Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002),[1] born Leonard Graham,[2] was an American bebop and hard bop trumpeter.[3]
Biography
Graham was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States,[2] later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman after converting to Islam.[4] He studied at the Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra (1943–1944).[2]
On October 15, 1947, he played on Thelonious Monk‘s first recording for Blue Note Records. Sulieman was closely associated with Mary Lou Williams and for a time and had stints with Cab Calloway, John Coltrane, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton.[2] Sulieman recorded with Coleman Hawkins (1957) and gigged with Randy Weston (1958–1959), in addition to appearing in many other situations.[2]
He toured Europe in 1961 with pianist Oscar Dennard, and stayed, settling in Stockholm at first, and then moved to Copenhagen in 1964. A soloist with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band from the mid-1960s through 1973, Sulieman frequently worked with radio orchestras.[2] His recordings as a leader were for Swedish Columbia (1964) and SteepleChase (1976 and 1985). In 1985, he was among the performers on Miles Davis‘s album Aura, which was not released until 1989.[5] Sulieman’s career slowed down considerably in the 1990s.[1]
Death
He died of bladder cancer on July 23, 2002, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 78.[1]
Discography
As leader/co-leader
- Three Trumpets (Prestige, 1957) – with Donald Byrd and Art Farmer
- Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors (Prestige, 1957) – with John Coltrane, Bobby Jaspar, Webster Young, et al.
- Roots (Prestige, 1957 [1958]) – with the Prestige All-Stars
- Americans in Europe (Impulse!, 1963) – with Don Byas, Kenny Clarke, Champion Jack Dupree, et al.
- The Camel (Columbia, 1964) – with Jamila Sulieman
- Now Is the Time (SteepleChase, 1976) – with Cedar Walton, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins
- Bird’s Grass (SteepleChase, 1976 [1985]) – with Horace Parlan, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and Kenny Clarke
- Groovin’ (SteepleChase, 1985 [1986]) – with Horace Parlan
As sideman
With Gene Ammons
- Jammin’ in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons (Prestige, 1957)
- Blue Gene (Prestige, 1958)
With Teddy Charles
- Coolin’ (Prestige, 1957 [1959]) – with John Jenkins and Mal Waldron
- Vibe-Rant (Elektra, 1957)
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
- Handle with Care (Atlantic, 1963)
- Now Hear Our Meanin’ (Columbia, 1963 [1965])
- Sax No End (SABA, 1967)
- Out of the Folk Bag (Columbia, 1967)
- 17 Men and Their Music (Campi, 1967)
- All Smiles (MPS, 1968)
- Faces (MPS, 1968)
- Latin Kaleidoscope (MPS, 1968)
- Fellini 712 (MPS, 1969)
- All Blues (MPS, 1969)
- More Smiles (MPS, 1969)
- Clarke Boland Big Band en Concert avec Europe 1 (Tréma, 1969 [1992])
With Friedrich Gulda
- Friedrich Gulda at Birdland (RCA Victor, 1957)
- A Man of Letters (Decca, 1957)
- From Vienna with Jazz (Columbia, 1964)
With the Prestige Blues-Swingers
- Outskirts of Town (Prestige, 1958)
- Stasch (Prestige, 1961) – with Coleman Hawkins
With Mal Waldron
With Randy Weston
- Little Niles (United Artists, 1958 [1959])
- The Spirits of Our Ancestors (Verve, 1991 [1992])
With others
- Art Blakey, Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem, 1957 [1959])
- Clifford Brown, Memorial (Prestige, 1953 [1956])
- Don Byas and Bud Powell, A Tribute to Cannonball (Columbia, 1961 [1979])
- Miles Davis, Aura (Columbia, 1985 [1989])
- Eric Dolphy, Stockholm Sessions (Enja, 1961 [1981])
- Tommy Flanagan, The Cats (Prestige, 1957 [1959])
- Dexter Gordon, More Than You Know (SteepleChase, 1975)
- Coleman Hawkins, The Hawk Flies High (Riverside, 1957)
- Joe Henderson, Big Band (Verve, 1992; 1996 [1997])
- André Hodeir, American Jazzmen Play André Hodeir (Savoy, 1957)
- Bobby Jaspar, Tenor and Flute (Riverside, 1957) – a.k.a. Bobby Jaspar with George Wallington and Idrees Sulieman (Riverside/OJC, 1992)
- The Jazz Live Trio, Jazz Live Trio with Guests (TCB, 1970; 1975; 1982–83 [2011) – with Benny Bailey
- Thad Jones, Live at the Montmartre: A Good Time Was Had by All (Storyville, 1978)
- Nils Lindberg, Trisection (Columbia, 1962 [1963])
- Carmen McRae, November Girl (Black Lion, 1970)
- Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1 (Blue Note, 1947)
- Horace Parlan, Arrival (SteepleChase, 1973)
- Max Roach, The Max Roach Quartet featuring Hank Mobley (Debut, 1953)
- Sahib Shihab, Companionship (Vogue Schallplatten, 1964–70 [1971])
- Bengt-Arne Wallin, Old Folklore in Swedish Modern (DUX, 1962)
- George Wallington, Leonard Feather Presents BOP (Mode, 1957)
- Ernie Wilkins, Top Brass (Savoy, 1955)
- Lester Young, Masters of Jazz (Storyville, 1951–56)
References
- ^ a b c “Idrees Sulieman | Biography & History”. AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who’s Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 379. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ “Idrees Sulieman”. Jazzhouse.org. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ^ “Obscure Trumpet Masters #9 – Idrees Sulieman”. Curtjazz.com. March 21, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ^ “Aura – Miles Davis | Credits”. AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
