Jazz Legends

Composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn (born November 29, 1915) was a true genius in his own right, though often referred to as Duke Ellington’s alter ego, he was so much more than that. A gay man ...

20 Nov 202421min

Pianist/composer Dave Brubeck and Alto Saxophonist Paul Desmond are enshrined in jazz history as the most prominent voices of the popular Dave Brubeck quartet. This group cast an outsized shadow over ...

13 Nov 202431min

Saxophonist/composer Phil Woods (born Nov 2, 1931), is by many musicians considered the major exponent of the alto saxophone for the past sixty years. His big, commanding sound, strong sense of swing,...

6 Nov 202422min

Saxophonist/composer Jimmy Heath (born Oct 25, 1926) came from a musical family in the fertile music scene of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and his brothers Percy, bassist with the Modern Jazz Quarte...

30 Okt 202423min

While hardly a household name, pianist/composer Clare Fischer (born Oct 22, 1928) was a musician’s musician. While he spent a good portion of his career working as a studio musician in Hollywood, he c...

23 Okt 202425min

Trumpet player/composer John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (born Oct 21, 1917) was, along with Charlie Parker, one of the major innovators behind the bebop movement in jazz. His pyrotechnic technical abilit...

16 Okt 202437min

Pianist composer Thelonius Monk (born Oct 10, 1917) was possibly the most idiosyncratic performers and composers our music has ever produced. His music is second only to Duke Ellington in the number o...

9 Okt 202422min

Saxophonist Park “Pepper” Adams (born Oct 8, 1930) was one of many jazz greats to emerge from the fertile jazz scene of Detroit, Michigan in the 1940s-50s. He was known for his fiery technical abiliti...

2 Okt 202419min