Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (September 11, 1933 – April 1, 1971) was a
hard bop and
soul-jazz musician most known for playing Hammond organ. It is unclear whether he was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, or New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother was a missionary who played the piano in the church where his father was a minister. His musical roots are therefore in
gospel and Willette started out playing the piano for various
gospel groups and spent his early career traveling across the United States, Canada and Cuba. In Chicago he decided to switch from
gospel and
rhythm and b… read more