Brazilian singer Gal Costa passed away on Nov. 9, 2022 at the age of 77. She was born as Gal Maria da Graca Costa Penna Burgos on Sept. 26, 1945 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. She first discovered bossa nova when she was 14, worked in a record store where she learned much more about the […]

Guitarist Emily Remler was born on September 18, 1957, in New York City, New York. She was primarily interested in rock guitar before attending Berklee College of Music and developing an interest in jazz. Remler released her first album, Firefly, on the Concord Label in 1981. She briefly worked with guitarist Larry Coryell and pianist […]

Singer Jon Hendricks was born on September 16, 1921 in Newark, Ohio. As a child, Hendricks was a local celebrity. He appeared on the radio regularly with fellow Ohio native Art Tatum. In 1957, he formed the enormously successful vocal group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Their style, known as vocalese, featured Hendricks’ original lyrics to […]

Violinist Giuseppe Venuti was born September 16, 1903 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania although his birthdate has also been listed as 1894. A childhood schoolmate of guitarist Eddie Lang, Venuti teamed up with Lang in Atlantic City as early as 1919. The first significant jazz violinist, Venuti worked with Bert Estlow (1921), the Hotel Knickerbocker Orchestra, Red […]

Bassist George Mraz passed away on Sept. 16, 2021, at the age of 77. He was born as Jiri Mraz on Sept. 9, 1944, in Czechoslovakia (which is now in the Czech Republic), studied classical bass from the age of seven, and then decided to switch to jazz after hearing an hour of Louis Armstrong […]

Pianist and arranger Richie Powell was born on September 5, 1931 in New York City, New York. Richie was the younger brother of pioneering bebop pianist Bud Powell. Richie had a very accomplished career, despite its brevity. In the early ‘50s he played in bands led by Johnny Hodges and Paul Williams. He was also […]

Ira Nepus was born and raised in Los Angeles on Sept. 5, 1945, and he began on the trombone when he was ten. At the first concert in which he performed, the 15-year old trombonist played with such notables as Kid Ory, Barney Bigard and Rex Stewart; he considers his inspirations to include Trummy Young, […]

Pianist and composer Walter Davis, Jr. was born on September 2, 1932 in Richmond, Virginia. As a teen, Davis accompanied bebop singer Babs Gonzales. In the early ‘50s, Davis moved to New York and worked with some of early bop’s biggest names including Charlie Parker and Max Roach. After a long engagement at Paris’ Le […]