A base player my husband knows died suddenly on November 2, 2009. He wasn’t answering his phone before a gig and the other musicians he was supposed to be working with that night went to his home and found him dead. I didn’t know him, but it’s such a sad story that I felt like [...]

David “Fathead” Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24, 1933. Soon after his birth his family moved to Dallas. Once he graduated from high school, he started playing with local bands. He attended Jarvis Christian College where he studied music and theology.
After two years in college, Newman started touring with Buster Smith. They [...]

Kenny Drew was born in New York City on August 28, 1928. He started studying classical piano when he was 5. He was introduced to jazz at 12. His influences include Bud Powell, Art Tatum, Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson. Drew attended the High Schools of Music and Art in New York.
Drew’s first professional job [...]

Meshell Ndegeocello was born Michelle Johnson on August 29, 1968 in Berlin, Germany. Her father was in the military and her mother was a health care worker. She spent her early years in Germany, then her family relocated to the Washington DC area. Her father played the tenor saxophone, and while he wasn’t a full [...]

Gregoire Maret was born in Geneva, Switzerland on May 13, 1975 to a Swiss father and American mother. He started playing harmonica professionally at 17. When he graduated from high school, he began attending the Collège de Saussure and the Superior Conservatory of Music.
In 1995, Maret moved to New York City to pursue a [...]

John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean was born in New York City on May 17, 1931 or 32 according to some sources. His father, John Sr., was a guitarist for Tiny Bradshaw’s orchestra. He died in 1939. McLean grew up in Harlem around notable jazz musicians. When he was 15, he started playing the saxophone. He took [...]

Woody Shaw Jr., was born on December 24, 1944 in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Shaw grew up in Newark, New Jersey. He started playing bugle when he was 9 with  the Washington Carver Drum and Bugle Corps. When he was 11 he started playing trumpet. He attended the Arts High School in Newark. While in high [...]

Jimmy Smith was born on December 8, 1925 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. His parents taught him to play the piano. In 1935, he won the Major Bowes contest. He started playing professional gigs at an early age and even did some nightclub work with his father.
Smith served in the Navy during the end of World War [...]

Ronald Theodore Kirk was born in Columbus, Ohio on August 7, 1936. At 2, Kirk became blind because of poor medical treatment. He originally learned to play the bugle and trumpet. Later he switched to clarinet and C-melody sax.
Kirk started playing professionally when he was 15. When he was in his teens, he discovered [...]

Callen (Cal) Tjader was born on July 16, 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents were vaudeville performers. His father tap danced and his mother played the piano. His family moved from city to city performing until his was 7. They settled in  San Mateo, California and opened a dance studio. His mother taught him [...]