Author: mick

Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958 Toledo, OH) is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk band Chapter 8, Baker released her first solo album, The Songstress, in 1983….

Huey Pierce “Piano” Smith (January 26, 1934 – February 13, 2023) was an American R&B pianist whose sound was influential in the development of rock and roll. His piano playing incorporated the boogie-woogie styles of Pete Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis, and Albert Ammons, the jazz style of Jelly Roll Morton and the R&B style of…

Clement Seymour “Coxsone” Dodd CD (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed “Coxsone” at school due to his talent as a cricketer (his friends compared him to Alec Coxon, a member…

Stéphane Grappelli  26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. He has been called “the grandfather of jazz…

Soleares (soleá) are structured around a basic flamenco pattern, which includes guitar introduction, with these steps: “ayeo de salida” (introductory phrase), “cante de preparación” (preparation singing), “cante valiente” (brave singing), and “remate” (ending), with “falsetas” (guitar variations) intercalating between different verses. It is difficult to distinguish the great variety of soleares that exist because the…