Died On This Date (May 31, 1967) Billy Strayhorn / Jazz Great
themusicsover Billy Strayhorn
November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967
Billy Strayhorn was a jazz composer and musician who is most famous for his work alongside Duke Ellington. Strayhorn first became interested in music as a child while living with his grandmother. By the time he was high school, Strayhorn had formed a combo and was writing his first songs. One of which would eventually become one of his signature songs, “Lush Life.” Although more interested in classical music, Strayhorn set his sites on jazz, since it was next to impossible for a Black man to have a career playing classical music in those days. Strayhorn met Ellington after a show in 1938, impressing the man enough to hire him on as arranger and composer. They collaborated with each other for the next 25 years. Besides “Lush Life,” Strayhorn penned such classics as “Chelsea Bridge,” and “Take The A Train.” Billy Strayhorn died of esophageal cancer at the age of 51.
Jazz innovator Herman Blount (aka Sun Ra)was born either in Birmingham, Alabama or on another planet, as he would like us to believe. Wherever he came from, his influence on contemporary music is as big as the persona he created. Hard Bop, Swing, Poet, Avant Garde, Big Band Leader, Philosopher, Pianist, Composer, Organist, Cosmic, Educator, Student, American, Extraterrestrial…are all words that make up Sun Ra. Much of Blount’s life remained a mystery for decades. What is known is that he was a skilled pianist in his early teens, and by his mid teens he was performing semi professionally. At twenty, he joined a touring group that he eventually took over and renamed the Sonny Blount Orchestra. Two years later the band was dissolved when he accepted a scholarship to Alabama A&M. It is said that while in college, Blount experienced some sort of mind altering event that would start him on the journey that would lead him to eventually become Sun Ra. He and his “Arkestra” stayed extremely active into the early ’90s, only slowing down when Blount suffered a stroke in 1990. Within a couple of years Sun Ra was too ill to go on so he moved back to Birmingham where he passed away while suffering from a bout of pneumonia. He was 79 (maybe!). Sun Ra been credited for being a direct influence on the likes of Sonic Youth, New York Dolls, George Clinton, King Crimson, Phish, 
Eric Gale was a jazz guitarist whose skills made him one of the most in-demand session players, appearing on some 500 albums. Those he recorded with include Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, 
Duke Ellington was a jazz composer, band leader and pianist who is considered by many to be the greatest jazz musician of all times. So influential he was, that many of his band members went on to become legends themselves. After learning to play the piano as a child, Ellington launched his music career in 1917 when he started gigging around his Washington DC neighborhood. By the time he was 24, he had already made at least eight records, giving him the opportunity to broaden his touring base across the US and eventually to Europe. By the ’30s and ’40s, Ellington was releasing hit after hit, including “Take The A Train,” “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” and “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If You Aint Got That Swing.” Ellington continued to tour and make records into his 70s, including the one album he made with 
Joe Pass was an exceptional jazz guitarist known for an improvisational style that would influence future generations of players. Pass began playing guitar on his 9th birthday and by the time he turned 14, he was gigging around town. But within a few years, he began to struggle with drug abuse and fell off the radar as a musician. After spending over two years in a drug rehab program, he resurfaced to reclaim his spot at the top of the jazz world. Throughout the ’60s, Pass recorded several albums for the Pacific Jazz label while lending his talents to the likes of 