Yusuf Salim (1929–31 July 2008), born Joseph Blair, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist and composer. Salim was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and began his musical career there at the age of 14 as a pianist with the Ken Murray Sextet. He was hired when aged 17 as the house pianist with the Royal Theatre, where he stayed for seven years with a band headed by Tracy McClair, who had played with the

Bama State Collegians The Bama State Collegians is a student jazz orchestra made up of students at Alabama State University. This group was organized in the late 1920s by Len Bowden, Fess Whatley, and Paul Bascomb. Bowden went on to direct the Navy's music program at C ...

and

Erskine Hawkins Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1 ...

. While he worked at the Royal Theatre, he performed with entertainers such as Sammy Davis, Jr.,

Moms Mabley Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of the ...

, and

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...

. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he traveled to New York City with The Bill Swindell Band and performed at the Braddock Bar in Harlem. He also participated in jam sessions at

Minton's Playhouse Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...

and Birdland in Manhattan. In 1974, Salim moved to

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...

. In 1977, he and three other people (Billy Stevens, Rodger Tygard, and Suman Bhatia) opened a restaurant and club called The Sallam Cultural Center that offered music workshops to train and further the careers of North Carolina jazz musicians, including vocalists Eve Cornelious and

Nnenna Freelon Nnenna Freelon (born July 28, 1954) is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger. Early life and education Freelon was born Chinyere Nnenna Pierce to Charles and Frances Pierce in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was raised ...

, and pianist Chip Crawford who now tours with

Gregory Porter Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He has twice won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album: first in 2014 for ''Liquid Spirit'' and then again in 2017 for '' Take Me to the Alley''. Early l ...

. He also hosted a 13-part WUNC-TV (PBS) series called "Yusuf and Friends." Salim received the North Carolina Arts Council Jazz Fellowship in 1999. He wrote over 53 compositions, which have been recorded by Gary Bartz,

Mongo Santamaria Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo (Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction) * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River), Guinea and Sierra Leone, a tributa ...

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single " Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", w ...

, and others.

References

External links

Jazz Archive at Duke University

Yusuf Salim Collection
Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University]
Images of Yusuf Salim at Indyweek.com

Images of Yusuf Salim at Bromberg Photography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salim, Yusuf 1929 births 2008 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Baltimore 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Maryland 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians