Did her best work with bop musicians in the 1960s, including Thelonious Monk, Mal Waldron and Max Roach (whom she married in 1962).
She was awarded the Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment of the
Arts for her lifetime achievement in jazz music.
After a tour of Africa in the mid-1970's, she adopted the name Aminata Moseka.
She was the 10th of 12 children born in Chicago and raised in rural Michigan.
She moved to New York City in the 1980s. She is survived by her brothers, David Wooldridge and Kenneth Wooldridge and a sister Juanita Baker.
She was a civil rights activist and advocate in the 1960s.
On October 5, 1992, she recorded with Hank Jones on piano the French song "C'est si bon" which was written in 1947 by Henri Betti (music) and André Hornez (lyrics) for the album "When There Is Love" released in 1993.
Began as a singer in Chicago nightclubs, often using pseudonyms like 'Anna Marie' and 'Gaby Lee'.
She spent 2 years in Honolulu, Hawaii where she met Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. She moved to Los Angeles, California where she met Bob Russell.