lincoln’s collaborations with Roach (to whom she was married throughout the 1990s and 2000s that showcased her writing prowess.
from 1962-70) lasted more than a decade, and included the seminal Her emotionally honest, mature style was present in every song she
recording, We Insist! Freedom Now Suite in 1960. This was the sang.
beginning of a more social and political activist approach to her music.

1987
MELBA
LISTON
trombonist arranger composer educator
Born January 13, 1926 in Kansas City, MO

Died April 23, 1999
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Dizzy In South
Dizzy Gillespie,
Photo by Lee Tanner
America, Vol. 1 & 2
A
CAP, 1956
And Her ’Bones

Fresh Sounds Records, 1956-58
lthough a formidable trombone In the 1950s, Liston began a partnership
player, Melba Liston was primarily Quincy Jones, Q Live in Paris that she would return to on and off for
known for her arrangements, Warner Brothers, 1960 more than 40 years. From the seminal
especially working with Randy Weston, and Randy Weston, Tanjah 1959 recording Little Niles through 1998’s
compositions. Growing up mostly in Los Angeles, Verve, 1973 Khepera, Liston was the arranger on many of
some of her first work came during the 1940s with Randy Weston’s albums. Her arrangements,
Randy Weston/Melba Liston,
two West Coast masters: bandleader Gerald Wilson Volcano Blues with a powerful base of brass and percussion and
and tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. In Gordon’s Verve, 1993 expressive solo performances, helped shape and
small combos, she began to blossom as a trombone soloist, embellish Weston’s compositions.
and Gordon wrote a song as a tribute to her, “Mischievous Other affiliations during the 1960s included co-leading a
Lady.” Despite her obvious talent as a soloist, Liston became an band with trumpeter Clark Terry, and writing for the Duke Ellington
in-demand big band section player, which likely fueled her later work orchestra, singers Tony Bennett and Eddie Fisher, and the Buffalo
as an arranger. During the 1940s, Liston also worked with the Count Symphony Orchestra. During the 1970s, she worked with youth
Basie band and with Billie Holiday. orchestras in Los Angeles, continuing to write for Basie, Ellington,
Following a brief hiatus from music, she joined Dizzy Gillespie’s and singer Abbey Lincoln. Liston also became a staff arranger for the
bebop big band in 1950, and again for two of Gillespie’s State Motown label. Later that decade she took up residence in Jamaica,
Department tours in 1956 and 1957, which included her arrangements where she taught at the University of the West Indies and was director
of “Annie’s Dance” and “Stella by Starlight” in performances. She of Popular Music Studies at the Jamaica Institute of Music.
started her own all-woman quintet in 1958, working in New York Slowed by a stroke in 1985, which effectively ended her playing
and Bermuda, before joining Quincy Jones’ band in 1959 to play the career, she was able to resume work as a composer and arranger in
musical Free and Easy. She stayed in Jones’ touring band as one of the 1990s through the aid of computer technology. Liston’s career
two woman members until 1961. helped pave the way for women in jazz in roles other than as vocalists.

2008
0000
TOM
McINTOSH
Composer Arranger Trombonist Educator
Born February 6, 1927 in Baltimore, MD
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James Moody, Hey! It’s James Moody
Photo by Tom Pich Argo/Lone Hill Jazz, 1956-59
At Birdhouse
T
The Jazztet,
Argo, 1961
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, The Complete

hough not well known outside the Hip String Quartet album, and was a
of jazz circles, the unique voice
Solid State Recordings favorite of Dizzy Gillespie, who featured
Mosaic, 1966-70
of composer and arranger Tom three of McIntosh’s songs on his Something
“Mac” McIntosh made him a favorite of Dizzy Milt Jackson, And the Hip String Quartet Old, Something New recording. McIntosh
Verve, 1968
Gillespie, James Moody, Milt Jackson, and was an original member of the Thad Jones-
Tommy Flanagan, among other jazz giants. With Malice Toward None: The Mel Lewis Orchestra, to which he contributed
McIntosh was born and raised in Baltimore. Music of Tom McIntosh songs and arrangements. He was also much
IPO Recordings, 2003
After a stint with the Army, he attended Juilliard and admired by Tommy Flanagan, who often noted that
later became an active participant in the New York jazz McIntosh was his favorite composer, recording several
scene as a trombone player and composer. of his songs.
He was a member of the famous Jazztet, formed by Benny When jazz’s popularity waned towards the end on the 1960s,
Golson and Art Farmer, and was one of the founders of the New York McIntosh went to Hollywood as a film composer for two Gordon
Jazz Sextet. Many outstanding New York-based instrumentalists of the Parks’ films, The Learning Tree and Shaft. He remained in California
1950s and ’60s migrated in and out of the band, including Thad Jones, for the next 20 years as a music director for films and TV. Finally
Art Farmer, James Moody, Tommy Flanagan, Roland Hanna, and tiring of Hollywood, McIntosh returned to the East Coast in the 1990s,
Richard Davis. McIntosh and Moody have a long history of friendship teaching at various conservatories, including as music director of
and collaboration that dates to the 1950s when McIntosh played and the Thelonious Monk Institute at the New England Conservatory of
wrote for Moody’s bands and provided arrangements for some of Music. He also continued to write music. In 2004, he released his first
Moody’s 1960s recordings. recording under his own name (at the age of 77), with a second volume
He also wrote and arranged for Milt Jackson, including his And of his works forthcoming.

2001
JACKIE
McLEAN
saxophonist composer educator
Born May 17, 1931 in New York, NY

Died March 31, 2006
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4, 5 and 6
Photo by Lee Tanner
K
New Soil
Blue Note, 1959
nown in the jazz community Let Freedom Ring His intense playing has fit in well with both
as “Jackie Mac,” Jackie McLean Blue Note, 1962 hard bop and the avant-garde, two schools of
was a stalwart, enduring force in The Jackie Mac Attack Live jazz in which McLean has experimented.
jazz since the early 1950s, and a distinguished Verve, 1991 Throughout the 1960s, McLean continued
educator since 1968. Long the possessor of one to work with his own bands and occasional
Nature Boy
of the most recognizable alto saxophone sounds Blue Note, 2000
all-star aggregations, but also became more
and styles, he explored the cutting edge of jazz interested in social issues. In 1959-60 he acted in
creativity. the off-Broadway play The Connection, a cautionary
McLean grew up in a musical family: his father was tale dealing with jazz and the perils of drug abuse,
a guitarist for bandleader Tiny Bradshaw and his stepfather which evolved into a 1961 film. In 1967 he took his music into
owned a record store. By age 15, he chose the alto saxophone as his prisons, working as a music instructor and counselor. Then in 1968, he
instrument. Jackie’s earliest studies came through the tutelage of moved to Hartford, Connecticut, to take a teaching position at Hartt
Foots Thomas, Cecil Scott, Joe Napoleon, and Andy Brown in his College of Music of the University of Hartford. It was in Hartford that
native New York. Another of his informal teachers was piano master McLean and his wife Dollie founded the Artists Collective, a widely
Bud Powell. McLean’s most significant early band affiliation came hailed combination community center/fine arts school, primarily
during the years 1948-49, when he joined a Harlem neighborhood aimed at troubled youth. The Artists Collective opened a beautiful new
band led by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and including pianist building in 1999 following years of residence in a former schoolhouse
Kenny Drew. McLean’s stints with the Miles Davis band, between in one of Hartford’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
1949-53, yielded his first recording sessions as a sideman and marked At the University of Hartford, McLean established the school’s
the beginning of what became known as hard bop, an advanced African American Music Department and subsequent Jazz Studies
progression on bebop. degree program, which was renamed the Jackie McLean Institute of
During McLean’s busiest period as a sideman in the 1950s, he Jazz on November 17, 2000. The program has instructed a number
worked with pianist George Wallington, drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz of exceptional young jazz musicians, including saxophonist Antoine
Messengers, and bassist Charles Mingus. McLean’s first recording as Roney, drummer Eric MacPherson, trombonist Steve Davis, and
a leader came in 1955, when he cut a quintet date for the Ad Lib label. pianist Alan Palmer.

2000
0000
MARIAN
McPARTLAND
pianist broadcaster
Born March 20, 1918 in Slough, England
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Jazz at the Hickory House
Photo by Melisa Goh Jasmine, 1954
B
Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz with Guest
Dave Brubeck
Jazz Alliance, 1984
est known as the host of the program, and led to McPartland’s induction
weekly national radio program Plays the Benny Carter Songbook into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2007.
Piano Jazz, Marian McPartland Concord, 1990 An intimate program involving just her and
has helped to popularize jazz with her intricate Just Friends a guest—usually a pianist—the program has
knowledge and prowess on the piano. She has Concord, 1998 won numerous awards, including the Peabody
made the program one of the most popular in the 85 Candles—Live in New York Award. Many of the programs have been
history of public radio. Concord, 2003 subsequently released on compact disc. As part
Born to a musical mother who played classical of the segments, McPartland interviews the guest,
piano, she studied at the famed Guildhall School of Music drawing out colorful anecdotes and stories about their
in London. Her first professional activity was as part of a careers. The shows also include performances of McPartland
touring vaudeville act featuring four pianists. During World War II, and the guest together. Taken as a whole, the series presents a
she entertained the troops and while playing in Belgium met her late formidable history of jazz.
husband, cornetist Jimmy McPartland, whom she married in 1945. Her playing career has also included piano tours with such greats
They relocated to the U.S. in 1946, whereupon she performed in as Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Ellis Larkins, and Benny Carter.
his band in Chicago. She formed her first active trio in 1950 for an She has performed with symphony orchestras and at many of the
engagement at the Embers in New York. Two years later, she began major jazz festivals, and has received numerous awards, including a
what would be an eight-year residency at the Hickory House in New DownBeat Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
York with her trio. McPartland has received several honorary doctorates as well as a
In 1963, she worked with the Benny Goodman Sextet, and in Grammy Trustee’s Award for lifetime achievement. She also authored
1965 she began her radio career, at WBAI in New York. In 1970 The Artistry of Marian McPartland, a collection of transcriptions,
she started her own record company, Halcyon Records, one of the and Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All in Good Time, a collection
first jazz women to do so. In 1979, she began her weekly radio show of her jazz profiles.
Piano Jazz, which—after 30 years of continuous programming—
has become the longest-running syndicated National Public Radio

1994
CARMEN
McRAE
vocalist pianist
Born April 8, 1920 in New York, NY

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Carmen McRae Sings
Photo by Lee Tanner
Great American Songwriters
T
GRP/DECCA, 1955-59
Sings Lover Man & Other

ender and warm with a ballad, Billie Holiday Classics Sarah Vaughan, whom she idolized and later
Columbia, 1961
Carmen McRae was one of the great paid homage on a recording. Her greatest idol
singers of jazz, finding the depth of At the Great American Music Hall was Billie Holiday, whom she feted on record
feeling in the lyrics of the songs she interpreted. blue note, 1976 and in performances on many occasions.
An accomplished pianist who in her early career Carmen Sings Monk Although she admired these singers, she never
accompanied herself, she occasionally returned to Novus, 1988 resorted to sheer mimicry and developed her
the piano later in her career. Sarah—Dedicated to You own original style.
McRae learned piano through private lessons and Novus, 1990 She recorded notably alongside Louis Armstrong
was discovered by Irene Wilson Kitchings, a musician on Dave Brubeck’s extended work The Real
and former wife of pianist Teddy Wilson. McRae sang with the Ambassadors, a social commentary written with his wife Iola.
Benny Carter, Count Basie, and Mercer Ellington big bands during She made several film and television appearances, and performed as
the 1940s and made her recorded debut as Carmen Clarke while an actress in the landmark television series Roots. In the late 1980s,
the wife of drummer Kenny Clarke. During the bebop revolution she returned to her first love, recording a full album of Monk’s
at Minton’s Playhouse, McRae was an intermission pianist. At the music with lyrics by Jon Hendricks, Abbey Lincoln, Mike Ferro,
Playhouse is likely where she first heard Thelonious Monk’s music, Sally Swisher, and Bernie Hanighen. The album became one of her
which influenced her piano playing and musical sense. In the early signature recordings.
1950s, she worked with the Mat Mathews Quintet. She signed her first McRae performed many times at the Monterey Jazz Festival,
significant recording contract with Decca in 1954. the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and the Montreux
Working as a soloist, she gained wide recognition and was often Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where she shared the stage with Dizzy
seen in the pantheon of jazz singers that included Ella Fitzgerald and Gillespie and Phil Woods. She was forced to retire for health reasons
in 1991.

1987
0000
JAY
McSHANN
pianist vocalist bandleader
Born January 12, 1916 in Muskogee, OK

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Blues from Kansas City
Photo by Lee Tanner MCA, 1941-43
F
1944-46
Classics, 1944-46
or better or worse, Jay Vine Street Boogie blues singer Walter Brown. McShann’s first
McShann was tied to the legend of Black Lion, 1974 New York appearance, at the Savoy Ballroom,
Charlie Parker. Parker’s first real A Tribute to Charlie Parker came in February 1942. His band during the
professional work was with McShann’s Kansas Music Masters, 1989 height of his popularity included such notables
City band, and McShann was credited with Hootie! as Parker, bassist Gene Ramey, drummer Gus
helping Parker to hone his talents. Arguably more Chiaroscuro, 1997 Johnson, and saxophonists Paul Quinichette
important, McShann—along with Andy Kirk’s and Jimmy Forrest, all of whom McShann used
Clouds of Joy, the Bennie Moten Orchestra, and the brilliantly as soloists. Following service in the Army,
great Count Basie bands—shaped and developed the McShann reformed his band, which played New York
Kansas City swing sound that was so popular in the 1930s and spots and traveled west to California. Towards the end
1940s. of the 1940s, McShann’s small band fronted blues singer Jimmy
Known in jazz circles as “Hootie,” McShann is for the most part Witherspoon.
a self-taught artist, though he did attend Tuskegee Institute. He In the early 1950s, McShann moved his home base back to
developed a piano style that drew heavily on blues and boogie woogie. Kansas City. In the 1970s and 1980s, McShann experienced a bit of a
McShann’s earliest professional job came with tenor saxophonist Don renaissance, with increased recording and performing opportunities,
Byas in 1931. Following his days at Tuskegee, McShann played in often with Kansas City violinist Claude “Fiddler” Williams.
bands in Oklahoma and Arkansas prior to joining a trio with bassist A biographical film, Hootie’s Blues, was made in 1978, and he was
Oliver Todd and drummer Elmer Hopkins in late 1936 in Kansas City. featured in The Last of the Blue Devils, a film about Kansas City jazz
In subsequent months, he worked with alto saxophonist Buster shot between 1974 and 1979. In addition, he was one of the featured
Smith and trumpeter Dee Stewart before forming a sextet in 1937. In players in Clint Eastwood’s documentary Piano Blues (2003).
late 1939, McShann put together his first big band. His recording career
commenced in 1941 with the Decca label, records that often featured

1998
JAMES
MOODY
saxophonist flutist vocalist educator
Born March 26, 1925 in Savannah, GA

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James Moody and
His Swedish Crowns
O
Dragon, 1949
Last Train from Overbrook

ne of the champions of Dizzy GRP/Chess, 1954-55
for the song by singing his famous solo.
Gillespie’s music, James Moody Moody’s Party Through the 1950s and 1960s, he led
was an accomplished musician on Telarc, 1995 his own bands, and worked alongside other
the tenor and alto saxophones, as well as Moody Plays Mancini saxophonists, notably Gene Ammons and
the flute, despite being born partially deaf. In Warner Brothers, 1997 Sonny Stitt, with whom he co-led a three-tenor
addition to his instrumental prowess, Moody was sax band. In 1963 he returned to the Dizzy
James Moody and Hank Jones,
an engaging entertainer, captivating audiences with Our Delight Gillespie small group, where he largely remained
his personal charm and wit. IPO, 2008 until 1971. In 1975, he moved to Las Vegas and
Although born in Savannah, he was raised in Newark, worked numerous hotel and casino shows with singers
New Jersey. His interest in jazz was sparked by a trumpet- and comics, picking up the clarinet along the way. In 1979, he
playing father who gigged in the Tiny Bradshaw band, and he took up left Las Vegas and moved back to New York to lead his own quintet.
the alto sax, a gift from his uncle, at the age of 16. His first musical Then in 1989 he moved to San Diego, working as a consummate
training came in the Air Force, and after leaving the service in 1946 soloist and member of all-star touring units. In the 1990s, he
he joined the Dizzy Gillespie big band, staying until 1948. Gillespie teamed up again with his lifelong friend Dizzy Gillespie to tour
became his musical mentor. In 1949, he moved to Paris for three Europe and the United States as a member of the United Nations
years, often playing with visiting American musicians, including the Orchestra. He continually experimented with his music, sometimes
Tadd Dameron- Miles Davis band. including synthesizers and strings on his recordings. Demand for his
In Sweden he recorded his famous improvisation on “I’m in the musicianship extended to college and university campuses for master
Mood For Love” in 1949, playing on an alto saxophone instead of his classes, workshops, and lectures, and he received honorary doctoral
usual tenor. His solo was later set to lyrics by Eddie Jefferson and degrees from the Florida Memorial College and the Berklee College of
recorded by King Pleasure, known as “Moody’s Mood for Love,” Music. In 1997, he played an acting role in the Clint Eastwood film
becoming a surprise hit in 1952. Throughout the rest of his career, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In 2010, he was honored
Moody was more known for the vocal version of the song based on with the Jazz Journalists Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz.
his solo than for the instrumental version itself, and obliged requests

2007
JAZZ ADVOCACY
DAN
MORGENSTERN
JAZZ HISTORIAN ARCHIVIST AUTHOR
EDITOR EDUCATOR
Born October 24, 1929 in Munich, Germany
IBL
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Jazz People
Photo by Tom Pich H.N. Abrams, 1976 (reprinted
by Da Capo Press, 1993)
D
Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy
(with Donald Bogle, Richard A. Long, and
irector of the Institute of Jazz Morgenstern has taught jazz history at
Marc H. Miller)
Studies at Rutgers University since University of Washington Press, 1994 the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins
1976, Dan Morgenstern is a jazz University, Brooklyn College (where he
historian and archivist, author, editor, and Living with Jazz: A Reader,
was also a visiting professor at the Institute
ed. Sheldon Meyer
educator who has been active in the jazz field Pantheon, 2004 for Studies in American Music), New York
since 1958. The Institute of Jazz Studies is the University, and the Schweitzer Institute of
largest collection of jazz-related materials anywhere. Music in Idaho. He served on the faculties of
Born in Germany and reared in Austria and the Institutes in Jazz Criticism, jointly sponsored
Denmark, Morgenstern came to the United States in by the Smithsonian Institution and the Music Critics
1947. He was chief editor of DownBeat from 1967 to 1973, Association, and is on the faculty of the Masters Program in
and served as New York editor from 1964; prior to that time he edited Jazz History and Research at Rutgers University.
the periodicals Metronome and Jazz. Morgenstern is co-editor of the Morgenstern is a former vice president and trustee of the National
Annual Review Of Jazz Studies and the monograph series Studies In Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; was a co-founder of the
Jazz, published jointly by the IJS and Scarecrow Press, and author Jazz Institute of Chicago; served on the boards of the New York Jazz
of Jazz People. He has been jazz critic for the New York Post, record Museum and the American Jazz Orchestra; and is a director of the
reviewer for the Chicago Sun Times, and New York correspondent Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and the Mary Lou Williams
and columnist for England’s Jazz Journal and Japan’s Swing Foundation. He has been a member of Denmark’s International
Journal. He has contributed to reference works including the New JAZZPAR Prize Committee since its inception in 1989.
Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Dictionary of American Music, African- A prolific annotator of record albums, Morgenstern has won seven
American Almanac, and Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year; Grammy Awards for Best Album Notes (1973, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1991,
and to such anthologies as Reading Jazz, Setting The Tempo, The 1995, 2006, and 2009). He received ASCAP’s Deems Taylor Award for
Louis Armstrong Companion, The Duke Ellington Reader, The Miles Jazz People in 1977 and in 2005 for Living with Jazz.
Davis Companion, and The Lester Young Reader.

1997
ANITA
O’DAY
VOCALIST
Born October 18, 1919 in Chicago, IL

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The Complete Recordings,
Photo by Ray Avery /CTSIMAGES
1949-50
Baldwin Street Music, 1949-50
A
Swings Cole Porter with Billy May
Verve, 1952-59
nita O’Day’s unique sound and albums for the Verve label, demonstrating the
swinging rhythmic sense put her in Anita Sings the Winners power of her vocals.
the upper echelon of jazz singers, Verve, 1956-62 In 1958 her appearance at the Newport
as skillful with ballads as with scatting and Anita Sings the Most Jazz Festival, replete with characteristic big
liberal interpretations of standard songs. Her Verve, 1957 hat, caused a sensation. She provided one of the
career spanned the late swing and bebop eras, Rules of the Road highlights of the subsequent film of the festival,
inspiring many singers who followed her, such as Pablo, 1993 Jazz on a Summer’s Day. From that point on
June Christy, Chris Connor, and Helen Merrill. She she worked mainly on the club circuit with her own
began her performing career as a ballroom dance contest groups.
winner in the 1930s, which is when she adopted the stage Always a hit in Japan, she made her first tour there in
name O’Day. At 19, she began singing professionally in clubs around 1964, returning on several occasions. Frustrated with record label
Chicago. indifference to her artistry, she developed her own record labels. In
In 1941 she joined Gene Krupa’s big band, recording a memorable the 1980s and 1990s, she continued to work the club and jazz festival
duet with Roy Eldridge on “Let Me Off Uptown,” one of the first circuits, including a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1985 to celebrate her
interracial vocal duets on record. She also may have been the first 50 years in jazz and notable performances at the Vine Street Bar &
feminist big band singer, refusing to appear in the standard gown and Grill in Los Angeles in 1992.
gloves, instead opting for a band jacket and short skirt. She stayed A documentary about the singer’s life, Anita O’Day: The Life of a
with the Krupa band until 1943. In 1944 she joined Stan Kenton’s Jazz Singer, won a 2008 Satellite Award from the International Press
band. She then re-joined Krupa in 1945, remaining there until 1946, Academy.
when she began a solo career. In the mid-1950s she made a few notable

1984
0000
MAX
ROACH
drummer composer bandleader
Born January 10, 1924 in New Land, NC

Died August 16, 2007
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Clifford Brown and Max Roach,
Photo by Michael Wilderman At Basin Steet
EmArcy, 1956
M
We Insist! Freedom Now Suite
Candid, 1960
ax Roach was one of the also included saxophonists Harold Land and
two leading drummers of the M’Boom Sonny Rollins.
bebop era (along with Kenny Columbia, 1979 In the late 1950s, Roach began adding
Clarke) and was one of the leading musicians, To The Max political commentary to his recordings, starting
composers, and bandleaders in jazz since the Rhino, 1990-91 with Deeds Not Words, but coming into sharper
1940s. His often biting political commentary focus with We Insist! Freedom Now Suite in 1960,
Explorations to the Mth Degree
and strong intellect, not to mention his rhythmic Slam, 1994 on which he collaborated with singer-lyricist Oscar
innovations, kept him at the vanguard of jazz for more Brown, Jr. From then on he became an eloquent
than 50 years. spokesman in the area of racial and political justice.
Roach grew up in a household where gospel music was quite Roach continued to experiment with his sound, eschewing
prominent. His mother was a gospel singer and he began drumming in the use of the piano or other chording instruments in his bands for
a gospel ensemble at age 10. Roach’s formal study of music took him to the most part from the late 1960s on. His thirst for experimentation
the Manhattan School of Music. In 1942, he became house drummer at led to collaborations with seemingly disparate artists, including duets
Monroe’s Uptown House, enabling him to play and interact with some with saxophonist Anthony Braxton and pianist Cecil Taylor, as well
of the giants of the bebop era, such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, as partnerships with pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and saxophonist Archie
Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell. Roach would later record with Shepp.
Parker, Gillespie, Powell, and bassist Charles Mingus at the historic As a drum soloist he had few peers in terms of innovations,
Massey Hall concert in 1953. stemming from his deeply personal sound and approach. His
Throughout the 1940s, Roach continued to branch out in his proclivities in the area of multiethnic percussion flowered with his
playing, drumming with Benny Carter, Stan Getz, Allen Eager, and intermittent percussion ensemble M’Boom, founded in 1970. A broad-
Miles Davis. In 1952, he and Mingus collaborated to create their own based percussionist who was a pioneer in establishing a fixed pulse
record label, Debut Records. In 1954, Roach began a short-lived but on the ride cymbal instead of the bass drum, Roach also collaborated
crucial band with incendiary trumpeter Clifford Brown. This historic with voice, string, and brass ensembles, lectured on college campuses
band, which ended abruptly with Brown’s tragic death in 1956, extensively, and composed music for dance, theater, film, and
television.

1983
SONNY
ROLLINS
saxophonist composer
Born September 7, 1930 in New York, NY
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A Night at the Village Vanguard
Photo by Lee Tanner
Blue Note, 1957
W
The Complete RCA Victor Recordings
RCA Victor, 1962–64
ith more than 50 years Silver City included an encounter with John Coltrane;
in jazz, Theodore “Sonny” Milestone, 1972-95 Saxophone Colossus, a sparkling album that
Rollins’ towering achievements Road Shows, Vol. 1 introduced his most noted composition, “St.
on the tenor saxophone are many, and he EmArcy, 1980–2007 Thomas,” which honored his parents’ Virgin
continues to be one of the most exciting and Islands roots; and Way Out West, which took
Without A Song: The 9/11 Concert
fiery players in concert. Inspired by the example Milestone, 2001
seemingly mundane songs like “I’m an Old
of his brother’s pursuit of music, Rollins began Cowhand” and spun them out with extraordinary
piano lessons at age nine. At 14 he picked up the alto improvisations.
saxophone, and switched to the tenor two years later. By 1959, Rollins had grown impatient with the vagaries
Soon he was playing dances in a band of youngsters in his New of the jazz scene and took a hiatus. He would often practice his
York community, which included Jackie McLean, Kenny Drew, and horn deep into the night on the upper reaches of the Williamsburg
Art Taylor. Rollins’ first recording was made alongside the bop singer Bridge, which crosses the East River from Manhattan to Brooklyn. In
Babs Gonzales in 1949. Later that year he played at sessions with 1961 he returned to the scene, refreshed and playing better than ever.
J.J. Johnson and Bud Powell, recording his song “Audubon” with He made a series of recordings for the RCA label with musicians such as
Johnson. Jim Hall, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Herbie Hancock, and also
In the 1950s, Rollins began by serving as a sideman on sessions began his long-term employment of bassist Bob Cranshaw.
with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Farmer, and the Modern In London in 1966, he composed and recorded a soundtrack
Jazz Quartet. In late 1955, while living in Chicago, he began one of album for the film Alfie for the Impulse! label, which brought him
his most fruitful band affiliations when he stood in for Harold Land in some popularity beyond jazz audiences. By 1968 Rollins again
the superb Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet at the Bee Hive club. required a break from the scene, returning in 1971. He has been
He remained a regular member until Brown’s tragic June 1956 death playing and growing ever since, working almost exclusively on concert
from an auto accident. stages. Rollins’ recordings have continued to reflect his interest in
Rollins continued to record, mainly for Prestige, where his output Caribbean rhythms, particularly the calypso. In 2010, he was elected
was some of the finest music recorded in the mid-1950s on any label. a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Among the highlights during this period were Tenor Madness, which

2010
0000
ANNIE
ROSS
VOCALIST LYRICIST
Born July 25, 1930 in Surrey, England
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Lambert, Hendricks & Ross,
Photo by Lee Tanner Twisted: The Best of Lambert,
Hendricks & Ross
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Rhino, 1957-61
Sings a Song with Mulligan!

s part of the vocal trio Lam- EMI, 1958
teamed up with vocalists Dave Lambert and
bert, Hendricks & Ross, Annie Ross Jon Hendricks on an album of Count Basie
was one of the early practitioners
Sings a Handful of Songs solos transposed for vocals. That was the
Fresh Sound, 1963
of a singing style known as “vocalese,” which beginning of the group Lambert, Hendricks
involves the setting of original lyrics to an Music is Forever & Ross.
DRG, 1995
instrumental jazz solo. She has been equally at Between 1957 and 1962, the group recorded
home in the acting field, appearing in numerous Let Me Sing seven albums, including the one that put them
Consolidated Artists
films. in the spotlight: Sing A Song Of Basie (1957).
Productions, 2005
Ross was born in England, but raised in Los They toured all over the world and also appear
Angeles. She landed a role in the Our Gang film series in Dave Brubeck’s musical theater piece The Real
at the age of eight, singing a musical number on the show. Ambassadors (1961). Ross left the group in 1962 and two
Returning to Europe, she began her singing career, working years later she opened her own London nightclub called Annie’s
with musicians such as James Moody, Kenny Clarke, and Coleman Room; a compilation of her 1965 performances there was released on
Hawkins. Live in London (2006).
Ross returned to the United States in 1952, settling in New York Ross also is an accomplished actress and has appeared in a number
City, and soon recorded Singin’ and Swingin’ with members of the of films, such as Superman III (1983), Throw Mama from the Train
Modern Jazz Quartet. Later that year she recorded an album with (1987), Pump Up the Volume (1990), and Blue Sky (1994). Her most
vocalist King Pleasure, including the classic example of vocalese, notable film role was as the jazz singer Tess Trainer in Robert Altman’s
“Twisted,” which featured her treatment of saxophonist Wardell Short Cuts (1993), in which she also sang. On stage, Ross appeared in
Gray’s solo. It is perhaps her most famous song and has been Cranks (1955) in both London and New York, The Threepenny Opera
recorded by Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, and many others. (1972) with Vanessa Redgrave, and in the Joe Papp production of The
In 1953, Ross toured Europe with Lionel Hampton’s band, Pirates Of Penzance (1982) with Tim Curry.
which included Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, and Quincy Jones. Ross resides in New York City where she still performs regularly.
After several years in Europe, she returned to the States where she

1990
0000
GEORGE
RUSSELL
Composer Arranger Theoretician educator
Pianist Drummer
Born June 23, 1923 in Cincinnati, OH

Died July 27, 2009
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Jazz Workshop
Photo by Lee Tanner RCA Victor, 1956
G
New York, NY
Impulse!, 1958
eorge Russell was first and Ezz-Thetics perhaps the first major contribution by a
foremost a composer rather than Original Jazz Classics, 1961 jazz musician to the field of musical theory.
an instrumentalist, and was one of The African Game Russell’s continued refinement and study of
the most important jazz theorists of the latter Blue Note, 1983 this concept eventually led him to academia.
half of the 20th century. He first expressed The 80th Birthday Concert During 1958-59, he taught at the Lenox School
himself musically on the drums in the drum and Concept, 2003 of Jazz. In the meantime, his theories on modes
bugle corps. After high school, Russell attended influenced Miles Davis and Bill Evans (who
Wilberforce University, where he found gigs playing studied with Russell), leading to the creation of
drums at local clubs. Russell’s study of composing and Davis’ masterpiece, Kind of Blue. In the early 1960s,
arranging increased while he was bedridden with a case of Russell led several small groups, which included musicians
tuberculosis at 19. It was during this time that he began formulating such as Eric Dolphy and David Baker, and made some significant
his unprecedented musical theorems. recordings before moving to Scandinavia. There he continued to refine
While his first arrangements were for the A.B. Townsend Orchestra, his theories and work with Scandinavian musicians, among them Jan
a Cincinnati dance band, Russell’s initial major band affiliation was as Garbarek and Terje Rypdal, before returning to the U.S. in 1969.
a drummer with Benny Carter. Later he found work arranging with That year he took a teaching position at New England Conservatory
the Earl Hines band. His first major score was “Cubano Be, Cubano of Music at the invitation of then president Gunther Schuller. In the
Bop,” an Afro-Cuban piece written for the Dizzy Gillespie big band. late 1970s, Russell formed big bands to play his music, creating his
Russell followed that with charts for Lee Konitz (“Ezz-thetic” and Living Time Orchestra in 1978. The orchestra made frequent tours of
“Odjenar”) and Buddy DeFranco (“A Bird in Igor’s Yard”). He Europe, including residencies at the Perugia Jazz Festival.
continued his advanced composition study with Stefan Wolpe. His In addition to teaching and lecturing at other conservatories and
theory, The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, was universities, Russell was the recipient of numerous awards, honors,
eventually published in book form in the mid-1950s. Russell’s concept and grants, including a MacArthur award, two Guggenheim fellowships,
involves a composition system based on using the Lydian scale, rather and election to the Royal Swedish Academy. In 1969, he received the
than the major scale, as the basis for analysis and composition. first NEA grant in the area of jazz. Russell published the revised and
Music theoreticians hailed this as a breakthrough, and it was expanded edition of his Lydian Chromatic Concept in 2001.

2008 A.b. Spellman JAZZ MASTERS Award FOR
JAZZ ADVOCACY
GUNTHER
SCHULLER
Author Composer Arranger Conductor
Educator French Horn Player
Born November 22, 1925 in New York, NY
ED BIBLIOGRA
LECT PH
SE Y
Photo by Tom Pich Early Jazz: Its Roots and

Musical Development
R
Oxford University Press, 1968
The Swing Era: The Development

ecognized as a renaissance of Jazz, 1930-45 effort to fuse the two primary streams of
man of music, Gunther Schuller Oxford University Press, 1989 music, jazz and classical, into a new hybrid—
is a leader in both the classical Musings: The Musical Worlds of which John Lewis was one of the main
and jazz traditions, contributing significant of Gunther Schuller practitioners. Schuller also was an early
musical compositions and writings to expand Oxford University Press, 1989 admirer of Charles Mingus’ music—so much so
jazz’s horizons. that when a 19-movement score was discovered
Schuller was born in 1925 in New York City. of an unproduced Mingus work, Epitaph, Schuller
At age 17, he joined the Cincinnati Symphony as was asked to conduct the orchestra for the premiere
principal horn. Two years later, he joined the orchestra of at Lincoln Center in 1989 (produced with NEA support).
the Metropolitan Opera while also becoming actively involved In 1975, he started recording and publishing businesses
in the New York bebop scene, performing and recording with such that focused on, among other genres, the compositions of Duke
jazz greats as Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Dizzy Ellington. He sold the two publishing companies in 2000 to G.
Gillespie, John Lewis, and Charles Mingus. Schirmer, Inc., but still retains the record company GM Recordings.
When he was 25, Schuller took a teaching position at the Schuller also served as editor-in-chief of the Smithsonian Jazz
Manhattan School of Music, beginning a long and distinguished Masterworks Editions.
teaching career that includes his tenure as co-director, along with Schuller’s jazz writings include Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical
David Baker, of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and Development (1968), considered one of the seminal books on the
professor of composition of music at Yale. In the late 1950s, he history of jazz, and The Swing Era (1989), the second volume of a
taught at the legendary Lenox School of Jazz. From 1967 to 1977, planned three-volume history of jazz.
he was president of the New England Conservatory of Music where Schuller has written more than 180 compositions in a wide range
early in his tenure he established a jazz department offering both of styles and has won many awards for his work, including the 1994
undergraduate and graduate degree programs. He was artistic Pulitzer Prize in music for Of Reminiscences and Reflections. Schuller
director of Tanglewood Berkshire Music Center from 1970 to 1985. also is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1991).
Schuller is a proponent of what he called the Third Stream—an

2007
0000
JIMMY
SCOTT
VOCALIST
Born July 17, 1925 in Cleveland, OH
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The Savoy Years and More
Photo by Michael Wilderman Savoy, 1952-72
F
Falling in Love is Wonderful
Rhino, 1962
or more than five decades, All the Way working for a time as a hotel shipping clerk
vocalist Jimmy Scott has numbered Sire, 1992 and as a caretaker for his ailing father. He
among the jazz world’s best singers Holding Back the Years returned to the stage in 1985 and began
with his select group of fans. No less an Artists Only, 1998 recording again in 1990, and his career took
authority than Billie Holiday named Scott— Over the Rainbow off again two years later when Seymour Stein
and only Scott—as a vocalist she admired. Milestone, 2000 heard him perform at songwriter Doc Pomus’s
Although he was, for a period, “perhaps the most funeral and signed him to the Warner Brothers
unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century” Sire label. His resurgence in the public eye included
(according to Joseph Hooper in a New York Times appearances on Lou Reed’s 1992 recording Magic and
Magazine profile), Scott today is once more finding a dedicated Loss and in an episode of David Lynch’s 1990s television series
international audience for his emotionally penetrating art. Twin Peaks.
James Victor Scott was born in 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio, and as Scott joined Milestone Records in 2000. He sang new interpretations
a child was diagnosed with Kallmann syndrome, a rare condition of “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” and “When Did You Leave
that prevented him from experiencing puberty—therefore his voice Heaven?” on the Milestone CD Over the Rainbow, released in 2001,
never changed, giving his singing an almost otherworldly sound. on which he returned the compliment Billie Holiday had paid him by
He got his first big break in 1949 when Lionel Hampton hired performing his own distinctive version of one of her signature songs,
him and billed him as “Little Jimmy Scott.” As featured vocalist “Strange Fruit.”
with the Hampton big band, Scott achieved fame in 1950 with Scott’s new fans have rediscovered his original hit recordings of
the ballad “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.” His success continued the 1950s on such collections as the three-CD box set The Savoy Years
throughout the next decade, notably with his hit recording in 1955 and More released in 1999, which included his 1952 recordings for
of the old Bing Crosby favorite “When Did You Leave Heaven?,” Roost Records and his 1955-72 recordings for Savoy. He continues to
a song that he made his own. record and perform frequently.
Scott subsequently spent long periods away from the microphone,

2005
ARTIE
SHAW
BANDLEADER CLARINETIST COMPOSER ARRANGER
Born May 23, 1910 in New York, NY

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Self Portrait
Bluebird/RCA, 1936-54
I
Begin the Beguine
Bluebird/RCA, 1938-41
mmensely popular and startlingly The Complete Gramercy Five Sessions trombone, saxophone, and a singer, signed a
innovative, Artie Shaw rose to Bluebird/RCA, 1940-45 recording contract, and led his first orchestra
prominence in the 1930s as a swing into New York’s Lexington Hotel. During
Artie Shaw at the Hollywood Palladium
bandleader, master clarinetist, and boundary- HEP, 1941 1938, with a more conventional swing band
crossing artist, who infused jazz with the line-up (which briefly included Billie Holiday
influences of modern European composers.
The Last Recordings:
as vocalist), he recorded Cole Porter’s “Begin
Rare and Unreleased
Born in 1910, he left New Haven, Connecticut, Music Masters, 1954 the Beguine,” which propelled him to the forefront
at age 15 to tour as a jazz musician. Though based of big band leaders.
in Cleveland, where he wrote his first arrangements for After the United States entered World War II,
bandleader Austin Wylie, he later made important road trips Shaw enlisted in the Navy and was soon leading a service
with Irving Aaronson’s band. The band took him to Chicago, where band throughout the Pacific war zone. Upon returning stateside,
he played in jam sessions and first heard recordings by Stravinsky he organized a new band in 1944, with which he toured and made
and Debussy. Next, in 1929, the Aaronson band brought him to New recordings that included the classic “Little Jazz,” featuring Roy
York, where he played in Harlem jam sessions and came under the Eldridge on trumpet. Over the next 10 years, Shaw worked in
influence of Willie “The Lion” Smith. He decided to stay on and at age Hollywood, toured extensively (including appearances at Carnegie
21 became one of New York’s most successful reed players for radio Hall and a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with Leonard
and recording sessions. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic), and continued to record,
He made his breakthrough in his first appearance as a bandleader both with his big bands and with a small group named Gramercy Five.
at a 1936 swing concert at Broadway’s Imperial Theater. To fill a spot Although he retired from music in 1954, Artie Shaw continued to
between headliners, he performed his chamber composition Interlude enjoy popularity through his recordings and also through a big band
in B Flat––scored for string quartet, three rhythm instruments, and fronted by Dick Johnson bearing Artie Shaw’s name. The library of
clarinet––which created a sensation. He then added two trumpets, the University of Arizona holds his collection of scores.

1998
0000
WAYNE
SHORTER
saxophonIST composer
Born August 25, 1933 in Newark, NJ
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Speak No Evil
Photo by Michael Wilderman Blue Note, 1964
E
Miles Davis, Miles Smiles
Columbia, 1966
qually renowned for his Weather Report, Live in Tokyo “ESP,” “Paraphernalia,” and “Sanctuary.”
compositions as for his saxophone Columbia, 1972 He also developed his sound, a mixture
playing, Wayne Shorter has Herbie Hancock/Wayne Shorter, 1+1 of technique and emotion, able to find the
contributed many songs to the jazz canon while Verve, 1997 appropriate mood in his playing to fit the song.
participating in some of the major changes in During the latter stages of his Davis tenure, he
Beyond the Sound Barrier
jazz music over the last 40 years, and has received Verve, 2002–04 took up the soprano saxophone, which thereafter
nine Grammy Awards for his recordings. often became his principal horn.
Shorter’s musical pursuits started on the clarinet, In 1971 he and pianist Joe Zawinul, who also
at age 16, evolving to the tenor saxophone soon thereafter. had been part of Davis’ recording sessions in the late-
Shorter majored in music education at New York University 1960s to early-1970s, formed one of the pioneering jazz fusion
from 1956-58, working for a short while with Horace Silver in 1956. bands, Weather Report. The band stayed together for 15 years through
After serving in the Army, he joined Maynard Ferguson’s band several different permutations, engaging electronics and numerous
for a couple of months in 1959, followed by one of his most fruitful ethnic influences and furthering Shorter’s reputation as a composer. The
jobs: playing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He remained in band scored a major hit, “Birdland,” in 1977 on their bestselling record,
the Messengers until 1964, establishing himself as both composer Heavy Weather.
and saxophonist, and began making his own records, first for Vee After the breakup of Weather Report, Shorter made occasional
Jay, then for the Blue Note label. His three releases for Blue Note in recordings and tours, continuing to write intriguing music based on the
1964, Night Dreamer, Juju, and Speak No Evil, are considered the influences from other musical cultures. He is a major influence on the
quintessential Blue Note sound: sophisticated structures and rhythms, generations of musicians who have entered the scene since the 1970s.
strong melodies, and exceptional playing. In 2001, he began touring and releasing recordings with a new quartet
He left Blakey in 1964 to assume another productive affiliation with comprising Danilo Pérez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian
the Miles Davis Quintet, where he remained until 1970. While with Blade on drums. Shorter, who originally studied as a visual artist,
Davis, he further solidified his position as one of the most intriguing continues to pursue the visual arts as well as music.
composers of his time, contributing tunes such as “Nefertiti,” “Fall,”

1995
HORACE
SILVER
pianIST composer
Born September 2, 1928 in Norwalk, CT
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Horace Silver and
Photo by Lee Tanner
the Jazz Messengers
H
Blue Note, 1954
Blowin’ the Blues Away

Blue Note, 1959
orace Silver was the heart of with Coleman Hawkins, Bill Harris, Oscar
the hard bop era, helping to form Song For My Father Pettiford, Lester Young, and Art Blakey. In
the influential Jazz Messengers Blue Note, 1964 1952, as a result of a Lou Donaldson record
and composing many blues and gospel-flavored Cape Verdean Blues session, he began what became a 28-year
songs that have become part of the jazz canon, Blue Note, 1965 relationship with the Blue Note label. Between
including “Lonely Woman,” “Song For My 1953-55 he played in the groundbreaking band
The Hardbop Grandpop
Father,” “Señor Blues,” “The Preacher,” “Nica’s GRP, 1996 the Jazz Messengers, co-led by Blakey. The band
Dream,” and “Peace.” His piano playing is heavily was at the forefront of the hard bop movement that
rhythmic, driving his musical colleagues to greater heights followed bebop. By 1956, Silver formed his own band
in their solos. and Blakey maintained the Jazz Messengers name as his own.
Silver was exposed to music at an early age, hearing Cape Verde Both Silver’s band and the Jazz Messengers turned out to be proving
Islands folk music from his father. Silver later used the island grounds for a number of exceptional, aspiring musicians. Among
rhythms and flavor to great effect on his 1960s albums Song For My those who passed through his band were Art Farmer, Donald Byrd,
Father and Cape Verdean Blues. He took up the saxophone and Joe Henderson, Blue Mitchell, Charles Tolliver, Stanley Turrentine,
piano in high school, and was influenced early on by the blues of Woody Shaw, and Randy and Michael Brecker. Silver’s terse, funky
Memphis Slim, various boogie woogie piano players, and the bebop playing has influenced pianists as disparate as Herbie Hancock and
pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. After a 1950 stint backing Cecil Taylor. For several years in the 1980s, he recorded on his
guest soloist Stan Getz on a gig in Hartford, Connecticut, Silver was own Silveto label, writing lyrics to his compositions with a decidedly
enlisted by Getz to join him on tour for the next year. Getz recorded metaphysical bent. In the 1990s, he returned to the hard bop sound
three of Silver’s earliest compositions, “Split Kick,” “Potter’s Luck,” he helped create. His autobiography, Let’s Get to the Nitty Gritty, was
and “Penny.” published in 2006.
In 1951, he moved to New York and quickly found work

2005
0000
JIMMY
SMITH
ORGANIST
Born December 8, 1928 in Norristown, PA

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A New Sound, A New Star:
Photo by Lee Tanner Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Vols. 1-2
Blue Note, 1956
J
The Sermon!
Blue Note, 1958
immy Smith personified the jazz debuted at Café Bohemia. His fame grew with
organ revolution. He raised the Root Down his influential Blue Note recordings (1956-63),
organ—specifically the legendary Verve, 1972 including brilliant collaborations with Kenny
Hammond B3, over which he reigned during Fourmost Burrell, Lou Donaldson, Jackie McLean, Wes
the 1950s and 1960s—from a novelty instrument Milestone, 1990 Montgomery, Lee Morgan, Ike Quebec, and
in jazz to primary status. Having first learned Dot Com Blues Stanley Turrentine. His appearances at Birdland
piano from his parents in his native Norristown, Verve, 2000 and the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival solidified his
Pennsylvania, he was playing stride piano by 14 and international prominence as the first jazz organ star.
performing with his father by the early 1940s. He joined He toured extensively through the 1960s and 1970s
the Navy at age 15 and after discharge attended the Hamilton and continued to release hit albums, this time on Verve (1963-
School of Music (1948) and Ornstein’s School of Music (1949-50), 72), including several big band recordings with such stellar arrangers
where he studied bass and piano. He then switched to the Hammond as Oliver Nelson and Lalo Schifrin. His reputation in the 1990s was
organ, practicing in a warehouse for a year. enhanced by the sampling of his Verve work by rap group the Beastie
Inspired by the great horn players of the day—Don Byas, Arnett Boys on the song “Root Down.”
Cobb, Coleman Hawkins—as well as by pianists Art Tatum, Erroll He recorded for the Blue Note and Milestone labels in the late 1980s
Garner, and Bud Powell, he cut the tremolo off and began playing through the 1990s, and in 2001 released his first new recording after a
horn lines with his right hand. He also created a new organ registration five-year layoff: Dot Com Blues, which featured guest appearances by
to simulate Garner’s sound, establishing the standard for jazz Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Etta James, Keb’ Mo’, and B.B. King.
organists who would follow.
Smith’s burgeoning reputation soon took him to New York, where he

1982
SUN
RA
bandleader keyboardist composer arranger
Born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, AL

Died May 30, 1993
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The Singles
Evidence, 1954-82
S
Jazz in Silhouette
Evidence, 1958
un Ra was one of the most unusual The Heliocentric Worlds musicians, known as the Sun Palace. In
musicians in the history of jazz, of Sun Ra, Vol. 1 & 2 March 1966, the band began one of its most
moving from Fletcher Henderson ESP, 1965 significant residencies, playing every Monday
swing to free jazz with ease, sometimes in the Space is the Place night at Slug’s nightclub on New York’s Lower
same song. Portraying himself as a product of Evidence, 1972 East Side.
outer space, he “traveled the spaceways” with a By the 1970s, the Sun Ra Arkestra and
Purple Night
colorful troupe of musicians, using a multitude of A&M, 1989 its various permutations began touring Europe
percussion and unusual instrumentation, from tree extensively. His performances had by then expanded
drum to celeste. to include singers, dancers, martial arts practitioners,
Sun Ra, who enjoyed cloaking his origins and development film, and colorful homemade costumes, becoming a true
in mystery, is known to have studied piano early on with Lula multimedia attraction. Their performances would often stretch on
Randolph in Washington, DC. His first noted professional job was for hours, including hypnotic, chanting processionals through the
during 1946-47 as pianist with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra audience. Sun Ra’s global following had become significant, though
at the Club DeLisa on the South Side of Chicago. In addition to his recordings had become sporadic. His arrangements of his songs,
playing piano in the band he also served as one of the staff arrangers. however, were among the best in jazz. He made excellent use of his
Finding his calling as an arranger, he put together a band to play his soloists, especially the great saxophone section: tenor John Gilmore,
compositions. In the 1950s, he began issuing recordings of his unusual alto Marshall Allen, and baritone Pat Patrick, all of whom were with
music on his Saturn label, becoming one of the first jazz musicians to the Arkestra on and off for decades.
record and sell his own albums. An outsider who linked the African-American experience with
Sun Ra’s band became a central part of the early avant-garde ancient Egyptian mythology and outer space, Sun Ra was years
jazz movement in Chicago, being one of the first jazz bands to ahead of all other avant-garde musicians in his experimentation
employ electronic instruments (as early as 1956), including electric with sound and instruments, a pioneer in group improvisations and
piano, clavioline, celeste, and synthesizers. In 1960, he moved his the use of electric instruments in jazz. Since Sun Ra’s death, the
band to New York, where he established a communal home for his Arkestra has continued to perform under the direction of Allen.

1988
0000
BILLY
TAYLOR
pianIST composer educator broadcaster
Born July 24, 1921 in Greenville, NC
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Cross-Section
Photo by Tom Pich Original Jazz Classics, 1953-54
A
My Fair Lady Loves Jazz
Impulse!, 1965
lthough well respected for White Nights and Jazz in Leningrad As a jazz educator, Taylor’s experience has
his tasteful, non-intrusive accom- Taylor-Made Music, 1988 been vast, starting with authoring a series of
paniment as a sideman, Billy Taylor It’s a Matter of Pride beginning piano primers. He was a founder of
is known for his championing of jazz music, GRP, 1993 New York’s successful Jazzmobile community
especially through his various broadcasting and Live at the IAJE, New York performance and school-without-walls, which
educational ventures. Soundpost, 2001 debuted in 1965. He earned his doctorate in
After growing up in Washington, DC, and Music at the University of Massachusetts in 1975,
studying music at Virginia State College, where he with a dissertation on The History and Development
earned a degree in Music in 1942, Taylor moved to New of Jazz Piano: A New Perspective for Educators.
York. He spent the 1940s frequently playing the clubs on New Taylor has subsequently taught at Yale, Manhattan School of
York’s famed 52nd Street, performing with greats such as Charlie Music, Howard University, University of California, Fredonia State
Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Ben Webster, Stuff Smith, Machito, Slam University, and C.W. Post College. His experience at the University of
Stewart, and Don Redman. His adroit abilities enabled him to freely Massachusetts led to a lead faculty position at the university’s annual
cross over from swing to the then-burgeoning modern jazz called summer intensive program, Jazz in July.
bebop. As a composer he has written a number of commissioned works,
In the 1950s, he served as the ideal sideman, finding work with his most well-known composition being “I Wish I Knew How It Would
Roy Eldridge, Oscar Pettiford, and Lee Konitz while employed as Feel To Be Free.” In the 1990s, Taylor became artistic director of the
house pianist at Birdland in 1951. Beginning in 1952 he became a Jazz at the Kennedy Center program in Washington, DC, from which
bandleader, primarily heading trios with bass and drums. he launched his syndicated NPR radio series, Billy Taylor’s Jazz
Taylor started in radio with a program in the 1960s on WLIB at the Kennedy Center. He is the recipient of two Peabody Awards,
in New York. From 1969-72 he was house bandleader for the David an Emmy, a Grammy, and a host of prestigious awards, such as the
Frost television show, and in the 1970s also served as host-director Tiffany Award, a DownBeat Lifetime Achievement Award, and the
of the NPR syndicated Jazz Alive radio series. Since 1981, Taylor National Medal of Arts (1992).
has profiled some of the biggest names in jazz as an interviewer and
reporter for CBS television’s Sunday Morning program.

