Tag Archives: The Savoy Sultans

b. 11 November 1926, Greensboro, NEW YORK, USA. Stokes started playing trumpet at age 12, studying officially in senior high school and in university. Within the 40s he performed in various small rings, including one when a fellow sideman was Lou Donaldson. In 1947 he relocated to NEW YORK where …

With an extended and winding career that stretched within a total of seven decades, drummer David “Panama” Francis continues to be highlighted both in top Harlem nightclubs and legendary rock and roll songs over time. Blessed in Miami, Francis started playing his device using the drum and bugle corps around …