Edgar Eugene Summerlin (September 1, 1928 – October 10, 2006) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator known for pioneering Liturgical jazz,

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz, experimental jazz, or "new thing") is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through the late 1 ...

, and

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

Early life and career

Born on September 1, 1928 in

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College, part of the state's public system. The official nickname of Marianna is "The City of Southern Charm". The population was 6,24 ...

, and raised primarily in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

(in the towns of Gasconade, Brunswick, and Lexington, respectively), Summerlin was the second of four children born to Velma and William Edgar Summerlin."United States, Census, 1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K779-C2H : Fri Jan 17 17:14:00 UTC 2025), Entry for William Summerland and Velma Summerland, 1940."Deaths: William E. Summerlin, Sr."
''The Kansas City Star''. May 23, 1970. p. 2. Retrieved June 24, 2025. "William Edgar Summerlin, 72, of Lexington, Mo., died yesterday at the Lexington Memorial hospital. He was born at Kynesville, Fla., and had lived in Lexington 22 years. ..He was a member of the First Baptist church in Lexington. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Velma Summerlin of the home; three sons, Ed Summerlin, Pleasant Valley. N. Y.; Lee Summerlin, 5113 Lowell, Shawnee; William Summerlin, Jr., Lexington; a daughter. Mrs. Jonnie Peek, Urbana, Ill." In 1940, he began attending Lexington Junior-Senior High School, and was promptly elected president of the 7th grade. Summerlin graduated from

Central Missouri State University The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri, United States. In 2024, enrollment was 13,734 students from 48 states and 52 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, inclu ...

in 1951 with a Bachelor of Music Education (alongside his then wife, Virginia, receiving her bachelor of science); the following year, he earned a Master of Music from the Eastman School. He subsequently free-lanced for approximately half a decade, including stints with bandleaders

Sonny Dunham Elmer "Sonny" Dunham (November 16, 1911 – July 9, 1990) was an American trumpet player and bandleader. A versatile musician, he was one of the few trumpet players who could double on the trombone with equal skill. Biography Born in Brockton ...

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), known professionally as Ted Weems, was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcai ...

, and

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes refe ...

. In 1958, after learning about the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

College of Music while performing with the Johnny Long Band, Summerlin enrolled as a graduate student and became a member of Lab Band and also assisted Gene Hall in teaching jazz composition,

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

, and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

Liturgical works

On January 27, 1959, while a graduate student at the

College of Music, Summerlin, along with his then wife, Mary Elizabeth, suffered the horribly untimely, but evidently not unforeseen passing of their less-than-10-month-old daughter, attributed by attending physician Thomas V. Patterson to "congestive heart failure due to congenital heart disease." Shortly thereafter, acting on the suggestion of Bill Slack, Jr., Assistant Pastor of the First Methodist Church of Denton (who had been a great comfort to the Summerlins in the weeks leading up to their daughter's death), Summerlin composed ''Requiem for Mary Jo'', which has long been regarded as one of the first significant uses of jazz in a

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

service. He performed ''Requiem for Mary Jo'' May 20, 1959, during a service in the chapel at the

Perkins School of Theology Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools and is located in Dallas, Texas. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J. and Lois Craddock Perkins of Wichita Falls, Texas. De ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

. Dr. Roger Ellwood Ortmayer (1916–1984), then of the Perkins School, had commissioned the work. That same year, still studying and teaching at North Texas, Summerlin recorded his debut LP, Liturgical Jazz, on which "Requiem for Mary Jo," was the heartbreaking centerpiece. Saturday night, February 13, 1960, NBC's ''World Wide 60'' (hosted by

Chet Huntley Chester Robert Huntley (December 10, 1911 – March 20, 1974) was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkley Report,'' for 14 years beginning in 1956. Early life Hunt ...

