Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop.
Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and composer. Several of his compositions have become jazz standards, including "Mosaic", "Bolivia", "Holy Land", "Mode for Joe" and "Ugetsu/Fantasy in D".
Gary Bartz is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards.
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpeters and composers of the twentieth century. He is often credited with revolutionizing the technical and harmonic language of modern jazz trumpet playing, and to this day is regarded by many as one of the major innovators of the instrument. He was an acclaimed virtuoso, mentor, and spokesperson for jazz and worked and recorded alongside many of the leading musicians of his time.
Syreeta Wright, who recorded professionally under the mononym Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs in collaboration with her ex-husband Stevie Wonder and musical artist Billy Preston.
James Forman, known professionally as Mtume or James Mtume, was an American jazz and R&B musician, songwriter, record producer, activist, and radio personality.
Vincent Dwyne Herring is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and educator. Known for his fiery and soulful playing in the bands of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Nat Adderley in the earlier stages of his career, he now frequently performs around the world with his own groups and is heavily involved in jazz education.
George Andrew Cables is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Louis Hayes is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He is part of the NEA Jazz Masters awards class of 2023.
Gerald Stenhouse Jemmott is an American bass guitarist. Jemmott was one of the chief session bass guitarists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with many of the period's well-known soul, blues and jazz artists.
Frederick "Freddie" Douglas Waits was a hard bop and post-bop drummer.
Jack Wilson was an American jazz pianist and composer.
Arthur Edward Booth Jr. was an American jazz bassist. His professional name was Juini Booth, though his nickname has been spelled Jiunie, Junie, Joony, Jooney, Joonie, Juni, Juney, and Junius, over the course of his career.
One to One is the third studio album released by American R&B singer and songwriter Syreeta Wright in February 1977 by Motown. It serves as her first album Wright released where former husband Stevie Wonder did not oversee most of its production, instead only being involved with the song "Harmour Love", which was released as a single.
Syreeta is the fourth solo album by Motown recording artist and American singer-songwriter Syreeta Wright, released by the Tamla label on April 26, 1980. It's also the second album to be titled Syreeta after her 1972 debut album.
Expansions is the tenth album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and his fourth released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded in August 1968 and features performances by Tyner with trumpeter Woody Shaw, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter, bassist Herbie Lewis and drummer Freddie Waits.
Music Is My Sanctuary is an album by American jazz musician Gary Bartz. It was released in 1977 on Capitol Records.
Gettin' to It is the debut studio album of American jazz bassist Christian McBride. The album was released in 1995 via Verve label.
Soul Finger is an album by drummer Art Blakey recorded in 1965 and originally released on the Limelight label. On the 2009 CD edition, Gary Bartz, whose recording debut this was, was left off the credits - he is the saxophonist (alto) for five of the six cuts. Lucky Thompson is on only one cut, playing soprano sax on "Spot Session" with the quartet of Blakey, Hicks and Sproles. A sixth cut from the Bartz sessions was used on the later Hold On, I'm Coming album. This was trumpeter Lee Morgan's last recording with Art Blakey after a seven-year association; Freddie Hubbard would return to tour with Blakey's group again in the 1980s.
The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the outset. "Art Blakey" and "Jazz Messengers" became synonymous over the years, though Blakey did lead non-Messenger recording sessions and played as a sideman for other groups throughout his career.
"Yes sir, I'm gonna to stay with the youngsters. When these get too old, I'm gonna get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active."
