Otis Rush born 29 April 1934

Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s artists Magic Sam and Buddy Guy, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and was an influence on many musicians, including Michael Bloomfield, Peter Green and Eric Clapton. 

Rush was left-handed and played as such; however, his guitars were strung with the low E string at the bottom, upside-down from typical guitarists. He often played with the little finger of his pick hand curled under the low E for positioning. It is widely believed that this contributed to his distinctive sound. He had a wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice. 

Rush was born near Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1934, the son of farmers Julia Campbell Boyd and Otis C. Rush,. He was one of seven children and worked on a farm throughout his childhood. At the age of eight, Rush taught himself how to play guitar; he also sang in local church choirs. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1948/49 and, after being inspired by Muddy Waters, made a name for himself playing in blues clubs on the South and West Side of the city. During this period he formed his own group, initially under the name Little Otis From 1956 to 1958, he recorded for the independent label Cobra Records and released eight singles, some featuring Ike Turner or Jody Williams on guitar. 

His first single, "I Can't Quit You Baby", in 1956 reached number 6 on the Billboard R&B chart. During his tenure with Cobra, he recorded some of his best-known songs, such as "Double Trouble" and "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)." Cobra Records went bankrupt in 1959, and Rush signed a recording contract with Chess Records in 1960. He recorded eight tracks for the label, four of which were released on two singles that year. Six tracks, including the two singles, were later included on the album Door to Door in 1969, a compilation also featuring Chess recordings by Albert King. Rush went into the studio for Duke Records in 1962, but only one single, "Homework" backed with "I Have to Laugh", was issued by the label. It was also released in Great Britain as Vocalion VP9260 in 1963. 

                               

In 1965, he recorded for Vanguard; these recordings are included on the label's compilation album Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol. 2. Rush began playing in other cities in the United States and in Europe during the 1960s, notably with the American Folk Blues Festival. Unofficial recordings at this festival in 1967 and at the University of Chicago Folkfest in 1966 were later released together with recordings of Little Walter. 

In 1969, his album Mourning in the Morning was released by Cotillion Records. Recorded at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album was produced by Michael Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites (then of the band Electric Flag). The sound incorporated soul music and rock, a new direction for Rush. 

In 1971, Rush recorded the album Right Place, Wrong Time in San Francisco for Capitol Records, but Capitol did not release it. The album was finally issued in 1976, when Rush purchased the master from Capitol and had it released by P-Vine Records in Japan. Bullfrog Records released it in the United States soon after. The album has since gained a reputation as one of his best works. He also released some albums for Delmark Records and for Sonet Records in Europe during the 1970s, but by the end of the decade he had stopped performing and recording. Rush was elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984 and made a comeback in 1985 with a U.S. tour and the release of a live album, Tops, recorded at the San Francisco Blues Festival. 

He released Ain't Enough Comin' In in 1994, his first studio album in 16 years. Any Place I'm Goin' followed in 1998, and he earned his first Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1999. Rush did not record a new studio album after 1998 but he continued to tour and perform until 2003, when he suffered a stroke. In 2002, he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!, performing the song "I'm a Man", produced by Carla Olson. Rush's 2006 album Live...and in Concert from San Francisco, a live recording from 1999, was released by Blues Express Records. Video footage of the same show was released on the DVD Live Part 1 in 2003. 

In June 2016, Rush made a rare appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel honoured Rush's appearance by declaring June 12 to be Otis Rush Day in Chicago. Due to his ongoing health problems Rush was unable to play, but was present with his family. The Jazz Foundation of America honored Rush with a Lifetime Achievement Award on April 20, 2018 "for a lifetime of genius and leaving an indelible mark in the world of blues and the universal language of music." 

Rush died on September 29, 2018, from complications of a stroke he suffered in 2003. 

