Sinclair Greenwell Jr. (December 1935 - July 7, 1992) 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 majo ...

alto saxophonist. He was also known as Guido Sinclair, Sonny Harrison, and Junnie. He performed in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

Biography

Sinclair Greenwell was born in December 1935 in Fort Worth,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

in 1944. At Lafayette Junior High School he practiced Charlie Parker solos and met pianist

Horace Tapscott Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 – February 27, 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (also known as P.A.P.A., or The Ark) in 1961 and led the ensemble through the 1990s. Early li ...

. Greenwell and Tapscott formed a band with trumpeter Roy Brewster and drummer Charles Pendergraff while they attended

Jefferson High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

. Greenwell was a founding member of Tapscott's Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in 1961 and played in the group until the mid-1980s. He moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to be with his father. Later, he moved to Champaign-Urbana,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and married harpist Shirley Blankenship. When he lived in Champaign-Urbana, Greenwell wrote many musical papers and performed. These papers include his compositions and records of advertisements from his performances. He performed frequently at Nature's Table.

References

External links

* . Shirley Meyer Blankenship Music and Papers, 1950-2009, at Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.
Guide to the Guido Sinclair Collection, Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago
1935 births 1992 deaths American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists People from Champaign County, Illinois 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub