At a time when smoky jazz clubs came alive with jumping be-bop and vibrant,
free-form R&B, King Curtis was the virtuoso saxophone player who lit up New York
and recorded with The Allman Brothers, Andy Williams and Wilson Pickett. Born in
Fort Worth, Texas, Curtis Ousley started playing at 12 and turned down
scholarship offers from a host of music schools to join Lionel Hampton's big
band in 1950. He became an acclaimed session musician for Prestige and Capitol
Records and famously played on The Coasters' classic Yakety Yak, as well as
records by Solomon Burke, Bobby Darin and Bud...