March 28, 1923 Thaddeus Joseph “Thad” Jones, jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader, was born in Pontiac, Michigan. Jones was a self taught musician and began playing professionally at the age of 16. He served in the United States Army band from 1943 to 1946. In 1954, Jones joined the Count Basie Orchestra where he contributed [...]
Tag Archives | jazz
March 22nd in African American History – Fred Anderson
March 22, 1929 Fred Anderson, jazz tenor saxophonist, was born in Monroe, Louisiana. Anderson taught himself to play the saxophone as a teenager and moved with his family to Evanston, Illinois in the 1940s. In 1965, he was one of the founders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians which was a collective [...]
February 27th in African American History – Dexter Keith Gordon
February 27, 1923 Dexter Keith Gordon, jazz tenor saxophonist and actor, was born in Los Angeles, California. Gordon played the clarinet from the age of 13 before switching to the saxophone at 15. Between 1940 and 1943, Gordon was a member of the Lionel Hampton Band and in 1943 he made his first recording under [...]
January 23rd in African American History – Thomas Andrew Dorsey
January 23, 1993 Thomas Andrew Dorsey, the father of gospel music, died. Dorsey was born July 1, 1899 in Villa Rica, Georgia. He learned to play blues piano as a young man. In the 1920s, Dorsey was known for playing the blues and is credited with composing more than 400 blues and jazz songs, including [...]
October 29th in African American History – George Murphy “Pops” Foster
October 29, 1969 George Murphy “Pops” Foster, jazz string bassist, died. Foster was born May 19, 1892 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. By 1907, Foster was playing professionally, working in bands such as King Oliver’s and Kid Ory’s. In 1929, he moved to New York City where he played with various bands, including Louis Armstrong’s.
October 9th in African American History – Milton Jackson
October 9, 1999 Milton Jackson, jazz vibraphonist and composer, died. Jackson was born January 1, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. He was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie who hired him for his sextet in 1946. Around 1950, Jackson formed his own group, the Milt Jackson Quartet which in 1952 was renamed the Modern Jazz Quartet.
October 7th in African American History – Ed Blackwell
October 7, 1992 Ed Blackwell, jazz drummer, died. Blackwell was born October 10, 1929 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his career in the 1950s and first came to national attention as the drummer with Ornette Coleman’s quartet around 1960. Blackwell was one of the great innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, [...]