(Edited from Wikipedia)

 

Mickey Tucker born 28 April 1941

Mickey Tucker (born April 28, 1941 is one of many to suffer from a lack of name recognition and critical acclaim, this jazz pianist is a supremely talented mainstream player who also happens to be an accomplished composer and organ player. 

Michael Boyd Tucker was born in Durham, North Carolina in 1941.He grew up in Rankin, Pennsylvania before moving back to North Carolina aged 12. When he was six, he started learning piano, eventually playing in church. While at high school, Tucker played in the school band as well as in a trio that included Grady Tate. Aged 15, Tucker received an early admission scholarship to attend Morehouse College. He became a teacher and taught at a high school in Lake Wales, Florida and Mississippi Valley State College while also performing music. 

Tucker left Mississippi in 1964 and moved to New York City where he backed nonn-jazz acts Little Anthony & the Imperials, comedian Timmy Rogers and R&B vocalist Damita Jo, with whom he toured London. He also backed James Moody as an organist. From 1969 to 1975 he recorded and/or toured with the saxophonists Moody, Kirk, and Eric Kloss; the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, drummer Roy Brooks, vocalist Eddie Jefferson, and the group Final Edition. Tucker was also present on several George Benson recordings dating from the early '70s before the guitarist abandoned straight-ahead jazz. 

                              

In 1976 Tucker played with Kloss and Jefferson. He also toured Europe with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, serving as the group's musical director. In the late '70s he recorded with Cook, Philly Joe Jones, and Billy Harper, among others. In the '80s Tucker recorded with flügelhornist Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson's Jazztet, alto saxophonists Richie Cole and Phil Woods, and drummer Louis Hayes, among others. 

In 1989, Tucker move to Melbourne, Australia. In an interview with Cadence magazine, Tucker explained that he moved to Australia following the murder of two women in his apartment complex in 1987. Tucker's friend, who Tucker says was with him at the time of crime, was accused of the murders. The stress caused by trying to help his friend led him to decide to move to Australia - where his wife was from. 

In Melbourne, Tucker worked at the Victorian College of the Arts' School of Music. He remained active in the '90s, playing with Cook, the Jazztet, and saxophonist Bob Ackerman, and others. Although most of his recorded work has been as a sideman, he has occasionally recorded as a leader, beginning with the 1975 album Triplicity on the Xanadu label. He has lately been leading sessions for SteepleChase Records that rank among the finest work of his career. 

In 1978 Tucker received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1978 to compose what he calls his magnum opus. Inspired by the Negro spiritual, “I’ve Just Come from the Fountain,” the work was originally written for a 70-piece orchestra that would fuse classical and jazz musical traditions. But the NEA funding only covered composition and printing, so Tucker hid away his great life’s work for more than 40 years. 

In 2021, Tucker and his wife, Sheila, donated the only handwritten copy of “Spiritual Collage” in existence—along with numerous original musical scores, manuscripts, photos, letters, and audio and video recordings—to Indiana University’s Archives of African American Music and Culture, establishing the Mickey Tucker collection. Spiritual Collage - A Suite for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra was eventually performed by Bloomington Symphony Orchestra who premiered the piece on Oct. 23, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic & Indiana University Bloomington)

Sista Monica born 27 April 1956

Sista Monica Parker (born Monica C. Parker, April 27, 1956 – October 9, 2014) was an American electric blues, blues rock, gospel and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. 

Born in Gary, Indiana, United States, Sista Monica Parker got her start singing in church. She began singing at age seven and was touring with the choir as a 12-year-old. Parker sang with her local church choir in places like Chicago and Detroit, which got her exposure to show business -- albeit in the church -- early. Parker cited Al Green, Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke as early influences.

After some time in college, she joined the U.S. Marine Corps, attaining the rank of sergeant after three years. Upon discharge, she began her own staffing firm for engineering professions. After several years in the Chicago area, she relocated her business to Silicon Valley in Northern California. Her blue-chip clients included Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo!, and Sun Microsystems. Then, inspired by her neighbor MC Hammer, Parker decided to turn her long-time love of singing into more than just an avocation. 

She began sharing stages in Northern California clubs and festivals with Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, Taj Mahal, Luther Allison, Etta James, and other blues and classic R&B legends. By 1995, she had recorded and released her debut, Get Out of My Way. Radio programmers latched on to the tune "Windy City Burner," and she and her band were able to tour the U.S., Europe, and Canada in support of it. 

She recorded a second album, the self-titled Sista Monica, in 1997. In 1998, she received a W.C. Handy Award nomination under the Best Contemporary Blues Female category and won a California Music Award the same year for Most Outstanding Blues Artist. In 2000, Parker released her third album, People Love the Blues, which showcases the talents of Jimmy Thackery, Larry McCray, and Dan Caron from the Charles Brown Band. 

                   

In 2001, she released her first gospel album, Gimme That Old Time Religion, an artistic full-circle for her, as she returned to the gospel roots of her youth. That same year, she released Live in Europe, which captures the spirit and energy of her live performances with her touring band. It was on tour in Europe in the late '90s that she first earned the moniker "the Blues Lioness." In 2002, she was presented with the Blues Artist of the Year award at the 17th annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival. 

After completing a 17-concert tour of the Netherlands in late 2002, she discovered a lump under her right arm and later found out it was a rare and severe form of cancer, synovial sarcoma. She was initially given three months to live but underwent more than a year of chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and physical therapy, always affirming herself and holding onto her faith in God and her will to live. 

In 2004, she re-emerged and recorded an album of soul and jazz standards popularized by Ray Charles and Dinah Washington, Love, Soul & Spirit, Vol. 1. Parker initiated a 40-voice choir called the Sista Monica Gospel & Inspirational Choir, a musical ensemble comprising people of various faiths. Her subsequent release, Can't Keep a Good Woman Down!, showcased her abilities as a blues and classic R&B vocalist, but also included some well-chosen covers, including Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Sam Cooke's "A Change Gonna Come." 

It confirmed Parker as one of the most powerful singers of blues, gospel, classic R&B, and soul in the late 2000s, a fact she proved with continual touring of the U.S. and parts of Europe. Sweet Inspirations, released in 2008, included covers of Mississippi Fred McDowell, the Beatles, and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Singin' in the Spirit followed in 2010, and 2011's Living in the Danger Zone featured a raft of Parker originals including Kelley Hunt in a vocal and piano duet. She released one more album, 2012's Soul Blues & Ballads, before slowing down prior to her death. 

Parker died from lung cancer in Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Modesto, California, on October 9, 2014. She was 58.

She was honoured posthumously by the Blues Music Awards with the honor of Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year.

(Edited from Richard Skelly bio @AllMusic & Wikipedia)

 

Carol Burnett born 26 April 1933

Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedienne, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show The Carol Burnett Show, which originally aired on CBS, was one of the first to be hosted by a woman. 

Carol's rags-to-riches story started out in San Antonio, Texas, Her parents both suffered from acute alcoholism which led to her being left in the care of a beloved grandmother, who shuttled the two of them off to Hollywood, California, where they lived in a boarding house and shared a great passion for the Golden Age of movies. The plaintive, loose-limbed, highly sensitive Carol survived her wallflower insecurities by grabbing attention as a cut-up at Hollywood High School. 

A natural talent, she attended the University of California and switched majors from journalism to theater. Scouting out comedy parts on TV and in the theater, she first had them rolling in the aisles in the mid-1950s performing a lovelorn novelty song called "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" (then Secretary of State) in a nightclub act. This led to night-time variety show appearances with Jack Paar and Ed Sullivan and where the career ball really started rolling. 

