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Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist and composer.

Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He grew up studying piano in his family, but in 1956 he switched to alto saxophone after meeting tenor saxophone player Nikele Moyake. In 1962, Pukwana won first prize at the Johannesburg Jazz Festival with Moyake’s Jazz Giants (1962 Gallo/Teal). In his early days he also played with Kippie Moeketsi. Chris McGregor then invited him to join the pioneering Blue Notes sextet, where he played along with Mongezi Feza, Nikele Moyake, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo. Although the Blue Notes are often considered McGregor’s group, Pukwana was initially the principal composer and all the group members had pivotal roles.

As mixed-race groups were illegal under apartheid, the Blue Notes, increasingly harassed by authorities, emigrated to Europe in 1964, playing in France and Zürich, and eventually settling in London. After The Blue Notes split in the late 1960s, Pukwana joined McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath big band, which again featured his soloing heavily. As a composer Pukwana wrote “Mra,” one of the best-loved tunes by the Brotherhood.

Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with Morning Prayer, won the New York Jazz Award in 1979 and earned the Stereo Review Record of the Year in 1981 for his album The Outside Within.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of jazz tenor saxophonist Von Freeman. His uncle George Freeman played the guitar, and his uncle Bruz Freeman played the drums.

Benjamin Alexander Riley Jr. (July 17, 1933 – November 18, 2017) was an American jazz drummer known for his work with Thelonious Monk, as well as Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and as a member of the group Sphere. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet.

Benjamin Alexander Riley Jr. was born in Savannah, Georgia, on July 17, 1933, and at the age of four moved with his family to New York City.

Riley performed with Randy Weston, Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz, Junior Mance, Kenny Burrell, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis–Johnny Griffin (1960–1962), Ahmad Jamal, Billy Taylor, and Ray Bryant. He then spent 1964 to 1967 in Thelonious Monk‘s quartet. After Monk, he played with Alice Coltrane (intermittently between 1968 and 1975), Ron Carter(1975–1977), Jim Hall (1981), and the bands the New York Jazz Quartet (1970s and 1980s) and Sphere. He also played frequently with pianist Abdullah Ibrahim.

Riley died of lung disease and complications of diabetes in West Islip, New York on November 18, 2017, aged 84.

Joseph Albert Morello (July 17, 1928 – March 12, 2011 Springfield, MA) was an American jazz drummer best known for serving as the drummer for pianist Dave Brubeck, as part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, from 1957 to 1972, including during the quartet’s “classic lineup” from 1958 to 1968, which also included alto saxophonist Paul Desmond and bassist Eugene Wright. Morello’s facility for playing unusual time signatures and rhythms enabled that group to record a series of albums that explored them. The most notable of these was the first in the series, the 1959 album Time Out, which contained the hit songs “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo à la Turk“. In fact, “Take Five”, the album’s biggest hit (and the first jazz single to sell more than one million copies) was specifically written by Desmond as a way to showcase Morello’s ability to play in ^5/₄time.

Besides playing with Brubeck, Morello also served as an accompanist for other musicians, including Marian McPartland, Tal Farlow and Gary Burton, and recorded his own albums as well. He received numerous accolades during his life, including being named the best drummer by Down Beat magazine five years in a row.

Vincent Anthony Guaraldi ( Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. His compositions for this series included their signature melody “Linus and Lucy” and the holiday standard “Christmas Time Is Here“. Guaraldi is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader‘s 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. Guaraldi’s 1962 composition “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition. He died of a heart attack on February 6, 1976, at age 47, moments after concluding a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California. Guaraldi was born in San Francisco’s North Beach area, a place that became very important to his blossoming musical career. Guaraldi died on February 6, 1976, at age 47 after suffering a massive heart attack. The evening before, he had dined at Mendelson’s home and was reportedly not feeling well, complaining of indigestion-like chest discomfort. “He was about to do his first cruise. He’d be able to play Peanuts music on the ship, and he was excited about that. We talked about the cruise and the Peanutsshows, and I said that I didn’t know what the next one would be yet, but that we wouldn’t start until he got back. But he also said he wasn’t feeling well, and had gone to see the doctor. The doctor thought Vince might have a diaphragmatic hernia, and that they might have to deal with it.

Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteadyand reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces(consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with “Israelites” (1968). Other hits include “007 (Shanty Town)” (1967), “It Mek” (1969) and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” (1970).

Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born in Saint Andrew Parish (Greater Kingston), Jamaica, on 16 July 1941. Dekker spent his formative years in Kingston. From a young age he regularly attended the local church with his grandmother and aunt. This early religious upbringing, as well as Dekker’s enjoyment of singing hymns, led to a lifelong religious commitment. Following his mother’s death, he moved to the parish of St. Maryand later to St. Thomas. While at St. Thomas, Dekker embarked on an apprenticeship as a tailor before returning to Kingston, where he became a welder. His workplace singing had drawn the attention of his co-workers, who encouraged him to pursue a career in music.

In 1961 he auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle), though neither audition was successful. The unsigned vocalist then auditioned for Leslie Kong‘s Beverley’s record label and was awarded his first recording contract.

Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. (/ˈdʒeɪdər/ JAY-dər; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group modern jazz, even as he continued to perform music of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Tjader played the vibraphone primarily, and was accomplished on the drums, bongos, congas, timbales, and the piano. He worked with many musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Although fusing Jazz with Latin music is often categorized as “Latin Jazz”, Tjader’s works swung freely between both styles. His Grammy award in 1980 for his album La Onda Va Bien capped off a career that spanned over 40 years.

Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was born July 16, 1925, in St. Louis to touring Swedish American vaudevillians.

Bola Sete (born Djalma de Andrade; July 16, 1923 – February 14, 1987) was a Brazilian guitarist known for playing jazz with Vince Guaraldi and Dizzy Gillespie.

Born Djama de Andrade in Rio de Janeiro, Sete was the only son of a family with seven children. His nickname means “Seven Ball”. In snooker, which is fairly popular in Brazil, the seven ball is the only black ball on the table (like the eight ball in pool). Bola got this nickname when he was the only black member of a small jazz group.

Sete’s family were poor and often struggled with finding food. Every member of the family played a musical instrument and would often play together. Sete first began playing music when he found a Cavaquinho in his home. With the help of his Uncle, he taught himself to play and eventually got his own instrument. For Christmas in 1932, he was gifted his first guitar.