Lex Humphries, Drums, 1936, Rockaway, NJ
The first "name" musicians Lex worked with were Chet Baker and Lester Young in 1956. He began recording in Germany with Young. A few years later found him working with Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Morgan and Bud Powell. From 1959 to1960 Lex was a member of Benny Golson's Jazztet, along with Art Farmer. Other small groups he played with during the early to mid' 60s included; John Coltrane, Junior Mance, Donald Byrd, and the big band of Duke Pearson. Humphries also worked with several singers, most notably Chris Connor. In the mid '60s he began working with Sun Ra, playing African drums and other percussion instruments. In1981 he decided to leave Sun Ra and work as a freelance musician in the Philadelphia area.
Tony Aless, Piano, 1921, Garfield, NJ
Tony started studying the piano as a teenager with private teachers and also in high school. He worked with Bunny Berigan during the late'30s and three years later performed and recorded with Teddy Powell. After completing his military service during WW II, Tony played with Charlie Spivak and Woody Herman. During the latter part of the '40s he played and recorded with Georgie Auld, Flip Phillips, Chubby Jackson and Neal Hefti. During the mid '50s he performed on radio, and recorded with Seldon Powell, and George Handy, and as the leader of a group playing his own compositions. A good example of Tony performing on piano can be heard on Chubby Jackson's "Mom, Jackson."
John Lee Hooker, Singer, 1917, Clarksdale, MS
John was born to a sharecropping family in the rural Delta, and his first musical influence was his stepfather, Will Moore. By the early '40s John was living in Detroit by way of Memphis and Cincinnati, where he worked at several menial jobs and performed mainly for neighbors and friends at "house parties". He was "discovered" by record store owner Elmer Barbee who took him to Bernard Baseman, a producer, record distributor and part owner of a company called Sensation Records. He cut some record for Baseman in 1948, and one of them, "Boogie Chillen" shot to #1 on the juke boxes, and sold over a million copies. This was followed by other hits; "I'm In The Mood", "Crawling Kingsnake", and "Hobo Blues". During the '50s and '60s John recorded for for the label Jay Records, releasing more than 100 songs. He was also becoming very popular with the young bohemian audiences in the U.S. and in England. John Mayall, and the Yardbirds introduced Hooker's sound to audiences all over the world, helping to build Hooker to superstar status. During the '70s and much of the '80s Hooker was very successful, touring the U.S. and Europe extensively, but he was growing disenchanted with the recording business. He made an appearance in the Blues Brothers movie which resulted in a heightened profile. In 1989 he released "The Healer" and it became another million seller. Today "The King of The Boogies" is enjoying the most successful period of his extensive career. In the past ten years Hooker's influence has contributed to a booming interest in the blues, notably, its acceptance by the music industry as a commercially viable entity. In addition to recording his own albums, "Mr Lucky", "Boom Boom", "Chill Out", and "Don't Look Back", he contributed to recordings by B.B. King, Branford Marsalis, Van Morrison, Big Head Todd, and The Monsters.He portrayed the title role in Pete Townsend's 1989 epic, The Iron Man. His influence on younger generations has been documented on television shows such as David Letterman and on television documentories. Hooker's 1991 induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame was fitting for a man who has influenced countless fans and musicians in this country and all over Europe. In 1997 he got his star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the age of 80, John Lee Hooker received his third and fourth Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Blues Recordings.