1990
CECIL
TAYLOR
pianIST composer
Born March 15, 1929 in New York, NY
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Jazz Advance
Blue Note, 1956
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3 Phasis
New World, 1978
ecil Taylor is one of the most For Olim touring Scandinavian countries during the
uncompromisingly gifted pianists Soul Note, 1986 winter of 1962-63 with his trio, including
in jazz history, utilizing a nearly Alms/Tiegarten Jimmy Lyons on alto saxophone, and Sunny
overwhelming orchestral facility on the piano. FMP, 1988 Murray on drums. His approach had evolved
While his work has elicited controversy almost Cecil Taylor and the Italian
to incorporate clusters and a dense rhythmic
from the start, Taylor’s artistic vision has never Instabile Orchestra, The sensibility, coupled with a sheer physicality
swayed. Owner of the River Bank that often found him addressing the keyboard
At his mother’s urging he began piano studies at Enja, 2000 with open palms, elbows, and forearms. His solo
age five. He later studied percussion, which undoubtedly piano recordings are some of the most challenging and
influenced his highly percussive keyboard style. At age 23 he rewarding to listen to in all of jazz.
studied at the New England Conservatory, concentrating on piano His work as a pianist and composer gained much-needed
and music theory. He immersed himself in 20th-century classical momentum in the 1970s and beyond, as touring and recording
composers, including Stravinsky, and found sustenance for his jazz opportunities increased, largely overseas, though finding regular
proclivities in the work of Lennie Tristano and Dave Brubeck. work for his uncompromising style of music still remains a struggle.
Later Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Horace Silver began Throughout his career, he has worked with many important, like-
to influence his playing. By 1956 he was working as a professional, minded musicians, including Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, Steve Lacy,
taking a prolonged engagement at New York’s Five Spot Cafe, Sam Rivers, Max Roach, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and a host
recording his first album, Jazz Advance, and making his Newport of European and Scandinavian musicians. In 1979, he performed at
Jazz Festival debut. the White House, and he has received numerous awards, including
Playing in this style—an aggressive near-assault on the piano, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973 and a MacArthur Foundation
sometimes breaking keys and strings—presented challenges in terms Fellowship in 1991. His influence on the avant-garde, especially of
of finding steady work. Taylor struggled to find gigs for most of the the 1960s and 1970s, in terms of performance and composition, is
1950s and 1960s, despite being recognized by DownBeat magazine enormous.
in its “New Star” poll category. He eventually found work overseas,

1991
0000
CLARK
TERRY
trumpetER flugelhorniST vocalIST educator
Born December 14, 1920 in St. Louis, MO
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In Orbit
Photo by Lee Tanner Original Jazz Classics, 1958
C
Color Changes
Candid, 1960
lark Terry is the consummate The Clark Terry Spacemen prominence through his popular “Mumbles”
freelance musician, able to add Chiaroscuro, 1976 persona, his unique way of mumbling a scat
a distinctive element to whatever One-on-One vocal solo. He worked and recorded with
band or jam session of which he is a part. Chesky Jazz, 2000 artists such as J.J. Johnson, Oscar Peterson,
His exuberant, swinging horn playing was an Live at Marihans and Ella Fitzgerald, then co-led a quintet with
important contribution to two of the greatest big Chiaroscuro, 2004 Bob Brookmeyer. Thereafter he led his own
bands in jazz, Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s. small and large bands, including his Big Bad Band,
In addition, his use of the flugelhorn as an alternative beginning in 1972. He also became part of Norman
to trumpet influenced Art Farmer and Miles Davis, Granz’s traveling all-stars, Jazz at the Philharmonic.
among others. As a jazz educator he was one of the earliest active
In high school, Terry took up the valve trombone, later playing the practitioners to take time off from the road to enter the classroom,
bugle with the Tom Powell Drum and Bugle Corps. Upon his discharge conducting numerous clinics and jazz camps. This work culminated
from the Navy in 1945, he found work with Lionel Hampton’s band. in his own music school at Teikyo Westmar University in Le Mars,
He rounded out the 1940s playing with bands led by Charlie Barnet, Iowa. A distinctive stylist, he is also a consummate entertainer, often
Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Charlie Ventura, and George Hudson. alternating trumpet and flugelhorn in a solo duel with himself in
From 1948-51, Terry was a member of Basie’s big band and octet. concerts. He continues to play in both the U.S. and Europe, recording
Terry’s reputation grew with Ellington’s band, with whom he and performing in a wide variety of settings, such as the One-on-One
worked from 1951-59, often featured as a soloist on trumpet and recording of duets with 14 different pianists. Over the years, Terry has
flugelhorn. He also led his own recording dates during this time. After received numerous awards and honors, including a Grammy Award
working with Quincy Jones in 1959-60, he found steady work as a (and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010), the French
freelance studio artist, eventually becoming a staff musician at NBC. Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a knighthood in Germany,
As a member of the Tonight Show orchestra—one of the first African- and a star on St. Louis’ Walk of Fame.
American musicians employed in a television house band—he came to

2009
TOOTS
THIELEMANS
Harmonica Player Guitarist
Born April 29, 1922 in Brussels, Belgium
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Man Bites Harmonica
Photo by Lee Tanner
Riverside/OJC, 1957-58
H
Do Not Leave Me
Vintage Jazz, 1986
armonica player, guitarist, Only Trust Your Heart playing and recording with Ella Fitzgerald,
and whistler Jean Baptiste Concord Jazz, 1988 Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, Paul Simon,
“Toots” Thielemans has been East Coast West Coast Billy Joel, Astrud Gilberto, and Elis Regina,
credited by jazz aficionados as being among Private Music, 1994 among others. He also made prominent
the greatest jazz harmonica players of the 20th appearances on movie soundtracks, notably on
Toots and Kenny Werner
century, improvising on an instrument more The Pawnbroker, Midnight Cowboy, and The
Verve, 2001
known in folk and blues music. Thielemans is Sugarland Express.
known to audiences young and old, his harmonica Thielemans has appeared as a leader of swing
heard on the Sesame Street theme and his whistling heard and bop quartets on recordings and at international
in an “Old Spice” commercial. festivals. At the Montreux International Jazz Festival, he
Thielemans learned to play the accordion at the age of three, recorded as a sideman with Oscar Peterson in 1975, then with Dizzy
took up chromatic harmonica at 17, and taught himself to play Gillespie in 1980. Thielemans’ two-volume Brasil Project was popular
the guitar. Influenced by Django Reinhardt and Charlie Parker, in the 1990s and featured top Brazilian musicians.
he became interested in jazz. In 1950, Thielemans toured Europe A perennial winner of DownBeat readers and critics polls in the
as a guitarist with the Benny Goodman Sextet. He immigrated to category “miscellaneous instruments,” Thielemans was called “one
the United States in 1952, getting a chance to play with Charlie of the greatest musicians of our time” by Quincy Jones in 1995.
Parker’s All-Stars. His performance so impressed George Shearing Thielemans has received many awards and titles, including the French
that he invited Thielemans into his band, where he stayed until 1959. Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and honorary doctorates from both
In 1961, Thielemans composed and recorded “Bluesette” using universities in the city of Brussels. In 2001, Belguim’s King Albert II
unison whistling and guitar, and ever since has been greatly in bestowed on him the title “Baron,” making him Baron Jean “Toots”
demand—particularly for his harmonica and his whistling—on Thielemans.
pop records and as a jazz soloist. Thielemans began freelancing,

2002
0000
McCOY
TYNER
pianist composer
Born December 11, 1938 in Philadelphia, PA
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The Real McCoy
M
Sahara
cCoy Tyner’s powerful, Remembering John After leaving the quartet, Tyner
propulsive style of piano playing Enja, 1991 demonstrated his tremendous melodic and
was an integral part of the Illuminations rhythmic flair for composition on such albums
John Coltrane Quartet in the early 1960s and Telarc, 2003 as The Real McCoy, which featured “Passion
influenced countless musicians that followed Guitars Dance,” “Contemplation,” and “Blues on the
him. His rich chord clusters continue to be copied Half Note, 2006 Corner,” and Sahara, which featured “Ebony
by many young jazz pianists. Queen” and the title track. Tyner has continued
Growing up in Philadelphia, Tyner’s neighbors to experiment with his sound, pushing rhythms and
were jazz musicians Richie and Bud Powell, who were tonalities to the limit, his fluttering right hand creating a
very influential to his piano playing. Studying music at the cascade of notes. In particular, he has explored the trio form,
West Philadelphia Music School and later at the Granoff School recording with a series of different bassists and drummers, such as
of Music, Tyner began playing gigs in his teens, and first met Ron Carter, Art Davis, Stanley Clarke, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams,
Coltrane while performing at a local club called the Red Rooster and Al Foster. In the 1980s, he recorded with a singer for the first
at age 17. His first important professional gig was with the Benny time, Phylis Hyman.
Golson–Art Farmer band Jazztet in 1959, with which he made his In the 1990s, he led a big band in new arrangements of previously
recording debut. recorded songs, used Latin American rhythms and forms, and revealed
Soon he began working with Coltrane, a relationship the romantic side of his playing with a surprising album of Burt
that produced some of the most influential music in jazz. Bacharach songs. While experimenting with his sound, Tyner has
From 1960-65, Tyner played a major role in the success of the eschewed the use of electric pianos, preferring the warm sound of an
Coltrane quartet (which included Elvin Jones on drums and acoustic piano, and earned five Grammy Awards for his recordings.
Jimmy Garrison on bass), using richly textured harmonies as rhythmic A dynamic performer in live settings, Tyner has continued to tour
devices against Coltrane’s “sheets of sound” saxophone playing. steadily.

2009 A.b. Spellman NEA JAZZ MASTERS Award FOR
JAZZ ADVOCACY
RUDY
VAN GELDER
Recording Engineer
Born November 2, 1924 in Jersey City, NJ
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ELEC HY
S
Sonny Rollins, Volume 2
Photo by Francis Wolff © Mosaic Images
Blue Note, 1957
C
Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else
Blue Note, 1958
onsidered by many the greatest Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound facility he built in Englewood Cliffs, New
recording engineer in jazz, Rudy Prestige/OJC, 1960 Jersey, where he has remained ever since. He
Van Gelder has recorded practically John Coltrane, A Love Supreme
became the house engineer for Creed Taylor’s
every major jazz musician of the 1950s and Impulse!, 1964 CTI label in the early 1970s.
1960s on thousands of albums. The signature Van Gelder sound features
Joe Henderson, Lush Life:
Van Gelder became involved with amateur a clearly defined separation among the
The Music of Billy Strayhorn
radio as a teenager, which led to his interest in Verve, 1991 instruments, ensuring that every sonic detail is
microphones and electronics. Since recording consoles clear and audible. This was accomplished by the
were not then manufactured commercially, he created strategic placement of instruments in the studio, though
his own equipment and set up a studio in his parents’ living his exact technique has always been a closely guarded
room in Hackensack, New Jersey. An optometrist by day, Van Gelder secret. Van Gelder’s main goal was to create the best mood for the
began recording local jazz musicians in his free time. musicians to perform in, and from the results, he seems to have greatly
In 1953, saxophonist Gil Mellé introduced Van Gelder to Blue succeeded. Among the timeless recordings made under his aegis
Note founder Alfred Lion, beginning a 14-year association with the are John Coltrane’s Blue Train (Blue Note) Miles Davis’ Workin’
label. He recorded practically every session that Blue Note produced (Prestige), Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure (Blue Note), Freddie
during that time period, from obscure sessions like Jutta Hipp with Hubbard’s Red Clay (CTI), and Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil
Zoot Sims in 1956 to the popular Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock (Blue Note).
in 1965. Van Gelder’s notable recordings helped establish Blue Note’s Van Gelder still freelances for a variety of labels and since 1999
reputation as an elite jazz label. They also enticed other labels, such has been instrumental in the modern remastering of his original
as Prestige, Savoy, and Impulse!, to seek out his recording skills. recordings—most notably the Blue Note RVG series—with the
In 1959, needing a larger space for Blue Note and his other clients, conversion from analog to digital formats.
Van Gelder finally quit his day job and moved his studio to a new

1989
0000
SARAH
VAUGHAN
vocalIST pianIST
Born March 27, 1924 in Newark, NJ

Died April 3, 1990
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1944-46
Photo by Paul Hoeffler/CTSIMAGES Classics, 1944-46
T
In Hi-Fi
Columbia/Legacy, 1949-53
he power, range, and flexibility The Complete Sarah Vaughan recognition, particularly in musicians’ circles.
of her voice made Sarah Vaughan, on Mercury, Vol. 1 They worked with her on a May 25, 1945,
known as “Sassy” or “The Divine Mercury, 1954-56 session as well, which was highlighted by
One,” one of the great singers in jazz. With Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown her vocal version of Gillespie’s “A Night in
her rich, controlled tone and vibrato, she could Verve, 1955 Tunisia,” called “Interlude” on the album. Her
create astounding performances on jazz standards, The Duke Ellington first husband, trumpeter-bandleader George
often adding bop-oriented phrasing. Along with Songbook, Vol. 1 Treadwell, helped re-make her “look” and she
Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Vaughan helped Pablo, 1979 began to work and record more regularly, starting
popularize the art of jazz singing, influencing generations in 1949 with Columbia Records. In the 1960s, Vaughan
of vocalists following her. made records with bandleaders such as Count Basie, Benny
Vaughan began singing at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in her Carter, Frank Foster, and Quincy Jones on the Mercury and
native Newark, and started extensive piano lessons at age seven. Roulette labels among others. It was during this time that her level of
Winner of the amateur contest at the Apollo Theatre, Vaughan was international recognition began to grow as she toured widely, generally
hired by Earl Hines for his big band as a second pianist and singer on accompanied by a trio, and on occasion doing orchestra dates.
the recommendation of Billy Eckstine in 1943. She joined Eckstine’s These large ensemble dates ranged from the Boston Pops to the
band in 1944, as well as making her first recording under her own Cleveland Orchestra as her voice became recognized as one of the most
name. beautiful and versatile in all of jazz, blessed with a range that literally
After leaving Eckstine, Sarah worked briefly in the John Kirby went from baritone to soprano. In the 1970s and 1980s, her voice
band, and thereafter was primarily a vocal soloist. Charlie Parker darkened, providing a deeper and all the more alluring tone.
and Dizzy Gillespie often sang her praises, assisting her in gaining

