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Stan Getz
Stan Getz 1927-91, American jazz tenor saxophonist, b. Philadelphia, Pa., as Stanley Gayetsky. As a mature musician he was especially known for his "cool" jazz style. He began playing as a teenager in Jack Teagarden's band, later appearing with bandleading greats Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benn...
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Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman 1930-, African-American saxophonist and composer, b. Fort Worth, Tex. Largely self-taught, he began playing the alto saxophone in rhythm-and-blues bands. He later developed an unorthodox and impassioned style of free jazz characterized by broken rhythms, atonal harmonies, and impr...
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John Coltrane
John Coltrane , 1926-67, American jazz musician, b. Hamlet, N.C. He began playing tenor saxophone as an adolescent. Coltrane worked with numerous big bands before emerging in the mid-1950s as a major stylist while playing as a sideman with Miles Davis . Originally influenced by Lester Young , Colt...
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Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton 1908?-2002, African-American vibraphonist and bandleader, b. Louisville, Ky. When his family moved to Chicago c.1916, the young Hampton began playing drums in a newsboys' band. He moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and became a drummer in saxophonist Les Hite's band. Encouraged by Lo...
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Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin , 1912-99, American director and writer, b. Rochester, N.Y.; grad. American Academy of Dramatic Arts, 1933. He worked as a saxophonist, comedian, and actor before becoming (1935) an assistant to director George Abbott . During the following years he wrote or directed more than 30 plays...
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Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla 1921-92, Argentinian composer and player of the bandoneón (a large accordionlike instrument), b. Mar del Plata. He spent much of his childhood in New York, returned (1937) to Argentina, and in the 1950s studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He becam...
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Larry Rivers
Larry Rivers 1923-2002, American artist, b. New York City as Yitzroch Loisa Grossberg. Originally a jazz saxophonist, he turned to art in the 1940s. Reacting against abstract expressionism , Rivers turned to the figure, as in his 1954 series of nude studies, including Double Portrait of Birdie. ...
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Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins (Theodore Walter Rollins), 1930-, African-American tenor saxophonist and composer, b. New York City. A master of jazz improvisation, Rollins is known for his rich tone, emotional depth, and inventive use of melody, harmony, and rhythm. From 1949 to 1954 he was a sideman on recordings ...
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Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis , 1961-, American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer, b. New Orleans. Born into a distinguished jazz family, he studied classical music at the Juilliard School in New York. He joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at 18 and rapidly acquired a reputation for brilliant technique and out...
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William Jefferson Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton
William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton (born 1946) won the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1992 and then defeated incumbent George Bush to become the 42nd president of the United States. He was re-elected to a second term in 1996
William Jefferson (Bill) Clint...
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