December 0

Blog Archive

Thu, 20.03.2025

Nicole Mitchell, Flutist and Composer born

*Nicole Mitchell was born on February 17, 1967. She is a Black jazz flutist, composer, and professor. Mitchell was born in Syracuse, New York, and moved to Anaheim, California, at eight. Her first instruments were piano and viola, which she started playing in fourth grade. She was classically trained in flute and played in youth […]

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Thu, 20.03.2025

Anne Kennedy, Classical Pianist and Professor born.

*Anne Kennedy was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black classical pianist and piano professor. Anne Lucille Gamble was born in Charleston, West Virginia, to Dr. Henry Floyd Gamble and the former Nina Hortense Clinton. She was the younger of two children born into that union. Gamble had two older step-siblings as […]

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Thu, 20.03.2025

Hamid Drake, Drummer and Percussionist born.

*Hamid Drake was born on this date in 1955. He is a Black jazz drummer and percussionist. Hamid Drake (Henry Lawrence Drake) was born in Monroe, Louisiana, and when he was a child, his family moved to Evanston, Illinois. There, he started playing with local rock and R&B bands, eventually bringing him to the attention […]

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Thu, 20.03.2025

The Five Spot Café, a story

*The Five Spot Café opened on this date in 1956. The Five Spot Café was a jazz club in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City, between the East and West Village. Its friendly, non-commercial, low-key atmosphere, affordable drinks and food, cutting-edge bebop, and progressive jazz attracted many avant-garde artists and writers. In 1937, Salvatore […]

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Fri, 14.03.2025

Roy Ayers, Vibraphonist and Composer born.

*Roy Ayers was born on this date in 1940. He was a Black vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Roy Ayers was born in Los Angeles. He grew up in a musical family, where his father played trombone, and his mother played piano. Lionel Hampton gave him his first pair of vibraphone mallets when he was […]

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Sun, 09.03.2025

Walter Craig, Violinist and Orchestra Director born.

*Walter Craig was born on this date in 1854. He was a Black violin soloist and orchestra director. Walter F. Craig was born to Charles A. and Sarah E. Craig in Princeton, New Jersey. He moved to New York City in 1861, where he went to Colored School No. 7 under principal Charlotte Smith, who […]

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Sun, 23.02.2025

Kendrick Lamar, Singer and Lyricist born.

*Kendrick Lamar was born on this date in 1987. He is a Black rapper and lyricist. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California. He is the first child of former gang hustler Kenneth “Kenny” Duckworth and hairdresser Paula Oliver. Both of his parents are African Americans from the South Side of Chicago. As teenagers, […]

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Sun, 23.02.2025

The Federal Music Project begins

*The beginning of the Federal Music Project (FMP) is celebrated on this date in 1935. FMP was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government, which employed musicians, conductors, and composers during the Great Depression. During President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s term, he proposed increasing public projects […]

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Sun, 23.02.2025

Gigi Gryce, Musician and Composer born.

*Gigi Gryce was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black jazz saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. George General Gryce Jr. was born in Pensacola, Florida, and spent most of his early life in Hartford, Connecticut. His family’s strong emphasis on music, manners, and discipline tremendously affected him as a child […]

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Mon, 27.01.2025

Chi-Chi Nwanoku, Musican and Professor born.

*Chi-Chi Nwanoku was born on this date in 1956. She is a Black British double bassist and Historical Double Bass Studies professor. Chinyere Adah “Chi-Chi” Nwanoku was born in Fulham, London, and is of Nigerian and Irish descent. She is the oldest of her parents’ five children, Dr. Michael Nwanoku and his wife Margaret (née […]

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New Poem Each Day

Poetry Corner

On my back they’ve written history, Lord, On my back they’ve lashed out hell. My eyes run blood, The faces I see are blood, My toes can’t dig no deeper in the... POEM FOR PEARL’S DANCERS by Owen Dodson.
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