2010
CEDAR
WALTON
PIANIST COMPOSER
Born Born January 17, 1934 in Dallas, TX
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Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers,

Photo by Lee Tanner
Mosaic
O
Blue Note, 1961
Cedar!
ne of the great hard bop Prestige/OJC, 1967 as “Mosaic,” “Ugetsu,” and “The Promised
pianists, Cedar Walton is also Eastern Rebellion, Eastern Rebellion
Land” to the group’s repertoire. Walton left
known for his compositions, some Timeless, 1975 the Jazz Messengers to lead rhythm sections
of which have become jazz standards, such as and trios featured in various New York clubs
“Bolivia,” “Clockwise,” and “Firm Roots.”
Composer and work as a sideman for well-known artists
Astor Place, 1996
Walton was first taught piano by his mother, such as Abbey Lincoln (1965-66) and Lee
and, after high school, moved to Colorado to Seasoned Wood Morgan (1966-68).
High Note, 2008
commence studies at the University of Denver. There, In 1974, Walton joined with bassist Sam Jones,
during after-hours jazz club gigs, he met musicians, such drummer Billy Higgins, and saxophonist Clifford
as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and John Coltrane, who Jordan to form the group Eastern Rebellion, which would
would sit in with Walton’s group when traveling through town. perform and record sporadically over the subsequent two decades.
Eventually, Walton moved to New York. In 1955, he was drafted Other musicians rotated in and out of the band, including George
into the U.S. Army and sent to Germany where he performed in a Coleman, Bob Berg, Ralph Moore, David Williams, Curtis Fuller,
military jazz ensemble. Upon his return to New York City two years and Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros. Higgins became a regular
later, he began playing and recording with Kenny Dorham, J. J. accompanist for Walton throughout the 1980s—along with other
Johnson, and Gigi Gryce. In 1959, he recorded with Coltrane on his stellar musicians such as Ron Carter, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold
seminal album Giant Steps, but the recordings weren’t included on Land, and Buster Williams. In addition, he continued to perform
the initial issue of the album; the alternate tracks were later issued on in rhythm sections for Milt Jackson, Frank Morgan, and Dexter
the CD version. From 1960-61, Walton worked with Art Farmer and Gordon and accompanied vocalists Ernestine Anderson and Freddy
Benny Golson’s band Jazztet. Cole. He also led the backup trio for the Trumpet Summit Band,
Walton’s next significant musical association was with Art Blakey which started as a project for the 1995 Jazz in Marciac festival in
and the Jazz Messengers. During his years with Blakey (1961-64), France. He continues to perform and record with his own groups all
Walton stepped forward as composer, contributing originals such over the world.

JAZZ ADVOCACY
GEORGE
WEIN
producer pianIST
Born October 3, 1925 in Boston, MA
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Wein, Women & Song
Photo by Lee Tanner
Atlantic, 1955
J
George Wein & the Newport All-Stars
Impulse!, 1962
azz impresario George Wein is George Wein’s Newport All-Stars sold Festival Productions in 2007, he remains
renowned for his work in organizing Atlantic, 1969 active in the music scene, serving on the
and booking music festivals, and boards of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Apollo
European Tour
in particular for creating the Newport Jazz Concord Jazz, 1987 Theatre Foundation, and Carnegie Hall.
Festival, an event that, in the words of the late Wein has received numerous honors over
jazz critic Leonard Feather, started the “festival
Swing That Music
Columbia, 1993
the years, including honorary degrees from the
era.” Berklee College of Music and Rhode Island College
A professional pianist from his early teens, Wein of Music, a DownBeat Lifetime Achievement Award,
went on to lead his own band in and around his native the Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et Lettres from
Boston, frequently accompanying visiting jazz musicians. France, and invitations to be honored at the White House
In 1950, he opened his own club in Boston, formed the Storyville in 1978 and 1993. In addition, he is an author, whose autobiography
record label, and launched his career as a jazz entrepreneur. In Myself Among Others was recognized by the Jazz Journalists
1954, he was invited to organize the first Newport Jazz Festival. Association as 2004’s best book about jazz, and he continues to
He subsequently played an important role in establishing numerous perform as a pianist with his group, the Newport All-Stars.
other international festivals, including the annual Grande Parade du In 2009, Wein again became involved with the jazz festivals in
Jazz in Nice, France. In 1969, Wein established Festival Productions, New York and Newport, finding a new sponsor (CareFusion) when the
Inc., which has offices in six cities and produces hundreds of musical longtime festivals lost their sponsorship. As Wein said when started
events internationally each year. In 1971, unruly crowds forced Wein with the festivals again, “I never went into it as ‘a business’… I mean,
to move the jazz festival from Newport to New York City, where he the music was in my head, in my heart, in my soul. And it still is.”
pioneered the idea of corporate underwriting of festivals, first with the
Kool Jazz Festival and then with the JVC Jazz Festival. Though he

2007
0000
FRANK
WESS
FLUTIST SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER
Born January 4, 1922 in Kansas City, MO
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Count Basie, Verve Jazz Masters
Photo by Michael Wilderman Verve, 1954-65
A
I Hear Ya Talkin’
Savoy, 1959
multi-instrumentalist Flute Juice Basie Orchestra’s new sound, while his tenor
whose inspired solos have kept big- Progressive, 1981 saxophone playing served as a counterpoint to
band jazz fresh and vital into the Going Wess the more fiery sound of Frank Foster.
present, Frank Wess is revered as a smoothly Town Crier, 1993 Wess has played since the 1960s in
swinging tenor saxophone player in the Lester countless settings: with Clark Terry’s big band,
Once is Not Enough
Young tradition, as an expert alto saxophonist, Labeth, 2009 the New York Quartet with Roland Hanna,
and as one of the most influential, instantly Dameronia (1981-85), and Toshiko Akiyoshi’s
recognizable flutists in jazz history. Jazz Orchestra. During this period, he also bridged
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Wess first studied the worlds of jazz and popular show business. Wess
classical music and played with the Kansas All-State High performed as a staff musician for ABC Television, both for
School Orchestra. After moving to Washington, DC as a teenager the Dick Cavett Show and for the David Frost Show (with the Billy
in 1935, he began to play jazz in lunchtime jam sessions with Taylor Orchestra). In Broadway pit bands, he played for shows such
fellow students, including Billy Taylor. An early touring career as Golden Boy (starring Sammy Davis), Irene (with Debbie Reynolds),
was interrupted by military service—he played in a 17-piece band and Sugar Babies (with Mickey Rooney). For ten years, he played
during World War II—and then was resumed when Wess came out first-chair tenor saxophonist in the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band.
of the Army and joined an outstanding lineup in the Billy Eckstine He has also led his own big bands on world tours, and has played
Orchestra. It was at this time that he took up the flute, studying at the recently in the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band. Widely recorded
Modern School of Music in Washington. on many labels, both as a leader and a sideman, Wess is a perennial
All this time, Count Basie had been calling. Wess finally joined favorite in DownBeat polls and a now-legendary presence on the jazz
his big band in 1953, helping it to evolve during its so-called “New scene.
Testament” phase and remaining with it until 1964. Wess’s flute
playing, set off by Neal Hefti’s arrangements, contributed strongly to the

2001
RANDY
WESTON
pianIST composer
Born April 6, 1926 in Brooklyn, NY
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Uhuru Africa/Highlife
Photo by Lee Tanner
Roulette, 1960-63
R
Blues to Africa
Arista/Freedom, 1974
andy Weston has spent most The Spirit of Our Ancestors he also began his long and fruitful musical
of his career combining the rich Verve, 1991 partnership with trombonist-arranger Melba
music of the African continent Zep Tepi Liston (a listing of some of the albums on
with the African-American tradition of jazz, Random Chance, 2005 which they collaborated can be found in the
mixing rhythms and melodies into a hybrid Liston Selected Discography), a relationship
The Storyteller
musical stew. MOTÉMA MUSIC, 2009
that would continue until her death in 1999,
Weston received his earliest training from forming some of Weston’s best recordings.
private teachers in a household that nurtured his Weston’s interest in the African continent was
budding musicianship. Growing up in Brooklyn, Weston sparked at an early age, and he lectured and performed
was influenced by such peers as saxophonist Cecil Payne in Africa in the early 1960s. He toured 14 African countries
and trumpeter Ray Copeland as well as the steady influx of great with his ensemble in 1967 on a State Department tour, eventually
jazz musicians who frequented Brooklyn clubs and jam sessions settling in Rabat, Morocco. He later moved to Tangier, opening the
on a regular basis. Such musicians as Thelonious Monk and Duke African Rhythms Club in 1969. It was in Morocco that Weston first
Ellington would have a lasting influence on Weston’s music, both in forged unique collaborations with Berber and Gnawan musicians,
terms of his piano playing and composition. infusing his jazz with African music and rhythms.
After a 1945 stint in the Army, Weston began playing piano with Since returning to the U.S. in 1972, he has lived in Brooklyn,
such rhythm-and-blues bands as Bull Moose Jackson and Eddie traveling extensively overseas with bands that generally include
“Cleanhead” Vinson. At the Music Inn educational retreat in Lenox, trombonist Benny Powell and longtime musical director, saxophonist
Massachusetts, in 1954, he took work as a cook during the summer, Talib Kibwe (aka T.K. Blue). In recent years, a number of Weston’s
while playing the piano at night. The head of Riverside Records, U.S. concert appearances have been true events, including 1998
Orrin Keepnews, heard him and signed Weston to do a record of Cole and 1999 Brooklyn and Kennedy Center collaborations with the
Porter standards. Master Musicians of Gnawa, and a triumphant 1998 recreation of his
Weston’s recording sessions frequently included contributions masterwork suite “Uhuru Africa” in Brooklyn. Many of Weston’s
from his Brooklyn neighborhood buddies Copeland, Payne, and compositions, such as “Hi Fly” and “Berkshire Blues,” have become
bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik. It was at this early juncture that jazz standards. In 2010, Weston’s autobiography, African Rhythms,
was published.

2008
0000
JOE
WILDER
TRUMPETER
Born February 22, 1922 in Colwyn, PA
S
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Softly with Feeling
Photo by Tom Pich Savoy, 1956
J
Jazz from “Peter Gunn”
Columbia, 1959
oe Wilder has played with a virtual Benny Carter, A Gentleman and His Music the orchestras of Jimmie Lunceford, Herbie
Who’s Who of jazz—Louis Armstrong, Concord, 1985 Fields, Sam Donahue, Lucky Millinder, Noble
Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Benny No Greater Love Sissle, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie, while
Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Evening Star, 1993 also playing in the pit orchestras for Broadway
Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, musicals.
Among Friends
Quincy Jones, John Lewis, Charles Mingus, Evening Star, 2002 Wilder returned to school in the 1960s,
George Russell, and Dinah Washington, to name earning a bachelor’s degree at the Manhattan
just a few. School of Music where he was also principal trumpet
Wilder was born in 1922 into a musical family led by with the school’s symphony orchestra under conductor
his father Curtis, a bassist and bandleader in Philadelphia. Jonel Perlea. At that time, he performed on several occasions
Wilder’s first performances took place on the radio program Parisian with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostolanitz and
Tailor’s Colored Kiddies of the Air. He and the other young musicians Pierre Boulez.
were backed up by such illustrious bands as Duke Ellington’s and From 1957 to 1974, Wilder did studio work for ABC-TV while
Louis Armstrong’s that were also then playing at the Lincoln Theater. building his reputation as a soloist with his albums for Savoy and
Wilder studied at the Mastbaum School of Music in Philadelphia but Columbia. He was also a regular sideman with such musicians as
turned to jazz when he felt that there was little future for an African- Gil Evans, Benny Goodman, and Hank Jones, even accompanying
American classical musician. Wilder joined his first touring big band, Goodman on his tour of Russia. He became a favorite with vocalists
Les Hite’s band, in 1941. and played for Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Eileen Farrell, Billie
Wilder was one of the first thousand African Americans to serve in Holiday, Lena Horne, Johnny Mathis, and many others.
the Marines during World War II. He worked first in Special Weapons He is the only surviving member of the Count Basie All-Star
and eventually became assistant bandmaster at the headquarters’ Orchestra that appeared in the classic 1959 film The Sound of Jazz.
band. Following the war during the 1940s and early ’50s, he played in

1993
JOE
WILLIAMS
VOCALIST
Born December 12, 1918 in Cordele, GA

Died March 29, 1999
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S
Count Basie Swings/
Count Basie,
Photo by Lee Tanner
Joe Williams Sings
J
Verve, 1955-56
Every Day—The Best

oe Williams’ versatile baritone voice of the Verve Years but offered a new range of opportunities for
Verve, 1955-90
made him one of the signature male Basie to use. Williams’ sound was smoother,
vocalists in jazz annals, responsible Count Basie, Count on the Coast, Vol. 1 & 2 strong on ballads and blues, while Rushing
for some of the Count Basie band’s main hits Phontastic, 1958 was a more aggressive singer, best on the
in the 1950s. Me and the Blues up-tempo numbers.
Though born in Georgia, Williams was raised RCA, 1963 Williams’ hits with the Basie band included
in that great haven of the blues, Chicago, Illinois. “Alright, Okay, You Win,” “The Comeback,”
Here’s to Life
His first professional job came with clarinetist Jimmie Telarc, 1993 and what would become one of his most requested
Noone in 1937. In the 1940s, in addition to singing in tunes, “Every Day.” Starting in the 1960s, he was a
Chicago area groups, he worked with the big bands of Coleman vocal soloist, fronting trios led by such pianists as Norman
Hawkins, Lionel Hampton, and Andy Kirk. Later he sang with two of Simmons and Junior Mance. Simmons would later become his longest
Cafe Society’s renowned pianists, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. tenured musical director-pianist. He also toured with fellow Basie
From 1950-53, he worked mostly with the Red Saunders band. What alumnus Harry “Sweets” Edison. He continued to expand his range,
came after would be a job he would cherish and return to frequently becoming a superior crooner and exhibiting a real depth of feeling on
throughout his career: fronting the Count Basie band. Often referred ballads.
to jokingly as “Count Basie’s #1 son,” he stepped right into the band Among his many awards and citations were a number of jazz poll
upon the departure of Jimmy Rushing. Williams was the perfect commendations and honors. Late in life, he had a recurring role on
replacement in that he did not just duplicate Rushing’s vocal style, the Cosby Show television program as the star’s father-in-law.

