Jazz
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Thelonious Monk *X 10 1917 — The Life You Give
Thelonious Monk, born Thelonious Sphere Monk, on October 10 1917, in Rocky Mount, N.C., U.S.A., is the pianist and composer who was among the first creators of modern jazz. As the pianist in the band at Minton’s Playhouse, a nightclub in New York City, in the early 1940s, Monk had great influence on the other…
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Louis Armstrong *VIII 4 1901 — The Life You Give
Louis Armstrong, born August 4 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., was leading trumpeter and one of the most influential artists in jazz history. He grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young. As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. In 1913…
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Miles Davis *V 26 1926 — The Life You Give
Davis’s early playing was sometimes tentative and not always fully in tune, but his unique, intimate tone and his fertile musical imagination outweighed his technical shortcomings. By the early 1950s Davis had turned his limitations into considerable assets. Rather than emulate the busy, wailing style of such bebop pioneers as Gillespie, Davis explored the trumpet’s…
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Ron Carter *V 4 1937 — The Life You Give
Ron Carter, born Ronald Levin Carter, on May 4, 1937 in Ferndale, Michigan, USA, is known for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), House of Gucci (2021) and What Happens in Vegas (2008). He was previously married to Janet Hasbrouch. The epitome of class and elegance without the stuffiness, Ron Carter has been a…
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The Piano — International Piano Day
The piano, also called pianoforte, French piano or pianoforte, German Klavier, is a keyboard musical instrument having wire strings that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard. The standard modern piano contains 88 keys and has a compass of seven full octaves plus a few keys. The vibration of the strings is…
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Ornette Coleman *III 9 1930 — The Life You Give
Ornette Coleman, born Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman, on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A., is the jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who was the principal initiator and leading exponent of free jazz in the late 1950s. Coleman began playing alto, then tenor saxophone as a teenager and soon became a working musician in…
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Wynton Marsalis *X 18 1961 – The Life You Give
The most famous musician in contemporary jazz, Wynton Marsalis had a major impact almost from the start. In the early ’80s, it was major news that a young and talented Black musician would choose to make a living playing acoustic jazz rather than fusion, funk, or R&B. Marsalis’ arrival on the scene started the “Young…
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Thelonious Monk *X 10 1917 — The Life You Give
Thelonious Monk, born Thelonious Sphere Monk, on October 10 1917, in Rocky Mount, N.C., U.S.A., is the pianist and composer who was among the first creators of modern jazz. As the pianist in the band at Minton’s Playhouse, a nightclub in New York City, in the early 1940s, Monk had great influence on the other…
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John Coltrane *IX 23 1926 — The Life You Give
John Coltrane, born September 23, 1926, Hamlet, North Carolina, U.S.A., is the jazz saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and iconic figure of 20th-century jazz. Coltrane’s first musical influence was his father, a tailor and part-time musician. John studied clarinet and alto saxophone [in his] youth and then moved to Philadelphia in 1943 and continued his studies at…
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Ginger Baker *VIII 19 1939 / The Life You Give
Ginger Baker, born Peter Edward Baker on August 19, 1939, in Lewisham, London, England, is the drummer and percussionist known for his flamboyant playing style that incorporated intricate polyrhythms influenced by jazz, rock, and West African music. Baker was widely considered rock’s first superstar drummer, serving as the drummer for the seminal British rock outfits…
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Louis Armstrong *VIII 4 1901 / The Life You Give
Louis Armstrong, born August 4 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., was leading trumpeter and one of the most influential artists in jazz history. He grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young. As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. In 1913…
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Miles Davis *V 26 1926 / The Life You Give
Davis’s early playing was sometimes tentative and not always fully in tune, but his unique, intimate tone and his fertile musical imagination outweighed his technical shortcomings. By the early 1950s Davis had turned his limitations into considerable assets. Rather than emulate the busy, wailing style of such bebop pioneers as Gillespie, Davis explored the trumpet’s…
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Nat King Cole *III 17 1919 / The Life You Give
Nat King Cole, born Nathaniel Adams Cole, on March 17 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.A., is the musician hailed as one of the best and most influential pianists and small-group leaders of the swing era. Cole attained his greatest commercial success, however, as a vocalist specializing in warm ballads and light swing. Cole grew up…
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Ornette Coleman *III 9 1930 — The Life You Give
Ornette Coleman, born Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman, on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A., is the jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who was the principal initiator and leading exponent of free jazz in the late 1950s. Coleman began playing alto, then tenor saxophone as a teenager and soon became a working musician in…
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The Piano — International Piano Day
The piano, also called pianoforte, French piano or pianoforte, German Klavier, is a keyboard musical instrument having wire strings that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard. The standard modern piano contains 88 keys and has a compass of seven full octaves plus a few keys. The vibration of the strings is…
Sila Blume 