Carol's first big TV breaks came at age 22 and 23 as a foil to a ventriloquist's dummy on the already-established The Paul Winchell Show (1950) in 1955, and as Buddy Hackett's gawky girlfriend on the short-lived sitcom Stanley (1956). She also developed an affinity for game shows and appeared as a regular on one of TV earliest, Stump the Stars in 1958. While TV would bring Carol fans by the millions, it was Broadway that set her on the road to stardom. She began as the woebegone Princess Winnifred in the 1959 Broadway musical "Once Upon a Mattress" which earned her first Tony Award nomination. 

Carol with Julie Andrews

As a result of her acclaimed performance, she became a regular performer on the primetime variety program The Garry Moore Show in 1959. She won her first Emmy as a result of her work, but left in 1962. Her second Emmy came for her 1962 television special with Julie Andrews, Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall. She then had a series of guest starring roles, including on The Twilight Zone, The Lucy Show (she and Lucille Ball were close friends), Get Smart and Gomer Pyle: USMC. Then, she became bigger than anyone had imagined. 

                           

Ms. Ball was so convinced of Carol's talent that she offered Carol her own Desilu-produced sitcom, but Burnett had her heart set on fronting a variety show. With her own team of second bananas, including character crony Harvey Korman, handsome foil Lyle Waggoner, and lookalike "kid sister" type Vicki Lawrence, the The Carol Burnett Show (1967) became an instant sensation, and earned 22 Emmy Awards during its 11-year run. In between, Carol branched out with supporting turns in the films Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978). 

Her program, whose last episode aired in March of 1978, was the last truly successful major network variety show to date. Burnett famously ended every show by tugging on her left ear. Burnett has said that she developed it as a way, during her early television appearances in New York, to signal to the grandmother who raised her—who was still back in Los Angeles—that she was doing alright.. After ending the show on a high note, Burnett went on to make a short series of movies and then a long string of television appearances. She mostly famously played Miss Hannigan in the big screen version of Annie (opposite now long-time friend Bernadette Peterson), and was nominated for an Emmy for her work as an anti-Vietnam War activist in the 1979 television movie Friendly Fire. 

Carol Burnett Show cast

In the 1980s, she appeared in one episode of Fame, playing a school lunchlady alongside her daughter, Carrie, in 1987; in two episodes of Magnum, P.I.; in several TV movies; and, of course, as Eunice on Mama's Family alongside Vicki Lawrence. In the 1990s, she won an Emmy for her guest role on Mad About You as Theresa Stemple, Jamie Buchman's (Helen Hunt) mother. She played herself on an episode of Evening Shade, appeared on Touched By An Angel and The Larry Sanders Show, and was nominated for a Tony for her role in Moon Over Buffalo. 

In the aughts, she appeared on Desperate Housewives, was nominated for an Emmy for her appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims' Unit, played Sue Sylvester's (Jane Lynch) mom on Glee, Victoria Chase's (Wendy Malick) mom in Hot in Cleveland, and Steve McGarrett's (Alex O'Laughlin) mom on Hawaii Five O. 

Today, at the age of 90, Carol has been seen less frequently but still continues to make appearances, especially on TV. Most recently she has guested on the shows "Glee," "Hot in Cleveland" and the revivals of "Hawaii Five-0" and "Mad About You." As always she signs off a live appearance with her signature ear tug, reminding us all, between the wisecracks and the songs, how glad and lucky we all are to still have some of "this time together". 

(Edited from IMDb, N.B.C Insider & Wikipedia) 

Willis "Gator" Jackson born 25 April 1932

Willis "Gator" Jackson (April 25, 1932 – October 25, 1987) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. 

Jackson was born in 1932 Miami. He began studying the piano at age ten, then added the clarinet, and made his professional debut at age fourteen on the tenor saxophone with local bands. Jackson studied theory and harmony at Florida A & M University. He was still a teenager when he gained notice playing with Cootie Williams’ band starting in 1948. Williams, one of the more acclaimed trumpet players in jazz, was attempting to adapt to a changing musical landscape which now included rock ‘n’ roll and made a legitimate effort to do so, largely using Jackson’s power on sax to accomplish that feat.