1990
0000
GERALD
WILSON
bandleader composer arranger trumpetER
Born September 4, 1918 in Shelby, MS
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
1945-46
Photo by Vance Jacobs Classics, 1945-46
G
The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings
Mosaic, 1961-69
erald Wilson’s use of multiple Love You Madly Liston, and replaced the Duke Ellington
harmonies is a hallmark of his big Discovery, 1982 band at the Apollo Theatre when they hit
bands, earning him a reputation Theme For Monterey New York. Wilson’s work as a composer-
as a leading composer and arranger. His band Mama, 1998 arranger enabled him to work for the Count
was one of the greats in jazz, leaning heavily Basie and Dizzy Gillespie bands. Wilson then
Detroit
on the blues but integrating other styles. His Mack Avenue, 2009 accompanied Billie Holiday on her tour of the
arrangements influenced many musicians that South in 1949.
came after him, including multi-instrumentalist Eric In the early 1960s, he again led his own big bands.
Dolphy, who dedicated the song “G.W.” to Wilson on his His series of Pacific Jazz recordings established his
1960 release Outward Bound. unique harmonic voice, and Mexican culture—especially the
Wilson started out on the piano, learning from his mother, bullfight tradition—influenced his work. His appearance at the 1963
then taking formal lessons and classes in high school in Memphis, Monterey Jazz Festival increased his popularity.
Tennessee. The family moved to Detroit in 1934, enabling him to He has contributed his skill as an arranger and composer to artists
study in the noted music program at Cass Tech High School. As a ranging from Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, and Ella Fitzgerald to the
professional trumpeter, his first jobs were with the Plantation Club Los Angeles Philharmonic to his guitarist-son Anthony. Additionally he
Orchestra. He took Sy Oliver’s place in the Jimmie Lunceford band in has been a radio broadcaster at KBCA and a frequent jazz educator.
1939, remaining in the seat until 1942, when he moved to Los Angeles. Among his more noted commissions are one for the 40th anniversary
In California, he worked in the bands of Benny Carter, Les Hite, of the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1998, which he revisited in 2007 with
and Phil Moore. When the Navy sent him to its Great Lakes Naval his album Monterey Moods, and one for the 30th anniversary of the
Training Station in Chicago, he found work in Willie Smith’s band. Detroit International Jazz Festival in 2009.
He put together his own band in late 1944, which included Melba

2004
NANCY
WILSON
Vocalist BROADCASTER
Born February 20, 1937 in Chillicothe, OH
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
Nancy Wilson and
Photo by Tom Pich
Cannonball Adderley
Capitol, 1962
N
Yesterday’s Love Songs—Today’s Blues
Capitol, 1963
ancy Wilson first found her to the Beatles, surpassing Frank Sinatra, the
voice singing in church choirs, But Beautiful Beach Boys, and even Nat “King” Cole.
but found her love of jazz in Blue Note, 1969
Wilson also has worked in television,
her father’s record collection. It included Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson, Meant To Be where in 1968 she won an Emmy Award for
albums by Jimmy Scott, Nat “King” Cole, Billy Narada, 2002 her NBC series, The Nancy Wilson Show. She
Eckstine, Dinah Washington, and Ruth Brown; R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, has performed on The Andy Williams Show
this generation of vocalists had a profound influence Very Personal) and The Carol Burnett Show and has appeared
on Wilson’s singing style. She began performing on the MCG Jazz, 2004 in series such as Hawaii Five-O, The Cosby Show,
Columbus, Ohio, club circuit while still in high school, Moesha, and The Parkers.
and in 1956 she became a member of Rusty Bryant’s Carolyn Although she often has crossed over to pop and rhythm-
Club Band. and-blues recordings, she still is best known for her jazz performances.
She also sat in with various performers, such as Cannonball In the 1980s, she returned to jazz with a series of performances with
Adderley, who suggested that she come to New York. When Wilson such jazz greats as Art Farmer, Benny Golson, and Hank Jones. And
took his advice, her distinctive voice enchanted a representative to start the new century, Wilson teamed with pianist Ramsey Lewis
from Capitol Records and she was signed in 1959. In the years that for a pair of highly regarded recordings.
followed, Wilson recorded 37 original albums for the label. Her first She has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades,
hit, “Guess Who I Saw Today,” came in 1961. One year later, a including two Grammy Awards and honorary degrees from Berklee
collaborative album with Adderley solidified her standing in the jazz School of Music and Central State University in Ohio. Wilson also
community and provided the foundation for her growing fame and hosted NPR’s Jazz Profiles, a weekly documentary series, from 1986
career. During her years with Capitol, she was second in sales only to 2005.

1986
0000
TEDDY
WILSON
pianIST arranger educator
Born November 24, 1912 in Austin, TX

Died July 31, 1986
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
1934-35
Photo by Rolf Ambor/CTSIMAGES Classics, 1934-35
T
Benny Goodman, The Complete Small
Group Recordings
RCA, 1935-39
eddy Wilson was one of the swing recordings as a leader. These records featured
era’s finest pianists, a follower of Masters of Jazz, Vol. 11 such greats as Lester Young, Billie Holiday,
Earl Hines’ distinctive “trumpet- Storyville, 1968-80 Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald. Wilson’s
style” piano playing. Wilson forged his own With Billie in Mind arrangements with Holiday in particular
unique approach from Hines’ influence, as well Chiaroscuro, 1972 constitute some of the singer’s finest work,
as from the styles of Art Tatum and Fats Waller. Runnin’ Wild mostly due to Wilson’s ability to find the right
He was a truly orchestral pianist who engaged the Black Lion, 1973 sound to complement Holiday’s voice and singing
complete range of his instrument, and he did it all in a style.
controlled and refined manner at the keyboard. Following his Goodman days, Wilson led his own big
Raised in Tuskegee, Alabama, Wilson studied piano at band for a short time, but most of his work came with his own
nearby Talladega College for a short time. Among his first professional small groups, particularly a sextet that played regularly at the famous
experiences were Chicago stints in the bands of Jimmie Noone and Cafe Society in New York. In 1946, he was a staff musician at CBS
Louis Armstrong. In 1933, he moved to New York to join Benny Radio, and also conducted his own music school. During the early
Carter’s band known as the Chocolate Dandies, and made records 1950s, he taught at the Juilliard School, one of the first jazz musicians
with the Willie Bryant band during 1934-35. In 1936, he became a to do so. Wilson’s relationship with Goodman was his most noted, and
member of Benny Goodman’s regular trio, which included drummer was an ongoing factor in his work. He was part of Goodman’s storied
Gene Krupa, and remained until 1939, participating on a number Soviet tour in 1962, and continued to work occasional festival gigs with
of Goodman’s small group recordings. Wilson was the first African- the clarinetist.
American musician to work with Goodman, one of the first bandleaders
to integrate a jazz band. Wilson later appeared as himself in the
cinematic treatment of The Benny Goodman Story.
During his time with Goodman, Wilson made some of his first

2007
PHIL
WOODS
saxophonist composer arranger
bandleader EDUCATOR
Born November 2, 1931 in Springfield, MA
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
Rights of Swing
Candid, 1960
B
Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival
MGM/Verve, 1969
orn in Springfield, Massachusetts, I Remember In 1968, Woods moved to France and

Philip Wells Woods has devoted Gryphon, 1978 formed the European Rhythm Machine
himself to the alto saxophone since Blues for New Orleans quartet, with George Gruntz on keyboards,
the age of 12. As a teenager, he briefly took Philology, 2005 Henri Texier on bass, and Daniel Humair on
private lessons in improvisation from Lennie drums. His talent as a composer blossomed
The Children’s Suite
Tristano and also studied for a summer at the Jazzed Media, 2007
during this period, when he wrote music for
Manhattan School of Music. In 1948, he enrolled in Danish and Belgian radio and composed a ballet
the Juilliard School, where he remained through 1952, for French television. After disbanding the quartet
majoring in clarinet performance. While at Juilliard, he in 1972, Woods returned to the United States, settled
played for a brief period in Charlie Barnet’s dance band. in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, and formed a jazz
Subsequently, he worked with leaders including George Wallington group with Mike Melillo, Steve Gilmore, and Bill Goodwin. With this
(replacing Jackie McLean), Kenny Dorham, and Friedrich Gulda ensemble, he staked his claim to being the finest alto saxophonist in
and then, joining with one of his musical idols, traveled to the Near mainstream jazz, a reputation confirmed by his performances on
East and South America with Dizzy Gillespie. Images (1975, with Michel Legrand), Live from the Showboat (1976),
By now established as one of the most brilliant alto saxophonists and Billy Joel’s 1977 hit recording, “Just the Way You Are,” all of
in jazz, Woods went on to perform in Buddy Rich’s quintet and which received Grammy Awards.
toured Europe with Quincy Jones (1959-60) and the U.S.S.R. with In 1975, he received an NEA Music grant that he used to compose
Benny Goodman (1962). From 1964 to 1967, Woods took a summer the work “The Sun Suite,” one of more than 200 songs Woods has
break from the bandstand, teaching at the Ramblerny performing composed. He has recorded several albums with new arrangements of
arts camp in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, still much in famous composers—such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Tadd Dameron,
demand, he performed in New York in 1967 both as the leader of Quincy Jones, and Henry Mancini—and in 2006 released a well-
his own quartet (featuring Hal Galper, Richard Davis, and Dottie received album of standards, American Songbook. He remains active
Dodgion) and as a member of Clark Terry’s big band. internationally as a bandleader, composer-arranger, and soloist.

2009
0000
SNOOKY
YOUNG
TRUMPETER
Born February 3, 1919 in Dayton, OH
S
TED DI COGRAP
ELEC HY
S
Jimmie Lunceford, 1939-1940
Photo by Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES Classics, 1939-40
K
Count Basie, Kansas City Suite
Roulette, 1960
nown for his prowess with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Young continued to work on other projects
plunger mute, Eugene Edward Live at the Village Vanguard as well. He was a founding member of the
Solid State, 1967
“Snooky” Young’s trumpet Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966,
playing is most often heard in the context of Horn of Plenty and throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, he
the big band. For 30 years, he was heard every Concord Jazz, 1979 played with a variety of big bands, including on
weeknight as a member of the Tonight Show Gerald Wilson, State Street Suite recordings by such jazz greats as Louis Bellson,
orchestra. MAMA Foundation, 1994 Gil Evans, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, and
Young began playing the trumpet at five and by Jimmy Smith. Young has worked outside of jazz as
his early teens was working in various regional bands. well, playing with the rock group the Band on New Year’s
From 1939-1942 he made a name for himself as lead trumpeter Eve in 1971 and on the classic 1976 blues recording Bobby
and soloist in the Jimmie Lunceford band. From 1942 to 1947 Young Bland and B.B. King Together Again...Live.
worked with Les Hite, Benny Carter, and Gerald Wilson, as well Young has worked since with several Los Angeles big bands, and
as with the Count Basie band, where he replaced trumpet player has issued three albums under his own name, including Horn of Plenty,
Ed Lewis. Young led his own band in his hometown of Dayton from which demonstrated his solo gifts as a strong lead trumpeter. Young
1947 to 1957 and continued to perform periodically with both Lionel has appeared as a soloist at jazz festivals in Montreux, Switzerland;
Hampton and Basie through the early 1960s. The Hague, Holland; Antibes, France; and Concord, California. His
Upon leaving Basie in 1962, Young began his longest engagement work has appeared on numerous soundtracks as well, including The
with a band as a trumpeter for the Doc Severinsen band on the Tonight Color Purple. He continues to perform and tour with the Clayton-
Show. In 1972, he moved to Los Angeles when the show relocated, and Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra.
remained until Johnny Carson left in 1992.