) visited Denton to air the story of Ed Summerlin's liturgical jazz (national broadcast, NBC, Friday, February 19, 1960). Summerlin's grieving and spiritual creativity inspired him to compose other liturgical jazz pieces, including * ''Episcopal Evensong'' * ''Jazz Vespers Service''Simosko, Vladimir; Tepperman, Barry (1971, 1996)
"His Musical Biography"
''Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography and Discography''. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 69. . * ''Liturgy of the Holy Spirit''

TV and film work

At the same time, his well-publicized prime time television debut was followed by several Sunday morning appearances throughout the 1960s on the long-running CBS series, ''

Look Up and Live ''Look Up and Live'' was a 30-minute television anthology series. The series was produced in cooperation with the National Council of Churches and aired on CBS from January 3, 1954 to January 21, 1979. It was a non-denominational Sunday morning ...

'',"The Celebrations"
WorldCat. Retrieved 2013-04-01. collaborating with musicians such as

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...

, and

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

, as well as choreographer

Anna Sokolow Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910 – March 29, 2000) was an American dancer and choreographer. Sokolow's work is known for its social justice focus and theatricality. Throughout her career, Sokolow supported the development of modern dance arou ...

. During this decade, Summerlin also scored two feature films, the little-known 1963 Bay of Pigs-inspired drama, '' We Shall Return'' (which, coincidentally, featured the first and only original screenplay by oft-adapted novelist

Pat Frank Harry Hart "Pat" Frank (May5, 1907October12, 1964) was an American newspaperman, writer, and government consultant. Perhaps the "first of the post-Hiroshima doomsday authors", ''Time'' (obituary), 23 October 1964, p 108. his best known work is ...

) and the even lesser known 1967 film ''Ciao'' (written and directed by the earlier film's editor, David Tucker),Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (1976)
"Summerlin, Edgar"
''The Encyclopedia of Jazz of the Seventies''. New York Press: Horizon Press. p. 319. Retrieved 2013-04-15. which, after becoming the only U.S. feature film to be entered in that year's

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

, failed to find a distributor and quickly disappeared from view.

New York

Summerlin relocated to New York in the early 1960s, where he gradually established himself as an ''avant-garde'' tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger, freelancing with

Pete LaRoca Pete "La Roca" Sims (born Peter Sims; April 7, 1938 – November 20, 2012, known as Pete La Roca from 1957 until 1968) was an American jazz drummer and attorney. Born and raised in Harlem by a pianist mother and a stepfather who played trumpet, ...

, and

Sheila Jordan Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pionee ...

. He also composed and arranged for

, Kuhn,

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

Toshiko Akiyoshi is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. In 1984, sh ...

, and

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

. In 1966, he worked with

Jackson Mac Low Jackson Mac Low (September 12, 1922 – December 8, 2004) was an American poet, performance artist, composer and playwright, known to most readers of poetry as a practitioner of systematic chance operations and other non-intentional compos ...

Max Neuhaus Max Neuhaus (August 9, 1939 – February 3, 2009) was an American musician, composer and artist who was a noted interpreter of contemporary and experimental percussion music in the 1960s. He went on to create numerous permanent and short-term so ...

James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microt ...

David Behrman David Behrman (born August 16, 1937) is an American composer and a pioneer of computer music. In the early 1960s he was the producer of Columbia Records' ''Music of Our Time'' series, which included the first recording of Terry Riley's ''In C''.< ...

, Philip Corner,

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunte ...

, Emmett Williams,

David Antin David Abraham Antin (February 1, 1932 – October 11, 2016) was an American poet, art critic, performance artist, and university professor. Education and early career Antin was born in New York City in 1932. After graduating from Brooklyn Techni ...

, and others. In 1969, collaborated with saxophonist and journalist

Don Heckman Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Guja ...

to co-lead the Improvisational Jazz Workshop. In 1971, Summerlin founded the jazz program at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, which he was director until 1989.

