This Week in Jazz History: January 20 to January 26

January 20

• Drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts born 1960 in Pittsburgh, PA.
• Miles Davis Quintet (with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams) records E.S.P., 1965
• Drummer Jimmy Cobb born 1929 in Washington, DC.

January 21

• Count Basie band makes its first recording, "Honeysuckle Rose," in 1937.
• Violinist and reedman Robert "Juice" Wilson born 1904 in St. Louis, MO.
• Miles Davis Nonet, later known as The Birth of the Cool band, records "Jeru," 1949.

January 22

• Valve trombonist Juan Tizol born 1900 in San Juan, PR.
• Trombonist/composer J.J. Johnson born 1924 in Indianapolis, IN.
• Vocalist Billie Holiday records "Good Morning Heartache," 1946.

January 23

• Guitarist Django Reinhardt born 1910 in Liverchies, Belgium.
• Duke Ellington’s first Carnegie Hall Concert, 1943.
• Vibraphonist Gary Burton born 1943 in Anderson, IN.

January 24

• Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest born 1920 in St. Louis, MO.
• Oscar Peterson Trio (with drummer Ed Thigpen and bassist Ray Brown) records music from West Side Story, 1962.
• Pianist/composer Avery Parrish born 1917 in Birmingham, AL.

January 25

• Bassist Wellman Braud born 1891 in St. James Parish, LA.
• Composer Antonio Carlos Jobim born 1927 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Dizzy Gillespie, making his last recordings, records Bird Songs in 1992, with altoists Paquito D’Rivera and Jackie McLean.

January 26

• Saxophonist/composer Benny Golson born 1929 in Philadelphia, PA.
• Louis Armstrong records "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues," 1933.
• Violinist/pianist Stephane Grappelli born 1908 in Paris, France.

Source: Smithsonian Jazz