Idrees Sulieman Day

Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002, both in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States) was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter.

He was born Leonard Graham on 7 August 1923, later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman after converting to Islam. He studied at the Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra (1943–1944).

On October 15, 1947, on what was Suliman’s second recording date (source: liner notes by Michael Cuscuna to The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk) he played on Thelonious Monk’s first recording for Blue Note Records. Sulieman was closely associated with Mary Lou Williamsand for a time and had stints with Cab Calloway, John Coltrane, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. Sulieman recorded with Coleman Hawkins (1957) and gigged with Randy Weston (1958–1959), in addition to appearing in many other situations.

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