Name	Coffee
Original name	Coffee
Type	Hot
Bgcolor	Sienna
Caption	A cup of black coffee
Origin	Ethiopia
Introduced	Approx. 15th century (beverage)
Color	Dark brown, beige, black, light brown}}

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees in over 70 countries, cultivated primarily in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. 'Green Unroasted' coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee can have a stimulating effect on humans due to its caffeine content. It is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world.

Coffee has played a crucial role in many societies. The energizing effect of the coffee bean plant is thought to have been discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia, and the cultivation of coffee first expanded in the Arab world. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas. It was banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons, and it was the world's seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain health conditions; whether the overall effects of coffee are ultimately positive or negative has been widely disputed.

Etymology

plant and seeds|alt=Illustration of a single branch of a plant. Broad, ribbed leaves are accented by small white flowers at the base of the stalk. On the edge of the drawing are cutaway diagrams of parts of the plant.]]

The first reference to "coffee" in the English language, in the form chaoua, dates to 1598. In English and other European languages, coffee derives from the Ottoman Turkish kahve, via the Italian caffè. The Turkish word in turn was borrowed from the , qahwah. Arab lexicographers maintain that qahwah originally referred to a type of wine, and gave its etymology, in turn, to the verb qahiya, signifying "to have no appetite", since this beverage was thought to dull one's hunger. Several alternative etymologies exist that hold that the Arab form may disguise a loanword from an Ethiopian or African source, suggesting Kaffa, the highland in southwestern Ethiopia as one, since the plant is indigenous to that area. However, the term used in that region for the berry and plant is bunn, the native name in Shoa being būn.' C. canephora is native to western and central subsaharan Africa, from Guinea to the Uganda and southern Sudan. Less popular species are C. liberica, excelsa, stenophylla, mauritiana, and racemosa.

All coffee plants are classified in the large family Rubiaceae. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees that may grow 5 m (15 ft) tall when unpruned. The leaves are dark green and glossy, usually 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long and 6 cm (2.4 in) wide. The flowers are axillary, and clusters of fragrant white flowers bloom simultaneously and are followed by oval berries of about 1.5 cm (0.6 in). have only one; these are called peaberries. Berries ripen in seven to nine months.

Coffea arabica is predominantly self-pollinating, and as a result the seedlings are generally uniform and vary little from their parents. In contrast, Coffea canephora, C. excelsa, and C. liberica are self-incompatible and require outcrossing. This means that useful forms and hybrids must be propagated vegetatively. Cuttings, grafting, and budding are the usual methods of vegetative propagation. On the other hand, there is great scope for experimentation in search of potential new strains.

Of the two main species grown, arabica coffee (from C. arabica) is generally more highly regarded than robusta coffee (from C. canephora); robusta tends to be bitter and have less flavor but better body than arabica. For these reasons, about three-quarters of coffee cultivated worldwide is C. arabica. Robusta strains also contain about 40–50% more caffeine than arabica. For this reason, it is used as an inexpensive substitute for arabica in many commercial coffee blends. Good quality robusta beans are used in some espresso blends to provide a full-bodied taste, a better foam head (known as crema), and to lower the ingredient cost.

However, Coffea canephora is less susceptible to disease than C. arabica and can be cultivated in lower altitudes and warmer climates where C. arabica will not thrive. The robusta strain was first collected in 1890 from the Lomani, a tributary of the Congo River, and was conveyed from Zaire to Brussels to Java around 1900. From Java, further breeding resulted in the establishment of robusta plantations in many countries. In particular, the spread of the devastating coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), to which C. arabica is vulnerable, hastened the uptake of the resistant robusta. Coffee leaf rust is found in virtually all countries that produce coffee.

Over 900 species of insect have been recorded as pests of coffee crops worldwide. Of these, over a third are beetles, and over a quarter are bugs. Some 20 species of nematodes, 9 species of mites, several snails and slugs also attack the crop. Birds and rodents sometimes eat coffee berries but their impact is minor compared to invertebrates. In general, arabica is the more sensitive species to invertebrate predation overall. Each part of the coffee plant is assailed by different animals. Nematodes attack the roots, and borer beetles burrow into stems and woody material, the foliage is attacked by over 100 species of larvae (caterpillars) of butterflies and moths.

Mass spraying of insecticides has often proven disastrous, as the predators of the pests are more sensitive than the pests themselves. Instead, integrated pest management has developed, using techniques such as targeted treatment of pest outbreaks, and managing crop environment away from conditions favouring pests. Branches infested with scale are often cut and left on the ground, which promotes scale parasites to not only attack the scale on the fallen branches but in the plant as well.

Production

! style="background:#ddf;"| Bags (thousands) |- | 1 || || style="text-align:center;"| 2,249,010 || style="text-align:center;"| 36,070 |- | 2 || || style="text-align:center;"| 961,200 || style="text-align:center;"| 16,467 |- | 3 || || style="text-align:center;"| 697,377 || style="text-align:center;"| 12,504 |- | 4 || || style="text-align:center;"| 676,475 || style="text-align:center;"| 7,751 |- | 5 || || style="text-align:center;"| 325,800 || style="text-align:center;"| 4,906 |- | 6 || || style="text-align:center;"| 288,000 || style="text-align:center;"| 4,148 |- | 7 || || style="text-align:center;"| 268,565 || style="text-align:center;"| 4,150 |- | 8 || || style="text-align:center;"| 62,000 || style="text-align:center;"| 604 |- | 20 || || style="text-align:center;"| 55,660 || style="text-align:center;"| 653 |- | || World | style="text-align: center;" | 7,742,675 | style="text-align: center;" | 117,319 |}

In 2009 Brazil was the world leader in production of green coffee, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Colombia. Arabica coffee beans are cultivated in Latin America, eastern Africa, Arabia, or Asia. Robusta coffee beans are grown in western and central Africa, throughout southeast Asia, and to some extent in Brazil. These taste characteristics are dependent not only on the coffee's growing region, but also on genetic subspecies (varietals) and processing. Varietals are generally known by the region in which they are grown, such as Colombian, Java and Kona.

Ecological effects

|alt=A cluster of bushes with drooping leaves and long chains of flowers sits in a clearing, surrounded by forest.]]

Originally, coffee farming was done in the shade of trees that provided a habitat for many animals and insects. Remnant forest trees were used for this purpose, but many species have been planted as well. These include leguminous trees of the genera Acacia, Albizia, Cassia, Erythrina, Gliricidia, Inga, and Leucaena, as well as the nitrogen-fixing non-legume sheoaks of the genus Casuarina, and the silky oak Grevillea robusta.

This method is commonly referred to as the traditional shaded method, or "shade-grown". Starting in the 1970s, many farmers switched their production method to sun cultivation, in which coffee is grown in rows under full sun with little or no forest canopy. This causes berries to ripen more rapidly and bushes to produce higher yields, but requires the clearing of trees and increased use of fertilizer and pesticides, which damage the environment and cause health problems.

