For a time in the late '70s and early '80s, it seemed as if jazz's avant-garde was on the verge of a popular breakthrough in the person and music of Arthur Blythe. Blythe was signed by Columbia Records; the label's hype-heavy promotion of the saxophonist almost made him a star. It didn't work; Blythe was too "out" for the masses. Columbia... [+] Read More

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A talented post-bop altoist with a personal, angular style, Donald Harrison came to fame with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers but has not become a major name in jazz despite his talent. He studied at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts with Ellis Marsalis, went to Berklee (1979-1980), worked with Roy Haynes and Jack McDuff, and was with... [+] Read More

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Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz attended the Juilliard Conservatory of Music and became a member of Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop from 1962-1964 where he worked with Eric Dolphy and encountered McCoy Tyner for the first time. He also began gigging as a sideman in the mid-'60s with Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, and later as a member of Art Blakey &... [+] Read More

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As with altoists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby, Gary Thomas has developed his own fresh approach to improvisation, avoiding bop clichés and taking solos that are consistently full of surprising twists and turns. Lots of chances are taken and, even if not everything works (the use of rap on one of his JMT albums is unfortunate), Gary Thomas' music... [+] Read More

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A passionate tenor and flute player who was not shy to break up chordal improvising with an unexpected scream or roar, George Adams was an original voice who (like his friend Don Pullen) crossed over several stylistic boundaries. He started on piano, but by the time he was in high school he was playing tenor in funk bands. In 1961, he toured... [+] Read More

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Jackie McLean has long had his own sound, played slightly sharp and with great intensity; he is recognizable within two notes. McLean was one of the few bop-oriented players of the early '50s who explored free jazz in the '60s, widening his emotional range and drawing from the new music qualities that fit his musical personality.

The... [+] Read More

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Imagine what Sonny Stitt might have sounded like had he embraced free jazz after mastering bebop, and one can probably conjure a pretty good mental impression of Jimmy Lyons. Like Stitt, Lyons was enamoured of Charlie Parker's style, particularly in terms of phrasing. Lyons' slippery, bop-derived rhythms and melodic contours lent his... [+] Read More

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Hemphill was best known for his work with the World Saxophone Quartet -- he was arguably the band's most distinctive writer -- but his work as an improvising saxophonist and composer encompassed a variety of other contexts over the course of his career. Hemphill worked with everything from big bands to duos; he especially excelled at composing... [+] Read More

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Since 1971, when multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia gave up painting to pursue music full time, he has worked internationally as a composer, bandleader, and performer in jazz and other creative musics. Golia draws influences from jazz, world music, and contemporary classical music, and has performed in Europe, Japan, and North America in a... [+] Read More

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