Dates

• Existence: July 24, 1934 - August 15, 2010
• Usage: 1965 - August 15, 2010

Biography

Ahmad Alaadeen was an African American and Native American jazz musician. Born Sonny White in Kansas City, on July 24, 1934, he changed his name to Ahmad Alaadeen in 1965 when he joined the Nation of Islam.* Alaadeen grew up around music. He began playing the saxophone when he was in sixth grade, later learning the flute, clarinet and oboe. He studied at R.T. Coles High School under the tutelage of Leo H. Davis, a music instructor reported to have taught Charlie Parker. Alaadeen debuted as a professional with Davis' concert band playing e-flat horn when he was 14 and his first major job was playing baritone saxophone with the pianist-band leader Jay McShann. In later years he would rejoin McShann on tenor saxophone.



Alaadeen studied flute at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, oboe at St. Mary's University, and also at DePaul University. He served in the military from 1957 to 59 as jazz saxophonist and principal oboist with the 4th Army Band. After his discharge, Alaadeen spent time in Chicago, playing in a program led by pianist-composer Richard Abrams that was the beginning of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM); other members included trumpeter Lester Bowie and bassist Malachi Favors. He picked up experience living and playing in such cities as New York, Chicago, Denver, Houston, San Antonio and St. Louis. In addition to his work with Jay McShann, he played with Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Glenn Miller ghost band under the direction of Tex Beneke, Della Reese, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, T -Bone Walker, and Claude "Fiddler" Williams as well as with R&B stars, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, Four Tops, and Sam Cooke.



After returning to Kansas City, Alaadeen continued to perform locally and began teaching jazz in both the school system and privately. His skills as a teacher were recognized when he was inducted into the R.T. Coles Lincoln High School "Outstanding Alumni Hall of Fame." During the period of 1990-91, he won songwriting competitions sponsored by Billboard for his songs “Big Six”, “Wayne Himself”, and “Blues For R.C.” He recorded with Jay McShann, Crown Prince Waterford, the City Light Orchestra, and countless others. He led the Deans of Swing in the 1990s, and the ensemble was picked in 1996 as Musician Magazine's Best Unsigned Band.



To document his music, Alaadeen started the ‘ASR Records label. Each of his CDs, which include Blues For RC and Josephine Too, Time Through The Ages, New Africa Suite and And The Beauty Of It All, features him with some of Kansas City's top young jazz players. He also prepared many of his original compositions for performance by large jazz ensemble through his publishing company, Fandeen Publishing Company, Inc. In 2009, Alaadeen authored The Rest of the Story: Jazz Improvization and History, a method manual in which he shares the secrets of how he learned the music as handed down to him by the masters.



Alaadeen was recognized in his community and state as the recipient of numerous awards including Kansas City's Jazz Heritage Award, the Missouri Humanities Council's Community Heritage Award, the Missouri Arts Award and Kansas City's Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000, Congresswoman Karen McCarthy recognized Alaadeen in the United States House of Representatives for the contributions he has made to his community's understanding of its heritage. In 2002, Missouri Governor Bob Holden honored Alaadeen at an official dinner at the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City. In an effort to acknowledge Alaadeen for making a significant impact in the history, development, and performance of jazz, and to applaud Alaadeen for his outstanding achievements in the art form of jazz, Alaadeen was issued a Proclamation from the Office of the Governor, State of Missouri. The American Jazz Museum honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.



Alaadeen died of cancer on August 15, 2010, at the age of 76.

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