May 2010 Blog Posts (15)

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois. Miles’ mother was a blues pianist though she kept this hidden from him and his father a dentist. Davis began studying trumpet at the age of thirteen with local musician Elwood Buchanan and…

Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, NJ. His father worked as a fireman and Frank’s mother was heavily involved in local politics as well as ran an illegal abortion clinic out of her home. Frank lasted 47 days in high school before being expelled for his conduct. During the depression on the 1930s Sinatra worked delivering newspapers and as a riveter at a shipyard. Frank heard Bing…

Chesney Henry Baker Jr. was born on December 23, 1929 in Yale, Oklahoma. Chet began making music as a child singing in his church choir. His father, a professional guitar player, introduced Chet to the trombone at a young age but Baker switched to trumpet because the trombone was too large for him. Baker studied a little music at Glendale Junior High School but left school at the age of sixteen and…

David Warren Brubeck was born on December 6, 1920 in California. Dave’s mother studied classical piano in England with the intention of being a concert pianist and she gave piano lessons at home for extra money. Although Dave originally was not interested in the piano, he did take lessons from his mother though he never learned to read music and was able to get by with his fantastic ears. It…

Smooth Jazz Network ™

Joe Sample Touring With Reunited Jazz Crusaders – First Time Since 1974…

Betty Carter

Lillie Mae Jones was born on May 16, 1929 in Flint, Michigan and was surrounded by the music of the church growing up as her father was the musical director at their local church. Betty's mother was a religious woman who felt Jazz was the 'devil's music' though Betty was…

Keith Jarrett

was born on May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania and was a prodigy from the start. At the age of three he began piano lessons and by the time Jarrett was five years old he appeared on a television talent show. Keith gave his first formal recital at…

Wes Montgomery

John Leslie Montgomery was born on March 6, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana to a musical family as his brother Monk played bass and Buddy the vibraphone. Incredibly, Wes didn’t pick up the guitar until he was nineteen years old but clearly had tons of natural talent for the instrument. Wes learned by ear and was able to play…

Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks Gillespie was born on October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina and was the youngest of nine children. Dizzy taught himself piano and trombone at an early age and was inspired to switch to the trumpet at age twelve upon hearing his greatest early influence, Roy Eldridge. Gillespie received a scholarship to attend the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina but…

Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock was born on April 12, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois and considered a prodigy as a child. When Herbie was eleven years old he performed a Mozart concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Hancock began taking an interest in Jazz in his teens and transcribed records of Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans and also was into the vocal…

Billie Holiday

Elinore Harris was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and had a very difficult childhood from the beginning. Billie’s mother Sadie was only thirteen at the time of becoming pregnant and her mother kicked her out of the house. Sadie left to Philadelphia where Billie was born and then took Billie to live…

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia and moved with her mother to live in Yonkers, New York at a young age. As a young girl Ella’s desire was to be a dancer though she did love listening to recordings of Jazz singers including Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and The Boswell Sisters and loved Connee Boswell.…

Natalie Cole Named Spokesperson For Kidney Organization

Grammy Award-winning vocalist Natalie Cole has been named a national spokesperson for the United Kidney Research Organization, a…

Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Duke’s mother was the daughter of a slave and while Duke was growing up she would surround him with very conservative women to teach him the manners and lifestyle that fell in line with this image. Ellington’s manner and way of being at such a young age caused his childhood friends to begin calling him ‘Duke’. Duke began taking piano lessons…

Joe Henderson was born on April 24, 1937 in Lima, Ohio to family that included fourteen siblings. Joe was encouraged by his parents and one of his older brothers to study music and very early on was introduced to recordings of Lester Young, Flip Phillips, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Charlie Parker and Jazz at the Philharmonic. Henderson also loved the…