John Malachi (September 6, 1919 – February 11, 1987) was an American

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 m ...

pianist.

Early life

Malachi was born in

Red Springs, North Carolina Red Springs is a town in Hoke and Robeson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,428 at the 2010 census. Geography Red Springs is located in northern Robeson County at (34.814363, -79.184281). North Carolina Highwa ...

on September 6, 1919, and grew up in Durham, North Carolina. At the age of ten he moved with his family to Washington, D.C. He was a self-taught musician.

Later life and career

Malachi was a member of the epochal Billy Eckstine Bebop Orchestra in 1944-1945 and again in 1947. He also worked with

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on " Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of ...

in 1948, Louis Jordan in 1951, and a series of singers including Pearl Bailey,

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

, Sarah Vaughan, Al Hibbler, and Joe Williams. Malachi opted out of the traveling life of the touring

musician in the 1960s, living roughly the last decade and a half of his life in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

freelancing, playing with touring bands and artists when they stopped in Washington, and leading music workshops at clubs like Jimmy MacPhail's Gold Room and Bill Harris's Pig's Foot. Malachi's generosity towards younger musicians was legendary. One of the musicians he helped influence recalls that younger players referred to his workshops as "The University of John Malachi".George V. Johnson, Jr. Music Blog
John Malachi is the great-grandfather of Carolyn Malachi. The singer, poet, and rap artist received a Best Urban / Alternative Performance Grammy Award nomination in 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malachi, John 1919 births 1987 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists People from Red Springs, North Carolina 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from North Carolina 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians