Musicians & Entertainers Black History Posters & Prints, “A...-”
for the classroom, home schoolers, inspirational images for the home or office.

“Cannonball” Adderley
b. 9-15-1928; Tampa, FL
d. 8-8-1975; Gary, IN (stroke)

Instrumental music teacher Julian Edwin “Cannonball” Adderley, was a jazz alto saxophonist. He had his own groups and played with other music greats such as Ray Charles in the early 1940s and Miles Davis in the late 1950s and 60s.

• Cannonball Adderley at Amazon.com

Alvin Ailey, Photographic Print

Alvin Ailey
b. 1-5-1931; Rogers, TX
d. 12-1-1989; NYC

Alvin Ailey, Jr., a choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York, popularized modern dance and African-American participation in 20th century concert dance.

As the “Cultural Ambassador to the World” Ailey's troup did extensive international touring. Ailey's choreographic masterpiece Revelations is believed to be the best-known and most often seen modern dance performance.

FYI - Alvin Ailey and Maya Angelou sometimes performed together as “Al & Rita.”

Ira Frederick Aldridge
b. 7-24-1807; New York City, NY
d. 8-7-1867; Poland

Ira Frederick Aldridge was of African American who made his acting career mainly on the London stage.

• Shakespeare posters

Debbie Allen
b. 1-16-1950; Houston, TX

Debbie Allen, actress, dancer, choreographer, television director and producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, introduced the character of the dance teacher Lydia Grant in the movie and television program Fame. She also appeared in Broadway musicals Purlie, West Side Story (1980), Sweet Charity; television shows Good Times, A Different World, and Roots: The Next Generations, and is a judge on So You Think You Can Dance.

Allen is the younger sister of actress Phylicia Rashad, mother of dancer Vivian Nixon, and teacher of choreography to Paula Abdul.

• “You've got big dreams? You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying ... in sweat.” - as Lydia Grant in Fame.

Ivie Anderson
b. 7-10-1905; Gilroy, CA
d. 12-28-1949; LA, CA (complications of asthma)

Singer Ivie Anderson performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra between 1931-1942, singing such Jazz standards as “It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, as well as appearing as a singer in the Marx Brothers movie A Day at the Races.

Marian Anderson
b. 2-27-1897; Philadelphia, PA
d. 4-8-1993; Oregon

Marian Anderson, considered to be one of the greatest contraltos first public gained the publics attention in 1925 when she appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic. Faced race discrimination in the U.S., Anderson spent the next dozen years touring Europe and South America, where she became a major star. After returning in the late 1930s her career flourished on the concert and operatic stage, and she received numerous honors both as an artist and as an individual whose powerful character was an inspiration to fellow artist and the public alike. It was her 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial transformed an ugly racial incident into a mass affirmation of human dignity and equality in the national consciousness.

• women in music list

Maya Angelou
b. 4-4-1928; Missouri

Maya Angelou, besides being the author of six bestselling autobiographies and collections of poetry and essays, and the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1991, was also an actress and dancer.

• more Maya Angelou posters
• American Authors of the 20th Century Posters

Louis Armstrong
b. 8-4-1901; New Orleans, LA
d. 7-6-1971

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, the grandson of slaves, is best remembered as a jazz trumpeter and singer whose vibrant style and stage presence influenced popular music. The nickname “Satchmo” refers to his ‘embouchure’, or how facial muscles and lips are used in playing a wind instrument.

• more Great Black Americans posters
• more Louis Armstrong posters