Have you ever heard of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson?

Me neither.

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson was an innovative American composer whose interests spanned the worlds of jazz, dance, pop, film, television, and classical music.

Perkinson wrote a great deal of classical music, but was equally well-versed in jazz and popular music. He served briefly as pianist for drummer Max Roach’s quartet and wrote arrangements for Roach, Marvin Gaye, and Harry Belafonte. He also composed and conducted music for films including A Warm December starring Sidney Poitier and the documentary Montgomery to Memphis about Martin Luther King.

Perkinson’s music has a blend of Baroque counterpoint; American Romanticism; elements of the blues, spirituals, and black folk music; and rhythmic ingenuity.

Here are some tracks from the movie ‘The Education of Sonny Carson’:

Here is the trailer for the movie:

About the movie:

The Education of Sonny Carson, 1974 – A movie based on the book written by Sonny Carson. It chronicles the life of Sonny Carson from childhood to incarceration later in life. Carson later rose to be a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. This is Blaxploitation at it’s best with a serious and upfront message.