William Curtis Porter (September 21, 1929 – June 1976), better known as Shafi Hadi, 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tenor and alto saxophonist known for his recordings with

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

and with

Hank Mobley Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...

Biography

Hadi was born as William Curtis Porter in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on September 21, 1929. The 1930 Census indicated his parents were William Porter and Harrietti Porter. At age 6, he received piano lessons from his grandmother. Later, he studied musical composition at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

and

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

. Hadi performed with

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

artists such as

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a popular music, pop music ...

, and the Griffin Brothers. Hadi recorded with bassist Charles Mingus between 1956 and 1958. He also recorded with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley. Hadi improvised the soundtrack music for

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

's film ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensiona ...

'', then returned to Mingus's group in 1959. He also collaborated with

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

on her 1977 composition "Shafi", although the extent of Hadi's contribution is unclear. The 1977 Copyright filing EU841296 by

credited words to Hadi, pseud. of Shafi Porter, with music and arrangement credited to

. During the 1950s, Hadi was also active in painting. Between 1965 and 1969 he co-wrote five songs with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

or Gladys Hampton: Bye, Bye, Hamp Stamps, No, Say No, A Sketch Of Gladys, and Mama Knows. Hadi died in June 1976, at the age of 46.

Playing style

Brian Priestley Brian Priestley (born 10 July 1940)Many sources list Priestley's year of birth as 1946, but this is inaccurate. See Priestley's entry in ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'' anon his revised Charlie Parker study. is an English jazz writer, pianist and a ...

describes Hadi's performance style as a "distinctive mixture of bop and blues, combined with a very individual tone." Martin Williams, writing in 1958, described Hadi's playing as being "both contemporary and a reflection of an apprenticeship in rhythm and blues bands."

Discography

As leader

* ''Debut Rarities, Vol. 3'' (1957,

Original Jazz Classics Original Jazz Classics (or OJC) is a record label that was founded in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and LP, and formerly on cassette as well. The recordings in the ...

) – Shafi Hadi Sextet

As sideman

With

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

*''

Weary Blues "Weary Blues" is a 1915 tune by Artie Matthews. Despite the name, the form is a multi-strain ragtime rather than a conventional blues. (At the time it was published, many hot or raggy numbers were published with the word "Blues" in the title). I ...

'' (MGM, 1958) With

* '' The Clown'' (1957 ;

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

) * '' Tijuana Moods'' (1957; (issued 1962)

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

) * '' East Coasting'' (1957;

Bethlehem Records Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. History Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the firs ...

) * ''

A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' (1957; Bethlehem) * ''

Mingus Ah Um ''Mingus Ah Um'' is a studio album by American jazz musician Charles Mingus which was released in October 1959 by Columbia Records. It was his first album recorded for Columbia. The title is a corruption of an imaginary Latin declension. It is com ...

'' (1959;

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) * '' Tonight at Noon'' (1961; Atlantic) With

* ''

'' (1957;

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadi, Shafi 1929 births 1976 deaths Jazz musicians from Philadelphia American jazz alto saxophonists American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Bebop saxophonists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians