Houston Person, the tenor sax master, was born in 1934 in Florence, SC.
Person went to what is now South Carolina State University, where he would later be inducted into the school's hall of fame. He left school to join the Air Force, played in a service band in Wester Germany, and was mentored by jazz legends Don Ellis, Eddie Harris, and Cedar Walton.
Person has toured the world, recorded on some 75 albums, and played with the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, and Lou Rawls. He was also the musical partner of singer Etta Jones for over 30 years.
Another jazz luminary, Wycliff Gordon, says of Person, "Everyone loves to hear Houston Person play because he plays the songs that make people want to sing and dance."
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of the ColaJazz Foundation and SC Public Radio. Support for this program is made possible in part by Fox Music House of Columbia and Charleston.