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Omar Hakim

February 12, 2024

Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American drummer, producer, arranger and composer. His session work covers jazz, jazz fusion, and pop music. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Chic, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Journey, Kate Bush, George Benson, Miles Davis, Daft Punk, Mariah Carey, The Pussycat Dolls, David Lee Roth, and Celine Dion.

Hakim was born in New York City on February 12, 1959. His father, Hasaan Hakim, was a trombonist. Omar started playing the drums at the age of five, and first performed in his father’s band four or five years later.

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Bill Laswell

February 12, 2024

William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955 Salem, Ill) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.

According to music critic Chris Brazier, “Laswell’s pet concept is ‘collision music’ which involves bringing together musicians from wildly divergent but complementary spheres and seeing what comes out.”Although his bands may be credited under the same name and often feature the same roster of musicians, the styles and themes explored on different albums can vary dramatically. Material began as a noisy dance music band, but later albums concentrated on hip hop, jazz, or spoken word readings by William S. Burroughs. Most versions of the band Praxis have included guitarist Buckethead, but they have explored different permutations on albums.

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World Drumming Baba Olatunji

February 12, 2024

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Daily Roots John Holt

February 12, 2024

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Happy Birthday Sadie

February 11, 2024

My beautiful granddaughter Sadie turns 3 years old today. My valentines girl.

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Cosmos M42

February 11, 2024

The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion’s Belt in the constellation of Orion, and is known as the middle “star” in the “sword” of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky with apparent magnitude 4.0. It is 1,344 ± 20 light-years (412.1 ± 6.1 pc) away and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light-years across (so its apparent size from Earth is approximately 1 degree). It has a mass of about 2,000 times that of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.

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Didier Lockwood

February 11, 2024

Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electric violin.

In 1979, Lockwood released his first album as a leader, New World, and recorded more than 20 albums. In 1994, he moved to New York City for two years. During that time he recorded two albums, New York Rendez Vous and Storyboard. Lockwood’s influences include violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. He started playing electric violin after hearing Ponty on the album King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa. Another important influence was Frenchman Stéphane Grappelli. In 2000, Lockwood recorded a tribute album to Grappelli.

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Little Johnny Taylor

February 11, 2024

Little Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17, 2002) was an American blues and soul singer. He made recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances through the 1980s and 1990s.

Born in Gregory, Arkansas, United States, he is frequently confused with his contemporary and near namesake Johnnie Taylor, especially since the latter made a cover version of the song that Little Johnny Taylor was most famous for, “Part Time Love” (1963), and the fact that both men began their careers as gospel singers.

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Sérgio Mendes

February 11, 2024

Sérgio Santos Mendes (Brazilian Portuguese; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil ’66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song “Real in Rio” from the animated film Rio.

Mendes, a Brazilian musician, is primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place.

Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has collaborated with many artists through the years, including the Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit “Mas que Nada“.

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World Music Iyana

February 11, 2024

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Daily Roots Bob Marley

February 11, 2024

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Happy Losar & Lunar New Year 2024

February 10, 2024

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Cabaret at Mixed Blood Theater

February 10, 2024

The final two shows today Saturday 2-10-24 2pm matinee & 7pm.  At the Mixed Blood Theater by Theatre 55. Music with Shirley Mier, Lyra Olson, Jeff Ruhnke, Brian Handeland, Bebe Keith and mick laBriola!

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Cosmos NGC 1365

February 10, 2024

NGC 1365, also known as the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy, is a double-barred spiral galaxy about 75 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax.

NGC 1365 is a large barred spiral galaxy in the Fornax cluster. Within the larger long bar stretching across the center of the galaxy appears to be a smaller bar that comprises the core, with an apparent size of about 50″ × 40″. This second bar is more prominent in infrared images of the central region of the galaxy, and likely arises from a combination of dynamical instabilities of stellar orbits in the region, along with gravity, density waves, and the overall rotation of the disc. The inner bar structure likely rotates as a whole more rapidly than the larger long bar, creating the diagonal shape seen in images.

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Rufus Reid

February 10, 2024

Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer.

Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation from Sacramento High School, he entered the United States Air Force as a trumpet player. During that period he began to be seriously interested in the bass.

After fulfilling his duties in the military, Rufus had decided he wanted to pursue a career as a professional bassist. He moved to Seattle, Washington, where he began serious study with James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony. He continued his education at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied with Warren Benfield and principal bassist, Joseph Guastefeste, both of the Chicago Symphony. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Music Degree as a Performance Major on the Double Bass.

Rufus Reid’s major professional career began in Chicago and continues since 1976 in New York City. Playing with hundreds of the world’s greatest musicians, he is famously the bassist that saxophonist Dexter Gordon chose when he returned to the states from his decade-long exile in Denmark. His colleagues include Thad Jones, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Harris, and Bob Berg.

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Manu Dibango

February 10, 2024

Emmanuel N’Djoké “Manu” Dibango (12 December 1933 – 24 March 2020) was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father was a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, while his mother was a Duala. He was best known for his 1972 single “Soul Makossa“.The song has been referred to as the most sampled African song in addition Dibango, himself, as the most sampled African musician in history. He died from COVID-19 on 24 March 2020.

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Chick Webb

February 10, 2024

William HenryChickWebb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader.

Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. The Encyclopædia Britannica and Allmusic indicate 1905, and this seems to be supported by censusinformation. Other publications claim other years. During Webb’s lifetime, a December 1937 DownBeatmagazine article, “The Rise of a Crippled Genius”, stated he was born in 1909, which is the year that appears on his grave marker. In 1939, The New York Times stated that Webb was born in 1907, the year also suggested in Rhythm on Record by Hilton Schleman.

Webb was one of four children; the other three were sisters (Bessie, Mabel, and Ethel). His sister Mabel married Wilbur Porter around 1928. When an infant, Webb fell down some stairsteps in his family’s home, crushing several vertebrae and requiring surgery, from which he never regained full mobility. The injury progressed to tuberculosis of the spine, leaving him with short stature and a badly deformed spine which caused him to appear hunchbacked. The idea of playing an instrument was suggested by his doctor to “loosen up” his bones. He supported himself as a newspaper boy to save enough money to buy drums, and first played professionally at age 11.

 

 

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World Music Trio Mandili

February 10, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b0sV3NTZRM&list=PLEB3LPVcGcWY64uqsbXgmqroGvfDENO0l&index=4&t=45s

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Daily Roots Augustus Pablo

February 10, 2024

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Cabaret at the Mixed Blood Theater

February 9, 2024

The 5th installment of Cabaret at the Mixed Blood Theater by Theatre 55. Music with Shirley Mier, Lyra Olson, Jeff Ruhnke, Brian Handeland, Bebe Keith and mick laBriola!

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