ivory perry park concert series

Hamiet Bluiett

Born in 1940 on the outskirts of St. Louis (Brooklyn/Lovejoy, Ill.), Bluiett came from a musical family. As a child he studied piano, trumpet and clarinet, but was attracted most strongly to the baritone saxophone. After a time in the Navy he returned to the St. Louis area and co-founded the Black Artists' Group (BAG) — a collective dedicated to fostering creative work in theater, visual arts, dance, poetry, film and music. He led the BAG big band, before heading east to New York City in the fall of 1969. There he joined the Chalres Mingus Quintet and the Sam Rivers large ensemble. In 1976 he co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet (along with two other BAG members Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake). He has also worked with Babatunde Olatunji, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

Today, he plays venues around the globe as the “world's best baritone saxophonist.”