06/03/1941 - 12/26/1999
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation ...
read more
read more
09/23/1930 - 06/10/2004
Ray Charles Robinson, better known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm & blues,gospel, and blues styles...
read more
read more
10/10/1917 - 02/17/1982
Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to th...
read more
read more
09/25/1933 - 08/03/2008
Erik Darling (September 25, 1933 – August 3, 2008) was an American songwriter and a folk music artist. He was an important influence on the folk scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
04/22/1935 - 01/04/1969
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not on...
read more
read more
02/27/1897 - 04/08/1993
Marian Anderson was an American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.An African-American, Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the Unit...
read more
read more
11/14/1915 - 06/16/2005
Billy Bauer (November 14, 1915 – June 16, 2005) was an American cool jazz guitarist.
Bauer was an impressive jazz guitarist. He was a melodic, tasteful and sensitive improviser, and a superb accompanist and rhythm-section member with Her...
read more
read more
03/17/1919 - 02/15/1965
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular...
read more
read more
09/03/1910 - 04/17/2007
Kitty Carlisle (also billed as Kitty Carlisle Hart; September 3, 1910 – April 17, 2007) was an American singer, actress and spokeswoman for the arts.
09/23/1926 - 07/17/1967
John William Coltrane (sometimes abbreviated "Trane"; September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was prolific, organizing at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his reco...
read more
read more
Count Basie (William Basie)
09/21/1904 - 04/26/1984
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
read more
read more
02/17/1940 - 04/05/2006
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic. Pitney was amon...
read more
read more
11/05/1931 - 12/12/2007
Ike Wister Turner (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer.
05/13/1909 - 11/05/1956
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. (October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso. He was nearly blind.
Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all tim...
read more
read more