It was the 1949 single “Gator Tail” featuring Jackson’s blowing which gave him the nickname he’d carry with him forever more, though it was frequently shortened to “Gator” and in 1950 he signed his first contract under his own name for Apollo Records where he cut sides with such luminous sidemen as organist Bill Doggett and drummer Panama Francis, drawing a good deal of acclaim without scoring a hit. He invented the Jackson's Gator Horn, which is a long saxophone with a ball-shaped bell with small opening whose sound is a cross between soprano and alto saxophone and French horn and clarinet. 

Like most younger sax players Jackson was perfectly willing to honk and put on a show, a fierce competitor in the frequent on-stage “battles” that were a highlight of the chitlin’ circuit of the day, wherein two musicians would go toe-to-toe and let the crowd decide the winner. Even at this stage of his career he took a backseat to no one, even brashly claiming to have bested his idol, Illinois Jacquet, in a highly publicized bout. 

By the end of 1950 he’d met rising Atlantic star Ruth Brown, playing behind her – along with Cootie Williams, for whom he was still playing – and he and Ruth quickly became an item. During an era when there was little mainstream acknowledgement of the personal lives of black stars from stage, screen or music, Brown and Jackson were an exception, at least in music circles, traveling together on long tours and as rumours of their romance spread the trade papers played them up. 

                              

The partnership fizzled when Brown discovered he was already married but the two later reconciled and Jackson released the bulk of his 1950’s output for Atlantic, including backing Brown on some of her biggest records. In 1955 when a fling between Brown and Drifters lead singer Clyde McPhatter resulted in her pregnancy, Jackson stood in as the father, despite initial protest, and treated the son, Ronald, as his own. The Brown-Jackson domestic union also ended quickly, but the rumours of them being married – which they were not – still persist today. 

As for Jackson’s professional life, he was a already pursuing a more diverse sound on record than most rock ‘n’ roll tenor sax maniacs, experimenting with organs and far-flung material in addition to his pure rock output. In addition he remained with Williams until the mid-1950’s, but after he and Brown ended their attempts at a relationship and with his interest in rock diminishing he moved on to Prestige Records in 1958 beginning a long relationship with the noted jazz label, releasing countless albums throughout the next decade which were very well received and elevated his stature well above what it had been as merely a modestly publicized sideman in rock. 

In the 1970’s he continued his eclectic output, including a lauded album called Bar Wars but by then the interest in jazz, and saxophone in any style for that matter, were on the wane and in the 1980’s his health began to fail him, at one point even having to sell his horn when he came upon hard times. 

However this happened to coincide with the beginning of the career revival of his old flame Ruth Brown while the two, unbeknownst to one another, had been just living blocks apart in New York. When Ruth saw Gator walking along the street one day, thin and frail, she barely recognized him but the two instantly reconnected over shared memories, spending an hour or two together a few times a week sitting and talking outside on stoops or park benches as he was on his way to or from dialysis treatment.

 Soon after he had a leg removed and it was only a short time later that he had heart surgery. He passed away a week later on October 25, 1987, at the age of 55. 

Though Jackson’s solo career had a number of excellent rock singles in addition to being a vital presence on stage and in the studio behind Brown and others for Atlantic during the 1950’s, that period forms just one aspect of his enormous legacy, not the biggest part maybe but surely the most vibrant part in a colourful life. 

(Edited from Spontaneous Lunacy, This Is My Story, The Willis Jackson Papers & Wikipedia) 

Johnny Griffin born 24 April 1928

John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing.

He was born in Chicago and studied piano and Hawaiian guitar as a child. At Du Sable high school he played oboe, cor anglais and alto saxophone, under the instruction of Walter Dyatt, who had also taught other powerful and distinctive young saxophonists including Gene Ammons and Von Freeman. By 17, Griffin was already a professional on tenor sax, hired by one of the most high-profile 1940s bandleaders, Lionel Hampton, whose big band spliced swing and R&B. Hampton's trumpet section included Joe Morris, who formed his own R&B band in 1947, which Griffin joined for three years. 

