On April 24th, in 1928, jazz musician, saxophonist, bandleader, composer, arranger, former member of the Jazz Messengers and Thelonious Monk’s band-Johnny Griffin (John Arnold Griffin III) was born in Chicago, Illinois. He’s most known for his playing with Monk, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Art Blakey and Kenny Clarke. He also was a session musician on a lot of the soul/R&B that was released on Atlantic in the late 40s and early 50s. He’s unique in that he played jazz, blues and soul/R&B throughout his career. Most musicians stick to a certain genre, while Griffin played them all. He started out on clarinet in his teens, then moved to oboe, alto sax and settled on tenor sax. He was around a lot of jazz and blues in Chicago, which landed him an easy gig with T-Bone Walker’s band while he was still in high school.
He joined Lionel Hampton's band shortly after and made his first recording with them when he was 17 (1945). In the late 40s, he started his own sextet featuring George Freeman and Joe Morris. They gigged around town and did session work for Atlantic Records. He switched to baritone briefly during the early 50s when he was a member of Arnett Cobb’s band. He enlisted in the US Army for a couple years and returned to the states as a polished sax player with a great reputation. He released his debut LP as a bandleader in 1956-Introducing Johnny Griffin (Blue Note Records), and joined the Jazz Messengers in 1957. He was 80 when he passed.
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On April 24th, in 1937, post-bop/post-Bird jazz musician, pianist, composer, drummer, arranger, sideman, saxophonist, bandleader and recording artist-Joe Henderson was born in Lima, Ohio. Henderson is most known for his playing with others during the mid 50s. He also was a huge pioneer of fusion jazz during the late 60s and early 70s when it was just gaining the respect of being a legitimate subgenre. Some of his influences were-Lester Young, Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker. I learned about his music as a bandleader a few years back when I bought his 1976 Milestone Records LP-Black Narcissus. My favorite song the LP is Amoeba-a funky 5 minute plus solo for Henderson over a tight groove. The album title alone had me ready to purchase it, and song titles like Power to the People, Hindsight and Forethought and The Other Side of Right (I’m left-handed) definitely pushed me to buy it.
After hearing this album, it made me look at some of his other works, and I found that he’s played on a lot of music as a sideman. Some of these musicians include: Horace Silver, Elvin Jones, Flora Purim, McCoy Tyner, Grant Green, Bobby Hutcherson, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Richard Davis, Woody Shaw, Wynton Marsalis and Andrew Hill. It was said that he had perfect pitch because he could reproduce Lester Young solos like no other. Interesting fact: Henderson was classmates with Donald Byrd, Yusef Lateef and Barry Harris. He was 64 when he passed.
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On April 24th, in 2016, we lost a seminal Sound of Philadelphia vocalist, songwriter, recording artist and Grammy Award-winning musician-Billy Paul (Paul Williams). He’s most known for his #1 hit-Me & Mrs. Jones. However, Billy Paul sang a lot of tight ‘b-sides’ that received little to no air play. They are the songs that you know, but only hear around certain family or events, seldom if ever are they played on the radio. He helped shape the ‘Philadelphia Sound’ with pioneering producers-Thom Bell, (Kenny) Gamble & (Leon) Huff. He also sang socially conscious songs in the same vein as Nina Simone’s Mississippi Goddam, Marivn Gaye’s What’s Going On and James Brown’s Say it Loud. His most popular pro-Black track is: Am I Black Enough For You' (1972). Many think this is Edwin Starr or some other similar soul singer, but it’s not, it's Billy Paul.
The song alone caused much controversy when it was released. The chorus and verses were right in your face, it was music you couldn’t hide from. He started out as a jazz singer, heavily inspired by Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday. He released his recording debut in 1968 on Gamble Records-Feelin’ Good at the Cadillac Club. He did a lot of covers, and it sold moderately well. After finding his own sound, he released his follow up-Ebony Woman in 1970 (Neptune Records). It did much better than his debut. Gamble & Huff started Philadelphia International Records in 1971 and released Paul’s 3rd LP backed by MFSB-Going East. In 1973, he released 360 Degrees of Billy Paul which solidified his place in music. He was 81 when he passed.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On April 24th, in 1933, seminal soul singer, songwriter and recording artist-Freddie Scott was born in Providence, RI. He started singing in his church choir when he was very young. He became a member of his grandmother’s gospel group-Sally Jones & the Gospel Keyes when he was 12. He also attended medical school at two different universities. In the mid 50s, he recorded his first single as a secular artist-Running Home (J&S Records, 1956). He wrote songs for Ricky Nelson (Baby I’m Sorry) and Johnnie & Joe (I’ll Be Spinning). His biggest hit was-Hey Girl on Colpix Records (1962). He was 74 when he passed.
On April 24th, in 1957, New Wave pioneer, percussionist, drummer and former member of the Cure-Boris (Peter Bransby) Williams was born in Versailles, France. He’s most known as the drummer for the Cure during the mid 80s. He joined the band in 1984, replacing Andy Anderson. He stayed with the band for 10 years and 10 LPs. He also played with the Thompson Twins (1983-1984), Strawberry Switchblade (1985), Robbie Nevil (1986), Shelleyan Orphan (2008) and Babacar (1998). He’s one of the few New Wave drummers that was able to stay relevant throughout the years. He’s 62 today.
On April 24th, in 1964, actor, comedian, producer, writer and TV personality-Cedric the Entertainer (Cedric Antonio Kyles) was born in Jefferson City, MO. He’s most known for his stand-up comedy shows, his appearance on Kings of Comedy and his roles on various TV sitcoms. He’s been in several movies like: the Barbershop series, Madagascar series and Dr. Dolittle. He’s done voice-overs for commercials and video games, hosted several TV shows and worked with Tracy Morgan on his Last OG TBS series. He’s been doing comedy since the late 80s, and acting since the late 90s. He’s 55 today.
On April 24th, in 1992, two major celebrities came together in what many thought was an odd couple-David Bowie and the supermodel known as Iman (Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid) got married. The event took place in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was a private ceremony and wasn’t made internationally official until June 6th (Solemnized, 1992 in Florence, Italy). Both Iman and Bowie had been married once before. People considered them an odd couple due to their conflicting public images. However, they proved to be a lasting and loving couple that stayed together up to Bowie’s death. It was rare to see one without the other.
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