March 14, 1919 Luther Henderson, arranger, composer, orchestrator, and pianist, was born in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1942, Henderson earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the Juilliard School of Music. From 1944 to 1946, he served as staff orchestrator for the United States Navy School of Music. Henderson served as orchestrator, or arranger, or [...]
Tag Archives | arranger
December 24th in African American History – Dave Bartholomew
December 24, 1920 Dave Bartholomew, musician, band leader, composer and arranger, was born in Edgard, Louisiana. Bartholomew has been active in many musical genres, but his partnership with Fats Domino produced some of his greatest successes. Together, they wrote and recorded more than 40 hit songs, including “Goin’ Home” (1952), “Ain’t That a Shame” (1855), [...]
October 25th in African American History – James Edward “Jimmy” Heath
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, [...]
July 29th in African American History – Luther Henderson
July 29, 2003 Luther Henderson, arranger, composer, orchestrator, and pianist, died. Henderson was born March 14, 1919 in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1942, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the Juilliard School of Music. From 1944 to 1946, Henderson served as staff orchestrator for the United States Navy School of Music. Henderson served [...]
July 27th in African American History – Harry “Sweets” Edison
July 27, 1999 Harry “Sweets” Edison, jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger, died. Edison was born October 10, 1915 in Columbus, Ohio. At the age of 12, he began playing the trumpet with local bands. In 1937, he moved to New York City and joined the Count Basie Orchestra where he came to prominence as a [...]
July 12th in African American History – Bennett Lester “Benny” Carter
July 12, 2003 Bennett Lester “Benny” Carter, jazz musician, composer, arranger and bandleader, died. Carter was born August 8, 1907 in New York City. Largely self-taught, by the age of 15 Carter was sitting in with some of New York’s top bands. In 1929, Carter formed this first big band and from 1931 to 1932 [...]
June 5th in African American History – Brian McKnight
June 5, 1969 Brian McKnight, singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer, was born in Buffalo, New York. McKnight’s musical career began in childhood and at 19 he signed his first recording deal. His debut album, “Brian McKnight,” was released in 1992 and it was followed by “I Remember You” (1995) and “Anytime” (1997), which sold over [...]