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NGC 1169 (UGC 2503) is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Perseus. NGC 1169 has a reddish center, indicating the region is dominated by older stars. In contrast, the outer ring contains larger blue-white stars, a sign of recent star formation. The entire galaxy is rotating at approximately 265 km/ NGC 1169 was…

Horace Swaby (21 June 1954 – 18 May 1999), known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodicaplayer and keyboardist, active from the 1970s till his death. He popularised the use of the melodica (an instrument at that time primarily used in Jamaica to teach music to schoolchildren) in reggae music….

Boris Claudio Schifrin June 21, 1932 in Buenos Aires, Argentina Immensely talented, Argentinian born pianist, conductor and composer who has written over 100 scores for both television & the cinema including the memorable themes to Mission: Impossible (1966), Mannix (1967), Starsky and Hutch (1975), Cool Hand Luke(1967), and Bullitt (1968). Schifrin has regularly worked alongside Clint…

Alexandre Lagoya (29 June 1929 – 24 August 1999) was a French classical guitarist and composer. His early career included boxing and guitar, and as he cites on the sleeve of a 1981 Columbia album, his parents hoped he would outgrow his predilection for both. Lagoya was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Greek father…

Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James (June 9, 1902 – October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. His guitar playing is noted for its dark, minor-key sound, played in an open D-minor tuning with an intricate fingerpicking technique. James first recorded for Paramount Records in 1931, but these recordings sold poorly, having…

Flamenco Fridays palo Bulerias. When performed, the bulería usually starts on beat twelve of the compas, so the accented beat is heard first. It is played at about 240 beats per minute, most commonly in an A-phrygian mode, with a sharpened third to make A major the root chord. A typical rasgueado (a strumming pattern…

Big, bright, beautiful spiral, Messier 106 dominates this cosmic vista. The nearly two degree wide telescopic field of view looks toward the well-trained constellation Canes Venatici, near the handle of the Big Dipper. Also known as NGC 4258, M106 is about 80,000 light-years across and 23.5 million light-years away, the largest member of the Canes…