Personal life and death

Summerlin was married three times. On August 29, 1948, three days before his 20th birthday, Summerlin and his Central Missouri State classmate Virginia Lee Allen were married at the First Presbyterian Church in

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

; their son, Sean Eugene, was born the following year on October 29. In September 1954, Mrs. Summerlin filed for divorce; it was granted in 1955. In September 1955, Summerlin married Mary Elizabeth Bouknight. Their son Jeffrey was born in 1960, but not before the former Mary Bouknight gave birth to her husband's most famously unlucky child in April 1958."Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3H1-SQY : Mon Jun 09 23:56:18 UTC 2025), Entry for Mary Jo Summerlin and Edgar Summerlin, 27 January 1959. Exactly when, why and/or how this marriage ended is not clear, but they appear to have been together at least as late as February 1968. In December 1974, in a ceremony conducted at

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

's Artist House in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Soho, Manhattan SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and ha ...

neighborhood (and officiated by, among others, Summerlin's old friend, Roger Ortmayer), Summerlin married

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

native and

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

graduate, Karen Louise Jones,"Miss Jones, Mr. Summerlin Exchange Vows"
''Poughkeepsie Journal''. December 29, 1974. p. 4A. Retrieved June 24, 2025. then employed as director of communication services for public schools in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

. Summerlin died on October 10, 2006 in Rhinebeck, NY after a long battle with cancer,Heckman, Don (October 13, 2006)
"Edgar Summerlin, 78; Musician Wrote Jazz-Based Liturgical Works"
''The Los Angeles Times''. p. . Retrieved Jun 24, 2025. "Edgar E. 'Ed' Summerlin, whose 1959 composition, 'Requiem for Mary Jo,' was one of the first significant uses of jazz in a liturgical service, died Tuesday in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He was 78. Summerlin had been hospitalized for several weeks suffering with complications of treatment for cancer. ..Summerlin received a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music in 1952 and studied composition with Gunther Schuller and Hall Overton. He taught jazz composition, theory and saxophone at the University of North Texas in the late 1950s and was director of the jazz program at the City College of New York from 1971 to 1989. After freelancing in the '50s as a tenor saxophonist with the bands of Sonny Dunham, Ted Weems, Tony Pastor and others, Summerlin became an active participant in New York City's experimental jazz scene of the 1960s. He performed with Don Ellis, Steve Swallow, Ron Carter, Sheila Jordan, Steve Kuhn, Eric Dolphy and Slide Hampton, and co-led the Improvisational Jazz Workshop." survived by his wife Karen and sons Sean and Jeffrey from the previous two marriages.

Selected discography

As leader

* ''

Liturgical Jazz ''Liturgical Jazz'' is the first studio album by tenor saxophonist/composer-arranger Ed Summerlin. It was recorded and released in 1959 on the Ecclesia label. Reception ''Liturgical Jazz'' was billed as "a musical setting of an order of morning ...

'' (Ecclesia Records) (1959) * ''

The Don Heckman-Ed Summerlin Improvisational Jazz Workshop ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' ( Ictus, 1967), co-led with

, featuring

Steve Kuhn Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. He is the composer of the jazz standard " The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers". Biography Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to S ...

and

* ''

Ring Out Joy ''Ring Out Joy'' is the third album by tenor saxophonist Ed Summerlin, recorded in April 1968 and released later that year on the Avant-Garde label. The album marks a return to the religious concerns that characterized Summerlin's 1960 debut LP, ...

'' (Avant-Garde Records) (1968) * '' Still At It'' ( Ictus 1994) : Recorded at Make Believe Ballroom in

West Shokan, New York West Shokan is a hamlet in the town of Olive in Ulster County, New York, United States. The community is located near New York State Route 28A and is west of Kingston. West Shokan has a post office A post office is a public facility and a ...

, Ed Summerlin - Bob Norden Quartet, December 27 & 28, 1993, released 1998 : Ed Summerlin (tenor sax), Bob Norden (trombone), Charlie Kniceley (bass), Chris Starpoli (percussion) * '' Sum of the Parts'' (Ictus, 1998) : Recorded at Make Believe Ballroom in

, released February, 1998 : Ed Summerlin (tenor sax), Bruce Ahren (trumpet),

Joe Chambers Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea an ...