NEA Jazz Masters
Award Ceremony
NEA Jazz Masters events include a luncheon for all
attending NEA Jazz Masters (and a group photo),
portraits of the new class of honorees, and a special
concert and awards ceremony. Here are a few candid
moments from the last few years.
Ornette Coleman
Photo by Katja von Schuttenbach
David Baker, Freddie Hubbard, James Moody Frank Wess, Gerald Wilson, Jon Hendricks
Photo by Tom Pich Photo by Tom Pich
George Wein, Louie Bellson

Photo by Tom Pich
Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell, Slide Hampton, Paquito D’Rivera

Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Ron Carter

126 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 Photo by Tom Pich
Quincy Jones, Tom McIntosh, Joe Wilder
Photo by Tom Pich
Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath

Photo by Tom Pich
Chico Hamilton Annie Ross, George Avakian

Photo by Tom Pich Photo by Tom Pich
Hank Jones,
Barry Harris,
Billy Taylor
Photo by Tom Pich
Nancy Wilson, John Levy, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis

Photo by Tom Pich
Frank Foster, Dan Morgenstern

Photo by Tom Pich
1982–2011
1982 1990 1998 2005 2010

Roy Eldridge* George Russell* Ron Carter Kenny Burrell Muhal Richard Abrams
Dizzy Gillespie* Cecil Taylor James Moody* Paquito D’Rivera George Avakian
Sun Ra* Gerald Wilson Wayne Shorter Slide Hampton Kenny Barron
Shirley Horn* Bill Holman
1983 1991 1999 Jimmy Smith*
Artie Shaw*
Bobby Hutcherson
Yusef Lateef
Count Basie* Danny Barker* Dave Brubeck George Wein Annie Ross
Kenny Clarke* Buck Clayton* Art Farmer* Cedar Walton
Sonny Rollins Andy Kirk* Joe Henderson*
2006
1984
Clark Terry
2000 Ray Barretto* 2011
Ornette Coleman 1992 David Baker
Tony Bennett
Bob Brookmeyer
Orrin Keepnews
Hubert Laws
Miles Davis* Betty Carter* Donald Byrd Chick Corea David Liebman
Max Roach* Dorothy Donegan* Marian McPartland Buddy DeFranco Johnny Mandel
Sweets Edison* Freddie Hubbard* The Marsalis Family
1985 2001 John Levy
Gil Evans* 1993 John Lewis*
Ella Fitzgerald* Jon Hendricks Jackie McLean* 2007
Jo Jones* Milt Hinton* Randy Weston Toshiko Akiyoshi
Joe Williams* Curtis Fuller
1986 2002 Ramsey Lewis
Benny Carter* 1994 Frank Foster Dan Morgenstern
Dexter Gordon* Louie Bellson* Percy Heath* Jimmy Scott
Teddy Wilson* Ahmad Jamal McCoy Tyner Frank Wess
Carmen McRae* Phil Woods
1987 2003 2008
Cleo Brown* 1995 Jimmy Heath
Melba Liston* Ray Brown* Elvin Jones* Candido Camero
Jay McShann* Roy Haynes Abbey Lincoln* Andrew Hill*
Horace Silver Quincy Jones
1988 2004 Tom McIntosh
Gunther Schuller
Art Blakey* 1996 Jim Hall Joe Wilder
Lionel Hampton* Tommy Flanagan* Chico Hamilton
Billy Taylor Benny Golson Herbie Hancock
Luther Henderson*
2009
J.J. Johnson* George Benson
1989 Nat Hentoff
Jimmy Cobb
Barry Harris 1997 Nancy Wilson
Lee Konitz
Hank Jones* Billy Higgins* Toots Thielemans
Sarah Vaughan* Milt Jackson* Rudy Van Gelder
Anita O’Day* Snooky Young
* Deceased

Jazz Moments
with NEA Jazz Masters
Audio CD
W ith an eye—or ear—toward sharing the enriching power of jazz with the
public, the NEA is producing a series of Jazz Moments for radio broadcast. The
short radio segments (running from 30 seconds to three minutes) are interviews
with legendary and contemporary jazz artists about their own work and that of other artists. They include
musical samples, historical information, and first-person anecdotes designed to give listeners added insight
into NEA Jazz Masters and their art. From the more than 175 segments that were created, a compilation of
48 NEA Jazz Masters is included on the accompanying audio CD, produced by Molly Murphy exclusively for
the NEA. The CD practically travels the entire history of jazz, from George Avakian discovering the joy of
Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and Louis Armstrong on the radio to Ron Carter and Jimmy Cobb sharing their
different experiences with Miles Davis to Phil Woods talking about how he composes his current works. All
the Jazz Moments can be found on, and downloaded from, the NEA website at arts.gov.
Noted jazz bassist, composer, arranger, educator Christian McBride narrates the segments for
the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters. McBride is one of the most widely requested session musicians around,
having worked with everyone from Sonny Rollins and Roy Haynes to D’Angelo and James
Brown to Sting and Don Henley. In addition he has been leading his own band since 2000.
He has been named artistic director of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions
and the co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, as well as the sec-
ond creative chair for jazz of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.
Newly minted NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis narrates all
the Jazz Moments with previous NEA Jazz Masters.

JAZZ MOMENTS
with NEA JAZZ MASTERS
Track Artist
1. Intro by 13. Ron Carter (1998) 27. *Shirley Horn (2005) 41. Billy Taylor (1988)
Christian McBride …working with Miles Davis …on Miles Davis …playing ballads
2011 NEA 14. Jimmy Cobb (2009) 28. Bobby Hutcherson (2010) 42. Toots Thielemans (2009)
Jazz Masters: …on his first gig with the Miles …on a special performance with …on the portability of the
Davis Sextet Milt Jackson harmonica
2. Hubert Laws
…on the freedom of 15. Buddy DeFranco (2006) 29. Ahmad Jamal (1994) 43. McCoy Tyner (2002)
improvisation …on the challenge of the clarinet …recording “Poinciana” …sharing a piano with Bud
Powell
3. David Liebman 16. Frank Foster (2002) 30. Quincy Jones (2008)
…on jazz education …writing “Shining Stockings” …on early musical mentors 44. Rudy Van Gelder (2009)
for Count Basie’s band …being hired by Alfred Lion
4. Johnny Mandel 31. Lee Konitz (2009)
…harmonizing standards 17. Curtis Fuller (2007) …choosing the alto saxophone 45. Cedar Walton (2010)
…on first seeing J.J. Johnson …joining Art Blakey’s Jazz
5. The Marsalis Family 32. Yusef Lateef (2010) Messenger
…on Ellis’ teaching style 18. Jim Hall (2004) …on the process of learning
…on technique versus ideas 46. Frank Wess (2007)
6. Orrin Keepnews 33. John Levy (2006) …on Count Basie’s style
…on his first recording session 19. Chico Hamilton (2004) …on his pioneering jazz as a bandleader
with Thelonious Monk …on his first gig with manager experience
Duke Ellington 47. Gerald Wilson (1990)
Previous NEA 34. Ramsey Lewis (2007) …on the inspiration for
Jazz Masters: 20. Slide Hampton (2005) …recording “The ‘In’ Crowd” “Viva Tirado”
…on improvisation
7. Muhal Richard Abrams 35. *Abbey Lincoln (2003) 48. Phil Woods (2007)
(2010) 21. Herbie Hancock (2004) …on the importance of music …on composing
…on the influence of blues in …becoming interested in jazz
Chicago 36. Marian McPartland 49. *Snooky Young (2009)
22. Roy Haynes (1995) (2000) …finding his own style
8. Toshiko Akiyoshi (2007) …on first becoming a drummer …getting advice from Duke
50. Closing Credit by
…forming a big band Ellington and Thelonious Monk
23. Jimmy Heath (2003) Christian McBride
9. George Avakian (2010) …on music and personality 37. Dan Morgenstern (2007)
…discovering jazz on the radio and John Coltrane …listening to Symphony Sid
10. Kenny Barron (2010) 24. Jon Hendricks (1993) 38. Annie Ross (2010)
…working with Yusef Lateef …on the writing process …writing “Twisted”
11. George Benson (2009) 25. Nat Hentoff (2004) 39. Jimmy Scott (2007)
…on why he loves jazz …on Billie Holiday’s The …on what makes a great vocalist
Sound of Jazz performance
12. *Dave Brubeck (1999) 40. *Artie Shaw (2005)
…behind the Iron Curtain 26. Bill Holman (2010) …hitting the top C
…starting his own big band
* NEA Jazz Master interview from archival tapes, including material from the
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program; all others from NEA-recorded interviews.

The National Endowment for the Arts was established
by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the
federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded
more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence,
creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals
and communities. The NEA extends its work through
partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders,
other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.
The Nation’s Highest Honor in Jazz

T here is general agreement that the United States has
produced three original art forms: movies, modern dance, and
jazz. All speak to the genius of American culture. Film is indicative of
1982–2011
our ability to convert new technology into a medium for mass consump-
tion, frequently achieving the status of high art. Modern dance, an in-
digenous kinesthetic art capable of an unbounded range of expression,
from treatments of contemporary issues to pure abstraction. And then
there is jazz.
Jazz lives at the very center of the American vernacular. It is the gift
NEA JAZZ MASTERS 1982–2011

of the generations of new urban African-American people whose capac-
ity for the synthesis of diverse strains of musical forms brought schot-
tisches, quadrilles, habaneras, and marches into the bases of the blues
and ragtime to create a whole new way of making music. It was built on
the discipline of collective improvisation, a remarkable skill when you
think about it, which allowed for maximum expression of the individual
within the context of the group. Jazz is democratic and virtually without Cecil Taylor (left) with A.B. Spellman.
hierarchy: the composer is one more collaborator in the group, and even Photo by Tom Pich
bandleaders do not stand above the soloists.

These qualities are entirely appropriate for what is best about Amer-
ica. The old jazz principle that “you’ve got to make it new” is so Ameri- America kept ears open to the United States Information Agency (USIA)
can that it could go on the dollar bill. These defining qualities have made all over the world. Uncounted numbers of jazz musicians have traveled
jazz arguably the United States’ most welcomed cultural export. It has abroad under the auspices of the State Department. Many of the Na-
taken root wherever it has been planted, moving into and becoming a tional Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters, such as Dizzy Gillespie,
part of the cultures of other countries and then becoming an aspect of Randy Weston, and Billy Taylor, have toured the globe as our cultural
their national expression, in the way that Russian jazz is vastly different representatives.
from Afro-Cuban jazz. Some years ago, just after apartheid had fallen, The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships program was created to say to jazz
I heard a young South African ensemble that comprised an Indian pia- musicians that their government values the way that they keep our culture
nist, a tabla player, a white female flutist, and a black bassist. Distinct rich by continually producing such fabulous music. Mastery is a difficult
traces of each of these musicians’ heritages were audible in their solos, status to achieve. No creative discipline has more than a few true masters,
yet they performed with intimate ease. I thought, how marvelous that, as for it takes exceptional talent, dedication, hard work, and opportunity
these young people are at a point in history when they can speak to each to become one. NEA Jazz Masters have demonstrated these qualities and
other as equals, jazz provides the vocabulary. more. The National Endoment for the Arts is honored to recognize these
It is no accident that jazz has been a favored medium of cultural great artists for the outstanding contributions they have made to Ameri-
diplomacy. For decades, Willis Conover’s jazz series on the Voice of can culture.
––A.B. Spellman
National Endowment for the Arts • 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20506-0001 • 202.682.5400 • www.arts.gov
not for sale

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National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

The Nation’s Highest Honor in Jazz

NEA JAZZ MASTERS 1982–2011

bandleaders do not stand above the soloists.

This publication is published by:

Don Ball, Editor

Thanks to Paulette Beete, Liz Stark, Katja von Schuttenbach, and

Cover Photo: The Modern Jazz Quartet in performance, including NEA

In addition to information provided by the artists, the following

Voice/TYY: (202) 682-5496

National Endowment for the Arts

Additional copies of this publication can be obtained for free by

I t is my pleasure once again to introduce the new class of

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 iii

NEA Jazz Masters 1982–2010 (Year Fellowship Awarded)

NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony..................... 126

vi NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 1

2 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

T he National Endowment for the Arts recognizes

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 3

Photo by Jos L. Knaepen

4 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2010 5

Born November 10, 1939 in Houston, TX

6 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Born September 4, 1946 in Brooklyn, NY

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 7

Born November 23, 1925 in New York, NY

Original Soundtrack Recording,

Frank Sinatra, Ring-a-Ding-Ding!

8 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Born March 2, 1923 in New York, NY

Born September 19, 1930 in Chicago, IL

Photo by Michael Wilderman

12 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Born December 12, 1929 in Dairen, Manchuria

Photo by Lee Tanner

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 13

Born March 15, 1919 in Armavir, Russia

Photo by Ian P. Clifford Louis Armstrong, Plays W. C. Handy

Duke Ellington, Ellington at Newport

Born December 21, 1931 in Indianapolis, IN

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 15

Born January 13, 1909 in New Orleans, LA

16 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Born April 29, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY

Photo by Lee Tanner

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 17

Born Born June 9, 1943 in Philadelphia, PA

18 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Born August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, NJ

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 19

Born July 6, 1924 in Rock Falls, IL

20 NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011

Born August 3, 1926 in Queens, NY

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2011 21

Born March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, PA