[2] Bluiett was born just north of East St. Louis in Brooklyn, Illinois (also known as Lovejoy),[3] a predominantly African-American village that had been founded as a free black refuge community in the 1830s, and which later became America's first majority-black town.

[3] In the late 1960s Bluiett co-founded the Black Artists' Group (BAG) of St. Louis, Missouri,[3] a collective dedicated to fostering creative work in theater, visual arts, dance, poetry, film, and music.

In late 1969, Bluiett moved to New York City, where he joined the Charles Mingus Quintet and the Sam Rivers large ensemble.

In 1976 he co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet,[3] along with two other Black Artists' Group members, Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake, as well as multi-reedist David Murray.

[4] With the World Saxophone Quartet With The 360 Degree Music Experience With Lester Bowie With Anthony Braxton With James Carter With Andrew Cyrille With Gil Evans With Craig Harris With Abdullah Ibrahim With Charles Mingus With David Murray With the Music Revelation Ensemble With Sam Rivers' Rivbea All-star Orchestra With Malachi Thompson With Randy Weston and Melba Liston