Graham was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States,4 later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman, after converting to Islam.5 He studied at the Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra (1943–1944).6
On October 15, 1947, he played on Thelonious Monk's first recording for Blue Note Records. Sulieman was closely associated with Mary Lou Williams and for a time and had stints with Cab Calloway, John Coltrane, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton.7 Sulieman recorded with Coleman Hawkins (1957) and gigged with Randy Weston (1958–1959), in addition to appearing in many other situations.8
He toured Europe in 1961 with pianist Oscar Dennard, and stayed, settling in Stockholm at first, and then moved to Copenhagen in 1964. A soloist with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band from the mid-1960s through 1973, Sulieman frequently worked with radio orchestras.9 His recordings as a leader were for Swedish Columbia (1964) and SteepleChase (1976 and 1985). In 1985, he was among the performers on Miles Davis' album, Aura, which was not released until 1989.10 Sulieman's career slowed down considerably in the 1990s.11
He died of bladder cancer on July 23, 2002, at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 78.12
With Gene Ammons
With Teddy Charles
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
With Friedrich Gulda
With the Prestige Blues-Swingers
With Mal Waldron
With Randy Weston
With others
Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 379. ISBN 0-85112-580-8. 0-85112-580-8 ↩
"Idrees Sulieman | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/idrees-sulieman-mn0000075149/biography ↩
"Idrees Sulieman". Jazzhouse.org. Retrieved April 4, 2016. http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=1028800578 ↩
"Obscure Trumpet Masters #9 – Idrees Sulieman". Curtjazz.com. March 21, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2016. http://curtjazz.com/2011/03/21/obscure-trumpet-masters-9-idrees-sulieman/ ↩
"Aura - Miles Davis | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021. https://www.allmusic.com/album/aura-mw0000654153/credits ↩