July 7, 1950 Theodore “Fats” Navarro, jazz trumpeter, died. Navarro was born September 24, 1923 in Key West, Florida. He began playing the piano at the age of six and the trumpet at 13. In 1946, Navarro moved to New York City and his career took off. He played in the bands of Billy Eckstine, [...]
Tag Archives | piano
July 3rd in African American History – Fontella Bass
July 3, 1940 Fontella Bass, soul singer, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Bass showed great musical talent at an early age. At the age of five, she was providing piano accompaniment for her grandmother’s singing and by the time she was nine she was accompanying her mother on gospel tours throughout the South. At [...]
July 1st in African American History – Luther Ronzoni Vandross
July 1, 2005 Luther Ronzoni Vandross, R&B singer, songwriter, and producer, died. Vandross was born April 20, 1951 in New York City. He began playing the piano at the age of three and was performing with groups in high school. He attended Western Michigan University for a year before dropping out to pursue a music [...]
June 3rd in African American History – Florence Beatrice Price
June 3, 1953 Florence Beatrice Price, the first African American woman to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra, died. Price was born April 9, 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She played her first piano recital at the age of four and her first work was published when she was 11. She graduated from [...]
April 13th in African American History – Johnnie Clyde Johnson
April 13, 2005 Johnnie Clyde Johnson, blues piano player, died. Johnson was born July 8, 1924 in Fairmont, West Virginia and began playing the piano at the age of four. He joined the United States Marine Corp during World War II and played in the all serviceman jazz orchestra. Johnson moved to St. Louis in [...]
March 27th in African American History – Sarah Lois Vaughan
March 27, 1924 Sarah Lois Vaughan, jazz singer known as “The Divine One,” was born in Newark, New Jersey. Vaughan began piano lessons at the age of seven and sang in the church choir. By her mid-teens, she was performing in local nightclubs. In 1942, Vaughan sang “Body and Soul” at the Apollo Amateur Night [...]
March 19th in African American History – Mary Cardwell Dawson
March 19, 1962 Mary Cardwell Dawson, musician, teacher and founder of the Negro Opera Company, died. Dawson was born February 14, 1894 in Meridian, North Carolina but raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated from the New England Conservatory with degrees in piano and voice in 1925 and did additional training at the Chicago Musical College. [...]