Phil Seaman, Drums, 1926, Burton on Trent, Eng.
Except for touring, Phil spent his entire career in England, but was well known by jazz musicians all over the free world. During the mid '40s he worked in bands led by Ken Turner, Nat Gonella, and Joe Loss. Throughout the '50s he played with Ronnie Scott, Kenny Baker, The Jazz Couriers, and Tubby Hayes. In the 1960s Phil was active in the blues movement taking place in England, playing with the popular singers Alexis Korner and Georgie Fame. Phil was next employed for several years as the house drummer in Ronnie Scott's famous jazz club. Seaman, a highly accomplished musician, maintained a brilliant career, playing with the best groups in England, performing in clubs and theater pit orchestras. He was a master of most styles, and did not confine himself to bop, with which he was most closely associated. Phil Seaman died in 1972.
Kenny Drew, Piano, 1928, New York, NY
Kenny began piano lessons when he was around five years old, progressed rapidly, and gave his first recital at age eight. His first major influences were none other than the great Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, and Art Tatum, but it was Bud Powell's playing that really grabbed him later in his career. He received formal training at the High School of Music and Art in New York City. It was while playing with Howard McGhee that Kenny cut his first recordings in 1949. During the 1950s he worked with just about every prominent jazz musician in NewYork. He made his home in Europe in 1961, settling in Paris, and a few years later, in Copenhagen. Kenny and Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson formed a duo in 1966 that became a fixture at the Montmartre Jazzhus in Copenhagen, and during the next two decades made several recordings. Also while in Copenhagen, he formed a music publishing company, Shirew Publishing. From the late '70s he devoted most of his time to composition and orchestration. As a pianist Drew is noted for his ability to alternate seamlessly between a dense chordal style and the single-note melodic lines that are identified with such bop pianists as Bud Powell.
Larry Goldings, Organ, 1968, Boston, MA
Mutt Carey, Trumpet, 1892, New Orleans, LA
