Artist Biographies (225)
Read about the in-depth lives of your favorite jazz musician and what inspires their music.
Saxman George Howard was born in Philadelphia in 1956. In the 70s he toured with Philly based groups such as Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and Blue Magic. Howard got his big break in 1979 when he toured with Grover Washington, Jr. In 1982 he released his first album,…
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Frank resides in Chicago where he has been heavily involved in the improvised music scene since 2001. He has become an active member in many groups including Ken Vandermark's Crisis Ensemble, Rob Mazurek's Mandarin Movie, The Thread Quintet, Indoor/Outdoor, Design Flaw as well as his own octet, Kite Ensemble. He…
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Lionel Frederick Cole was born October 15, 1931, the youngest of Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole’s five children. His three elder brothers, Eddie, Ike, and Nat (12 years Freddy’s senior), were all musicians. "I started playing music at five or six," Freddy remembers. "Music was all around me." In the…
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Pianist-composer G. F. Mlely has been featured artist and composer in concert, festival, and club venues throughout Europe and the United States. In the article, "G. F. Mlely, A Trail Of Endurance" - http://www.allaboutjazz.com/artists/gfmlely.htm - I wrote how in 1983 the jazz pianist-composer was on a solo piano concert…
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Gene Ess brings his award-winning musicianship from a very diverse background. He grew up playing the classical piano, due to his mother being a classical pianist and a well-known piano instructor on the island of Okinawa; his early years were filled with the classical sounds of Beethoven and Chopin. Simultaneously,…
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Bass Guitarist/Composer/Producer Generally regarded as one of the most talented bass guitarists of his generation, FRANC O'SHEA has secured a reputation that has spread worldwide. But it is not only his bass playing that has gained him this respect internationally but also his incisive compositional skills. Franc was born of…
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Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Frank Macchia started on the clarinet at the age of 10 years old. Soon afterwards he began taking lessons to play the bassoon, saxophone, and flute. By the age of 14, he took his playing a step further by studying composition, thereby enabling…
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Fernando Huergo is an acclaimed pioneer in the Latin jazz realm. He is often on the bandstand with Marta Gomez, Guillermo Klein and his own band, Jazz Argentino. Fernando was born in northern Argentina, and moved to Boston in the early 90's, where he's lived since then, although he often…
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American violinist Farzad strongly believes in "the oneness of humanity" and strives to communicate "the commonality of human emotions" through the music he composes and performs. On his latest album, Mirror of Emotions, he utilizes his violin to create music that reflects his emotions in the hope that listeners will…
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Fats Waller was born in 1904 and died in 1943 following a bronchial illness, and other physical problems. During that short, colorful lifespan he successfully created many songs and recordings. He was a master of the piano and the organ, was friends with George Gershwin and other composer-pianists of his…
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Guitarist Eric Brazier has been on the local scene in Toledo Ohio, laying it down weekly at Rusty's jazz cafe for more than two decades now. Tuesdays, for the most part are slow compared to the weekends yet at Rusty's seats are hard to find.With an affinity towards straightahead standards,…
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There is a new sound of jazz being heard around Florida that is quickly blossoming. That sound emanates from 16 year old Eric Darius. It’s hard to believe such silky sounds come from an artist too young to vote. Darius, a resident of Lutz, Florida attends Blake performing Arts High…
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Temperamental and moody, capable of fits of extreme generosity that could quickly turn into moments of rage-filled paranoia, Elis Regina was one of the most ferociously talented singers to emerge from Brazil. A perfectionist who was frequently dissatisfied, Regina drove herself and members of her band relentlessly, leading to her…
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I started writing songs when I was in the 5th grade. I wrote a song for my teacher Mrs. Lukens' and performed it the last day of school, this was before I could play guitar. I was first introduced to playing guitar at age 9 and was shown a few…
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One of the greatest pioneers of free drumming in company with Sonny Murray and Milford Graves. Ed Blackwell's main body of work remains within the group context Ornette Coleman's Quartet and Don Cherry's units. Born in New Orleans, his drum concept fitted perfectly the needs of the new collective music-indeed,…
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Ernest, a second generation musician, was born in Naples, Italy to Ernest and Rebecca Coleman. His father, Ernest Jr., was a jazz musician who played tenor sax and was also a great arranger and composer. Ernest studied at the Naval Conservatory of Music in Norfolk, Virginia and was awarded a…
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b. USA. Active on the New York free jazz scene since the 60s, bass player Duval swiftly established a high reputation among his peers. In the late 90s, owing to several well-received albums, his name had become much better known to international audiences. He has worked notably with Cecil Taylor…
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Donn Wyatt In everything, there is a season for joy, triumph and victory. There are releases of the Spirit which transcend time, and there are musical compositions that are not bound by season but are enriched by the passage of seconds. Donn Wyatt has the good fortune to be one…
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Vocalist DONNA DEUSSEN is an exciting new artist on L.A.'s jazz scene. Donna is a California native, but spent much of her childhood on the east coast (New Hampshire and Virginia). She graduated magna cum laude in 1989 from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston with a B.A.…
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Biography Jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger Duane Carter lives in Austin, Texas. Originally from California, Duane wad a product of Locke High School in South Central L.A. from which sprung such talent as Patrice Rushen, Gerald Albright, "Ndugu" Leon Chancellor, and Gary Bias. Duane has studied with jazz greats Bobby…
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