Archie Shepp has been at various times a feared firebrand and radical, soulful throwback and contemplative veteran. He was viewed in the '60s as perhaps the most articulate and disturbing member of the free generation, a published playwright willing to speak on the record in unsparing, explicit fashion about social injustice and the anger and... [+] Read More

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Buck Hill received some fame in the 1970s for being a mailman who also plays tenor. He actually began playing professionally in 1943, but always had a day job in Washington, D.C. He recorded with Charlie Byrd (1958-1959), but had to wait until the late '70s before getting his own dates. He went on to lead sessions for SteepleChase and Muse,... [+] Read More

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One of the giants of the jazz piano, Bud Powell changed the way that virtually all post-swing pianists play their instruments. He did away with the left hand striding that had been considered essential earlier and used his left hand to state chords on an irregular basis. His right often played speedy single-note lines, essentially transforming... [+] Read More

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Clifford Brown's death in a car accident at the age of 25 was one of the great tragedies in jazz history. Already ranking with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis as one of the top trumpeters in jazz, Brownie was still improving in 1956. Plus he was a clean liver and was not even driving; the up-and-coming pianist Richie Powell and his wife (who was... [+] Read More

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Elvin Jones will always be best-known for his association with the classic John Coltrane Quartet (1960-65) but he also had a notable career as a bandleader and continued to be a major influence in music. One of the all-time great drummers (bridging the gap between advanced hard bop and the avant-garde), Elvin is the younger brother of a... [+] Read More

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One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Fats Navarro had a tragically brief career yet his influence is still being felt. His fat sound combined aspects of Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, and Dizzy Gillespie, became the main inspiration for Clifford Brown, and through Brownie greatly affected the tones and styles of Lee Morgan, Freddie... [+] Read More

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One of the Blue Note label's definitive hard bop artists, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley remains somewhat underappreciated for his straightforward, swinging style. Any characterization of Mobley invariably begins with critic Leonard Feather's assertion that he was the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone," meaning that his tone wasn't as... [+] Read More

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From the perspective of the early 2000s, it is clear that few jazz musicians have had a greater impact on the contemporary mainstream than Horace Silver. The hard bop style that Silver pioneered in the '50s is now dominant, played not only by holdovers from an earlier generation, but also by fuzzy-cheeked musicians who had yet to be born when... [+] Read More

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Born and raised in New Orleans, Kat began playing the sax when she was 9 years old. She has played professionally for over 20 years and has opened up for the likes of Kenny Wayne Sheppard and Kentucky Headhunters, was a guest musician with Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and has played with Landon Spradlin, a blues guitarist in Dallas. Kat is... [+] Read More

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Started studying jazz/improvisation aroung 1972. Quickly advanced through Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy.
Been playing in 'free jazz' and 'new music' venues ever since.

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Though some will argue about whether Wayne Shorter's primary impact on jazz has been as a composer or as a saxophonist, hardly anyone will dispute his overall importance as one of jazz's leading figures over a long span of time. Though indebted to a great extent to John Coltrane, with whom he practiced in the mid-'50s while still an... [+] Read More

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A superb accompanist loved by Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley, Wynton Kelly was also a distinctive soloist who decades later would be a strong influence on Benny Green. He grew up in Brooklyn and early on played in R&B bands led by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Hal Singer, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Kelly, who recorded 14 titles for Blue Note in... [+] Read More

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