Trumpeter/composer Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938) first rose to national prominence as a teenager with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. Becoming one of the most prominent hard bop trumpet soloists, he spent years with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, eschewing forming his own bands even as he issued numerous recordings as a leader in his own right. His recording of his tune "The Sidewinder" became an unexpected hit for Blue Note Records, leading to a scramble of the label to replicate that success for years after, with no success. Morgan was tragically struck down at the age of 33 in 1972, after an altercation with his common-law wife during a gig in NYC, cutting short what was a mercurial career for the influential trumpet player.

Tenor saxophonist/composer Hank Mobley (born July 7, 1930) has been described as one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era. Even though his career included stints with Miles Davis, Max Roach, Horace Silver and recordings with most of the greatest players of his generation, addiction and poor health adversely affected his life, leading to homelessness and an early death at the age of 55. He left behind a legacy of wonderful recordings and compositions, and has influenced myriad players to this day.

Kurt Weill (born March 2, 1900) and Vernon Duke (born Vladimir Dukelsky, October 10, 1903) were both European born composers who composed “serious” concert music before emigrating to the United States and becoming two of the greatest exponents of American popular song. Kurt Weill felt strongly that music should have a political point of view, his "Three Penny Opera" and "Mahagony", both composed in Germany before he emigrated to the United States are biting social commentaries on the drawbacks of capitalism run amuck.