Tom Grant (jazz musician) Tom Grant (jazz musician) Tom Grant (born February 22, 1946) is an American smooth jazz/jazz fusion pianist and vocalist. Tom Grant was born in Portland, Oregon, to a musical family. His father was a tap dancer who owned a record store in Portland, and his brother was an avant-garde jazz pianist. Grant learned to play piano and drums when he was young. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he traveled to New York City in 1970 with Native American saxophonist Jim Pepper. This led to Grant touring and recording with jazz greats Woody Shaw, Charles Lloyd, and Tony Williams.
Billy Mitchell (jazz musician) Billy Mitchell (jazz musician) William Melvin Mitchell (November 3, 1926 – April 18, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Mitchell was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his family moved to Detroit, where he received early music education at Cass Tech. He was known for his close association with trumpeter Thad Jones, who was also from Detroit, and worked in several big bands, including Woody Herman's when he replaced Gene Ammons. In 1949 Mitchell recorded with the Milt Buckner band, as well as making several recordings with Thad Jones. From 1951 to 1954, Mitchell led the house band