Tamsir Faye | ar

Lafayette Gilchrist is a jazz-inspired pianist born in Washington, DC, and now based in Baltimore. He has worked with saxophonist David Murray in his Octet, and has recorded five albums under his own leadership between 2001 and 2008, of which the last, "Soul Progressin," won Best Jazz Album in the 2009 Independent Music Awards. His music has also been used in the television series "The Wire." He currently leads the group "Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes." .

As Faye Scruggs (her married name), she became a regular performer in New York nightclubs in the late 1940s and early 1950s. While performing in Atlanta, Georgia, she was discovered by singer Ruth Brown, who won her an audition with bandleader Joe Morris of Atlantic Records. Changing her name to Faye Adams, Morris recruited her as a singer in 1952, and signed her to Herald Records. Her first release was Morris's song "Shake a Hand", which topped the U.S. R&B chart for ten weeks in 1953 and made number 22 on the U.S. pop chart. In 1954, Faye had two...

Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 - August 14, 1990) was a blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings. Leake was born in Winona, Missouri in 1920. Information about his early years is sparse, but in the early 1950s he joined the Big Three Trio replacing Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston and began his association with Chess Records, where he worked closely with bassist, producer and songwriter...