"Alvin Leroy Fielder, Jr. Born: November 23, 1935 in Meridian, Mississippi. Died January 5, 2019. Drums, Percussion, Composer. Father, Alvin Fielder Sr., studied coronet. Mother played piano and violin; grandmother played piano; mother's brother played clarinet. Brother, William, is Director of Jazz Studies, trumpeter, and trumpet instructor at Rutgers University.

At 13, Alvin Fielder began musical studies by joining Harris Senior High Band in Meridian, Mississippi, under leadership of Carlia "Duke" Otis. Alvin continued studies with Ed Blackwell while in New Orleans studying pharmacy at Xavier U. in 1952-53. After transferring to Texas Southern U. in Houston, TX, he continued course of study with Herb Brockstein as well as private lessons with George "Dude" Brown, Gene Ammons, drummer from Washington, DC, and Clarence Johnston, James Moody's drummer, from Boston, MA, whenever they came through Houston working. Alvin also had informal lessons with Jual Curtis and G.T. Hogan.

From 1954-56, Alvin worked with the "Pluma" Davis sextet, which included Don Wilkerson, Richard "Dicky Boy" Lillie, John Browning, Carl Lott, Cr., and many other Houston jazz luminaries. He backed such artists as Lowell Fulsom, Amos Milburn and other R&B artists with extended engagements in Houston. Alvin also made several studio dates for Duke records. He was also active on Houston jazz scene with Jimmy Harrison Quintet, John Browning quintet, and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson sextet.

From 1959 to 1968, Alvin was active in Chicago with: Sun Ra Arkestra 1960-61, Muhal Richard Abrams 1962-63, Roscoe Mitchell 1963-66, Eddie Harris and Kalaparusha 1965, co-op trio with Fred Anderson and Lester Lashley 1967-69. In between, he worked with John Stubblefield, Jack DeJohnette, "Scotty" Holt, Joseph Jarman, and other Chicago jazz musicians. Alvin is a charter member of AACM with Muhal Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, Malachi Favors, Jodie Christian, Steve McCall, Phil Cohran, Thurman Barker, Ajaramu, Charles Clark, Christopher Gaddy, Freddy Berry, etc.

While in NY in 1962, Alvin played and rehearsed with Ernie Farrow, Bernard McKinney, Ray McKinney, Wilbur Ware, Vincent Pitts, Pat Patrick, George Scott and musicians associated with this era.

Alvin moved back to Mississippi in late 1968 to take over family pharmacy due to father's illness. With John Reese and Black Arts Music Society, Alvin was active in obtaining grants from NEA and Mississippi Arts Commission to bring musicians such as Roscoe Mitchell, John Stubblefield, Malachi Favors, Muhal Richard Abrams, Clifford Jordan and others to Mississippi.

Alvin worked extensively in early 1970s with Joe Jennings, alto saxophonist now in Atlanta, and Edward "Kidd" Jordan, multi-saxophonist from New Orleans, with whom he co-leads the Improvisational Arts quintet. One of the most important new music groups in the South, IAQ has included at various times Clyde Kerr, trumpet; Alvin Thomas, tenor saxophone; London Branch, Elton Herron, basses; Darryl Levine, piano; Kent Jordan, flute. Also worked with Dennis Gonzalez, trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist from Dallas, another leader on the new music scene in Dallas and TX.

Alvin also had a founding role in the nationally-acclaimed Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Jazz Camp in New Orleans, LA. Alvin has been involved with this growing program since it began in 1995.

Recordings include Sound (1967) with Roscoe Mitchell Sextet, No Compromise (1983) with IAQ, The New New Orleans Music (1985) with New Music Jazz for Rounder, and Liquid Magic, Bannar, Namesake (all 1987) and Debenge-Debenge (1988) for Silkheart, (2006) Live at The Blue Monk, and (2004) Resolving Doors, The Joel Futterman, Alvin Fielder, Ike Levin Trio.

Appearances include Lincoln Center, Chicago; NO Jazz & Heritage Festival; Jazz Marathon '82 Festival, Holland; Moers Intl. New Jazz Festival, Germany 1982; Jazz Danes LA Drones Festival, France 1984; Northsea Jazz Festival, Netherlands 1984; Heinekin Jazz Festival, Netherlands 1988; Atlanta and Texas jazz festivals 1989; Festival Intl. de Louisiane 1991."

