People, Locations, Episodes

Max Gordon, Jazz Advocate born

*Max Gordon on this date in 1903.  He was a white Jewish-American jazz promoter and founder of the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City.   Born in Svir, Lithuania (now in Belarus), Gordon emigrated to the United States in 1908 at age five. The family settled in Portland, Oregon, where he later attended Reed College.  As a young man, he was interested in Russian and French […]

‘Big Joe’ Williams, Blues Musician born

*’Big Joe’ Williams was born on this date in 1903. He was a Black Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter.   Born in Oktibbeha County, a few miles west of Crawford, Mississippi, Joseph Lee’ Big Joe’ Williams began wandering across the United States busking and playing in stores, bars, alleys, and work camps as a youth. […]

Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, Jazz Pianist born

This date is the birthday of Earl “Fatha” Hines, born in 1903. He was an African American jazz pianist, whose style was showcased by intricate rhythms and a forceful use of octaves.

Earl Hines was born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. While attending high school, he played piano in the nightclubs of Pittsburgh. In 1922, he went to Chicago and six years later organized his first group. During the 1930s, network radio audiences heard him on his own nightly broadcast. Many famous jazz musicians played with the Hines band, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Pete Johnson, Pianist born

*On this date, in 1904, Pete Johnson was born.  He was a Black boogie-woogie and jazz pianist.   Kermit H. Johnson (his birth name) was born in Kansas City, Missouri.  His mother raised him after his father deserted the family. He was placed in an orphanage when he was three, becoming so homesick. However, he ran away and returned to living at home. […]

Fats Waller, Musician, and Composer born

Fats Waller, an African American composer, singer, and entertainer, was born on this date in 1904.

Willie Mae Smith, Gospel Singer born

On this date in 1904, Willie Mae Ford Smith was born. She was an African American gospel singer.

Born in Rolling Fork, MS, “Mother” Willie Mae Ford Smith was the seventh of fourteen children whose parents were hard working and active church members. Her father was a railway brakeman, and the family moveD to Memphis because of his job. Later, in Saint Louis, her mother opened a restaurant, where Smith worked for a time.

Count Basie, Bandleader, and Composer born

It was on this date in 1904, that Count Basie was born. He was an African American American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer.

‘Buster’ Smith, Saxophonist born.

*’Buster’ Smith was born on this date in 1904. Also known as Professor Smith, he was a Black jazz alto saxophonist. Henry Franklin “Buster” Smith was born and raised in Alsdorf, Texas, a small town near the outskirts of Dallas. He earned the name “Buster” from his parents and was the third of five boys with no […]

Leota O. Palmer, Music Teacher born

*Leota O. Palmer’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1904. She was a Black musician and music teacher. She and her twin brother were born in Oberlin to Columbus and Lelia Palmer, owners of a popular restaurant and bakery. She enrolled in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in high school, studied piano, and graduated […]

Coleman Hawkins, Jazz Tenor Saxophonist born

Coleman Hawkins, an African American jazz composer and saxophonist, was born on this date in 1904.

Eddie South, Jazz Violinist born

On this date in 1904, Eddie South was born. He was an African American jazz violinist.

Mr. Boogie Woogie, ‘Pine Top’ Smith born

Pine Top” Smith, an African American musician, was born on this date in 1904.

Clarence “Pine Top” Smith was from Troy, AL, and was raised in nearby Birmingham. A self-taught pianist, he began performing at area house parties while in his mid-teens, He worked for some time as an entertainer in Pittsburgh, then toured on the TOBA Vaudeville circuit. After that he accompanied Ma Rainey and Butterbeans & Susie. On the advice of fellow pianist Cow Cow Davenport, Smith relocated to Chicago in 1928.

Ivie Anderson, ‘The Voice of Ellington’ born

On this date we celebrate the birth of Ivie Anderson, She was an African American singer.

Born in Gilroy, CA, Ivie Marie Anderson was orphaned as a child and was subsequently raised in convents. Ivie began to study voice at a young age. From the age of nine to fifteen she sang in her school’s glee club and choral society. Later, she joined Harlem’s Cotton Club as a chorus girl and sang for a time with Earl Hines. In 1931, Duke Ellington hired her as his first featured singer; she was one of the first female singers to be spotlighted with a band.

Big Maceo, Pianist, and Singer born

*On this date we recall the birth of Big Maceo in 1905. He was an African American blues singer.

Olufela Sowande, Musician, and Composer born

*Olufela Sowande was born on this date in 1905.  He was a Black Nigerian musician and composer.   Olufela (Fela) Obafunmilayo Sowande was born in Abeokuta, near Lagos, Nigeria; he was the son of Emmanuel Sowande, a priest and pioneer of Nigerian church music. As a child, he sang in the Choir of the Cathedral Church of Christ. […]