This 95-year-old living legend has played jazz, written blaxploitation soundtracks, and arranged for Stan Getz, B.B. King, and most famously Curtis Mayfield—but he’s probably most widely heard via hip-hop samples.
Tag: Count Basie
Posted inMusic
Before the Civil Rights Act, Herman Roberts’s club defined black nightlife on the south side
As proprietor of Roberts Show Lounge and the 500 Room, Roberts booked the likes of Nat “King” Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton—and responded to segregation and its legacy with ingenuity and class
Posted inNews & Politics
Zoom in: Bronzeville
Now a nondescript purveyor of plungers, Meyers Ace Hardware was formerly a local jazz mecca.
Posted inMusic
The Secret History of Chicago Music: Johnny Griffin
Jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin isn’t exactly obscure, but he’s been unjustly overshadowed since his heyday in the 50s and 60s.
Posted inMusic
Duke Ellington: The Blanton-Webster Band; Duke Ellington Orchestra/Count Basie Orchestra–First Time! The Count Meets the Duke; Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach–Money Jungle
DUKE ELLINGTON: THE BLANTON-WEBSTER BAND RCA Bluebird 5659-1-RB FIRST TIME! THE COUNT MEETS THE DUKE Duke Ellington Orchestra/Count Basie Orchestra Columbia Jazz Masterpieces CJ 40586 MONEY JUNGLE Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach Blue Note BT 85129 Few American popular musicians were quite as honored and lionized in their lifetime as Duke Ellington. The great […]