Terrence Blanchard, Trumpet, 1962, New Orleans, LA
At the age of 16, Terrence studied music at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. He later moved to New Jersey and attended Rutgers University, during which time he worked with Lionel Hampton for two years. In 1982 he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He and Donald Harrison were the principal soloists with the Jazz Messengers, earning a Grammy Award in 1984. In the same year they left Blakey and formed a quintet, a group that gained considerable public and critical acclaim. In 1986 they returned to Art Blakey's group. Blanchard's playing is technically accomplished and distinguished by its emotional poignancy. In recent years Terrence has been concentrating on film scores, doing several scores for Spike Lee's films.
Roy Haynes, Drums, 1926, Roxbury, MA
Roy began his professional career in Boston in 1944, playing with Frankie Newton and Pete Brown as well as lesser-known dixieland groups. A natural and flexible percussionist, he thereafter worked with jazz groups, dance bands, modal-jazz, and In 1960 he founded his own group, Hip Ensemble, which turned towards the jazz-rock idiom. While never achieving much fame in his own right, Roy worked with the most prominent names in the jazz world. In 1965 he was the principal substitute for Elvin Jones in John Coltrane's group. Roy also worked with Stan Getz, Gary Burton, and Duke Jordan. During the '70s and '80s Haynes spent a considerable amount of time in the recording studios working with Nick Brignola, Hank Jones, Art Pepper, Joe Albany, Ted Curson, and others. In 1981 he became a member of Chick Corea's group, Trio Music. During the latter part of the 1980s he led bop groups in the New York area.
Blue (Richard Allen) Mitchell, Trumpet, 1930, Miami, FL
While in high school , Blue Mitchell started to play the trumpet and also picked up the nickname, Blue. During the early '50s Blue played with rhythm-and blues bands led by Earl Bostic, Paul Williams and Chuck Willis. In his home-town of Miami he hooked up with Cannonball Adderley who took him to New York to record for Riverside Records in 1958. It was while playing with Horace Silver that Mitchell made his name in jazz with his beautiful tone which so perfectly complimented Silver's simplified, soulful brand of bop. When Horace disbanded his group, Blue retained the services of Roy Brooks, Junior Cook, and Gene Taylor to form his first group. Eventually the members of the group were replaced by Chick Corea, Al Foster, Harold Mabern, and Billy Higgins. The band lasted until the mid '60s, when Mitchell began touring with Ray Charles. From the mid '70s Blue freelanced in Los Angeles, and played as a principal soloist with Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. He also performed in the big-bands od Louie Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry during this period. During his final years he recorded a number of disco-jazz albums and played in a bop group with Harold Land. Blue Mitchell died in 1979.
Dick Katz, Piano, 1924, Baltimore, MD
