Alvin Queen is an American-born Swiss

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

drummer born in the Bronx, New York, on August 16, 1950. At 16, he played for

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...

and

Don Pullen Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The great ...

and with the

Wild Bill Davis Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918 – August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with t ...

trio. He played with trombonist Benny Green and guitarist

Tiny Grimes Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes (July 7, 1916 – March 4, 1989) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a rec ...

in 1969 and replaced

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was indu ...

in the

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

quintet. He also played with the

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

quartet before rejoining Charles Tolliver in November 1971. During the seventies, he lived in Canada, before settling in Switzerland in 1979 and creating the label Nilva, an anagram of his first name. He has also played with

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

Bennie Wallace Bennie Wallace (born November 18, 1946) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Wallace began playing in local clubs with the encouragement of East Ridge, Tennessee High School band ...

Duško Gojković Duško Gojković ( sr-Cyrl, Душко Гојковић; born 14 October 1931) is a Serbian and Yugoslav jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. Biography Gojković was born in Jajce (ex-Yugoslavia, now in Bosnia-Herzegovina). He studied at the ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, and

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Alvin Queen in Europe'' ( Nilva, 1980) * ''Ashanti'' (Nilva, 1981) * ''Glidin' and Stridin' '' (Nilva, 1981) with

Junior Mance Julian Clifford Mance, Jr. (October 10, 1928 – January 17, 2021), known as Junior Mance, was an American jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early life (1928–1947) Mance was born in Evanston, Illinois. When he was five years old, Mance st ...

* ''A Day in Holland'' (Nilva, 1983) with Dusko Goykovich * ''Lenox and Seventh'' (

Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit ...

, 1985) with

Dr. Lonnie Smith Lonnie Smith (July 3, 1942 – September 28, 2021), styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, was an American jazz Hammond B3 organist who was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. He recorded albums with saxophonist Lou Donaldson for Blue Note be ...

* ''Jammin' Uptown'' (Nilva, 1985) * ''I'm Back'' (Nilva, 1992) * ''I Ain't Looking at You'' ( Justin Time, 2005) * ''Mighty Long Way'' (Justin Time, 2008)

As sideman

With

* ''

At Yoshi's ''At Yoshi's'' is a live album by saxophonist George Coleman recorded in 1989 at Yoshi's in Oakland, California and released on the Theresa label. It was later issued on CD by the Evidence label.Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...

, 1989) With

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

* ''

Jaw's Blues ''Jaw's Blues'' is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis recorded in Munich in 1981 and released on the German Enja label.Di Filippo, R.Enciclopedia del Jazz: Eddie "Lockjaw" Davisaccessed April 10, 2017 Critical recepti ...

'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Ja ...

, 1981) With

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

and

Elise Wood Elise Wood is a jazz flautist. Biography Wood studied classical flute in Philadelphia. In the 1970s, she moved from there to New York. There, she played in jazz groups, including with bassist Vishna Wood. They married, but were leading separate liv ...

*'' Luminous'' (Nilva, 1988) With

Horace Parlan Horace Parlan (January 19, 1931 – February 23, 2017) was an American pianist and composer known for working in the hard bop and post-bop styles of jazz. In addition to his work as a bandleader Parlan was known for his contributions to the Char ...

*'' Pannonica'' (Enja, 1981

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...

With John Patton * ''

Soul Connection ''Soul Connection'' is an album by American organist John Patton recorded in 1983 and released on the Nilva label. Reception The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "It is the lost gem in his catalog and showca ...

'' (Nilva, 1983) With

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

* '' A Prayer Before Dawn'' (Theresa, 1987) With Charles Tolliver * ''

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

'' (Enja, 1972) * ''

Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival ''Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival'' is a live album by Music Inc. led by American jazz trumpeter Charles Tolliver recorded in 1972 and first released as a double LP on the Strata-East Records, Strata-East label, later released on CD as ''Gran ...

'' ( Strata-East, 1973) With Warren Vaché *''

Talk to Me Baby "I Can't Hold Out", also known as "Talk to Me Baby", is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Elmore James in 1960 for the Chess label. Called a classic and a "popular James standard", it has been interpreted and recorded by sever ...

'' (Muse, 1996)

With Pierre Boussaguet

* ''Charme'' (Polydor 1998)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen, Alvin 1950 births African-American drummers American jazz drummers Bebop drummers Hard bop drummers Post-bop drummers People from the Bronx Living people Musicians from New York City American emigrants to Switzerland 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Black & Blue Records artists Justin Time Records artists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people