John Coltrane 

John William Coltrane or also known as "Trane" is a legendary saxophonist born in September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina and grew up in High Point, NC. He enlisted in the Navy in 1945, and played in the Navy jazz band once he was stationed in Hawaii. In 1945 he saw Charlie Parker perform for the first time and they played together on occasion in the late 1940s.

By 1960 Coltrane had formed his own quartet which included pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. Eventually adding players like Eric Dolphy, and Pharoah Sanders. The John Coltrane Quartet created some of the most innovative and expressive music in Jazz history including the hit albums: "My Favorite Things," "Africa Brass," " Impressions," " Giant Steps," and his monumental work "A Love Supreme". 

Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital on Long Island on July 17, 1967, at the age of 40.

Michael Brecker

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Cheltenham Township, Michael Brecker was exposed to Miles, Ellington, Coltrane, and other jazz avatars by his father. Michael Brecker moved to New York City in 1969. He first made his mark at age 21 as a member of the jazz-rock band Dreams, band that included his older brother Randy, trombonist Barry Rogers, drummer Billy Cobham, Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn.

After Dreams, he worked with Horace Silver and then Billy Cobham before starting a side project with his brother Randy called Brecker Brothers.

During the years that followed, Brecker was a sought after soloist and sideman.  He worked with James Taylor and Paul Simon, Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and more. His career would span an enormous number of records, with over 900 albums in his discography.

After two years battling leukemia, he passed away from related complications on January 13, 2007.

Joshua Redman 

Joshua Redman was born February 1, 1969, in Berkeley, California. his father, noted saxophonist Dewey Redman, had moved to New York and was playing with Ornette Coleman.  

Redman's formal music training began when his mother enrolled him in Indonesian and Indian music classes at the Center for World Music. These unique art forms, along with the recordings of Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Dewey Redman were his early influences.

He graduated from Berkeley High School, class of 1986, after having been a part of the award-winning Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble for all 4 years of high school. n 1991, he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society. 

In June 1991, he moved to a house with four other musicians in Brooklyn. For the first time in his life, he was practicing regularly, playing jam sessions every day, and taking advantage of the New York jazz scene. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991, and began focusing on his musical career.