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 […]
Tag Archives | 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 […]