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Tenor player Fred Anderson may have been an underknown saxophonist but there is no denying his amazing, flowing playing and his commitment to nurturing the local scene in Chicago. In fact, it was desire to stay home and run the Velvet Lounge that kept him from a larger international profile. Born in Louisiana, he came to Chicago in the '40s and worked doing carpet installation before opening nightclubs. In the '60's he was a founding member of the AACM and played on a couple of fantastic Joseph Jarman albums. Indeed, those fine albums are where I first heard him, especially...

The Bishop of Soul, Solomon Burke mixed gospel, blues, R&B and country to become one of the earliest self-identifying "soul" artists. Legend has it that he was the one to coin the phrase. This is due to his relationship to the church and not wanting to be labeled a "blues" singer. He was a preacher in church since the age of 7 and became pastor at 12 and a father at 14. As a teen he worked at a meat market with Chubby Checker. At 15 he was signed to Apollo Records (although the label was told by his manager...

Here's a birthday tribute to Eddie James House, Jr! His high-emotion and intense style as a vocalist and slide player are about as heavy as classic blues got. As well, he mixed in a capella spirituals into his performances. Born in the Mississippi Delta, Son House was a nomadic preacher for some time. Coming out of the church, he went blues in '27 after initially disapproving of it due to his former position. This happened after he was entranced while hearing someone play bottleneck guitar. He was already 25 when he picked up a guitar for the first time. After killing...

The original soul sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first secular gospel recording star, a huge influence on rock & roll and an excellent electric guitarist. Whether in church or in a concert hall in front of a big band, she captivated everyone. As a child she barnstormed across the South with her mom and was called a "singing and guitar playing miracle". She cut her first records in '38 with Lucky Millander's orchestra, including "Rock Me". She appeared at the Spirituals To Swing concert that year and played with Cab Calloway's band as well. As bad as it was to...

Musique concrète composer and writer Tod Dockstader was from Minnesota but went to Hollywood in the '50s where he lined up a job doing music to accompany the Tom & Jerry cartoon. Dockstader also wrote a couple of the episodes. He also contributed sound effects for Mr Magoo. His first album Eight Electronic Pieces was self-released before being picked up by Folkways in 1961. Music from those recordings were later used in the film Fellini Satyricon. He released his organized sound masterpiece Quatermass in the mid '60s. He continued his experimental sound art into the '70s, while also composing and...