June 30, 2001 Joe Henderson, jazz tenor saxophonist, died. Henderson was born April 24, 1937 in Lima, Ohio. He was encouraged to study music at a young age and by 18 was studying at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and playing on the local jazz scene. After serving in the United States Army from […]
Tag Archives | jazz
Fred Anderson – June 24th in African American History
June 24, 2010 Fred Anderson, jazz tenor saxophonist, died. Anderson was born March 22, 1929 in Monroe, Louisiana. He 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 […]
June 15th in African American History – Ella Jane Fitzgerald
June 15, 1996 Ella Jane Fitzgerald, jazz and pop vocalist also known as the “First Lady of Song,” died. Fitzgerald was born April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. She made her singing debut at the age of 17 at the Apollo Theater and won the first prize of $25. In 1935, she began singing […]
May 28th in African American History – Mary Lou Williams
May 28, 1981 Mary Lou Williams, jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, died. Born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs on May 8, 1910 in Atlanta, Georgia, Williams taught herself to play the piano at a young age and became a professional musician in her teens. In 1925, she played with Duke Ellington and his band the Washingtonians. In […]
May 16th in African American History – Henry “Hank” Jones
May 16, 2010 Henry “Hank” Jones, jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer, died. Jones was born July 31, 1918 in Vicksburg, Mississippi but raised in Pontiac, Michigan. He studied piano at an early age and by the age of 13 was performing in Michigan and Ohio. In 1944, he moved to New York City and from […]
May 15th in African American History – Wayman Lawrence Tisdale
May 15, 2009 Wayman Lawrence Tisdale, professional basketball player and jazz bass guitarist, died. Tisdale was born June 9, 1964 in Fort Worth, Texas and played guitar at his father’s church. As a college player at the University of Oklahoma, Tisdale was the first player in history to be named a first-team All American in […]
May 12th in African American History – Alwyn Lopez “Al” Jarreau
May 12, 1940 Alwyn Lopez “Al” Jarreau, vocalist, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jarreau earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Ripon College in 1962 and a Master’s Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation from the University of Iowa in 1964. In 1968, he decided to make music his primary occupation and began playing in […]