Pepper Adams, Baritone Sax, 1930, Highland Pk, MI
As a youngster, Pepper moved with his family to Rochester, NY, where he learned to play the tenor saxophone and the clarinet. By the mid '40s he was working professionally with local bands. His early musical influences were Coleman Hawkins and Harry Carney who inspired him to take up the baritone. In 1947 he moved to Detroit where he worked with Barry Harris, Frank Foster, and many other prominent musicians who were in Detroit at that time. He served in the army during tje early '50s, and after his discharge returned to Detroit where he landed a permanent gig as a member of the house band at the Bluebird. It was here that he accompanied stars such as Sonny Stitt, Wardell Gray, and Miles Davis. During the following years he worked with the big bands of Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, and Thelonious Monk. Adams served a stint with Charlie Mingus between 1958 and 1962. He belonged to the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in New York for around 10 years starting in the mid '60s. Adams used stylistic devices more often associated with black players; these included adventurous harmonies, a gruff tone, and a large sound. Pepper Adams died in 1986.
Sonny Igoe, Drums, 1923, Jersey City, NJ
Sonny worked in numerous bands before he got his big break, an engagement with the big band of Benny Goodman around 1948. The engagement lasted until the early '50s when he joined Woody Herman's third herd for a couple of years. Sonny was the principal soloist on Herman's recording of "New Golden Wedding" in 1951, a landmark record. During the mid '50s Sonny worked and recorded with Charlie Ventura with whom he recorded "Bop For The People", a classic set. During the next nine or ten years he worked as a studio musician in New York and also became active as a teacher. During this period Igoe continued working with various small jazz groups and with Dick Meldonian's big band. Sonny's playing was initally influenced by that of Gene Krupa, but he soon incorporated elements of the work of Max Roach, Shelly Manne, and others, and eventually developed an exciting, individual style of his own.
Hal Singer, Saxophone, 1919, Tulsa, OK
J.C. Heard, Drums, 1917, Dayton, OH
