Jazz musician Earl Turbinton often goes by the enigmatic moniker "The African Cowboy," and certainly he roams freely through a varied landscape of musical genres, from bebop to blues to avant-garde jazz. The saxophone player from New Orleans has played with an amazing array of music giants, from Cannonball Adderley to B.B. King, Herbie Hancock... [+] Read More

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Long underrated in the pantheon of jazz greats, Eddie Harris was an eclectic and imaginative saxophonist whose career was marked by a hearty appetite for experimentation. For quite some time, he was far more popular with audiences than with critics, many of whom denigrated him for his more commercially successful ventures. Harris' tastes ranged... [+] Read More

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Though it often took a back chair to its sister group Parliament, Funkadelic furthered the notions of black rock begun by Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, blending elements of '60s psychedelia and blues plus the deep groove of soul and funk. The band pursued album statements of social/political commentary while Parliament stayed in the funk singles... [+] Read More

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Gene Ammons, who had a huge and immediately recognizable tone on tenor, was a very flexible player who could play bebop with the best (always battling his friend Sonny Stitt to a tie) yet was an influence on the R&B world. Some of his ballad renditions became hits and, despite two unfortunate interruptions in his career, Ammons remained a... [+] Read More

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With an unmistakable blues wail, full of emotion and poignancy, altoist Hank Crawford bridges the gap between that tradition and that of jazz more completely than any other living horn player. Born in Memphis, Crawford was steeped in the blues tradition from an early age. He began playing piano but switched to alto when his father brought one... [+] Read More

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Lou Donaldson has long been an excellent bop altoist influenced by Charlie Parker, but with a more blues-based style of his own. His distinctive tone has been heard in a variety of small-group settings, and he has recorded dozens of worthy and spirited (if somewhat predictable) sets through the years.

Donaldson started playing... [+] Read More

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Inspired by Motown's assembly line of sound, George Clinton gradually put together a collective of over 50 musicians and recorded the ensemble during the '70s both as Parliament and Funkadelic. While Funkadelic pursued band-format psychedelic rock, Parliament engaged in a funk free-for-all, blending influences from the godfathers (James Brown... [+] Read More

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Though jazz remained his first love, tenor saxophonist Sil Austin recorded in a variety of genres over the course of his long career, including R&B, jump blues, country, pop, and even (on one occasion) disco-ish funk. Born Silvester Austin in Dunnellon, FL, on September 17, 1929, Austin began playing around age 12, inspired by swing legends like... [+] Read More

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Brothers Alan and Neal Evans, on drums and Hammond B-3 organ respectively, form two-thirds of the soul/groove trio Soulive. Rounding out the group is Eric Krasno on guitar. The band was formed in the late '90s when all three members were under 25 years old. However, each already had substantial backgrounds in the "jam band" scene. Alan and Neal... [+] Read More

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A legend of the tenor saxophone, Stanley Turrentine was renowned for his distinctively thick, rippling tone, an earthy grounding in the blues, and his ability to work a groove with soul and imagination. Turrentine recorded in a wide variety of settings, but was best-known for his Blue Note soul-jazz jams of the '60s, and also underwent a popular... [+] Read More

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