(Tenor saxophone, 1904–69) ‘Hawk’ played with Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds in 1922 before joining Fletcher Henderson’s band in New York. Louis Armstrong’s presence in the band had a major effect on Hawkins’ playing; by marrying a swing feel to his heavy tone, informed by his advanced understanding of harmony and chords, Hawkins became a star soloist and the ...
Since his emergence in the mid-1950s, alto saxophonist and creative composer Ornette Coleman has risen above controversy to become a respected elder statesman of jazz. Born in 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas, Coleman taught himself the saxophone through trial and error. By avoiding chord structures and set rhythms in favour of melodic experimentation, he developed the new ...
(Alto saxophone, b. 1956) Chicago native Coleman worked in funk and R&B bands before switching to jazz and learning under tenor sax great Von Freeman. He moved to New York in 1978 and worked with the Thad Jones–Mel Lewis Orchestra and Sam Rivers. He had a key tenure in the early to mid-1980s with Dave Holland before forming his own ...
(Vocals, guitar, 1921–63) Harold Franklin Hawkins was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and is best remembered for the 1966 honky-tonk hit shuffle ‘Lonesome 7-7203’. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1955. His promising career was cut short when he was killed in the same 1963 plane crash that took the life of Patsy Cline and Cowboy ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1938) Delmar Hawkins was born in Goldmine, Louisiana, and is a cousin of Ronnie Hawkins. His biggest success came in 1957 with the self-penned ‘Suzie-Q’ on Checker which, like most of his rockabilly, reflected the strong blues influence in his music. Dale was the first white singer to appear at Harlem’s Apollo ...
(Vocals, b. 1935) A larger-than-life personality and hell raiser who in his younger days had a spectacular stage act, Ronnie Hawkins always attracted the finest musicians into his group, The Hawks. Ronnie was born in Huntsville, Arkansas, but settled in Canada where for more than 40 years he was a leading figure on the club circuit. ...
(Vocals, 1929–2000) Ohio-born ex-Golden Gloves champion boxer Jalacy Hawkins evolved a stage show in which his props included a coffin and a skull, and although he never actually achieved any hit records, his larger-than-life stage show brought him great popularity. He also co-wrote ‘I Put A Spell On You’, a song which was a UK hit for Nina ...
The saxophone occupies an unusual position in that it is a bespoke instrument that has barely changed since its creation. Although it does not occupy the position in the orchestra its creator had envisaged, Adolphe Sax’s invention has played a central part in music ever since it burst on to the scene in the 1840s. Sax’s father, Charles, ...
(Alto saxophone, arranger, trumpet, vocals, 1907–2003) One of the great arrangers and soloists in jazz history, Bennett Lester Carter wrote some of the first big-band music to fully realize the flowing, legato ensemble of the coming swing movement. His saxophone ensembles were smooth projections of his solo style. ‘Lonesome Nights’ and ‘Symphony In Riffs’ were ...
(Tenor saxophone, clarinet, 1906–91) Freeman was one of the Austin High School Gang, a group of white, jazz-seeking teenagers who were inspired by New Orleans Rhythm Kings records and obsessed with the hot jazz scene on Chicago’s South Side. He recorded in 1927 with the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans, then moved to New York to work with Red ...
(Tenor saxophone, 1908–41) Inspired by Coleman Hawkins’ big sound, Leon ‘Chu’ Berry honed a more rapid, streamlined tenor attack. He recorded with Benny Carter in 1933 and joined Fletcher Henderson three years later. In 1937 he topped Down Beat’s first national poll of leading musicians and joined Cab Calloway’s orchestra, where he remained until his death. Berry ...
Django Reinhardt (1910–53) overcame physical disabilities to create a unique playing style and one of the most highly influential sounds in jazz. He was born in Belgium to gypsy parents. At the age of eight his mother’s tribe settled near Paris. The French Gypsies, or Manouches, were medieval in their beliefs, and distrustful of modern science. But Django ...
(Trumpet, 1923–50) Theodore ‘Fats’ Navarro died prematurely and left a limited recorded legacy, most of it as a sideman. Nonetheless, he stood alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis as one of the most significant trumpeters in bebop. He took over Gillespie’s chair in Billy Eckstine’s seminal big band in 1945, and enjoyed a brief but creative relationship ...
(Piano, arranger, bandleader, 1897–1952) The Georgia native came to New York in 1920 and worked at a music publishing company owned by Harry Pace and W.C. Handy. When Pace left in 1921 to form the Black Swan record label, Henderson followed as house pianist and arranger. In 1923 Henderson’s session band, which included young talents ...
(Piano, composer, 1898–1937) One of the most enduringly popular composers of the twentieth century, Gershwin composed such enduring melodies as ‘Summertime’, ‘Embraceable You’ and ‘Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off’. His tuneful songs with their rich harmonic progressions are ideal for improvisation and were popular with jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.