Sunday, August 24, 2014

A00041 - Terence Todman, Ambassador and Diplomat

Terence Alphonso Todman (March 13, 1926 – August 13, 2014) was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Chad, Guinea, Costa Rica, Spain, Denmark and Argentina.  In 1990, he was awarded the rank of Career Ambassador. 

He was born on Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, on March 13, 1926. He was drafted and served in Japan from 1945 to 1949.

He graduated from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico summa cum laude, and from Syracuse University.  

Todman was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was also a director of Exxcel Group.  

On August 13, 2014, Terence Todman died at the age of 88 at a hospital in Saint Thomas.

He married Doris Weston and they had four children.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A00040 - Idris Muhammad, Multi-Genre Drummer

Idris Muhammad (Arabic: إدريس محمد‎; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer who recorded extensively with many musicians, including Ahmad Jamal, Lou Donaldson, and Pharoah Sanders, among many others.

At 16 years old, one of Muhammad's earliest recorded sessions as a drummer was on Fats Domino's 1956 hit "Blueberry Hill".   He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. In 1966, he married Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, former member of the singing group known as the Crystals.  Brooks converted to Islam with Muhammad and went for a time under the name Sakinah Muhammad. They separated in 1999. Together, they had two sons and two daughters, and Muhammad had one daughter from a previous marriage to Gracie Lee Edwards-Morris. Pharoah Sanders's son Idris is named after Idris Muhammad

Muhammad was an endorser of Istanbul Agop Cymbals. 

In 2012, Xlibris released the book Inside The Music: The Life of Idris Muhammad, which Muhammad wrote with his friend Britt Alexander.

He died on July 29, 2014.

The principal discography of Idris Muhammad reads as follows:
  • 1970: Black Rhythm Revolution! (Prestige)
  • 1971: Peace and Rhythm (Prestige)
  • 1974: Power of Soul (Kudu)
  • 1976: House of the Rising Sun (Kudu)
  • 1977: Turn This Mutha Out (Kudu)
  • 1977: Could Heaven Ever Be Like This
  • 1978: Boogie to the Top
  • 1978: You Ain't No Friend of Mine
  • 1979: Fox Huntin'
  • 1980: Kabsha (Theresa Records)
  • 1980: Make It Count
  • 1992: My Turn
  • 1998: Right Now