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The Cosmos with NGC 4622

August 27, 2018

NGC 4622 is a face-on unbarred spiral galaxy with a very prominent ring structure located in the constellation Centaurus. The galaxy is a member of the Centaurus Cluster.

The spiral galaxy, NGC 4622 (also called backward galaxy), lies approx. 111 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Centaurus. NGC 4622 is an example of a galaxy with leading spiral arms. In spiral galaxies, spiral arms were thought to trail; the tips of the spiral arms winding away from the center of the galaxy in the direction of the disks orbital rotation. In NGC 4622, however, the outer arms are leading spiral arms; the tips of the spiral arms point towards the direction of disk rotation. This may be the result of a gravitational interaction between NGC 4622 and another galaxy or the result of a merger between NGC 4622 and a smaller object.

NGC 4622 also has a single inner trailing spiral arm.Although it was originally suspected that the inner spiral arm was a leading arm, the observations that established that the outer arms were leading also established that the inner arm was trailing.

IDL TIFF file

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Alice Coltrane Day

August 27, 2018

Alice Coltrane (née McLeod, August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda or Turiya Alice Coltrane, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. One of the few harpists in the history of jazz, she recorded many albums as a bandleader, beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse! and other major record labels. She was the second wife of jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.

Alice McLeod was born on August 27, 1937, in Alabama, and grew up in a musical household in Detroit, Michigan. Her mother, Anna McLeod, was a member of the choir at her church, and her half brother, Ernest Farrow, was a notable jazz bassist. With the motivation of Ernest, Alice pursued music and started to perform in various clubs around Detroit, until moving to Paris in the late 1950s. Alice studied classical music, and also jazz with Bud Powell in Paris, where she worked as the intermission pianist at the Blue Note Jazz Club in 1960. It was there that she was broadcast on French television in a performance with Lucky Thompson, Pierre Michelot and Kenny Clarke. She married Kenny “Pancho” Hagood in 1960 and had a daughter with him. The marriage ended soon after, on account of Hagood’s developing heroin addiction, and Alice was forced to move back to Detroit with her daughter. She continued playing jazz as a professional in Detroit, with her own trio and as a duo with vibist Terry Pollard. In 1962–63 she played with Terry Gibbs‘ quartet, during which time she met John Coltrane. In 1965 they were married in Juárez, Mexico. John Coltrane became stepfather to Alice’s daughter Michelle, and the couple had three children together: John Jr. (1964–1982, a drummer); Ravi (b. 1965, a saxophonist); and Oranyan (b. 1967, a DJ). Oranyan later played saxophone with Santanafor a period of time.

In January 1966, Alice Coltrane replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with John Coltrane’s group

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Lester Young Day

August 27, 2018

Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed “Pres” or “Prez”, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.

Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie‘s orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called “a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike”.

Known for his hip, introverted style, he invented or popularized much of the hipster jargon which came to be associated with the music.

Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi, near New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up in a musical family. His father, Willis Handy Young, was a teacher and band leader, his brother, Lee Young, was a drummer, and several other relatives performed professionally.

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World Music with Beginish

August 27, 2018

Beginish was a traditional Irish music band that attracted a lot of attention in the late 1990s.

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Daily Roots with Ijahman Levi

August 27, 2018

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The Cosmos with M100

August 26, 2018

Messier 100 (also known as NGC 4321) is an example of a grand design intermediate spiral galaxy located within the southern part of constellationComa Berenices. It is one of the brightest and largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, located approximately 55 million light-years distant from Earthand has a diameter of 107,000 light years. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 15, 1781 and was subsequently entered in Messier’s catalogue of nebulae and star clusters after Charles Messier made observations of his own on April 13, 1781. The galaxy was one of the first spiral galaxies to be discovered, and was listed as one of fourteen spiral nebulae by Lord William Parsons of Rosse in 1850. Two satellite galaxies  named NGC 4323–connected with M100 by a bridge of luminous matter–and NGC 4328 surround M100.

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Branford Marsalis Day

August 26, 2018

Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. He has been cited as “arguably the most respected living U.S. jazz instrumentalist”. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.

Marsalis was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand), a jazz singer and substitute teacher, and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music professor. His brothers Jason Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis III and Delfeayo Marsalis are also jazz musicians.

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Leon Redbone Day

August 26, 2018

Leon Redbone (born August 26, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor and voice actor specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alleyclassics. Recognized by his Panama hat, dark sunglasses, and black tie, Redbone first appeared on stage in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the mid-1970s. He has also appeared on film and television in acting and voice-over roles.

Redbone’s concerts blend performance, comedy, and skilled instrumentals. Recurrent gags involve the influence of alcohol and claiming to have written works originating well before he was born (Redbone favors material from the Tin Pan Alley era circa 1890s to 1910). He sang the theme to the 1980s television series Mr. Belvedere and has released sixteen albums.

