John Lee Hooker was born in Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper, and rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi Hill country blues. He … Continue reading
Chet Baker. For more of his music, click the image Chet Baker plays Love For Sale. Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker Jr. was born on December 23, 1929. Baker began playing trumpet in high school, and dropped out at age 16 to enlist in the … Continue reading
Soulive is one of the greatest, groovin’-est trios in modern music. The incomparable Fred Wesley adds the icing on the cake. Eric Krasno along with brothers Alan and Neil Evans honed their guitar, percussion, and keyboard skills at Berklee College of … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, John Abercrombie! Guitarist John Laird Abercrombie was born December 16, 1944 in Port Chester, New York. Abercrombie picked up guitar when he was 14, and studied under Jack Peterson at Berklee College of Music. After his graduation, Abercrombie found himself in high demand for … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Curtis Fuller. Here is his solo on Children Of The Night Trombonist Curtis Debois Fuller was born. December 15, 1934 in Detroit. Fuller’s Jamaican-born parents died when he was a child, and he was raised in a Detroit orphanage. He met … Continue reading
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – The Egyptian Lee Morgan once again became part of the Jazz Messengers after replacing Freddie Hubbard, who left after replacing Morgan originally. The band is rounded out by pianist Cedar Walton, a steaming Wayne … Continue reading
Often considered just a blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery played barrelhouse boogie, orchestrated jazz, and everything in between. Caught between Jazz & the Blues. He couldn’t read music relying instead on an impeccable memory and ear. The legend himself is featured performing piano and vocal … Continue reading
J. B. At Home. His name is J. B. Lenoir In footage captured by husband and wife Swedish blues enthusiasts the Seaberg’s, J. B. Lenoir introduces himself in song from the living room of his Chicago home in 1965, accompanied by Steve Seaberg on … Continue reading
Pianist Alfred McCoy Tyner was born December 11, 1938 in Philadelphia. He began studying piano at age 13, and by 22 he was part of John Coltrane’s classic quartet. He played with Coltrane for 5 years, then set out to lead his own band … Continue reading
John Coltrane fronts a “Miles Davis-less” Miles Davis Quintet who couldn’t make the gig… A televised performance before a live audience in Germany, 1960. Composed in 1947 by Bronislaw Kaper, “On Green Dolphin Street” was made a jazz standard by Miles Davis’ recording it in the … Continue reading