Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to African Americans, at a time when "rocking, jazz based music ... [with a] heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of a piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American history and experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of societal racism, oppression, relationships, economics, and aspirations.
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre.
Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as "instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso".
The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians.
Leon Joseph Roppolo was an American early jazz clarinetist, best known for his playing with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. He also played saxophone and guitar.
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Allen Richard Toussaint was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, described as "one of popular music's great backroom figures." Many musicians recorded Toussaint's compositions. He was a producer for hundreds of recordings: the best known are "Right Place, Wrong Time", by longtime friend Dr. John, and "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle.
James Edward Heath, nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.
Michael White is a jazz clarinetist, bandleader, composer, jazz historian and musical educator. Jazz critic Scott Yanow said in a review that White "displays the feel and spirit of the best New Orleans clarinetists".
Reggie Houston is an American musician who plays soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone and baritone saxophone. He is best known for his association with the New Orleans pianist Fats Domino.
Donald Harrison Jr. is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Edward "Kidd" Jordan was an American jazz saxophonist and music educator from New Orleans, Louisiana. He taught at Southern University at New Orleans from 1974 to 2006.
New Orleans blues is a subgenre of blues that developed in and around the city of New Orleans, influenced by jazz and Caribbean music. It is dominated by piano and saxophone, but also produced guitar bluesmen.
"Tipitina" is a song written and made famous by Professor Longhair. The song has been widely covered, and the Professor Longhair version was recorded in 1953 for Atlantic Records. "Tipitina" was first released in 1953. A previously unreleased alternate take was released on the album New Orleans Piano in 1972. Although the nature of his contributions are unknown, recording engineer Cosimo Matassa is listed as the song's co-writer along with Roy Byrd, Professor Longhair's legal name.
The music of New Orleans assumes various styles of music which have often borrowed from earlier traditions. New Orleans, Louisiana, is especially known for its strong association with jazz music, universally considered to be the birthplace of the genre. The earliest form was dixieland, which has sometimes been called traditional jazz, 'New Orleans', and 'New Orleans jazz'. However, the tradition of jazz in New Orleans has taken on various forms that have either branched out from original dixieland or taken entirely different paths altogether. New Orleans has also been a prominent center of funk, home to some of the earliest funk bands such as The Meters.
"Bugle Call Rag", also known as "Bugle Call Blues", is a jazz standard written by Jack Pettis, Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel. It was first recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922 as "Bugle Call Blues", although later renditions as well as the published sheet music and the song's copyright all used the title "Bugle Call Rag".
The Original Pinettes Brass Band are a New Orleans brass band. Consisting entirely of women, they are the city's only all-female brass band.
John Mortimer Boudreaux, Jr. was an American drummer who was active in jazz, soul, and rhythm & blues idioms.
Leigh Harris was a New Orleans R&B and jazz singer and songwriter.
This article contains information about albums and singles released by of American musician and bandleader Ike Turner.
[1]