Hamiet Bluiett was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A member of the World Saxophone Quartet, he also played the bass saxophone, E-flat alto clarinet, E-flat contra-alto clarinet, and wooden flute.
Eugene Rhynie, known professionally as T. K. Blue, is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer and educator from New York City. His parents were Jamaican and Trinidadian, and he has used their Afro-Caribbean musical styles in his own work. He has worked with, among others, Don Cherry, Jayne Cortez, the South African pianist Dollar Brand, and Randy Weston, for whom he was musical director.
Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection.
Thurman Green was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of the Horace Tapscott Quintet and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
I Can't Help It is a 1992 Betty Carter compilation album. It contains all of the tracks from her albums Out There with Betty Carter and The Modern Sound of Betty Carter. The same combination of tracks had previously been released as a double LP by ABC Records under the title What a Little Moonlight Can Do.
Out There is a bebop album by jazz vocalist Betty Carter with an ensemble under the direction of alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce. The arrangements were provided by Gryce, Ray Copeland, Melba Liston, Benny Golson and Tommy Bryce. The album was produced by Esmond Edwards and released 1958 on Peacock Records. Ron Wynn of Allmusic called the album "a dynamic set."
Melba Doretta Liston was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands, she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, but as her career progressed she became better known as an arranger, particularly in partnership with pianist Randy Weston. Other major artists with whom she worked include Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, and Count Basie.
Charles Lawrence Persip, known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip, was an American jazz drummer.
Coon Bid'ness is an album released by Julius Hemphill in 1975 on Arista featuring performances by Hemphill, Baikida Carroll, Abdul Wadud, Phillip Wilson, Arthur Blythe, Barry Altschul and Daniel Zebulon. The final track, "The Hard Blues," was recorded at the same recording session as Hemphill's debut album Dogon A.D.. After Hemphill's death in 1995, Freedom Records re-released the album as a CD under the name Reflections.
Benny Powell was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone.
Dizzy Gillespie at Newport is a 1957 live album by Dizzy Gillespie, featuring his big band, recorded at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.
The Spirits of Our Ancestors is an album by pianist Randy Weston that was recorded in 1991 and issued on the Verve label. While all of the compositions were composed by Weston himself, the music on the album is more specifically a collaborative arranging effort between Weston and arranger Melba Liston. The music on Spirits is played by an all-star cast of musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders, Dewey Redman, Idris Muhammad, and Idrees Sulieman.
Birks' Works is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie recorded in 1957 and released on the Verve label. The original album featured 10 tracks and was reissued as Birks Works: The Verve Big Band Sessions, a 2 CD compilation featuring unreleased tracks, alternate takes and tracks from Gillespie's previous 1956 albums Dizzy in Greece and World Statesman.
Dizzy in Greece is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and 1957 and released on the Verve label. The album was reissued as part of the 2CD compilation Birks Works: The Verve Big Band Sessions.
Little Niles is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1958 and first released on the United Artists label. The album was later released as part of a Blue Note compilation under the same title. All the tracks are Weston originals and, as indicated in the LP's liner notes by Langston Hughes, the album was inspired by Weston's children Niles and Pamela, who are directly referenced in "Little Niles" and "Pam's Waltz" and feature in the cover photograph. As Hughes notes of the compositions, "All in three-quarter time, these charming little vignettes escape rigidity of beat by a fluid flow of counter-rhythms and melodies, one against another, that brings continuous delight."
Uhuru Afrika is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label. The album features lyrics and liner notes by the poet Langston Hughes and was banned in South Africa in 1964, at the same time as was Lena Horne's Here's Lena Now!, with copies of the albums being seized in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Highlife is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1963 and originally released on the Colpix label. Weston had traveled to Africa for the first time in 1961 for a series of concerts in Lagos, Nigeria, sponsored by the American Society of African Culture, and the album is inspired by the music of the African continent, in particular the highlife genre of West Africa.
The Al Grey – Billy Mitchell Sextet is an album by trombonist Al Grey and saxophonist Billy Mitchell, released in 1961 on Argo Records.
Melba Liston and Her 'Bones is the sole album led by trombonist, arranger and composer Melba Liston, recorded for the MetroJazz label in 1958.
Khepera is an album by the American pianist Randy Weston, released in 1998. The album was in part an exploration of the connection between African and Chinese cultures. It is dedicated to Cheikh Anta Diop. Khepera is Egyptian for transformation.
