Author: mick

Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and producer. Jackson and bassist Sironeare the only musicians to have performed and recorded with…

George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013 San Rafael, CA) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty…

James Columbus “Jay” McShann(January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006 Muskogee, OK) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and Ben Webster.

José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Culiacán, Mexico and who developed what is now known as ‘Limón technique’. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dance Company), and in 1968 he created the José Limón Foundation to carry on…

Fred McDowell (January 12, 1904 – July 3, 1972 Roseville, TN) known by his stage name Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.