Abdul-Rahim, Emmanuel [Juan Amalbert] (1934- ) – master percussionist and recording engineer; son of Annie Swinton Johnson and Juan Amalbert, his mother was part of the Mt. Pleasant (SC), east of the Cooper River families of Swintons and Ascues - his father was Puerto Rican; born Emmanuel Amalbert, Abdul-Rahim later began recording under his father’s name, Juan Amalbert, in reverence to him; grew up and lived in New York and Copenhagen, and has recently reconnected with “ancestral” home (Charleston); played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and recorded “Jaywalker” with the group highlighting his exquisite African rhythmic playing on conga drums; also played with Sarah Vaughan (his role model), Josephine Baker, Aretha Franklin, Ahmad Jamal, Nancy Wilson, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, the Thad Jones Orchestra, and bands led by James Moody and John Coltrane; percussionist for Katherine Dunham; he has produced or engineered recordings for James Moody, Clark Terry, Eric Dolphy and Jimmy Cliff; he left the U.S. in 1956 and toured Europe, Africa and Asia; his Copenhagen-based Latin Jazz Quintet swings with Yambu and Yoruba clave rhythms

Aiken [Aitken and Aikin], "Buddy" or "Bud" Eugene or Gene (1900-1927) ñ trombonist; played in the Jenkins Orphanage Band from 1912; toured with Fletcher Henderson (1921) and worked with Willie Gant, Wilbur Sweatman, Elmer Snowden, Charlie Johnson; he played and recorded with Perry Bradfordís Jazz Phools along with Herb Flemming, Garvin Bushell, Bubber Miley and brother, Gus Aiken, and on recordings with Ethel Waters and Louis Armstrong.

Aiken [Aitken and Aikin], ìGusî or ìRiceî Augustine (1901 or 1902 -1973) ñ born in Charleston and resident of the Jenkins Orphanage; known as ìSpecî at the orphanage and played in its bands from 1912, then left to work in traveling shows; brother Eugene ìBuddy,î also a resident of the orphanage, played trombone and trumpet; an early jazz trumpeter, Aiken taught orphanage musicians how to growl and flutter-tongue on the trumpet; his earliest associations were with songwriter and pianist, Perry Bradford and classic blues singer, Mamie Smith; on the Okeh label, Aiken played with Bradford many hits, and with Smith, recorded ìGot to Cool My Doggies Now,î and ìItís Right Here for You (If You Donít Get It Ainít No Fault oí Mine)î; throughout the 1920s, Aiken recorded with many singers including Mary Jackson, Eliza Christmas Lee, Daisy Martin, Lavinia Turner, Louis Vant, Essie Whitman, Lena Wilson, Ethel Waters, Clara Smith and Cindy Smith; in 1925 with Perry Bradfordís Jazz Phools, Aiken played alongside Louis Armstrong; toured with Fletcher Henderson in 1921 and in the late 1920s, he joined Louis Armstrong and Luis Russell when the latter two joined ñ the outfit employed some of the best New Orleans musicians ñ this association with Armstrong gained great notoriety for Aiken; later, he played and recorded with Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Charlie Johnson at Smallís Paradise in Harlem (1920s-1930s), Lucky Millinder, Buddy Johnson, Henry ìRedî Allen, and Elmer Snowden and the Washingtonians (1931-33) alongside drummer, Big Sid Catlett, trumpeter, Roy Eldridge, trombonist, Dicky Wells and pianist, Duke Ellington; he led his own band during the 1940s-1960s but made no records under his name; remained in New York City during the first few years of the 1970s until his death in 1973

