October 25, 1926 James Edward “Jimmy” Heath, jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1948, at the age of 21, Heath performed in the First International Jazz Festival in Paris. He has performed with nearly all the jazz greats of the last 50 years, including Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Milt Jackson, […]
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October 21st in African American History – John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie
October 21, 1917 John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer, was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. By the age of 12, Gillespie had taught himself to play the piano, trombone, and trumpet and he took his first professional job at 18. Together with Charlie Parker, Gillespie was a major figure in the development […]
October 18th in African American History – Charles Edward “Chuck” Berry
October 18, 1926 Charles Edward “Chuck” Berry, guitarist, singer and songwriter, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Berry made his first public performances while he was still in high school and by early 1953 was performing at popular clubs in East St. Louis, Illinois. In 1955, Berry recorded “Maybelene” which sold over a million copies […]
October 17th in African American History – Lerone Bennett, Jr.
October 17, 1928, Lerone Bennett, Jr., scholar, author and social historian, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Bennett earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1949 and served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1952. He joined Ebony Magazine in 1954 and for decades served as executive editor. Bennett is the […]
October 16th in African American History – Henry Jay Lewis
October 16, 1932 Henry Jay Lewis, double-bass player and orchestra conductor, was born in Los Angeles, California. Lewis began playing the piano at the age of five and later learned to play the clarinet and several string instruments. At the age of 16, he joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic, becoming the first black instrumentalist in […]
October 15th in African American History – Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (Fela Kuti)
October 15, 1938 Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (Fela Kuti), multi-instrumentalist, composer, and human rights activist, was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. In 1958, Fela was sent to London, England to study medicine, but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. In 1963, he moved back to Nigeria and formed a band. In […]
October 10th in African American History – Solomon Burke
October 10, 2010 Solomon Burke, singer and songwriter, died. Burke was born March 21, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began his adult life as a preacher and host of a gospel radio show. By 1960, Burke began moving toward more secular music. His first hit was “Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)” […]