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Biography

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

Death

He died of bladder cancer on July 23, 2002, at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 78.¹²

Discography

As leader/co-leader

• Three Trumpets (Prestige, 1957) – with Donald Byrd and Art Farmer
• Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors (Prestige, 1957) – with John Coltrane, Bobby Jaspar, Webster Young et al.
• Roots (Prestige, 1957 [1958]) – with the Prestige All Stars
• Americans in Europe (Impulse!, 1963) – with Don Byas, Kenny Clarke, Champion Jack Dupree et al.
• The Camel (Columbia, 1964) – with Jamila Sulieman
• Now Is the Time (SteepleChase, 1976) – with Cedar Walton, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins
• Bird's Grass (SteepleChase, 1976 [1985]) – with Horace Parlan, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Kenny Clarke
• Groovin' (SteepleChase, 1985 [1986]) – with Horace Parlan

As sideman

With Gene Ammons

• Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons (Prestige, 1957)
• Blue Gene (Prestige, 1958)

With Teddy Charles

• Coolin' (Prestige, 1957 [1959]) – with John Jenkins and Mal Waldron
• Vibe-Rant (Elektra, 1957)

With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band

• Handle with Care (Atlantic, 1963)
• Now Hear Our Meanin' (Columbia, 1963 [1965])
• Sax No End (SABA, 1967)
• Out of the Folk Bag (Columbia, 1967)
• 17 Men and Their Music (Campi, 1967)
• All Smiles (MPS, 1968)
• Faces (MPS, 1968)
• Latin Kaleidoscope (MPS, 1968)
• Fellini 712 (MPS, 1969)
• All Blues (MPS, 1969)
• More Smiles (MPS, 1969)
• Clarke Boland Big Band en Concert avec Europe 1 (Tréma, 1969 [1992])

With Friedrich Gulda

• Friedrich Gulda at Birdland (RCA Victor, 1957)
• A Man of Letters (Decca, 1957)
• From Vienna with Jazz (Columbia, 1964)

With the Prestige Blues-Swingers

• Outskirts of Town (Prestige, 1958)
• Stasch (Prestige, 1961) – with Coleman Hawkins

With Mal Waldron

• Mal-1 (Prestige, 1956 [1957])
• Mal-2 (Prestige, 1957)

With Randy Weston

• Little Niles (United Artists, 1958 [1959])
• Spirits of Our Ancestors (Verve, 1991 [1992])

With others

• Art Blakey, Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem, 1957 [1959])
• Clifford Brown, Memorial (Prestige, 1953 [1956])
• Don Byas and Bud Powell, A Tribute to Cannonball (Columbia, 1961 [1979])
• Miles Davis, Aura (Columbia, 1985 [1989])
• Eric Dolphy, Stockholm Sessions (Enja, 1961 [1981])
• Tommy Flanagan, The Cats (Prestige, 1957 [1959])
• Dexter Gordon, More Than You Know (SteepleChase, 1975)
• Coleman Hawkins, The Hawk Flies High (Riverside, 1957)
• Joe Henderson, Big Band (Verve, 1992; 1996 [1997])
• André Hodeir, American Jazzmen Play André Hodeir (Savoy, 1957)
• Bobby Jaspar, Tenor and Flute (Riverside, 1957) – aka Bobby Jaspar with George Wallington and Idrees Sulieman (Riverside/OJC, 1992)
• The Jazz Live Trio, Jazz Live Trio with Guests (TCB, 1970; 1975; 1982–83 [2011) – with Benny Bailey
• Thad Jones, Live at the Montmartre: A Good Time Was Had by All (Storyville, 1978)
• Nils Lindberg, Trisection (Columbia, 1962 [1963])
• Carmen McRae, November Girl (Black Lion, 1970)
• Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1 (Blue Note, 1947)
• Horace Parlan, Arrival (SteepleChase, 1973)
• Max Roach, The Max Roach Quartet featuring Hank Mobley (Debut, 1953)
• Sahib Shihab, Companionship (Vogue Schallplatten, 1964-70 [1971])
• Bengt-Arne Wallin, Old Folklore in Swedish Modern (DUX, 1962)
• George Wallington, Leonard Feather Presents BOP (Mode, 1957)
• Ernie Wilkins, Top Brass (Savoy, 1955)
• Lester Young, Masters of Jazz (Storyville, 1951–56)

External links

• Idrees Sulieman at AllMusic
• Curt's Jazz Café: Obscure Trumpet Masters #9 -- Idrees Sulieman

References

1. 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 ↩

2. "Idrees Sulieman | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/idrees-sulieman-mn0000075149/biography ↩

3. "Idrees Sulieman". Jazzhouse.org. Retrieved April 4, 2016. http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=1028800578 ↩

4. 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 ↩

5. "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/ ↩

6. 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 ↩

7. 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 ↩

8. 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 ↩

9. 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 ↩

10. "Aura - Miles Davis | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021. https://www.allmusic.com/album/aura-mw0000654153/credits ↩

11. "Idrees Sulieman | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/idrees-sulieman-mn0000075149/biography ↩

12. "Idrees Sulieman | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2021. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/idrees-sulieman-mn0000075149/biography ↩