Anderson, “Cat” William Alonzo (1916-1981) – began musical studies on brass instruments, notably the trombone then later the trumpet; born in Moscow, Indiana states a CJI supporter who knew/played with Anderson (though some say Greenville, South Carolina) and later, a resident at Jenkins Orphanage; his brother, “Kitty” played trombone in the Jenkins bands; an all-around great musician, he was noted for his unique high-note work and was arguably the greatest high-note trumpeter of all time along with being a master with mutes and have a strong tone in the lower registers; his high-note playing was unmatched – no one could challenge him though Maynard Ferguson, Jon Faddis and Arturo Sandoval have come close; Cat joined the Duke Ellington band in 1944 and was with the band until 1947, 1950-59, and periodically during 1961-1971; Anderson hits notes so high on his solo on Ellington’s “Satin Doll” that it is doubtful that any trumpeter in all of jazz history could hit one or two (Duke Ellington enjoyed writing impossible notes for Cat to play); a founding member of the Carolina Cotton Pickers (1932-36), a touring band of former Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians where he made his recording debut; played with the Sunset Royal Orchestra (1936-41) and did some arranging and worked with Lucky Millinder, Erskine Hawkins (it is reported that Hawkins fired Cat out of jealousy), Claude Hopkins, and Lionel Hampton (1942); an early recorded composition was with a band led by trombonist, Doc Wheeler called “How About that Mess”; he also wrote tunes for the Ellington Orchestra – one is “A Gathering in a Clearing”; Cat and South Carolinian Bubber Miley helped create the signature trumpet sound for the Duke Ellington Orchestra beginning in the 1920s; he settled on the West Coast and played with local big bands including one led by Bill Berry and died in Norwalk, California

Baxter, Quentin (b. 1970) ñ Charlestonian and jazz percussionist; Adjunct Professor of Jazz Percussion, College of Charleston; CJI Resident Musical Director; toured Europe, Japan, Korea, Guam, St. Croix, Hawaii and Jamaica; considered one of the most sought after musicians in the southeastern United States; performed with Bobby Watson, Eddie Henderson, Donald Byrd, Charlie Byrd, Gregory Hines, Sonny Fortune, Doug Carn, Wycliff Gordon, Marcus Printup, Buddy DeFranco, Malachi Thompson, Obie Jessie, Ronald Westray, Teddy Adams, Marcus Roberts, the Savannah Jazz Orchestra, and currently tours with Rene Marie; recorded with Monty Alexander/Ernest Ranglin (Rocksteady, 2004) and Rene Marie (Serene Renegade, 2004); regularly performs in Charleston

Benford, ìBillî William (b. 1902) ñ born in Charleston, West Virginia with younger brother Tommy; entered the Jenkins Orphanage as a child and toured with the bandís musical traveling show in 1915; led his own band and played regularly with Jelly Roll Morton and recorded with him as well; he also recorded with Ethel Waters, Jimmy Dunn, and Willie ìThe Lionî Smith; Benford was an active combo player at a time when jazz instrumentation evolved from the tuba to the bass ñ he played/recorded on both instruments; he played bass with South Carolinian, Bubber Miley & His Mileage Makers, the Gulf Coast Seven, the Plantation Orchestra and Thomas Morris & His Seven Hot Babies but became inactive after 1930

Benford, ìTommyî Thomas (1905-1994) ñ ace drummer who studied drums with Herbert and Stephen Wright, Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians; born in Charleston, West Virginia (passed away in Mt. Vernon, West Virginia); enrolled in the Jenkins Orphanage in 1913 and toured with the Jenkins Orphanage Band when they performed at the Anglo-American Exposition in London in 1914; worked with the Green River Minstrel Show and in New York with Elmer Snowden, Noble Sissle, Duke Ellington, Will Marion Cook; Willie ìThe Lionî Smith, Fats Waller, Snub Mosley, Rex Stewart, Muggsy Spanier, Charlie Skeet, Eddie Durham, Doc Cheatham and the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band; joined the Marie Lucas Orchestra in Washington, DC; he recorded many classics with Jelly Roll Morton and Coleman Hawkins; on late 1920s recordings with Jelly Roll Morton, students of drumming often listen in wonder to Benfordís accents on the 2nd and 4th beats of a measure ñ a Gullah rhythm that was natural to him and one he maintained throughout his career; in Europe (1930s), he played Le Hot Club of France and recorded with Eddie South, Freddy Taylor, Garland Wilson, Willie Lewis, Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grappelli, Coleman Hawkins, and Sidney Bechet; in the 1950s, he worked with Freddy Johnson and toured U.S. Army camps with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle; toured Europe with Clyde Bernhardtís Band and the ìJazz Train Revueî in the 1970s; often played at Central Plaza, Jimmy Ryanís, the Savoy in Boston and did regular summer seasons on Cape Cod with Leroy Parkins and Bob Pillsbury

Briggs, [James] Arthur (1899-1991) ñ considered one of the best trumpeters in Europe; spent some of his childhood in Charleston and studied music at Jenkins Orphanage along with his cousin and tuba player, Pete Briggs; as a youth, he began playing trumpet with James Reese Europeís 369th U.S. Infantry Band; trumpeter with the Southern Syncopated Orchestra under Will Marion Cook in 1919 along with clarinetist, Sidney Bechet; gave a command performance at Buckingham Palace for King George and Queen Mary in England; founded Hot Club de France, a nightly Parisian hot spot and helped define jazz in Paris over six decades; organized the Savoy Syncopated Orchestra in 1922 with a multinational roster in Brussels ñ the orchestra recorded 64 dance band selections with several jazz solos in Berlin during 1927, alone; a student of Louis Armstrong, Briggs also performed in Germany and Austria and played in Noble Sissleís Orchestra; along with Sidney Bechet, Briggs worked and recorded in Berlin extensively in the 1920s with a band of mixed European and American origin; performed with saxophonists Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins (who he recorded the classic, ìBlue Moonî with in 1935), guitarist Django Reinhardt and the French violinist Stephane Grappelli; in the 1930s, he co-led a band with pianist, Freddy Johnson (a student of Jenkins Orphanage music instructor, Francis Eugene Mikell) and Jenkins Orphanage band member, Herb Flemming; interned during the German occupation of France in World War II for four years, after which he led his own bands and taught in French music schools beginning in 1964; Briggs is laid to rest at the Montmartre cemetery in Paris

Briggs, ìPeteî Peter (b. 1900? ñ death date unknown) ñ thought to be a South Carolina native; cousin of [James] Arthur Briggs; played the tuba in the Jenkins Orphanage Band; in 1928, he recorded with Louis Armstrongís Hot Seven and was closely associated with the New Orleans jazz scene where he often played the bass; played with the Jim Jam Jazzers, Lucky Boy Minstrels, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, as well as Carroll Dickerson, Earl Hines, Hattie McDaniels, Jimmie Noone and Louis Armstrong and His Stompers in Chicago during the 1920s; he played in New York with Louis Armstrong, Carroll Dickerson, and the Edgar Hayes Orchestra; he was associated with the Vernon Andrade Orchestra and Herman Autrey during the 1930s and 1940s; he recorded on Living With Jazz with the great writer and jazz aficionado/musician, Ralph Ellison; in the mid-1940s, he left jazz to become a farmer with little recognition by jazz historians to his legacy

The Carolina Cotton Pickers was the seminal touring band created in the 1920s from the roster of Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians. Some of the earliest musicians included Alonzo Mills, Walter Bash, John ìShadowî Wilson, Thaddeus Seabrook, Walter Hills, James ìBusterî Anderson, William Blake, the Jenkins Orphanage Band music instructor and band director from 1920-1958, and Joseph Smalls. Later members included Clifton Smalls, Julian Dash, Julius Watson, and many others. The Carolina Cotton Pickers recorded Irving Berlinís ìMarieî and Bennie and Buster Motenís ìWestern (Moten) Swingî on several albums -- The Territory Bands: 1935-37, (2001, Jazz Band), The Real Kansas City (1925, Columbia/Legacy), and Kansas City of the 20s, 30s, 40s (1996, Columbia).

Dash, St. Julian Bennett (1916-1974) ñ tenor saxophonist, composer and stylist; graduate of Avery, 1934; oldest of seven sons of Ethel Capers and Charles St. Julian Dash of Charleston; at Avery, he played with the Night Hawkís Orchestra, the Royal Crusaders, and the Carolina Cotton Pickers, a seminal Charleston band established by former Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians; he learned the saxophone by imitating the sounds of jazz bands at the family-owned Dash Hall on 148 Smith Street in Charleston ñ a popular dance emporium at the time; played tenor in The Revellers and The Alabama State Collegians at Alabama State Teachers College in 1934-36; joined Erskine Hawkins in 1938 as a tenor saxophonist with his orchestra and led a remarkable 20-year career with the orchestra; played with Erskine Hawkins Orchestra as the house band for the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem; composed ìTuxedo Junctionî in 1939 with Erskine Hawkins and William Johnson; with Hawkins, he is featured on many recordings including No Soap, Dolomite, and Swinging on Lenox Avenue; his discography also includes original compositions such as Zig Zag, and his own recordings including Willow Weep for Me, Julianís Dash, and A Portrait of Julian Dash featuring Charlestonian and pianist, Clifton Smalls; he also recorded with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Eddie ìLockjawî Davis, and Jay McShann; he passed away in New York City and is laid to rest in the Humane Friendly Cemetery in Charleston

Delaney, ìTomî Thomas Henry (1889-1963) ñ born in Charleston; sang in the Jenkins Orphanage choir in the early 1900s; a popular and prolific blues composer/songwriter on Tin Pan Alley and in the 1920s whose songs were used by recording artists of the era; worked as a pianist on vaudeville circuits; he wrote ìJazz-Me Bluesî and in 1924, his ìDown Home Bluesî was a huge success for Ethel Waters and ìI Wanna Jazz Some Moreî became famous for his rhymes about ìMiss Susan Green from New Orleansî recorded by Helen Gross; several of his songs were recorded by Bessie Smith; his ìSinful Bluesî (1923) was one of many Delaney songs that was exploited by producer, publisher and record company manager, Joe Davis ñ other examples were Maggie Jonesí recording on the Columbia label of ìIf I Lose, Let Me Loseî and Clara Smithís recording of ìTroublesome Bluesî; Delaney also recorded on his own ñ ìIím Leaviní Just to Ease My Worried Mindî and ìBow-Legged Mamaî (1925); he was pianist/manager for Ethel Waters; Delaney passed away in Baltimore

Fields, ìGeechieî Julius (b. 1904) ñ trombonist who entered the Jenkins Orphanage in 1915 and learned to play the trombone by Eugene ìBuddyî Aiken and Jacob ìJakeî Frazier; gigged regularly at John OíConnerís Club and worked with Earle Howard (1926), Charlie Skeete, Bill Benford during the 1920s in New York; recorded with Jelly Roll Morton (1928, 1930), Clarence Williams and James P. Johnson; he left music in the 1930s and became a trainer and boxing coach in New York City

Flemming, Herb [Herb Fleming] [Niccolaiih El Michelle] (1900-1976) ñ multi-instrumentalist, notably trombone and vocalist; his birthplace is questionable ñ some sources say Butte, Montana, Honolulu, North Africa, Savannah or Charleston; Garvin Bushell, his colleague in the San Wooding band in the 1920s claimed that Flemming was a Geechee; began playing with the Jenkins Orphanage Band at age ten; one of the most well-traveled musicians in early jazz; went to music school in New York City in 1910 and studied brass instruments, particularly trombone, cello and music theory at Frank Damroschís Conversatory; joined the 15th New York National Guard Band led by Jim Europe and Francis Eugene Mikell and later with Europeís 369th U.S. Infantry Band; began his professional career with Johnny Dunn (1921); played with many bands including Lew Leslieís Blackbirds, Ethel Waters, Will Vodery, Sam Wooding with whom he toured Europe and South America, Sestto Carlinís Society Orchestra where he toured in Italy, Freddy Johnson, [James] Arthur Briggs, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller (1940-42), Noble Sissle, Don Redman, Benny Carter, Lucky Millinder, Louis Armstrong, and Buck Clayton; started his own band, the International Rhythm Aces in 1930 and toured Europe, Buenos Aires, India, Shanghai, Ceylon, Spain and Berlin (where he made some of his last recordings); was co-leader of Josephine Bakerís revue orchestra in Paris; recorded with Johnny Dunn, Tommy Dorsey, Henry ìRedî Allen (1953-58), Perry Bradford and several female blues singers; a prolific recording artist playing blues, swing and Dixieland jazz; had several stints in the Hollywood film industry and can be seen on screen in Pillow to Post and No Time for Romance; served as an interpreter for the American Olympic team and worked in California as a tax inspector; he died in New York City

Frazier, ìJakeî Jacob W. ( ) ñ trombonist with the Jenkins Orphanage Bands during the 1900s and 1910s; worked with Will Marion Cook, Gonzelle White, Fate Marable, and Drake & Walker in the 1920s; recorded on over 50 sessions including the only one under his name, ìJakeís Weary Bluesî with Elmer Snowden in the mid-1920s; he provides horn obligatti on recordings with blues singers such as Viola McCoy, Marmie Smith and Rosa Henderson; he is known more his work as an accompanist than soloist (ìGet Yourself a Monkey Man and Make Him Strut His Stuffî with the Kansas City Five)

Green, ìFreddieî Frederick William (1911-1987) ñ born in Charleston and died in Las Vegas, Green attended Charlestonís Morris Brown A.M.E. Church as a boy; studied music at the Jenkins Orphanage though not a resident; toured with the Jenkins Orphanage Band as a vocalist in the late 1920s; his vocal version of ìThem There Eyesî was recorded in 1938 with the Kansas City Seven including Lester young and Buck Clayton; highly regarded as a composer including Basie standards, ìCorner Pocketî (later renamed ìUntil I Met Youî for the vocal version and popularized by Sarah Vaughn), ìDown for Double,î and ìRight Onî; performed with Billie Holiday on some of her greatest recordings including The Loneliest Man In Town, Why Was I Born, and I Must Have That Man; also recorded with Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Joe Sullivan, Illinois Jacquet, and Lester Young; joined Count Basie Orchestra as a rhythm guitarist (his first instrument was the banjo) in 1937 and remained until Basieís death; Green rarely soloed but a good example is the 1935 recording of Topsy; won the Melody Maker Criticsí Poll in 1957 (guitar division) and the Down Beat Critics poll in 1958; by Basieís own account, Green as the definitive rhythm guitarist, along with bassist, Walter Page and drummer, Jo Jones, set the pace of the band and defined American swing; Green was the longest serving member of the Basie band and is universally acknowledged as the greatest rhythm guitarist in jazz history, hands down

Harper, ìGeechieî William Emerson (b. 1895) - entered the Jenkins Orphanage in 1902 and was a music instructor there from 1912-14; played clarinet, oboe and alto saxophone; worked with the LeRoy Smith Society Orchestra in New York from 1918-33 and with various big bands including Fletcher Henderson (1944-46) and radio orchestras in the early 1940s; one of the first African American musicians to work at a New York radio station; during the 1950s-1960s, he work numerous gigs in New York; in Harlem and Montmartre (Paris); he was the roommate of Langston Hughes whom the author dedicates his autobiography, The Big Sea; the two men collaborated on ìIím Marching Down Freedom Roadî (1942), words by Hughes and music by Harper made popular as a folk song titled ìFreedom Roadî by South Carolinian, Josh White and is included in the compilation, Thatís Why Weíre Marching: WWI and the American Folk Song Movement (Smithsonian/Folkways, 1996)

Henson, Purvis ( ??) ñ tenor saxophonist; played and recorded with Buddy Johnson; played on 12 recording session during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s

Hill, ìChippieî Bertha (1905-1950) ñ born in Charleston, one of 16 children; one of the classic blues singers of the 1920s ñ Hillís style is less vaudeville-oriented compared to even many of her contemporaries; she began working, professionally, as a dancer in 1916; toured with Ma Raineyís Rabbit Foot Minstrels and was a vaudeville performer for many years; in Chicago, where she settled, her first recordings were with Louis Armstrong (1925) ñ a hit record was the famous 8-bar blues, ìTrouble in Mindî; she also recorded ìGeorgia Manî and several others with Louis Armstrong and pianist, Richard Jones; she performed a seven-month gig at the Palladium dance hall where King Oliver was playing; in late 1946, she recorded ìHow Long Blues,î ìCharleston Blues (composed by W.C. Handy and others),î ìTrouble in Mindî and ìCareless Loveî with Freddie Shayne, Lee Collins and Baby Dodds; she left music in the 1930s to raise seven children and sang intermittently over the next 15 years; she was rediscovered by Rudi Blesh in 1946 working in a bakery and was featured on his radio show, ìThis is Jazzî and in Time magazine which resulted in her comeback to the music industry; performed at the Village Vanguard, Jimmy Ryanís with ìHot Lipsî Page, at Carnegie Hall in 1948 with Kid Ory, at the Paris Jazz Festival and worked with Art Hodes in Chicago; in 1950, she was run over by a car in New York City at the prime of her musical career

Holland, ìPeanutsî Herbert LeRoy (1910-1979) ñ a native of Norfolk, Virginia, he was a trumpeter (also a vocalist) with the Jenkins Orphanage bands in the 1920s; played and recorded with the legendary Alphonso Trent Band (1928-33), Stuff Smith, Al Sears (1932), the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra, Lil Armstrongís Big Band (1935-36), Bud Powell, and Jimmie Lunceford during the 1930s; after starting his own band, he moved to New York City in 1939 and played with Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson (1941) and is best known from his stint with Charlie Barnetís Band (1941-46) with whom he frequently recorded; toured Europe with Don Redmanís Band in 1946; remained in Europe performing/recording in Paris and Scandinavia during the mid-1940s and 1950s with 46 titles on European labels; he settled in Sweden and passed away in 1979 in Stockholm

Jamerson, James (1936-1983) - born on Edisto Island, one of South Carolinaís barrier islands, and grew up in Charleston; by age 10, he taught himself to play piano and also studied trombone; began playing bass at age 16 in Detroit; in high school, he was a highly sought after jazz bassist playing in Detroitís jazz and blues clubs with Washboard Willie, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, Yusef Lateef, and was Pearl Baileyís bassist in the early 1970s; joined Berry Gordy and Motown in 1958 and brought to the simple rhythm and blues bass lines, a more complex and inventive style of bass playing -- a jazz sound; Jamersonís 2-bar vamps has his trademark syncopated chromatic style with walking bass lines, double stops, syncopation and zipping passing tones; he was a bassist with Motownís studio band, the Funk Brothers (pianist, Earl Van Dyke, drummer Benny Benjamin, guitarists Robert White and Joe Messina and Jamerson) and has a lengthy discography of Motown and non-Motown hits including the multi-platinum, ìWhatís Going Onî ñ a great example of Jamersonís brilliant bass playing, ìBernadette,î ìMy Guy,î ìFor Once in My Life,î and ìI Heard It Through the Grapevineî; Jamerson was so critical to Motownís hit that recording dates would be postponed until he was available; he was in high demand in the studio and recorded with non-Motown musicians including the Platters, Jackie Wilson, John Lee Hooker, Edwin Starr, the Parliaments, the Capitols, Marvin Gaye, Joan Baez, Maria Muldaur, the Sylvers, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., Dionne Warwick, and the Spinners on such hits as ìAgent Double-O Soul,î ìStop Her on Sight,î ìI Just Wanna Testify,î ìYour Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher,î and ìCool Jerkî; as a composer, Jamerson is credited with ìFever in the Funk Houseî along with Eddie Willis; he received the Lifetime Achievement Award by Guitar Player, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the first bassist under the category, ìSidemanî; at a time when many considered the bass a minor instrument, he single-handedly revolutionized bass playing with his innovative style and brought the instrument to the forefront through his playing of the electric Fender bass; chronic depression and alcoholism led to heart failure and pneumonia and Jamerson passed away in Los Angeles on August 2, 1983

Jenkins, Edmund Thornton (1894-1926) - seventh son of Reverend Daniel Joseph Jenkins, Avery and Morehouse College graduate; clarinetist and composer of ensemble and orchestral works including Charlestonia, a folk rhapsody which was first performed in London, 1919, then in Belgium, 1925; student of Londonís Royal Academy of Music where he won prizes on clarinet, piano, and for voice and composition; he performed, composed and led bands in Britain, France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal; built bridges between jazz, concert world, Paris, London and the American South; was a member of the London-based African Progress Union with Trinidadian and London-based physician, John Alcindor, Agatha Acham Chen whose husband, Eugene Chen of African and Chinese descent was the Foreign Minister of Nationalist China in the 1930s and whose daughter, Sylvia Chen was a friend of Langston Hughes; he was an associate of South Carolinian, writer and Morehouse graduate, Benjamin Brawley and composer and Hampton Institute music teacher, Robert Nathaniel Dett (pictured from left to right); was the President of The Coterie of Friends, a London-based club that organized social functions for people of color; organized music for the 1923 meeting of the Pan-African Congress of London which included W.E.B. DuBois as a delegate; led a successful dance band, the Queenís Dance Orchestra of which several recordings were made; he passed away in a Paris hospital from tuberculosis or from complications from an appendectomy

Jenkins, Freddy [Freddie] (1906-1978) ñ trumpeter; resident at the Jenkins Orphanage and claimed to be related to Reverend Daniel Joseph Jenkins; Freddie was considered a ìhotî soloist and crowd pleaser with Duke Ellingtonís Orchestra (1928-1934 and 1937-38)) starting a tradition that would later be filled by Rex Stewart, Taft Jordon, Willie Cook, Clark Terry and others ñ he could be considered the first high-note trumpeter with Ellington, a position that would later be filled by Wallace Jones, Al Killian and Cat Anderson; worked with Luis Russell, Edgar Hayes, Hayes Alvis, Horace Hendersonís Collegians and soloed on ìOld Man Bluesî in the 1930 film, Check and Double Check; led his own group and recorded for Bluebird in 1935; composed ìStop A-Hoppiní On Meî made popular by Big Mama Thornton and ìSwing Lowî with Duke Ellington; in addition to Duke Ellington, he recorded with Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard and Rex Stewart; but in 1938 with failing lungs, he stopped playing permanently becoming a songwriter, press agent, disc jockey and press correspondent; he was one of the last survivors of Duke Ellingtonís Cotton Club Orchestra

Jones, ìSpeedyî Rufus (1936-1990) - born in Charleston; though not a resident, he studied and played with the Jenkins Orphanage Bands; a multi-instrumentalist, he began playing trumpet, and at age 13, started playing drums; also played clarinet, violin, and saxophone; credited with being a great technical and fast (hence his nickname) drummer; played a regular gig with Sol Yaged at the Metropole (1959), a Times Square Club; recorded and played with Lionel Hampton (1954), Buddy Johnson, Henry ìRedî Allen (1959-63), Maynard Ferguson (1959-1963), Oscar Peterson, Count Basie (1964-66) with whom he became noticed, Woody Herman, and most notably with Duke Ellington (1966-70); led his own quintet from 1963-64 and recorded his only album, ìFive on Eightî (1964) as a band leader; credited with being a brilliant and explosive soloist; he passed away in Las Vegas