(drums), Ron Finck (alto sax), Tony Marino (bass) * '' Eye on the Future'' (Ictus, 1999) : Recorded at Make Believe Ballroom in

, December 14 & 15, 1998; released 1999 : Ed Summerlin (tenor sax), Bruce Ahrens (trumpet), Bob Norden (trombone), Ron Finck (alto sax), Tony Marino (bass),

Adam Nussbaum Adam Nussbaum (born November 29, 1955) is an American jazz drummer. Early life Nussbaum was born in New York City on November 29, 1955. He grew up in Norwalk (Connecticut), Norwalk, Connecticut, and first played the drums at the age of four. Aft ...

(drums)

As arranger / composer

With

*''

Hub Cap A hubcap or hub cap is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at minimum the central portion of the wheel, called the hub. An automobile hubcap is used to cover the wheel hub and the wheel fasteners to reduce the accumulation of ...

'' (Blue Note, 1961) With

and

*'' The Country and Western Sound of Jazz Pianos'' (Dauntless, 1963) With

Caedmon Records Caedmon Audio and HarperCollins Audio are record label imprints of HarperCollins Publishers that specialize in audiobooks and other literary content. Formerly Caedmon Records, its marketing tag-line was Caedmon: a Third Dimension for the Printe ...

* ''Winnie the Pooh: Told and Sung'' ( Caedmon, TC 1408; 1972) – words and music by

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

, Fraser-Simson and

Julian Slade Julian Penkivil Slade (28 May 1930 – 17 June 2006) was an English writer of musical theatre, best known for the show '' Salad Days'', which he wrote in six weeks in 1954, and which became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s, with ove ...

, read and sung by

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

; additional music, arrangements and conducting by Ed Summerlin. * ''

Many Moons ''Many Moons'' is an American children's picture book written by James Thurber and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. It was published by Harcourt, Brace & Company in 1943 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1944.American Library AssociationCaldecott ...

'' (Caedmon, TC-1410; 1972) –

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...

story read by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

; background music composed and conducted by Edgar Summerlin. * ''The Great Quillow'' (Caedmon, TC 1411; 1972) –

story read by

; background music composed and conducted by Ed Summerlin. *

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written and illustrated by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original ...

,' and other stories about Curious George'' (Caedmon, TC 1420; 1973) – read by

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary roles, she earned numerous accolades including five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play, three Emmy Awards, and a Grammy ...

; background music composed and conducted by Ed Summerlin. * Curious George Reads the Alphabet,' and other stories about Curious George'' (Caedmon, TC 1421; 1973) – read by Julie Harris; music composed and conducted by Ed Summerlin. *''Whoever heard of a Fird?'' (Caedmon, TC 1735; 1984) – Othello Bach story performed by

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical ''Cabaret (musical), Cabaret'' on Broadway theatre, ...

; arranged and conducted by Ed Summerlin. With The Rock Generation *''Saturday in the Park and Other Songs Made Famous by Chicago'' (RCA Camden, 1973)"Saturday in the park and other songs made famous by Chicago. Sound recordings: RCA Records"
Copyright Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-05-17.

As sideman or combo member

* The Contemporary Jazz Ensemble: ''New Sounds From Rochester,''

Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...

(PRLP 163) (1953) : Bob Norden (trombone), Bob Silberstein (alto sax), Ed Summerlin (tenor sax), Jim Straney (piano), Neil Courtney (bass), Bill Porter (drums) : Recorded in Rochester, New York, June 1953 # ''

All the Things You Are "All the Things You Are" is a song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was written for the musical '' Very Warm for May'' (1939)Poinciana'' # ''Prelude : Go Forth'' # ''Prelude and Jazz'' # ''Variation''

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summerlin, Ed 20th-century American saxophonists Free jazz composers American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Avant-garde jazz saxophonists Free jazz saxophonists Eastman School of Music alumni University of North Texas College of Music alumni American jazz educators City College of New York faculty 1928 births 2006 deaths People from Marianna, Florida American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American jazz composers

Early life and career

Liturgical works

TV and film work

New York

Personal life and death

Selected discography

As leader

As arranger / composer

As sideman or combo member

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links