Happy Birthday Jean Toussaint
July 27, 1960
Jean Toussaint interview
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Tenor and soprano saxophonist Jean Toussaint was born on July 27, 1960 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
As a child, he learned how to play calypso, a traditional style of Afro-Caribbean music.
Toussaint started his career playing with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers from 1982 to 1986.
The tenor saxophonist formed his first group with bop trumpeter Wallace Roney.
Toussaint moved to London in 1987 after appearing on three of the Blakey band’s studio albums including “New York Scene” and has since released nine of his own as a highly respected bandleader in the U.K.
Jean Toussaint discusses his music career in Europe and position teaching at the London Conservatory during a 2009 interview sandwiched between two performance clips.
Ella Fitzgerald