Jean Toussaint
Encyclopedia
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
tenor saxophonist. He was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Toussaint learned to play calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
as a child, and attended the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in the late 1970s. In 1979 he played with Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney is an American hard bop and post-bop trumpeter.Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from 1985 until the latter's death in 1991...
, and from 1982 to 1986 he was a member of Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's Jazz Messengers, for which he is best known. Since 1987 he has lived in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he has taught at Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
and performed with many local musicians, in addition to internationally known jazz players such as Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
, and the Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
Orchestra. He has also taught at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
and the Birmingham Conservatory.
Discography
- Impressions of Coltrane
- What Goes Around, (World CircuitWorld Circuit (record label)World Circuit is a world-music record label that specializes in Cuban and West African recording artists, among other international music stars. World Circuit celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006 by releasing World Circuit Presents..., a 2-disc retrospective compilation album...
, 1991) - Whose Blues
- Life I Want with Darren Abraham, Wayne Batchelor, Ciyo Brown, Winston Clifford, Mark Mondesir, Jean-Michel PilcJean-Michel PilcJean-Michel Pilc is a self-taught French-born jazz pianist currently residing in New York. His technical ability has drawn comparisons to Michel Petrucciani, McCoy Tyner, and Cecil Taylor. Of particular note is Pilc's left-hand technique, which provides an almost ambidextrous approach to the...
, Jason RebelloJason RebelloJason Rebello is a British jazz pianist, currently part of Sting's live and studio band, who has recorded a handful of albums under his own name. His debut album, A Clearer View was produced by Wayne Shorter....
, Tony Remy, Dennis RollinsDennis RollinsDennis Rollins is a British jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co.Rollins was born in Birmingham, of Jamaican parents, and brought up in Bentley, Doncaster and attended Don Valley High School...
, Nana Tsiboe, Karl Van Den Bossche, Cleveland WatkissCleveland WatkissCleveland Watkiss is a versatile English singer who performs in a variety of musical genres, including jazz, reggae, rock music and drum and bass. Watkiss also performs on piano and guitar.-Life:...
(New Note, 1996) - Back To Back
- Nazaire Who's Blues with Nick CohenNick CohenNick Cohen is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He is currently a columnist for The Observer, a blogger for The Spectator and TV critic for Standpoint magazine. He formerly wrote for the London Evening Standard and the New Statesman...
, Julian JosephJulian JosephJulian Joseph is a jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger and broadcaster. Joseph has worked solo, in his all-star big band, trio, quartet, forum project band or electric band....
, Jason Rebello, Tony Remym, Karl Van Den Bossche, Steve Washington (Jazz House, 1996) - The Street Above The Underground (BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, 2000) - Blue Black with Anga DiazAnga DíazMiguel 'Angá' Díaz , was a Cuban percussionist. With his explosive soloing and inventive five conga patterns, Angá was widely acclaimed as one of the world's greatest congueros...
, Robert HurstRobert Hurst (musician)Robert Hurst is an American jazz bassist.Hurst played guitar early in his career before concentrating on bass. He worked with Out of the Blue in 1985 and also did work with musicians such as Tony Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harry Connick Jr., Geri Allen, Russell Malone, and Steve Coleman...
, Mulgrew MillerMulgrew MillerMulgrew Miller is an American jazz pianist who performs in a number of jazz idioms. He began his career as member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.-Biography:...
, Bill Mobley, Jeff "Tain" Watts (Blue Geodesics, 2002) - Continuum 'Act One with Gary BartzGary BartzGary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
, Donald BrownDonald Brown (musician)Donald Ray Brown is an American jazz pianist.Brown was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play trumpet and drums in his youth. From 1972 to 1975 he was a student at Memphis State University, by which time he had made piano his primary instrument...
, Bill Mobley, Billy KilsonBilly KilsonWilliam Earl "Billy" Kilson is an American jazz drummer.Kilson was born in Washington, D.C.. He started on trumpet at ten, switched to trombone at 11, then to drums at 16. He studied at the Berklee College of Music from 1980 to 1985 and took private lessons from Alan Dawson during 1982-89...
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