Wendell Logan was a composer and jazz musician born and raised in Thomson, Georgia. In 1962, Logan graduated from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in music, in 1964 he graduated from Southern Illinois University with a Masters’s in music, and in 1968 he graduated from University of Iowa with a Ph.D. in music theory and composition. From a young age, Logan was taught to play the saxophone by his father. Along with playing the saxophone he also played the trumpet. Wendell Logn began working at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and founded the jazz department and was the director of African American music and jazz studies. During his time at Oberlin, Logan was able to create jazz studies into a major instead of it just being a hobby.
His work has been recorded on Orion, Golden Crest, University of Michigan Press, Morehouse College Press and RPM labels, among others.
He has composed more than 200 works that have been performed on three continents including Europe, Africa, and the Carribeans. n 2001, Logan’s large, operatic composition, Doxology Opera: The Doxy Canticles, premiered in Chicago. His influences include euro-American classical, jazz, blues and African American church music.
