Sir Roland Hanna, Piano, 1932, Detroit, MI
Roland's father began teaching him piano when he was very young, and from the age of 11 he studied classical piano . Later he was influenced by Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Art Tatum, and Teddy Wilson. After military service in the early '50s, he studied at the Eastman School and Juilliard. In the 1960s he worked as a freelance with Charles Mingus and Sarah Vaughn, among others. He also led a trio at various clubs in New York. In 1970 he was knighted by the Liberian Government. He performed with theThad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra from the mid '60s to the mid '70s, receiving wide critical acclaim but not much public notice. There were periods when he supported himself by teaching, though he also played with the New York Jazz Sextet, which he formed about 1967. His improvisations and compositions showed a rare grasp of piano history in all styles of music. Sir Roland Hanna died in 2003.
Rufus Reid, Bass, 1944, Sacramento, CA
Rufus began by playing the trumpet, taking up the bass while in the air force. After the service he played with Buddy Montgomery in Sacramento and then studied music in Seattle and in Chicago from 1969 to 1971. During this period he also played hard bop with Sonny Stitt, James Moody, Milt Jackson, Curtis Fuller, and Dizzy Gillespie. During the 1970s he worked with Kenny Dorham, Dexter Gordon, Lee Konitz, and Howard McGhee. He moved to New York in 1976 and recorded with the quartet led by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis. From 1979 on he taught at William Patterson College in Wayne, NJ. He is the author of two books on double bass technique. From the 1980s until the present, Rufus is one of the busiest jazz musicians on the East Coast, working and recording with all of the most prominent jazz groups.
Chick Webb, Drums/Leader, 1909-1939, Baltimore, MD
Chick Webb arrived in New York in the mid '20s and before long was leading a band at the Savoy Ballroom that later became one of the outstanding bands of the swing period. Some of the earliest members of the band included Benny Carter, Jimmy Harrison, and Johnny Hodges. The band developed a distinctive style due to the arrangements and compositions provided by Edgar Sampson. "Blue Lou", "Stomping At The Savoy", and "Let's Get Together" were good examples of the kind of charts the band had to work with. Ella Fitzgerald joined the band in 1934, and soon achieved popular success with performances such as "A Tiskit, A Tasket" which became a huge hit. After Webb's early death in 1939, Ella led the group until 1942, when it disbanded. Webb, a diminutive hunchback, was admired by drummers for his forceful sense of swing, accurate technique, control of dynamics and imaginative breaks and fills. Although unable to read music, he memorized arrangements and led the band from a raised platform in the center of the ensemble. Using specially contructed bass-drum pedals and cymbal holders, he could range effortlessly over a large drum set. Unlike drummers of the'20s, he used the woodblocks and cowbell only for momentary effects. Chick was seldom given to long solos, but his style is well represented on "Liza" (1938), a superior response to Gene Krupa's solo on Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" Chick Webb died in 1939.