"Dennis González, often credited Dennis Gonzalez (born 1954) is a jazz trumpeter, artist, and educator from Texas.

González' primary musical instrument is the trumpet (including B♭, C, and pocket trumpets), though he has also played drums, flute, synthesizer, and baritone saxophone. Allmusic describes González as "[a] talented trumpeter who has recorded a consistently rewarding string of lesser-known dates," whose "playing falls between advanced hard bop and free jazz."

The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that González' recordings during the 1980s for Silkheart Records represented "part of a determined effort to wrest creative initiative back from New York and the West Coast." The Penguin Guide further notes that one of González' greatest achievements is having coaxed saxophonist Charles Brackeen out of retirement during the late 1980s, and that by the early 1990s, González "more than ever before... seems the heir of Don Cherry." González was also instrumental in double bassist Henry Grimes' return to performing and recording. Grimes' November 2003 appearance on González' Nile River Suite was the bassist's first official recording in more than thirty-five years.

During the late 1970s, González started the Dallas Association for Avant-Garde and Neo Impressionistic Music, or daagnim, at the suggestion of Anthony Braxton and Art Lande. The daagnim organization, which functioned both as a group of musicians and as a record label, was based on and named after the AACM.

In 1978, González began working for Dallas radio station KERA-FM, where he hosted a music program, Miles Out. He worked with KERA for 21 years, but left after the station had largely shifted from music programming to a news and talk format.

For several years during the 1990s, González retired from jazz performance and recording. In 2001, he formed a trio, Yells at Eels, with his sons Aaron (double bass) and Stefan (drums, vibraphone). In 2010, the trio recorded with Ariel Pink, appearing on the song "Hot Body Rub" on the album Before Today, and on a vinyl EP, Ariel Pink With Added Pizzazz. González's most recent offering with Yells at Eels is a collaboration with Fort Worth experimental drone rock outfit Pinkish Black Vanishing Light in the Tunnel of Dreams released May of 2020."

Aaron González is an American bassist, the brother of Stefan González and son of Dennis Gonzalez. He is known for the group Akkolyte, Aphonic Curtains, Curtis Clark Trio, Dennis Gonzalez Jnaana Septet, Dennis González Yells At Eels, Luís Lopes Humanization 4tet, and Unconscious Collective.

"Drummer Stefan González was born in Dallas, Texas. Raised in a musical household, he took early inspiration to start drumming from the elders who rehearsed and recorded with his father, Dennis González Ð the masters Alvin Fielder, W.A. Richardson, Andrew Cyrille, and Louis Moholo. By the age of 11 he had put together his first heavy grunge bands (Facelift and Oblivion) and he started focusing on his main project, Akkolyte. Akkolyte, which started as a solo project in which Stefan overdubbed drums, guitar, bass, and vocals, added Aaron on electric bass, and it became a duo. By 2004 Akkolyte had already done a myriad of successful mini tours and an all encompassing 28 day tour of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He also began playing in the family New Jazz/Improv trio Yells At Eels.

Stefan has since gone on to play with the bands Target Rats, Terminal Dysentery, Just Another Consumer, Waking Terror, Rat Salad, Forbes/Young/Gonzalez Trio, =2 0Unconscious Collective, and the Portuguese group Luis Lopes' Humanization Quartet, as well as leading a big band with fellow experimental improvisers in Mexico City in 2006: German Bringas, Remi Alvarez, Gabriel Lauber, and many others.

In the free improvisational/avant garde jazz realm he has played and recorded with Oliver Lake, Sabir Mateen, Douglas Ewart, Tim Green, George Cartwright, Ernest Khabeer Dawkins, Rodrigo Amado, Luis Lopes, Tatsuya Nakatani, Faruq Z. Bey, Damon Smith, Alvin Fielder, Leena Conquest, Famoudou Don Moye, and many more. Recent endeavors have included touring the East Coast and Colombia with Puerto Rican punk legends Cojoba, as well as the recording of Akkolyte's long awaited LP."