From 1950 to 1951, the young saxophonist worked with Count Basie's sublime and much-idolised swing drummer Jo Jones, and then with bluesy Texan tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb. Performing in an army band between 1951 and 1953, he was posted to Hawaii. He then returned to play in Chicago until becoming involved in the illustrious circle of young pioneers of the hard-bop style that orbited around the fiery drummer Art Blakey in New York. 

Griffin played with Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1957, and with Thelonious Monk for four months the following year, appearing on some fierce live recordings from New York's Five Spot and refreshingly sounding as if he had no idea what the fuss about Monk's supposed impenetrability was all about. Griffin also began an uneven but often scintillating recording career as a leader in the most illustrious way in the same year.

He recorded A Blowing Session for Blue Note in the company of fellow saxophonists Hank Mobley and John Coltrane, with Miles Davis partners Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers on piano and bass, and Blakey on drums. Though there are ballads on A Blowing Session - such as The Way You Look Tonight, and All the Things You Are - Griffin cavalierly ignores their sensibilities and careers through everything as if there are simply too many romantic possibilities and too little time. He also demonstrates a grasp of improvising inventively over song chords that easily rivals his heavweight Blue Note partners. 

                               

On the 1958 Johnny Griffin Sextet recording, the saxophonist also fronted a superb bop band including trumpeter Donald Byrd and pianist Kenny Drew, and on 1960's Big Soul Band he explored the possibilities of an expanded group with gospelly fervour, in the company of trumpeter Clark Terry and pianist Bobby Timmons. Griffin, usually regarded as too impatient a player for thoughtful songs, also proved the contrary on his mellow, strings-enhanced 1961 Billie Holiday tribute White Gardenia, in which he reveals a startling eloquence and tenderness on God Bless the Child. 

Between 1960 and 1962, Griffin worked in a popular and hard-nosed two-tenor bebop group with fellow saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, a Count Basie performer with a compatible affection for no-frills, rootsy, blues-driven music. Griffin's and Davis's performances together at Ronnie Scott's in the 1970s were some of the most popular attractions there in the period, and the "tough tenor" style of extended, gruff-toned solos and bantering counterpoint had few more defining examples.

Like fellow tenorist Dexter Gordon, Griffin liked playing in Europe, and moved to Paris in 1963, later shifting between France and Holland, and working with a variety of good European rhythm sections, sometimes with Lockjaw Davis and Arnett Cobb for company, and in groups led by expatriate American drummer Art Taylor. He also became a leading member of the multinational band led by another expatriate drum star, Kenny Clarke, with Belgian bandleader Francy Boland. He shared sax duties with a fine reed section including Ronnie Scott and Sahib Shihab. Griffin revisited the US for tours, playing briefly with novelty bop-scat singer Babs Gonzales and returning both to Chicago - for birthday gigs - and to New York's Blue Note. 

In 1983, Griffin became a founder member of the European band Three Generations of Tenor Saxophone. In 1992 he toured with the high-profile Philip Morris Superband. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. Griffin may have been more tentative late in his career, but he was still capable of copious spontaneous invention in the right company, as was demonstrated in 1999 on the fine duo recording In and Out, with French pianist Martial Solal - and he cranked up some of his old heedless energy for a joust with the much younger, former Miles Davis saxophonist Steve Grossman the next year. 

Griffin's open-handed, unambiguous and vastly entertaining devotion to spontaneous music-making lasted until his death. His last concert was in Hyères, France on July 21, 2008. On July 25, 2008, he died of a heart attack at the age of 80 in Mauprévoir, near Availles-Limouzine, France. 

(Edited from John Fordhan obit @ The Guardian & Wikipedia)