Jazz Legends

Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond (Round 2)

Pianist Dave Brubeck (born December 6, 1920) and saxophonist Paul Desmond (born November 25, 1924), along with bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello, formed one of the most popular jazz quartets ever assembled. They were responsible for over 60 albums, and Desmond’s composition “Take Five” became the biggest selling jazz single of all time and an unlikely hit on pop charts as well. The group became well known for its innovative, complex compositions and use of unusual time signatures.

Billy Strayhorn (Round 2)

While often overshadowed by his association with his longtime employer and collaborator Duke Ellington, composer/arranger and pianist Billy Strayhorn (born November 29, 1915) was no less a genius in his own right. In a life cut short by cancer at the age of 51, he produced a huge catalog of original music, all of it bearing his unique harmonic and melodic stamp. In his autobiography and in a spoken word passage in his Second Sacred Concert [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Sacred_Concert], Ellington listed what he considered Strayhorn's "four major moral freedoms": freedom from hate, unconditionally, freedom from self-pity (even through all the pain and bad news), freedom from fear of possibly doing something that might possibly help another more than it might himself, and freedom from the kind of pride that might make a man think that he was better than his brother or his neighbor. Jazz pianist Fred Hersch wrote of Strayhorn: "He was a quadruple threat: a great composer of jazz tunes, a first-rate jazz pianist, a remarkable songwriter (music and lyrics), and one of the all-time great arrangers for jazz orchestra."

Hoagy Carmichael

Songwriter Hoagy Carmichael (born November 22, 1899) is one of the best-loved and most prolific of the Great American Songbook composers. He is responsible for several hundred songs, including fifty that achieved hit record status. His timeless compositions, Stardust, Georgia on my Mind, Skylark, I Get Along Without You Very Well, The Nearness of You, How Little We Know and many others still inspire musicians and singers to this day.

Phil Woods (Round 2)

Saxophonist Phil Woods (born November 2, 1931) was much more than just another alto saxophonist who followed in the footsteps of the great Charlie Parker. Throughout his career, he carved his own path, continuing to develop his own voice on the instrument, as well as his voice as a prolific composer. He delved into the avant-guarde with his group 'The European Rhythm Machine' for several years when he chose to become an expatriate. But shortly after his return to the United States in 1972, he formed the straight ahead group he was to lead until shortly before his death ten years ago. Through multiple changes in personnel, his bassist, Steve Gilmore and his drummer, Bill Goodwin stayed with him the entire time.

Clifford Brown

Before his life was tragically ended by an automobile accident at the age of 25, trumpeter Clifford Brown (born October 30, 1930) set the jazz world ablaze with his seemingly effortless mastery of his instrument and incendiary playing. His trailblazing quintet with drummer Max Roach and saxophonists Sonny Rollins, and later, Harold Land, set the standard for the post bop era, and many of the compositions he penned for this band remain jazz standards.