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Cuthbert O. Simpkins, Jr., MD (b. 1947) was born in Chicago, IL. While in medical school at Harvard, he wrote the first biography of jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. He became a trauma surgeon, researcher, and activist.

Alvin Singleton talks about growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, amongst many jazz musicians. Singleton discusses studying with Hall Overton at the Jazz Loft, as well as his other educational experiences with composers including Charles Wuorinen, Roger Sessions, and Gunther Schuller.