According to a Toronto Star report in the 1980s, he was once known as Dickran Gobalian, and he came to Canada from Cyprus in the mid-1960s and changed his name via the Ontario Change of Name Act. However, an article about producer John H. Hammond in a 1973 issue of the Canadian jazz magazine Coda states that he was a native of Philadelphia who moved to Toronto: “Sitting next to Hammond was a young white musician named Leon Redbone from Philadelphia, but currently residing in Toronto”.

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World Music with Gjallarhorn

August 26, 2018

Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland

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Daily Roots with Horace Andy

August 26, 2018

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The Cosmos with NGC 6820/3

August 25, 2018

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the KPNO 0.9m-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. NGC 6820 is a diffuse emission nebula that surrounds the open cluster of stars NGC 6823 (at the center of the image). The intense light from the hot, massive stars in the cluster is blowing away the gas in the nebula, causing the distinctive “pillar” shapes on the left side of the image. The image was generated with observations in Hydrogen alpha (red), Oxygen [OIII] (green) and Sulfur [SII] (blue) filters. In this image, North is up, East is to the left.

NGC 6820 is a small reflection nebula near the open cluster NGC 6823 in Vulpecula. The reflection nebula and cluster are embedded in a large faint emission nebula called Sh 2-86. The whole area of nebulosity is often referred to as NGC 6820.

M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, is found three degrees to the east, and α Vulpeculae three degrees to the west.

Open star cluster NGC 6823 is about 50 light years across and lies about 6000 light years away. The center of the cluster formed about two million years ago and is dominated in brightness by a host of bright young blue stars. Outer parts of the cluster contain even younger stars. It forms the core of the Vulpecula OB1 stellar association

 

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Pat Martino Day

August 25, 2018

Pat Martino (born August 25, 1944) is a jazz guitarist and composer within the post-bop, fusion, mainstream jazz and soul jazz idioms. He is noted for his mathematical approach to the instrument (he has released textbooks such as Linear Expressions) and advanced knowledge of music theory.

Martino was born Pat Azzara in South Philadelphia. He began playing professionally at the age of 15 after moving to New York City. He lived for a period with Les Paul and began playing at jazz clubs such as Smalls Paradise. He later moved into a suite in the President Hotel on 48th Street. He would play at Smalls for six months of the year, and then in the summer play at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City.

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Wayne Shorter Day

August 25, 2018

Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933 Newark, NJ) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.

Shorter came to wide prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he went on to join Miles Davis‘s Second Great Quintet, and from there he co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader.

Many of Shorter’s compositions have become jazz standards, and his output has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise and various commendations. Shorter has won 10 Grammy Awards. He has also received acclaim for his mastery of the soprano saxophone (after switching his focus from the tenor in the late 1960s), beginning an extended reign in 1970 as Down Beats annual poll-winner on that instrument, winning the critics’ poll for 10 consecutive years and the readers’ for 18. The New York Times described Shorter in 2008 as “probably jazz’s greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser.” In 2017, he was awarded the Polar Music Prize.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o40smfOyIso

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World Music with Songhoy Blues

August 25, 2018

Songhoy Blues, all the way from Timbuktu. Formed by three young people who, despite the ban on music in their region, continued their work from their exile in Bamako.

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Daily Roots with Johnny Osborne

August 25, 2018

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The Cosmos with NGC 4100

August 24, 2018

NGC 4100 is a spiral galaxy with extended HII regions of the Hubble type (R ‘) SA (rs) bc in the constellation Great Bear in the Northern Star Sky , which is estimated to be 57 million light-years from the Milky Way .

The object was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel using his 18.7-inch telescope and later recorded by Johan Dreyer in his New General Catalog .

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Jim Capaldi Day

August 24, 2018

Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English drummer, singer and songwriter. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the psychedelic rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co-wrote the majority of the band’s output. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Traffic’s original line-up.

Capaldi also performed with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Alvin Lee, Cat Stevens, and Mylon LeFevre, and wrote lyrics for other artists, such as “Love Will Keep Us Alive” and “This is Reggae Music”. As a solo artist he scored more than a half dozen chart hits in various countries, the most well-known being “That’s Love” as well as his cover of “Love Hurts“.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIYLZOp_Bzc

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Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup Day

August 24, 2018

Arthur William “Big Boy” Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs “That’s All Right” (1946),My Baby Left Me” and “So Glad You’re Mine”, later recorded by Elvis Presleyand other artists.

Crudup was born in Forest, Mississippi, to a family of migrant workers traveling through the South and Midwest. The family returned to Mississippi in 1926, where he sang gospel music. He had lessons with a local bluesman, whose name was Papa Harvey, and later he was able to play in dance halls and cafes around Forest. Around 1940 he went to Chicago.

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World Music with Cayetano Moreno Castro

August 24, 2018

World Music on Flamenco Fridays with Moreno Castro performing Taranta

 

 

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Daily Roots with Cornell Campbell

August 24, 2018

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