- published: 28 Dec 2013
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Eric Allan Dolphy, Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet, piccolo, and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s. He was also the first important bass clarinet soloist in jazz, and among the earliest significant flute soloists. His improvisational style was characterized by the use of wide intervals, in addition to using an array of extended techniques to reproduce human- and animal-like effects which almost literally made his instruments speak. Although Dolphy's work is sometimes classified as free jazz, his compositions and solos were often rooted in conventional (if highly abstracted) tonal bebop harmony and melodic lines that suggest the influences of modern classical composers Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky.
Rodolfo Vera Quizon, Sr. (born July 25, 1928), known by his screen name Dolphy, is a Filipino comedian-actor in the Philippines. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied by his long roster of works on stage, radio, television and movies.
Dolphy was born on P. Herrera St. (Calle Padre Herrera) in Tondo district of Manila to Melencio Espinosa-Quizon, a ship mechanic, and Salud Vera Quizon (1904–1986), a home-based tailor, in 1928. He is the second of ten children. His siblings are Corazon, Josefina (Josie), Melencio Jr. "Junior" (1932–1969), Laura, Aurora (Auring), Jorge (Georgie), Jaime (Jimmy), Teresita and Jaime.
He started education in a public Grade School at the age of six where his favorite subjects were History and Arithmetic as he recalled in his biography.
His exposure to movies started while, as a young person, working inside the theater selling peanuts, watermelon seeds and jicama snacks, thereby he could watch limitless movies for free. Gone with the Wind was the first color motion picture film he saw.
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz. He organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.
As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane, and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane. In 2007, Coltrane was awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."