Saxophonist, composer, and arranger Clifford Jordan was born on September 2, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. Before moving to New York in 1957, Jordan played around Chicago with Sonny Stitt, Max Roach, and various R&B groups. In the late ‘50s, Jordan recorded 3 Blue Note LPs as a leader, including the highly regarded Blowing in from […]

Saxophonist and clarinetist Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr. was born on September 1, 1925 in Gardena, California. Beginning at 13, Art jammed at various clubs on Central Avenue, LA’s famous jazz hotspot. Pepper began playing professionally with Stan Kenton and Benny Carter. In 1952, Down Beat magazine ranked him second best alto player behind Charlie Parker. […]

Jimmy Rushing appears on the “Jazz Casual” TV series in 1962. Singer Jimmy Rushing was born on August 26, 1901 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As a high schooler, Rushing studied music with Zelia Breaux, an Oklahoma teacher famed for spreading jazz through the city’s segregated schools. Rushing’s first big gig came in the mid-‘20s, when […]

Saxophonist and bandleader Branford Marsalis was born on August 26, 1960 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Coming from a highly musical family, he is the brother of trumpeter Wynton, drummer Jason, and trombonist and producer Delfeayo. While still a student at Berklee College of Music, Branford toured Europe with the famed hard bop drummer Art Blakey. […]

Bassist and arranger George Duvivier was born on August 17th, 1920 in New York City, New York. Originally a cellist and violinist, Duvivier was trained in classical music and became the assistant concertmaster of the Central Manhattan Symphony Orchestra at only 16. During the swing era, he played with Coleman Hawkins, Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder, […]

Ornette Coleman, in full Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman, (born March 9, 1930, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.—died June 11, 2015, New York, New York), American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who was the principal initiator and leading exponent of free jazz in the late 1950s. Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Coleman taught himself to play […]