Jimmie Noone was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca. Classical composer Maurice Ravel acknowledged basing his Boléro on an improvisation by Noone. At the time of his death Noone was leading a quartet in Los Angeles and was part of an all-star band that was reviving interest in traditional New Orleans jazz in the 1940s.
Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album Honey in the Horn (1963), and for the theme music to The Green Hornet. His nicknames included "Jumbo" and "The Round Mound of Sound". Colin Escott, an author of musician biographies, wrote that RCA Victor, for which Hirt had recorded most of his best-selling recordings and for which he had spent most of his professional recording career, had dubbed him with another moniker: "The King." Hirt was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in November 2009. He received 21 Grammy nominations during his lifetime, including winning the Grammy award in 1964 for his version of "Java".
Playing host to the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, the United Kingdom was expected to, and did, send an entry to the Contest, which was held in Wembley, London.
Theodore Shaw Wilson was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. With Goodman, he was one of the first black musicians to appear prominently with white musicians. In addition to his extensive work as a sideman, Wilson also led his own groups and recording sessions from the late 1920s to the 1980s.
Angela Martinez is an American radio personality, rapper, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to join crosstown competitor Power 105.1 (WWPR). Martinez won the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Marconi Radio Award for "Major Market Personality of the Year" in 2018, and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2020.
Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne is a secular cantata composed by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Ambrose Philips, of which the first line, "Eternal source of light divine", provides an alternative title for the work. It was probably composed during January 1713 for a performance on 6 February 1713, although there is no record of the performance having actually taken place. Other catalogues of Handel's music have referred to the work as HG xlvi A; and HHA i/6.
Kyung Wha Chung is a South Korean violinist.
"Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues in the Night. The song is sung in the film by William Gillespie.
"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The lyrics salute the nightlife of Broadway and its denizens, who "don't sleep tight until the dawn."
Donald Harrison Jr. is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was introduced by Wini Shaw and Ross Alexander in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing and Able, as well as used for a production number in a musical revue on Broadway. The song has become a pop and jazz standard and has been recorded by many artists.
The Puppini Sisters are an English close harmony vocal trio composed of Italian-born singer Marcella Puppini and English singers Kate Mullins and Emma Smith. Although the three are not related, the name was chosen in tribute to the Andrews Sisters. They are known for providing guest vocals on Michael Bublé's cover of "Jingle Bells". Puppini first studied fashion design at Saint Martins School of Art, and later music at Trinity College of Music in London where she met Mullins and original member Rosanna Schura, who was later replaced by Stephanie O'Brien. After eight years with the group, O'Brien was replaced by Emma Smith. The trio are backed by a three-piece band featuring Martin Kolarides on guitar, Henrik Jensen on double bass and Peter Ibbetson on drums. The group is associated with a burlesque revival.
"The Gypsy in My Soul" is a popular song written for the 50th anniversary of the University of Pennsylvania Mask and Wig show in 1937 by two Penn graduates, Clay Boland and Moe Jaffe. Boland wrote the music and Jaffe the lyrics. Although both men had long since graduated, it had become the practice at the time for professionals, rather than students, to compose songs for the show.
Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey was an American jazz trumpeter.
Clifford R. Burwell was an American pianist and composer. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut on October 6, 1898. His most popular composition was "Sweet Lorraine," with lyrics by Mitchell Parish.
"I Don't Know Why " is a 1931 popular song.
Lawrence Joseph Elgart was an American jazz bandleader. With his brother Les, he recorded "Bandstand Boogie", the theme to the long-running dance show American Bandstand.
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records.
Sophisticated Ladies is an album by the English jazz/swing all girl singing trio Sweet Substitute released in 1981 on the Black Lion Records label. At the time the trio consisted of Angie Masterton, Teri Leggett and Kate McNab. “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” and “Do You Know What it Means ” were recorded with Chris Barber’s band and Dear Mr. Berkeley with the Digby Fairweather Friends. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" was issued as a 7" single in the UK and Germany in 1980.
John (Johnny) Alexander McGhee was an American trumpeter and big band leader. He performed with artists including Ella Fitzgerald, The Andrews Sisters, and Louis Armstrong.
