This is the grave of Duke Ellington. Born in 1899 to a pair of pianists in Washington, Edward Kennedy Ellington followed his parents to the piano from a young age. Although he was more interested in baseball as...
jazz
This is the grave of Lionel Hampton. Born in 1908 in Louisville, he and his mother moved frequently in his youth--to Birmingham, then to Kenosha, and then to Chicago. He.
Cecil Taylor, one of the greatest artists and musicians to ever walk the planet, has died. The Times has a really great, comprehensive overview of his life.
Flashback Friday is back! On a Sunday! Freelance assignments overwhelmed me a bit this month, that's why I've largely been absent from LGM. That's the freelance life though, and hopefully January will still be abundant but a tad more manageable. But I couldn't let the...
A 1948 number one hit written by a California naturmensch and performed by an African-American jazz singer spawns countless renditions. Nat King Cole in a tuxedo.
This is the grave of Cab Calloway. Born in 1907 in Rochester to a fairly well-off family, Calloway grew up in Baltimore. His parents saw their son's talent early on.
This is the grave of Miles Davis. For my money, Miles Davis is the greatest jazz musician of all time. This is hardly a novel assertion. I say this not because of his skill as a trumpter or because of his fame, but because he...
This is the grave of Louis Armstrong. One of the greatest and most important musicians of all time, Armstrong was born in 1901 to a poor family in New Orleans..
This is the grave of Thelonious Monk. Born in 1917 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Monk's family.
This is the grave of Jackie McLean. Born in 1931 in Harlem to a jazz family, McLean became one of the premier alto saxophone players of his time. Knowing people such as Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker as a child surely did not hurt and...
This is the grave of Max Roach. Born in 1924 in Newland, North Carolina, Roach's family moved to Brooklyn in 1928. Roach became a musician from a very young age,.
You need Sunday School today. Specifically, to listen to Professor Sun Ra lecture in his course he gave in 1971 at UC-Berkeley titled "The Black Man in the Cosmos." The.