The Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Project

Honoring, Promoting, and Documenting the Philadelphia Jazz Legacy

Philadelphia's Jazz Legacy

Musicians, events, and places significant in the history of jazz in the Philadelphia area from its earliest roots to the the present.

Early Origins, Development, and Influences from 1800's to 1940

Louis Mitchell (b. 1885; drummer
Charles "Luckey" Luckeyeth Roberts (pianist, b. 1895; ragtime, influenced the Duke, James P. Johnson
Charles Gaines (trumpeter, b. 1900) who played with (among others)Charlie Johnson
Charlie Johnson (b. 1891, piano, trombone
Rex Stewart (cornet, b. 1907, the Duke).
Langston Hughes (Aftrican American poet, including poems about jazz), a graduate of Lincoln University in Chester County (poetry utilized by Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck in extended compositions.)
Frank Johnson, trumpeter (In the 1830s his band thrilled audiences with syncopated marches and quadrilles of his own composition.)
Charles Albert Tindley (local minister, famous for his gospel compositions)
Marian Anderson (Internationally reknowned soprano, who sang as a child in South Philadelphia's Union Baptist Church)
Ethel Waters (from Chester, Pennsylvania, the first recording star of the African-American-owned Black Swan Record Company.)
Standard and Dunbar theatres (African-American owned theaters on South Street, where Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and others performed their music for black and white audiences.)
Joe Venuti, violin
Eddie Lang, guitar
Jan Savitt (from West Philadelphia, abandoned classical music for swing. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Savitt and his Top Hatters toured.)
George "Bon Bon" Tunnell. (Born in South Philadelphia, Tunnell became one of the first African-American vocalists to sing regularly with a prominent white band. Peformed with Savitt and his Top Hatters.)
Billie Holiday (born in Philadelphia; returned often to perform)
Rex Stewart (came to New York by way of Philadelphia)
Charlie Gaines (came to New York by way of Philadelphia)
Doc Cheatham (came to New York by way of Philadelphia)
Wilbur and Sidney De Paris (came to New York by way of Philadelphia)
Howard Lanin (Of the white dance bands the most popular and longest lived was led by Howard Lanin, "The King of Society Music.")
Sam Lanin (After moving to New York, younger brother Sam Lanin became a major band broker for dozens of record companies, setting up players, recording dates, and radio. Lanin orchestras helped start the careers of Red Nichols, Artie Shaw, the Dorsey brothers and other white jazz musicians.)

Entertainment-related

The Clara Ward Singers (based in Philadelphia since the 1930s.)
Dixie Hummingbirds (nationally renowned male gospel quartet, came to live in Philly.)
Do-wop. (In the 1950s black teenagers standing on corners, in parks and under streetlights were giving birth to a new African-American musical invention, a smooth style of vocal harmonizing, often performed a cappella, known to its practitioners as Do-wop.
Rhythm & Blues, Soul, and Rock & Roll. (Philadelphia played a major role in the emergence of these musical movements as well.)
Boyz-II-Men, the most successful R&B male vocal group of all time.
In October 1952, the televised music and dance show American Bandstand remained in Philadelphia until 1964, when the show moved to Los Angeles. Solomon Burke, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Howard Tate, Bobby Rydell, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells, Teddy Pendergrass with Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, Chubby Checker and Lorraine Ellison all hailed from Philly. Soul producer Jerry Ragovoy came from the city, as did Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble, who would later go on to define the "Philadelphia Sound" of the 1970s with their Philadelphia International Records.

Swing and Big Band Era (1925-1950 and beyond)

Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey (grew up in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, a small town in the northeast part of the state)
Billie Holiday
Butch Ballard
Pearl Bailey
Shadow Wilson

Modern Era: Bebop onward (1940-1980)

Adolph Sandole
Dennis Sandole, guitarist and prominent teacher
Dizzy Gillespie (lived in Philly 1935-1937 and got the nickname "Dizzy" here)
Mickey Roker
John Coltrane
Jimmy Heath
Percy Heath
Tootie Heath
Jimmy Amadie, pianist
Robert "Red Rodney" Chudnick, bebop trumpeter
Stan Getz, tenor saxophonist
Frank Sinatra (performed numerous times and had many contacts in Philadelphia)
Leonard Bernstein (career began with studies at Curtis Institute in Philadelphia)
Al Stauffer
Bernard Peiffer
Billy James
Billy Root
Bobby Timmons
Cal Massey
Charlie Ventura
Clifford Brown
Clubs around 52nd and Market
Dan Patterson
Dave Lovett
Dennis Sandole
Don Patterson
Frank Root
Billy James
Jimmy Wisner
Joe Sgro
Emerson's Bar and Grill
Gerry Mulligan
Hank Mobley
Harvey Houston (DJ)
In 1951 Charlie Ventura opened his own jazz club, the Open House, in Lindenwold, New Jersey
Jackie Caine and Roy Kral (vocalists)
Jimmy Heath
Joe Sudler
John Coltrane
Latin Casino
Lee Morgan
Michael Brecker
Monique Sudler
N. Phila clubs and bars
Nina Simone
Oscar Treadwell (DJ)
Owen Marshall
Percy Heath
Philly Joe Jones
Randy Brecker
Red Hill Inn
S. Phila clubs and bars
Sid Mark (DJ)
Stan Getz
Stanley Clarke
Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Tootie Heath
Jimmy Oliver
Cal Massey
Benny Golson
Philly Joe Jones
Clifford Brown
Wilbur Ware
Hassan ibn Ali
Jimmy Smith
Bill Barron
Hank Mobley
Jimmy Bailey
Red Garland
Shuggie Rose
Donald Bailey
Wilbur Cameron
Odean Pope
McCoy Tyner
Kenny Barron
Dave Burrell
Ted Curson, trumpet
Jimmy Garrison, bass
Reggie Workman, bass
Charles Fambrough, bass
Archie Shepp, saxophone
Grover Washington, Jr., saxophone
Byard Lancaster, saxophone
Rashied Ali, drums
Sunny Murray
John Gilmore, saxophone
Jamaaladeen Tacuma
Bobby Zankel
Uri Caine
Ahmir Thompson

Additonal names (by instrument):

Before there was 007, there was James Bond (Chet, Ella, and Buddy De Franco)
John Ore (Lester Young, Webster, Hawkins, Bud Powell)
Jimmy Rowser (Dinah, Maynard, Red Garland)
James Woode (Sarah, Ella, Duke): Tommy Potter (Bird, Roach, Eckstine, Getz)
Jymie Merritt (Golson, Philly Joe; later: R&B bands)
Henry Grimes (Willis Jackson[!], Mingus, Mulligan, Rollins, etc.
Jimmy "Spanky" De Brest (Blakey ‘50s); Tommy Bryant (Ray's brother) Pianists:
Billy Kyle (Satchmo)
Beryl Booker (Dinah)
Shirley Scott (also organ)
Joe Carroll (Diz)
Herman Foster (Lou Donaldson)
Buddy Greco
Ray Bryant (Tommy's brother). Trumpeters:
Red Rodney (Krupa, Bird, Thornhill, Herman)
Nick Travis (Herman, Goodman, Krupa). Tenors:
Richie Kamuca (Kenton, Herman, Chet, Maynard)
Billy Root (Roy Eldridge, Diz, Red Rodney, Kenton). Drummers:
Charles "Specs" Wright (Diz)
Donald Bailey (Jimmy Smith); David Black (Bird, the Duke). Singers:
Joe Carroll. Organ:
Bill Doggett (R&B)J
Jimmy Smith Trombonists:
Warren Covington (Krupa)
Willie Dennis (Thornhill, Goodman, Herman)
Bill Harris (Goodman, Herman, Ventura). Band Leader/Composer/Arranger:
Sun Ra (In the mid-1960s Philadelphia also became home to one of the most unusual composer/arrangers in the history of jazz: the great Sun Ra. Born in Alabama in 1914, Herman Blount worked as an arranger for the great Fletcher Henderson band. In the early 1950s Blount changed his name to Sun Ra and organized an avant-garde big band, the Solar Myth Arkestra, which he would lead for close to forty years. In the mid-1960s Sun Ra and his band moved into a row house in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood.)

Still Living, Modern/Postmodern Era and Contemporary

Benny Golson
Bobby Zankel and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound
Bootsie Barnes
Brian Pastor Big Band
Bayard Lancaster
Byron Landham
Chris Farr
Christian McBride
Dan Monahan
Don Glanden
Don Wilson
Frank Tiberi
Jim Ridl
Jimmy Bruno
Joanna Pascal
Joey de Francesco
John Swana
Kenny Barron
Khan Jamal
Larry McKenna
Leon Mitchell
Mary Ellen Desmond
Meg Clifton
McCoy Tyner
Meg Clifton
Mickey Roker
Miss Justine
Pat Martino
Ron Thomas
Scott Alan Robinson
Todd Horton
Tom Lawton
Tony Miceli
Trudy Pitts
Uri Caine
Odean Pope

Past and Present Clubs/Venues/Festivals

All About Jazz

Past

Red Hill Inn (Pennsauken, NJ)

"Jewels" nightclub

"Peps" nightclub

The Sahara Lounge

Heritage House (located at Broad and Master, near Temple University, during the 1950's. Jazz clinics and concerts on Fridays hosted by Tommy Roberts, for young people who couldn't get into the nightclubs. Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Richie Powell, Harold Land, George Morrow, Buddy DeFranco, Chet Baker all gave clinics there. Lee Morgan and Larry McKennas were among the students.)

Music City (A music store located on Chestnut Street, owned by Ellis Toland and Bill Wolf. Jazz sessions in the evening featured Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz, Ziggy Vines, others. Clifford Brown made his last recording there prior to his untimely death in a car accident.)

Academy of Music

Woodbine Club (on 12th Street)

Rick's Cabaret (a blues club on Front Street with music somewhere between Dixieland and swing. Sarah Dean was often the featured vocalist.)

Just Jazz

The Clef Club

The Showboat

The Blue Note

Downbeat

Rendezvous

Bandstand

The Open House (Charlie Ventura's club in South Jersey)

North Philly, where a string of bars and clubs sprang up along a strip of Columbia Avenue.

Atlantic City Jazz Festival

Present

Academy of Music
Cape May Jazz Festival
Chris' Jazz Cafe
L-2
Ortliebs
Philadelphia Clef Club
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Tritone
Zanzibar Blue (recently closed)
Elaine C. Levitt Auditorium - Gershman Hall, University of the Arts

DJs:

Tommy Roberts (He later became a famous horse racing announcer in Florida. Did afternoon jazz show from WKDN in Camden.
Harvey Huston
Sid Mark
Bob Perkins
Harrison Ridley, Jr.
J. Michael Harrison

Recording Companies and Studios

Dreambox Media (record company)
Maggie's Farm (recording studio in Bucks Co.)

From phillyjazz.org (Note: This website distinguishes between those musicians, mostly contemporary, still living and/or performing regularly in the Philadelphia area and those who relocated or some who have passed away. In this respect, it is not entirely up to date.)

Big Bands

The Phil Giordano Big Band
City Rhythm (Technically not a big band, but a great horn section and arrangements give them the sound)
Hoppin' John Orchestra (ditto)
22 Park Avenue
John Clark Big Band
The Sun Ra Arkestra
Philadelphia Legends of Jazz Orchestra
The Joe Sudler Swing Machine (Big Band and small groups)
The Philadelphia Clef Club Big Band
Jump City Jazz Orchestra (formerly known as the Audubon Jazz Explosion)
Brian Pastor Big Band
Next Generation Big Swing Band
Big Push Orchestra
Bill Warfield Big Band
UpFront Big Band
Big Band from the Valley
Alberti Dance Band (Technically not a big band, but a great horn section and arrangements give them the sound)
Lars Halle Jazz Orchestra
Sam Peters and the Swing Band
Mojo Kings
Main Street Sound Big Band (Norristown area)

Not So Big Bands

The Bootsie Barnes-John Swana Smokin' Quintet
Beau Django - Check out this new tribute to the original Hot Club de France
Philly Mignon
M'Oudswing - Middle East meets Jazz - It works !!
Conjura
Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble
Fortune Vinson Cruse
Speaking in Tongues (Some very talented young cats !!)
Sonobra (many different ensembles from which to choose)
Impressions Jazz Quartet
Sonic Liberation Front
Budesa Brothers Quintet
Anomoly (Reading)
Eddie Green Trio
Sabroso
David Joel Quartet
Siora
Midiri Brothers
Ronnie James and the Jez Hot Swing Club
Exit 45 (Smooth Jazz)
The Roger Prieto Sextet
The Blind Date Band
Clazzical Saxophone Quartet
Free Bop Movement with Jafar Barron
The H Factor
Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers
Beats Walkin' (great Texas Swing in then Bob Willis tradition)
Jimi Odell & a Change of Pace
Minas (Brazilian Jazz)
Webb T's Fleet
Barbone Street Jazz Band
Standard Deviation
Paul Albrecht Trio/Quartet
Trailer Park Trio
Rupert Wright Jazz Trio
Reverie
Breath of Jazz ( a well-rehearsed yet soulful contemporary group - but not SMOOTH Jazz)
Brass Roots
Jonathan Kelly Trio
Eric Mintel Quartet
Walter Bell's Latin Jazz Unit
Soul in Motion (African Drumming and Theatre)
Girls from Mars
Soul in Motion Theatre and African Percussion
Big Night Out
Thomas Bowers Trio
George V. Johnson, JR. Quintet / Sextette
Jim Love and the Blue Groove
Third Step
World Mix
Sean J. Kennedy Quartet