February 17, 1982 Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist and composer, died. Monk was born October 10, 1917 in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina and began playing the piano at the age of six. In the early to mid-1940s, he served as the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, New York which featured most of the leading […]
"Grammy lifetime achievement award"
October 16th in African American History – Arthur Art Blakey
October 16, 1990 Arthur “Art” Blakey, jazz drummer and bandleader, died. Blakey was born October 11, 1919 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By the time he was a teenager he was playing the piano full-time and leading a commercial band. Shortly afterwards, he taught himself to play the drums. In 1947, Blakey recorded with a group led […]
October 10th in African American History – Thelonious Monk
October 10, 1917 Thelonious Sphere Monk, Jr., jazz pianist and composer, was born in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. Monk started playing the piano at age six and although he had some formal training, he was essentially self-taught. In the early to mid-1940s, Monk served as the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse which featured most of […]
September 23rd in African American History – Ray Charles Robinson
September 23, 1930 Ray Charles Robinson (Ray Charles), R&B, gospel and blues vocalist and pianist, was born in Albany, Georgia. At the age of 5, Charles began to lose his sight and was completely blind by the age of 7. In 1943, he began to play gigs around Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Florida. In 1947, he […]
September 23rd in African American History – John William Coltrane
September 23, 1926 John William Coltrane, jazz saxophonist and composer, was born in Hamlet, North Carolina. In 1945, he enlisted in the United States Navy and played in the Navy jazz band. After returning to civilian life, he began freelancing around Philadelphia. From October, 1955 through April, 1957 Coltrane was part of the Miles Davis […]
September 16th in African American History – Riley “B. B.” King
September 16, 1925 Riley “B. B.” King, blues guitarist and singer/songwriter, was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi. In 1948, King moved to Memphis and worked as a singer and disc jockey at the local R&B radio station. King began recording in 1949 and by the 1950s had become one of the most important names in […]
September 15th in African American History – Jessye Mae Norman
September 15, 1945 Jessye Mae Norman, opera singer, was born in Augusta, Georgia. At the age of nine, Norman heard opera for the first time and was immediately an opera fan. She credits Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price as inspiring figures in her career. In 1966, Norman won the National Society of Arts and Letters […]