Category: Black Excellence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tia_Fuller

Tia Fuller (born March 27, 1976) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music.^[1] Fuller was a Featured Jazz Musician in Pixar‘s animated film Soul. For the film Fuller plays an alto saxophone with a Vandoren mouthpiece for the character Dorothea Williams. The appearance of Dorothea Williams is influenced by Fuller, and the character’s speaking lines are voiced by Angela Bassett.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Lincoln

Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010),^[1] known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s.^[2][3] Lincoln made a career out of delivering deeply felt presentations of standards, as well as writing and singing her own material.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_Hardin_Armstrong

Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in the 1920s.^[1]

Her compositions include “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue”, “Don’t Jive Me”, “Two Deuces”, “Knee Drops”, “Doin’ the Suzie-Q”, “Just for a Thrill” (which was a hit when revived by Ray Charles in 1959),^[2] “Clip Joint”, and “Bad Boy” (a hit for the Jive Bombers in 1957). Armstrong was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2014.^[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lou_Williams

Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981^[1]) 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 LP versions).^[2] Williams wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie.

https://vicfirth.com/blogs/artist/jeremiah-collier-vf?srsltid=AfmBOor03UBhozVq93KtewbyoeWjLMAE2_S2xBSZ6LjNJTOAj5WZx0xQ

I started playing drums in the church at an early age. That’s the place where I molded my passion for the drums and I eventually started playing gigs professionally. Later on I started developing a desire to play other genres of music besides Gospel, RnB and Funk. Playing with different types of bands and artists throughout Chicago such as Ari Brown, Willie Pickens and Robert Irving III helped me learn different aspects of each genre of music. Something that sets me off is a crazy bass line from the bass player.

https://www.aldimeola.com/news

American Jazz Violinist

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/17/g-s1-70053/stanley-clarke-tiny-desk-concert

Clarke’s storied career has been awash with showcases in his virtuosity on the acoustic and electric basses. He’s worked with fellow music titans like Chick Corea, George Duke, Jean Luc Ponty and Al Di Meola, and has scored for film and television. From 1974–1976, Clarke dropped a series of solo albums (Stanley Clarke, Journey to Love and School Days) that would herald his status as a force in music and foreshadow his 2022 designation as an NEA Jazz Master.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Whittaker

Isabella Whittaker (born February 15, 2002) is an American sprinter. She is the North American indoor record holder for the 400 m dash with a time of 49.24 seconds, set on March 15, 2025, in Virginia Beach.^[1]

https://saulnash.com/pages/about

Raised in North East London, Saul Nash is a designer who established his eponymous brand in 2018. At the core of the brand is Nash’s desire to create technical garments for movement; his body of work oscillates between the world of fashion and dance.

https://nicholasdaley.net/pages/about

Community, craftsmanship and culture lie at the heart of Nicholas Daley’s work. Having graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2013, the London-based designer launched his eponymous brand in 2015. Embedded in his lineage, his practise intertwines personal narrative with wider black British and diasporic themes, incorporating tradition, authenticity, and diversity.

Clothing deeply rooted in both present and past, Daley reconsiders meaningful subcultural movements through his contemporary menswear wardrobe. Incorporating bespoke textiles and complex finishes into every collection, the label partners with a range of artisan makers in the UK and beyond to infuse garments with nuance and depth, expanding its sustainable systems through ethical sourcing and innovative repurposing.