Ultimately, unshaded coffee enhanced by fertilizer use yields the highest amounts of coffee, although unfertilized shaded crops generally yield higher than unfertilized unshaded crops—namely the response to fertilizer is much greater in full sun. Although traditional coffee production causes berries to ripen more slowly and produce lower yields, the quality of the coffee is allegedly superior. In addition, the traditional shaded method provides living space for many wildlife species. Opponents of sun cultivation say environmental problems such as deforestation, pesticide pollution, habitat destruction, and soil and water degradation are the side effects of these practices. National Arbor Day Foundation, and the Rainforest Alliance have led a campaign for "shade-grown" and organic coffees, which can be sustainably harvested. However, while certain types of shaded coffee cultivation systems show greater biodiversity than full-sun systems, those more distant from continuous forest still compare rather poorly to undisturbed native forest in terms of habitat value for some bird species.

Another issue concerning coffee is its use of water. According to New Scientist, using industrial farming practices, it takes about of water to grow the coffee beans needed to produce one cup of coffee, and the coffee is often grown in countries where there is a water shortage, such as Ethiopia. By using sustainable agriculture methods, the amount of water usage can be dramatically reduced, while retaining comparable yields. For comparison, the United States Geological Survey reports that one egg requires an input of of water; one serving of milk requires an input of of water; one serving of rice requires an input of of water; and one glass of wine requires an input of of water.

Coffee grounds may be used for composting or as a mulch. They are especially appreciated by worms and acid-loving plants such as blueberries. Some commercial coffee shops run initiatives to make better use of these grounds, including Starbucks' "Grounds for your Garden" project, and community sponsored initiatives such as "Ground to Ground".

Slavery

Between 1511 and 1886 Cuba had over 1 million slaves imported to them from Africa in order to work their crops. Although the production and selling of sugar in the country began the slave holding, the presence of coffee played an equally important role in establishing slavery in Cuba. When coffee reached Cuba, farmers welcomed it. Coffee required less land to grow and the lack of machinery needed to process it made it immediately popular. The slaveholding that went on during this time was managed by a prison-like atmosphere creating much unrest and inevitable rebellions against the wealth that enslaved them. Coffee production in Cuba was short-lived due to competition with Brazilian coffee, but the slave holding with sugar was as equally prominent, with coffee’s presence in Cuba, however short-lived.

Processing

Roasting

(now Indonesia).]]

Preparing green coffee

Coffee berries and their seeds undergo several processes before they become the familiar roasted coffee. Berries have been traditionally selectively picked by hand; a labor intensive method, it involves the selection of only the berries at the peak of ripeness. More commonly, crops are strip picked, where all berries are harvested simultaneously regardless of ripeness by person or machine. After picking, green coffee is processed by one of two methods—the dry process method, simpler and less labor intensive as the berries can be strip picked, and the wet process method, which incorporates fermentation into the process and yields a mild coffee.

Then they are sorted by ripeness and color and the flesh of the berry is removed, usually by machine, and the seeds—usually called beans—are fermented to remove the slimy layer of mucilage still present on the bean. When the fermentation is finished, the beans are washed with large quantities of fresh water to remove the fermentation residue, which generates massive amounts of coffee wastewater. Finally, the seeds are dried. The best (but least used) method of drying coffee is using drying tables. In this method, the pulped and fermented coffee is spread thinly on raised beds, which allows the air to pass on all sides of the coffee, and then the coffee is mixed by hand. In this method the drying that takes place is more uniform, and fermentation is less likely. Most African coffee is dried in this manner and certain coffee farms around the world are starting to use this traditional method. Next, the coffee is sorted, and labeled as green coffee. Another way to let the coffee beans dry is to let them sit on a concrete patio and rake over them in the sunlight. Some companies use cylinders to pump in heated air to dry the coffee beans, though this is generally in places where the humidity is very high.

The roasting process

The next step in the process is the roasting of the green coffee. Coffee is usually sold in a roasted state, and with rare exceptions all coffee is roasted before it is consumed. It can be sold roasted by the supplier, or it can be home roasted. The roasting process influences the taste of the beverage by changing the coffee bean both physically and chemically. The bean decreases in weight as moisture is lost and increases in volume, causing it to become less dense. The density of the bean also influences the strength of the coffee and requirements for packaging.

The actual roasting begins when the temperature inside the bean reaches approximately , though different varieties of beans differ in moisture and density and therefore roast at different rates. Sucrose is rapidly lost during the roasting process and may disappear entirely in darker roasts. During roasting, aromatic oils and acids weaken, changing the flavor; at , other oils start to develop.

Grading the roasted beans

Depending on the color of the roasted beans as perceived by the human eye, they will be labeled as light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark, or very dark. A more accurate method of discerning the degree of roast involves measuring the reflected light from roasted beans illuminated with a light source in the near infrared spectrum. This elaborate light meter uses a process known as spectroscopy to return a number that consistently indicates the roasted coffee's relative degree of roast or flavor development.

Roast characteristics

Darker roasts are generally bolder because they have less fiber content and a more sugary flavor. Lighter roasts have a more complex and therefore perceived stronger flavor from aromatic oils and acids otherwise destroyed by longer roasting times. A small amount of chaff is produced during roasting from the skin left on the bean after processing. Chaff is usually removed from the beans by air movement, though a small amount is added to dark roast coffees to soak up oils on the beans.

Decaffeination

Decaffeination may also be part of the processing that coffee seeds undergo. Seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involve either soaking the green beans in hot water (often called the "Swiss water" process) or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils. responsible for deteriorating flavor in coffee beans.

Folded-over bags, a common way consumers often purchase coffee, are generally not ideal for long-term storage because they allow air to enter. A better package contains a one-way valve, which prevents air from entering.

Preparation

brewing, with dark reddish-brown crema|alt=Two clear mugs sit on a shiny steel grating. A metal contraption with a black handle has a dual spout at its bottom that pours thick, rusty orange liquid into the cups.]] Coffee beans must be ground and brewed to create a beverage. Almost all methods of preparing coffee require the beans to be ground and mixed with hot water for long enough to extract the flavor, but without boiling for more than an instant; boiling develops an unpleasant "cooked" flavor caused by overextraction from the beans that draws out unnecessary bitter compounds. Finally, the spent grounds are removed from the liquid, and the liquid is consumed. There are many variations in the fineness of grind, the ways in which the water extracts the flavor, additional flavorings (sugar, milk, spices), and the removal of the spent grounds. The ideal holding temperature is and the ideal serving temperature is .

The criteria for choosing a method include flavor and economy.

The roasted coffee beans may be ground at a roastery, in a grocery store, or in the home. Most coffee is roasted and ground at a roastery and sold in packaged form, though roasted coffee beans can be ground at home immediately before consumption. It is also possible, though uncommon, to roast raw beans at home.

Coffee beans may be ground in several ways. A burr mill uses revolving elements to shear the bean; an electric grinder smashes the beans with blunt blades moving at high speed; and a mortar and pestle crushes the beans. For most brewing methods, a burr mill is deemed superior because the grind is more even and the grind size can be adjusted.

The type of grind is often named after the brewing method for which it is generally used. Turkish grind is the finest grind, while coffee percolator or French press are the coarsest grinds. The most common grinds are between the extremes; a medium grind is used in most common home coffee-brewing machines.

Coffee percolators and automatic coffeemakers brew coffee using gravity. In an automatic coffeemaker hot water drips onto coffee grounds held in a coffee filter made of paper, plastic, or perforated metal, allowing the water to seep through the ground coffee while extracting its oils and essences. The liquid drips through the coffee and the filter into a carafe or pot, and the spent grounds are retained in the filter. or by a thermostat that turns off the heater when the entire pot reaches a certain temperature.

Coffee may be brewed by steeping in a device such as a French press (also known as a cafetière or coffee press). Ground coffee and hot water are combined in a cylindrical vessel and left to brew for a few minutes. A circular filter which fits tightly in the cylinder fixed to a plunger is then pushed down from the top to force the grounds to the bottom. Because the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the water, all the coffee oils remain in the beverage, making it stronger and leaving more sediment than in coffee made by an automatic coffee machine. The coffee is poured from the container; the filter retains the grounds at the bottom. 95% of the caffeine is released from the coffee beans within the first minute of brewing.

The espresso method forces hot pressurized and vaporized water through ground coffee. As a result of brewing under high pressure (ideally between 9–10 atm), the espresso beverage is more concentrated (as much as 10 to 15 times the quantity of coffee to water as gravity-brewing methods can produce) and has a more complex physical and chemical constitution. A well-prepared espresso has a reddish-brown foam called crema that floats on the surface. Other pressurized water methods include the moka pot and vacuum coffee maker.

Coffee may also be brewed in cold water, resulting in a brew lower in acidity than most hot-brewing methods produce, by steeping the coarsely ground beans in cold water for several hours, then filtering them.

Presentation

design layered into this latte.]] Once brewed, coffee may be presented in a variety of ways. Drip-brewed, percolated, or French-pressed/cafetière coffee may be served with a dairy product such as milk or cream, or dairy substitute (colloquially known as white coffee), or not (black coffee). It may be sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener. When served cold, it is called iced coffee.

Espresso-based coffee has a wide variety of possible presentations. In its most basic form, espresso is served alone as a shot or with hot water added, known as Caffè Americano. Reversely, long black is made by pouring espresso in water, which retains the crema compared to Caffè Americano. Milk is added in various forms to espresso: steamed milk makes a caffè latte, equal parts steamed milk and milk froth make a cappuccino, The use of steamed milk to form patterns such as hearts or maple leaves is referred to as latte art.

A number of products are sold for the convenience of consumers who do not want to prepare their own coffee.

Instant coffee is dried into soluble powder or freeze-dried into granules that can be quickly dissolved in hot water. Originally invented in 1907, it rapidly gained in popularity in many countries in the post-war period, with Nescafé the most popular product. Many consumers determined that the convenience in preparing a cup of instant coffee more than made up for a perceived inferior taste. Paralleling (and complementing) the rapid rise of instant coffee was the coffee vending machine, invented in 1947 and multiplying rapidly through the 1950s.

Canned coffee has been popular in Asian countries for many years, particularly in China, Japan, and South Korea. Vending machines typically sell varieties of flavored canned coffee, much like brewed or percolated coffee, available both hot and cold. Japanese convenience stores and groceries also have a wide availability of bottled coffee drinks, which are typically lightly sweetened and pre-blended with milk. Bottled coffee drinks are also consumed in the United States. Liquid coffee concentrates are sometimes used in large institutional situations where coffee needs to be produced for thousands of people at the same time. It is described as having a flavor about as good as low-grade robusta coffee, and costs about 10¢ a cup to produce. The machines used can process up to 500 cups an hour, or 1,000 if the water is preheated.

Coffee can also be incorporated with alcohol in beverages—it is combined with whiskey in Irish coffee, and forms the base of alcoholic coffee liqueurs such as Kahlúa, and Tia Maria.

Sale and distribution

sacks.]]

Coffee ingestion on average is about a third of that of tap water in North America and Europe.

Brazil remains the largest coffee exporting nation, but Vietnam tripled its exports between 1995 and 1999, and became a major producer of robusta beans. Indonesia is the third-largest exporter and the largest producer of washed arabica coffee.

Commodity

While coffee is not technically a commodity (it is fresh produce; its value is directly affected by the length of time it is held), coffee is bought and sold by roasters, investors and price speculators as a tradable commodity. Coffee futures contracts for Grade 3 washed arabicas are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange under ticker symbol KC, with contract deliveries occurring every year in March, May, July, September, and December. Higher and lower grade arabica coffees are sold through other channels. Futures contracts for robusta coffee are traded on the London Liffe exchange and, since 2007, on the New York ICE exchange. Coffee has been described by many, including historian Mark Pendergrast, as the world's "second most legally traded commodity." However, this claim has been recently refuted by Pendergrast among others after further research.

Fair trade

The concept of fair trade labeling, which guarantees coffee growers a negotiated preharvest price, began with the Max Havelaar Foundation's labeling program in the Netherlands. In 2004, 24,222 metric tons (of 7,050,000 produced worldwide) were fair trade; in 2005, 33,991 metric tons out of 6,685,000 were fair trade, an increase from 0.34% to 0.51%. A number of fair trade impact studies have shown that fair trade coffee has a positive impact on the communities that grow it. Coffee was incorporated into the fair-trade movement in 1988, when the Max Havelaar mark was introduced in the Netherlands. The very first fair-trade coffee was an effort to import a Guatemalan coffee into Europe as "Indio Solidarity Coffee".

Since the founding of organisations such as the European Fair Trade Association (1987), the production and consumption of fair trade coffee has grown as some local and national coffee chains started to offer fair trade alternatives. For example, in April 2000, after a year-long campaign by the human rights organization Global Exchange, Starbucks decided to carry fair-trade coffee in its stores. Since September 2009 all Starbucks Espresso beverages in UK and Ireland are made with Fairtrade and Shared Planet certified coffee. A 2005 study done in Belgium concluded that consumers' buying behavior is not consistent with their positive attitude toward ethical products. On average 46% of European consumers claimed to be willing to pay substantially more for ethical products, including fair-trade products such as coffee. a main active component of coffee|alt=Lines from explanatory text point to portions of the body.]]

Scientific studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and an array of medical conditions. Findings have been contradictory as to whether coffee has any specific health benefits, and results are similarly conflicting regarding the potentially harmful effects of coffee consumption. Variations in findings, however, can be at least partially resolved by considering the method of preparation. Coffee prepared using paper filters removes oily components called diterpenes that are present in unfiltered coffee. Two types of diterpenes are present in coffee: kahweol and cafestol, both of which have been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease via elevation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in blood. Metal filters, on the other hand, do not remove the oily components of coffee. however, researchers involved in an ongoing 22-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health state that "the overall balance of risks and benefits [of coffee consumption] are on the side of benefits." and gout. A longitudinal study in 2009 showed that those who consumed a moderate amount of coffee or tea (3–5 cups per day) at midlife were less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease in late-life compared with those who drank little coffee or avoided it altogether. It increases the risk of acid reflux and associated diseases. Most of coffee's beneficial effects against type 2 diabetes are not due to its caffeine content, as the positive effects of consumption are greater in those who drink decaffeinated coffee. The presence of antioxidants in coffee has been shown to prevent free radicals from causing cell damage. A recent study showed that roast coffee, high in lipophilic antioxidants and chlorogenic acid lactones, protected primary neuronal cell cultures against hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death.

In a healthy liver, caffeine is mostly broken down by the hepatic microsomal enzymatic system. The resulting metabolites are mostly paraxanthines—theobromine and theophylline—and a small amount of unchanged caffeine is excreted by urine. Therefore, the metabolism of caffeine depends on the state of this enzymatic system of the liver. Elderly individuals with a depleted enzymatic system do not tolerate coffee with caffeine. They are recommended to take decaffeinated coffee, and this only if their stomach is healthy, because both decaffeinated coffee and coffee with caffeine cause heartburn. Moderate amounts of coffee (50–100 mg of caffeine or 5–10 g of coffee powder a day) are well tolerated by most elderly people. Excessive amounts of coffee, however, can, in many individuals, cause very unpleasant, exceptionally even life-threatening adverse effects. The benefits of coffee on abnormal liver biochemistry, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma have been reported, but there is a lack of satisfactory explanation. A possible opposite, if not antagonistic, role of coffee and Mediterranean Diet with regard to overweightness and insulin resistance is envisaged in the natural history of NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic-Fatty-Liver-Disease) . Coffee consumption can lead to iron deficiency anemia in mothers and infants. Coffee also interferes with the absorption of supplemental iron. Interference with iron absorption is due to the polyphenols present in coffee. Four major classes were identified: flavan-3-ols (monomers and procyanidins), hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols and anthocyanidins. Although the inhibition of iron absorption can cause an iron deficiency, iron is considered a carcinogen in relation to the liver. Polyphenols contained in coffee are therefore associated with decreasing the risk of liver cancer development.

American scientist Yaser Dorri has suggested that the smell of coffee can restore appetite and refresh olfactory receptors. He suggests that people can regain their appetite after cooking by smelling coffee beans, and that this method can also be used for research animals.

Over 1,000 chemicals have been reported in roasted coffee; more than half of those tested (19/28) are rodent carcinogens. Coffee's negative health effects are often blamed on its caffeine content. Instant coffee has a much greater amount of acrylamide than brewed coffee. Research suggests that drinking caffeinated coffee can cause a temporary increase in the stiffening of arterial walls. Caffeinated coffee is not recommended for everybody. It may aggravate preexisting conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, migraines, arrhythmias, and cause sleep disturbances.

Coffee is no longer thought to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. One study suggests that it may have a mixed effect on short-term memory, by improving it when the information to be recalled is related to the current train of thought but making it more difficult to recall unrelated information. Caffeine has been associated with its ability to act as an antidepressant. A review by de Paulis and Martin indicated a link between a decrease in suicide rates and coffee consumption, and suggested that the action of caffeine in blocking the inhibitory effects of adenosine on dopamine nerves in the brain reduced feelings of depression. A 1992 study concluded that about 10% of people with a moderate daily intake (235 mg per day) experienced increased depression and anxiety when caffeine was withdrawn, but a 2002 review of the literature criticised its methodology and concluded that "[t]he effects of caffeine withdrawal are still controversial." About 15% of the U.S. general population report having stopped drinking coffee altogether, citing concern about health and unpleasant side effects of caffeine.

Caffeine and headaches

There is some controversy over whether the caffeine in coffee causes headaches or helps relieve headaches. In a 2000 controlled study by the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, revealed that adults who took ibuprofen, an over the counter pain killer, combined with caffeine or one cup of coffee had increased effectiveness against tension headaches. The study did not recommend that the caffeine and ibuprofen combination was effective against migraine headaches. A Johns Hopkins controlled study has linked drinking coffee with addictive withdrawal headaches, even with those who drink coffee in moderation. A 2009 Norwegian University of Science and Technology controlled study claims that heavy coffee drinkers, four cups a day, are more likely to suffer occasional headaches than persons who have low coffee or caffeine consumption.

Caffeine content

molecule]] The stimulant effect of coffee is due to its caffeine content. The caffeine content of a cup of coffee varies depending mainly on the brewing method, and also on the variety of bean.

According to Bunker and McWilliams (J. Am. Diet. 74:28–32, 1979), coffee has the following caffeine content:

brewed: 1 cup (7 oz, 207 ml) = 80–135 mg.

drip: 1 cup (7 oz, 207 ml) = 115–175 mg.

espresso: 1 shot (1.5–2 oz, 45–60 ml) = 100 mg

History

coffeeshop is a sculptural representation of a man in Turkish dress, receiving a cup of coffee from a boy|alt=Relief of a young, cherub-like boy passing a cup to a reclining man with a moustache and hat. The sculpture is white with gold accents on the cup, clothes, and items.]]

Ethiopian ancestors of today's Oromo people were believed to have been the first to recognize the energizing effect of the coffee bean plant.

The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the fifteenth century, in the Sufi monasteries around Mokha in Yemen. Coffee then spread to Italy, and to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas. The Dutch were the first to import coffee on a large scale, and they were among the first to defy the Arab prohibition on the exportation of plants or unroasted seeds when Pieter van den Broecke smuggled seedlings from Mocha, Yemen, into Europe in 1616. The Dutch later grew the crop in Java and Ceylon. Through the efforts of the British East India Company , coffee became popular in England as well. Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House, established in 1654, is still in existence today. Coffee was introduced in France in 1657, and in Austria and Poland after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated Turks.

When coffee reached North America during the Colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe as alcoholic beverages remained more popular. During the Revolutionary War, however, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was also due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants. After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, the Americans' taste for coffee grew, and high demand during the American Civil War together with advances in brewing technology secured the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in the United States. Paradoxically, coffee consumption declined in England, giving way to tea during the 18th century. The latter beverage was simpler to make, and had become cheaper with the British conquest of India and the tea industry there. During the Age of Sail, seamen aboard ships of the British Royal Navy made substitute coffee by dissolving burnt bread in hot water.

The Frenchman Gabriel de Clieu brought a coffee plant to the French territory of Martinique in the Caribbean, from which much of the world's cultivated arabica coffee is descended. Coffee thrived in the climate and was conveyed across the Americas. The territory of San Domingo (now Haiti) saw coffee cultivated from 1734, and by 1788 it supplied half the world's coffee. However, the dreadful conditions that the slaves worked in on coffee plantations were a factor in the soon to follow Haitian Revolution. The coffee industry never fully recovered there. Meanwhile, coffee had been introduced to Brazil in 1727, although its cultivation did not gather momentum until independence in 1822. After this time, massive tracts of rainforest were cleared first from the vicinity of Rio and later São Paulo for coffee plantations. Cultivation was taken up by many countries in Central America in the latter half of the 19th century, and almost all involved the large-scale displacement and exploitation of the indigenous people. Harsh conditions led to many uprisings, coups and bloody suppression of peasants. The notable exception was Costa Rica, where lack of ready labor prevented the formation of large farms. Smaller farms and more egalitarian conditions ameliorated unrest over the 19th and 20th centuries.

Coffee has become a vital cash crop for many Third World countries. Over one hundred million people in developing countries have become dependent on coffee as their primary source of income. It has become the primary export and backbone for African countries like Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, as well as many Central American countries.

Social and culture

(1900)|alt=Monochrome photograph of men with turbans and facial hair reclining on a mat. In the foreground a man uses a mortar and pestle, while the men in the back have cups in their hands.]] Coffee is often consumed alongside (or instead of) breakfast by many at home. It is often served at the end of a meal, normally with a dessert, and at times with an after-dinner mint especially when consumed at a restaurant or dinner party.

Aggressively promoted by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau, the "coffee break" was first promoted in 1952. Hitherto unknown in the workplace, its uptake was facilitated by the recent popularity of both instant coffee and vending machines, and has become an institution of the American workplace.

Coffeehouses in Mecca soon became a concern as places for political gatherings to the imams who banned them, and the drink, for Muslims between 1512 and 1524. In 1530 the first coffee house was opened in Damascus, and not long after there were many coffee houses in Cairo.

In the 17th century, coffee appeared for the first time in Europe outside the Ottoman Empire, and coffeehouses were established and quickly became popular. The first coffeehouses in Western Europe appeared in Venice, a result of the traffic between La Serenissima and the Ottomans; the very first one is recorded in 1645. The first coffeehouse in England was set up in Oxford in 1650 by a Jewish man named Jacob in the building now known as "The Grand Cafe". A plaque on the wall still commemorates this and the Cafe is now a trendy cocktail bar. By 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England.

In 1672 an Armenian named Pascal established a coffee stall in Paris that was ultimately unsuccessful and the city had to wait until 1689 for its first coffeehouse when Procopio Cutò opened the Café Procope. This coffeehouse still exists today and was a major meeting place of the French Enlightenment; Voltaire, Rousseau, and Denis Diderot frequented it, and it is arguably the birthplace of the Encyclopédie, the first modern encyclopedia. America had its first coffeehouse in Boston, in 1676. Coffee, tea and beer were often served together in establishments which functioned both as coffeehouses and taverns; one such was the Green Dragon in Boston, where John Adams, James Otis and Paul Revere planned rebellion.

The modern espresso machine was born in Milan in 1945 by Achille Gaggia, and from there spread across coffeehouses and restaurants across Italy and the rest of Europe and North America in the early 1950s. An Italian named Pino Riservato opened the first espresso bar, the Moka Bar, in Soho in 1952, and there were 400 such bars in London alone by 1956. Cappucino was particularly popular among English drinkers. Similarly in the United States, the espresso craze spread. North Beach in San Francisco saw the opening of the Caffe Trieste in 1957, which saw Beat Generation poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Bob Kaufman alongside bemused Italian immigrants.

The international coffeehouse chain Starbucks began as a modest business roasting and selling quality coffee beans in Seattle in 1971, by three college students Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl. The first store opened on March 30, 1971, followed by a second and third over the next two years. Entrepreneur Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982 as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing, and pushed to sell premade espresso coffee. The others were reluctant, but Schultz opened Il Giornale in Seattle in April 1986. He bought the other owners out in March 1987 and pushed on with plans to expand—from 1987 to the end of 1991, the chain (rebranded from Il Giornale to Starbucks) expanded to over 100 outlets. The company's name graces 16,600 stores in over 40 countries worldwide.

Prohibition

Coffee was initially used for spiritual reasons. At least 1,100 years ago, traders brought coffee across the Red Sea into Arabia (modern-day Yemen), where Muslim dervishes began cultivating the shrub in their gardens. At first, the Arabians made wine from the pulp of the fermented coffee berries. This beverage was known as qishr (kisher in modern usage) and was used during religious ceremonies.

Coffee drinking was prohibited by jurists and scholars (ulema) meeting in Mecca in 1511 as haraam, but the subject of whether it was intoxicating was hotly debated over the next 30 years until the ban was finally overturned in the mid 16th century. Use in religious rites among the Sufi branch of Islam led to coffee's being put on trial in Mecca: it was accused of being a heretical substance, and its production and consumption were briefly repressed. It was later prohibited in Ottoman Turkey under an edict by the Sultan Murad IV. Coffee, regarded as a Muslim drink, was prohibited by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians until as late as 1889; it is now considered a national drink of Ethiopia for people of all faiths. Its early association in Europe with rebellious political activities led to Charles II outlawing coffeehouses from January 1676 (although the uproar created forced the monarch to back down two days before the ban was due to come into force). Lacking coffee producing colonies, Germany had to import all its coffee at a great cost.

A contemporary example of religious prohibition of coffee can be found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organization holds that it is both physically and spiritually unhealthy to consume coffee. This comes from the Mormon doctrine of health, given in 1833 by founder Joseph Smith in a revelation called the Word of Wisdom. It does not identify coffee by name, but includes the statement that "hot drinks are not for the belly," which has been interpreted to forbid both coffee and tea.

For a time, there had been controversy in the Jewish community over whether the coffee bean was a legume and therefore prohibited for Passover. Upon petition from coffeemaker Maxwell House, the coffee bean was classified in 1923 as a berry rather than a bean by orthodox Jewish rabbi Hersch Kohn, and therefore kosher for Passover.

Folklore and culture

The Oromo people would customarily plant a coffee tree on the graves of powerful sorcerers. They believed that the first coffee bush sprang up from the tears that the god of heaven shed over the corpse of a dead sorcerer.

Johann Sebastian Bach was inspired to pen the Coffee Cantata, about dependence on the beverage.

See also

Economics of coffee

Health effects of caffeine

International Coffee Agreement

The Coffeelands Trust

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

External links

Coffee and caffeine health information—A collection of peer-reviewed and journal-published studies on coffee health benefits is evaluated, cited, and summarized. (Note, while the COSIC itself receives funding from some coffee makers as some have pointed out, the studies it examines are themselves from and done by independent scientists and scientific groups. It itself does not participate in or fund the studies.)

Benjamin Joffe-Walt and Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian, September 16, 2005, "Coffee trail"—from the Ethiopian village of Choche to a London coffee shop.

This is Coffee—Short tribute to coffee in the form of a documentary film (1961), made by the Coffee Brewing Institute. The movie includes some dos and don'ts of making "the perfect cup of coffee" and an overview of different ways to enjoy coffee throughout the world.

An Illustrated Coffee Guide—Side-by-side diagrams of a few common espresso drinks.

Coffee Taster, the free newsletter of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, featuring articles on the quality of espresso, chemical and sensory analysis, market trends.

Arabic culture Arabic loanwords Category:Caffeine Crops Category:Turkish loanwords

Name	John Darnielle
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Darnielle
Born	March 16, 1967 (Age 44)Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Folk rock, lo-fi, indie rock, folk
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Musician
Years active	1991–present
Associated acts	The Mountain Goats, The Extra Lens, The Extra Glenns, The Seneca Twins, The Bloody Hawaiians, The Congress, The Crunch Sisters, Chicken Damage, The Salvation Brothers, The Comedians, Aesop Rock

John Darnielle () is an American musician, best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American band The Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist.

Early life

Places Darnielle has lived

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, at a young age Darnielle moved and grew up in and around San Luis Obispo, California. He has also lived in Grinnell, Iowa; Colo, Iowa; Ames, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; Milpitas, CA and Denton, Texas. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina with his wife Lalitree Darnielle, a photographer who was featured playing the banjo in the band's 1998 EP New Asian Cinema.

Early years

Darnielle grew up in Central California and after high school went to work as a psychiatric nurse at the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California. For a couple of years he lived on the Metropolitan State grounds, writing songs and playing his guitar when he wasn't working. During this time he began recording some of his songs onto cassette tapes using a Panasonic boombox. Shortly after working at the hospital, Darnielle attended Pitzer College from 1991 to 1995, earning a degree in English.

Throughout his college education he continued to record music. In 1992, Dennis Callaci, a friend of Darnielle's and owner of Shrimper Records, released a tape of Darnielle’s songs called "". Around that time, The Mountain Goats were born and began touring with just Darnielle on guitar and a bassist, first Rachel Ware and then Peter Hughes.

Musical career

Darnielle is best known for his role in the band The Mountain Goats. Since starting the band in 1991, he has gained a cult following. Despite being dubbed a low fidelity artist, Darnielle has always dubbed his work "bi-fi", pointing out that recordings such as his couldn't be made without modern technology. He is known for his prolific output and literary lyrics. Sasha Frere-Jones, writing in The New Yorker, referred to him as "America’s best lyricist". In its June 2006 issue, Paste magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".

Darnielle has several series of songs with similar titles or storylines. A series entitled "Going To..." features small stories about various places and includes songs such as "Going to Cleveland", "Going to Maryland", "Going to Georgia", and "Going to Queens". This series explores the futility of running away from one's problems in stark and cryptic detail. His "Alpha" series is about a distressed couple's marriage and history, with such song titles as "Alpha Incipiens", "Alphabetizing", and "Alpha Rats Nest". The band's 2002 album Tallahassee was exclusively about the couple; there have subsequently been no more "Alpha" songs.

Darnielle has stated that all songs written up to and including those on Tallahassee are fictional, but that The Sunset Tree is autobiographical.

Vegetarianism

Darnielle has been a vegetarian since 1996. In 2007 he performed at a benefit for the animal rights organization Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. He performed again at Farm Sanctuary in 2009.

Collaborations

Darnielle is featured on Aesop Rock's song "Coffee" (from the hip-hop artist's 2007 album None Shall Pass) and appears in the corresponding music video. Additionally, Aesop Rock remixed The Mountain Goats' "Lovecraft in Brooklyn".

In 2008, Darnielle announced the release of a tour-exclusive EP entitled The Black Pear Tree, the result of a collaboration with tourmate Kaki King. In 2009, Darnielle released a collaborative recording with his tourmate John Vanderslice.

On September 20th 2010, Darnielle appeared on Late night with Jimmy Fallon with the band Superchunk (Whose drummer is also in The Mountain Goats). They performed the song Digging for Something with a big reception.

Book

Darnielle's first book, Black Sabbath: Master of Reality, was published in April 2008 as part of the 33⅓ series.

Magazine contributions

Darnielle writes the "South Pole Dispatch" feature in Decibel Magazine every month.

Bands in which Darnielle has played

Darnielle is also a member or former member of the following bands:

The Extra Lens (along with Franklin Bruno). They have released two full-lengths titled "Martial Arts Weekend", "Undercard", as well as "Infidelity" a double sided 7" EP.

The Comedians (along with John Vanderslice). The band's only studio recording was credited to "The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice".

The Seneca Twins (along with Lalitree Darnielle and Chris Butler), whose 9-song demo, recorded in 1995, is still unreleased.

The Bloody Hawaiians (along with Joel Huschle (Furniture Huschle), Mark Givens (Wckr Spgt), Caroline) Releases: The Magnificent Bloody Hawaiians, Bastard Son, The Threegos, "Lemon" on Cool Beans #4)

The Congress (along with Mark Givens and other anonymous members)(Darnielle was singer / songwriter)

-releases: Election Year, Sleeping Under Angels' Wings, We All Fall Down, She Lies in Roses, The Farm Out Back, No Milk Since 1979, Full Term.

The Crunch Sisters (performed one show, all recordings were lost)

Chicken Damage (Darnielle played live drums)

The Salvation Brothers (Darnielle played live drums)

References

External links

TheMountainGoats.net

Mountain-Goats.com

JohnDarnielle.com

Last Plane to Jakarta

Interview with 3:AM Magazine

Roundtable between Darnielle and authors Jonathan Lethem and Rick Moody on the crossbreeding of music & literature (3/2006) From LA Weekly

Note Books essay at Largehearted Boy

The Songwriter as Storyteller: An Interview with John Darnielle from InDigest Magazine

Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Pitzer College alumni Category:American vegetarians

Name	Frank Sinatra
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Francis Albert Sinatra
Alias	Ol' Blue EyesThe Chairman of the Board
Death date	May 14, 1998
Death place
Death cause	Heart attack
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Traditional pop, jazz, swing, big band, vocal
Occupation	Singer,
Years active	1935–1995 Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants Natalie Della Garaventa and Antonino Martino Sinatra and was raised Catholic. He left high school without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled because of his rowdy conduct. Sinatra's father, often referred to as Marty, served with the Hoboken Fire Department as a Captain. His mother, known as Dolly, was influential in the neighborhood and in local Democratic Party circles, but also ran an illegal abortion business from her home; she was arrested several times and convicted twice for this offense. During the Great Depression, Dolly nevertheless provided money to their son for outings with friends and expensive clothes. Sinatra was arrested for carrying on with a married woman, a criminal offense at the time. He worked as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, and as a riveter at the Tietjan and Lang shipyard, but music was Sinatra's main interest, and he carefully listened to big band jazz. He began singing for tips at the age of eight, standing on top of the bar at a local nightclub in Hoboken. Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager in the 1930s, although he learned music by ear and never learned how to read music.
Width	35%
Quote	"Sinatra was... the first modern pop superstar... Following his idol Bing Crosby, who had pioneered the use of the microphone, Sinatra transformed popular singing by infusing lyrics with a personal, intimate point of view that conveyed a steady current of eroticism... Almost singlehandedly, he helped lead a revival of vocalized swing music that took American pop to a new level of musical sophistication... his 1950s recordings... were instrumental in establishing a canon of American pop song literature."
Source	Stephen Holden The design of the stamp was unveiled Wednesday, December 12, 2007 — on what would have been his 92nd birthday — in Beverly Hills, California, with Sinatra family members on hand. The Hoboken Post Office was renamed in his honor in 2002.
Title	Awards for Frank Sinatra

Category:1915 births Category:1998 deaths Category:1930s singers Category:1940s singers Category:1950s singers Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:20th-century actors Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American crooners Category:American film actors Category:American jazz musicians of Italian descent Category:American jazz singers Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Burials at Desert Memorial Park Category:California Republicans Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:People from Hoboken, New Jersey Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Qwest Records artists Category:Reprise Records artists Category:Swing singers Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers

Name	Ella Fitzgerald
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Ella Jane Fitzgerald
Alias	First Lady of Song, Lady Ella
Born	April 25, 1917Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Origin	Yonkers, New York
Died	June 15, 1996Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Genre	Swing, traditional pop, vocal jazz
Instrument	PianoVocals
Occupation	Vocalist
Years active	1934–1993
Label	Capitol, Decca, Pablo, Reprise, Verve
Url	EllaFitzgerald.com

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.

Early life

Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia, the child of a common-law marriage between William and Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald. The pair separated soon after her birth and she and her mother went to Yonkers, N.Y, where they eventually moved in with Tempie's longtime boyfriend Joseph Da Silva. Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923.

In her youth Fitzgerald wanted to be a dancer, although she loved listening to jazz recordings by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and The Boswell Sisters. She idolized the lead singer Connee Boswell, later saying, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with it....I tried so hard to sound just like her."

In 1932, her mother died from a heart attack. and at one point worked as a lookout at a bordello and also with a Mafia-affiliated numbers runner. When the authorities caught up with her, she was first placed in the Colored Orphan Asylum in Riverdale, the Bronx. However, when the orphanage proved too crowded she was moved to the New York Training School for Girls in Hudson, New York, a state reformatory. Eventually she escaped and for a time was homeless.

Later life

in 1940.]] Fitzgerald married at least twice, and there is evidence that she may have married a third time. In 1941 she married Benny Kornegay, a convicted drug dealer and local dockworker. The marriage was annulled after two years.

Her second marriage, in December 1947, was to the famous bass player Ray Brown, whom she had met while on tour with Dizzy Gillespie's band a year earlier. Together they adopted a child born to Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances, whom they christened Ray Brown, Jr. With Fitzgerald and Brown often busy touring and recording, the child was largely raised by her aunt, Virginia. Fitzgerald and Brown divorced in 1953, bowing to the various career pressures both were experiencing at the time, though they would continue to perform together. The career history and archival material from Ella's long career are housed in the Archives Center at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History while her personal music arrangements are at The Library of Congress. Her extensive cookbook collection was donated to the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University while her published sheet music collection is at the Schoenberg Library at UCLA.

Career

Big-band singing

In January 1935, Fitzgerald won the chance to perform for a week with the Tiny Bradshaw band at the Harlem Opera House. She met drummer and bandleader Chick Webb here. Webb had already hired singer Charlie Linton to work with the band and was, The New York Times later wrote, "reluctant to sign her....because she was gawky and unkempt, a diamond in the rough."

Henry Pleasants, an American classical-music critic, wrote this about her:

She has a lovely voice, one of the warmest and most radiant in its natural range that I have heard in a lifetime of listening to singers in every category. She has an impeccable and ultimately sophisticated rhythmic sense, and flawless intonation. Her harmonic sensibility is extraordinary. She is endlessly inventive.. . it is not so much what she does, or even the way she does it, it's what she does not do. What she does not do, putting it simply as possible, is anything wrong. There is simply nothing in performance to which one would take exception.. . Everything seems to be just right. One would not want it any other way. Nor can one, for a moment imagine it any other way.

Ella Fitzgerald had an extraordinary vocal range. A mezzo-soprano (who sang much lower than most classical contraltos), she had a range of “2 octaves and a sixth from a low D or D flat to a high B flat and possibly higher”.

Miss Fitzgerald was generous throughout her career, and in 1993, she established the Charitable Foundation that bears her name: The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, which continues to help the disadvantaged through grants and donation of new books to at-risk children.

Film and television

Ronald Reagan after performing in the White House, 1981]] In her most notable screen role, Fitzgerald played the part of singer Maggie Jackson in Jack Webb's 1955 jazz film Pete Kelly's Blues. The film costarred Janet Leigh and singer Peggy Lee. Even though she had already worked in the movies (she had sung briefly in the 1942 Abbott and Costello film Ride 'Em Cowboy), she was "delighted" when Norman Granz negotiated the role for her, and, "at the time....considered her role in the Warner Brothers movie the biggest thing ever to have happened to her."

Similar to another African-American jazz singer, Lena Horne, Fitzgerald's race precluded major big-screen success. After Pete Kelly's Blues, she appeared in sporadic movie cameos, in St. Louis Blues (1958), and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960). Much later, she appeared in the 1980s television drama The White Shadow.

She also made numerous guest appearances on television shows, singing on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, The Frank Sinatra Show, and alongside Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Mel Tormé and many others. Perhaps her most unusual and intriguing performance was of the 'Three Little Maids' song from Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado alongside Joan Sutherland and Dinah Shore on Shore's weekly variety series in 1963. Fitzgerald also made a one-off appearance alongside Sarah Vaughan and Pearl Bailey on a 1979 television special honoring Bailey. In 1980, she performed a medley of standards in a duet with Karen Carpenter on the Carpenters' television program, Music, Music, Music.

Fitzgerald also appeared in TV commercials, her most memorable being an ad for Memorex. In the commercials, she sang a note that shattered a glass while being recorded on a Memorex cassette tape. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" She also starred in a number of commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, singing and scatting to the fast-food chain's longtime slogan, "We do chicken right!"

Her final commercial campaign was for American Express, in which she was photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

Discography

Collaborations

Fitzgerald's most famous collaborations were with the trumpeter Louis Armstrong, the guitarist Joe Pass, and the bandleaders Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Fitzgerald recorded three Verve studio albums with Armstrong, two albums of standards (1956's Ella and Louis and 1957's Ella and Louis Again), and a third album featured music from the Gershwin musical Porgy and Bess. Fitzgerald also recorded a number of sides with Armstrong for Decca in the early 1950s.

Fitzgerald is sometimes referred to as the quintessential swing singer, and her meetings with Count Basie are highly regarded by critics. Fitzgerald features on one track on Basie's 1957 album One O'Clock Jump, while her 1963 album Ella and Basie! is remembered as one of her greatest recordings. With the 'New Testament' Basie band in full swing, and arrangements written by a young Quincy Jones, this album proved a respite from the 'Songbook' recordings and constant touring that Fitzgerald was engaged in during this period. Fitzgerald and Basie also collaborated on the 1972 album Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72, and on the 1979 albums Digital III at Montreux, A Classy Pair and A Perfect Match.

Fitzgerald and Joe Pass recorded four albums together toward the end of Fitzgerald's career. She recorded several albums with piano accompaniment, but a guitar proved the perfect melodic foil for her. Fitzgerald and Pass appeared together on the albums Take Love Easy (1973), Easy Living (1986), Speak Love (1983) and Fitzgerald and Pass... Again (1976).

Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington recorded two live albums, and two studio albums. Her Duke Ellington Songbook placed Ellington firmly in the canon known as the Great American Songbook, and the 1960s saw Fitzgerald and the 'Duke' meet on the Côte d'Azur for the 1966 album Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur, and in Sweden for The Stockholm Concert, 1966. Their 1965 album Ella at Duke's Place is also extremely well received.

Fitzgerald had a number of famous jazz musicians and soloists as sidemen over her long career. The trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, the guitarist Herb Ellis, and the pianists Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Peterson, Lou Levy, Paul Smith, Jimmy Rowles, and Ellis Larkins all worked with Ella mostly in live, small group settings.

Possibly Fitzgerald's greatest unrealized collaboration (in terms of popular music) was a studio or live album with Frank Sinatra. The two appeared on the same stage only periodically over the years, in television specials in 1958 and 1959, and again on 1967's A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, a show that also featured Antonio Carlos Jobim. Pianist Paul Smith has said, "Ella loved working with [Frank]. Sinatra gave her his dressing room on A Man and His Music and couldn’t do enough for her." When asked, Norman Granz would cite "complex contractual reasons" for the fact that the two artists never recorded together.

Ella Fitzgerald was a quiet but ardent supporter of many charities and non-profit organizations, including the American Heart Association and the United Negro College Fund. In 1993, she established the "Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation" which continues to fund programs that perpetuate Ella's ideals.

Tributes

In 1997, Newport News, Virginia created a music festival with Christopher Newport University to honor Ella Fitzgerald in her birth city. The Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival is designed to teach the region's youth of the musical legacy of Fitzgerald and jazz. Past performers at the week-long festival include: Diana Krall, Arturo Sandoval, Jean Carne, Phil Woods, Aretha Franklin, Freda Payne, Cassandra Wilson, Ethel Ennis, David Sanborn, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ramsey Lewis, Patti Austin, and Ann Hampton Callaway

Ann Hampton Callaway, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Patti Austin have all recorded albums in tribute to Fitzgerald. Callaway's album To Ella with Love (1996) features fourteen jazz standards made popular by Fitzgerald, and the album also features the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Bridgewater's album Dear Ella (1997) featured many musicians that were closely associated with Fitzgerald during her career, including the pianist Lou Levy, the trumpeter Benny Powell, and Fitzgerald's second husband, the double bassist Ray Brown. Bridgewater's following album, Live at Yoshi's, was recorded live on April 25, 1998, what would have been Fitzgerald's 81st birthday. Patti Austin's album, For Ella (2002) features 11 songs most immediately associated with Fitzgerald, and a twelfth song, "Hearing Ella Sing" is Austin's tribute to Fitzgerald. The album was nominated for a Grammy. In 2007 , was released, a tribute album recorded for the 90th anniversary of Fitzgerald's birth. It featured artists such as Michael Bublé, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Ledisi, Dianne Reeves, Linda Ronstadt, and Lizz Wright, collating songs most readily associated with the "First Lady of Song".

The folk singer Odetta's album To Ella (1998) is dedicated to Fitzgerald, but features no songs associated with her. Fitzgerald's long serving accompanist Tommy Flanagan affectionately remembered Fitzgerald on his album Lady be Good...For Ella (1994).

Fitzgerald is also referred to on the 1987 song "Ella, elle l'a" by French singer France Gall and the Belgian singer Kate Ryan, the 1976 Stevie Wonder hit "Sir Duke" from his album Songs in the Key of Life, and the song "I Love Being Here With You", written by Peggy Lee and Bill Schluger. Sinatra's 1986 recording of "Mack the Knife" from his album L.A. Is My Lady (1984) includes a homage to some of the song's previous performers, including 'Lady Ella' herself. She is also honored in the song "First Lady" by Canadian artist Nikki Yanofsky.

In 2008, the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in Newport News named its brand new 276-seat theater the Ella Fitzgerald Theater. The theater is located several blocks away from her birthplace on Marshall Avenue. The Grand Opening performers (October 11 & 12, 2008) were Roberta Flack and Queen Esther Marrow.

USPS stamp and Yonkers statue

There is a statue of Fitzgerald in Yonkers, the city in which she grew up. It is located southeast of the main entrance to the Amtrak/Metro-North Railroad station. On January 10, 2007, the United States Postal Service announced that Fitzgerald would be honored with her own 39-cent postage stamp. The stamp was released in April 2007 as part of the Postal Service's Black Heritage series.

Filmography

References

Further reading

Nicholson, Stuart. (1996) Ella Fitzgerald. Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-40032-3

Gourse, Leslie. (1998) The Ella Fitzgerald Companion: Seven Decades of Commentary. Music Sales Ltd. ISBN 0-02-864625-8

Johnson, J. Wilfred. (2001) Ella Fitzgerald: A Complete Annotated Discography. McFarland & Co Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0906-1

External links

The official website of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation

Ella Fitzgerald Complete Discography

Ella Fitzgerald: Twelve Essential Performances by Stuart Nicholson (Jazz.com).

Ella Fitzgerald at the Library of Congress

Official Web Site of Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald, The Official Ed Sullivan Show Website

Redsugar's Ella page

'Remembering Ella' by Phillip D. Atteberry

Todd's Ella Fitzgerald Lyrics Page

Ella Swings Gently - The Ella Fitzgerald Pages

Ella Fitzgerald Tribute CD Video Footage

New York Times article on Ella's early years

Listen to Big Band Serenade podcast, episode 6 Includes complete NBC remote broadcast of "Ella Fitzgerald & her Orchestra" from the Roseland Ballroom (or download)

Category:1917 births Category:1996 deaths Category:African American singers Category:African American female singers Category:American amputees Category:American female singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American jazz singers Category:American singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Bandleaders Category:Blind people Category:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Deaths from diabetes Category:Decca Records artists Category:George Peabody Medal winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Musicians from Virginia Category:Pablo Records artists Category:People from Newport News, Virginia Category:People from Yonkers, New York Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Swing singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Verve Records artists Category:Scat singers Category:Women in jazz

Name	Denis Leary
Caption	Leary in June 2010
Birth name	Denis Colin Leary
Birth date	August 18, 1957
Birth place	Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Medium	Stand up comedy, music, television, film
Active	1987–present
Genre	Observational comedy, black comedy, satire, musical comedy
Subject	American culture, , libertarianism, recreational drug use, drinking culture
Influences	Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Michael Gough
Spouse	Ann Lembeck (1989-present; 2 children)
Notable work	No Cure for CancerLock 'n LoadGus in The RefMichael McCann in The Thomas Crown AffairDiego in Ice AgeTommy Gavin in Rescue Me"Bill" in "The Sandlot"
Website	http://denisleary.com

Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an Irish American actor, comedian, singer, writer, and director. He is known for his biting comedic style and his chain smoking. Leary is the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me, which began its sixth season in June 2010. He is also the inaugural winner of the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1993 with the song "Asshole".

Early life

Leary was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants. His mother, Nora, was a maid, and his late father, John Leary, was an auto mechanic. As both of his parents are from Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, Leary holds both Irish and American citizenship. Through marriage, Leary is a third cousin of talk show host Conan O'Brien, and has jokingly said on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that "all Irish people are related." He graduated from Saint Peter-Marian High School, in Worcester.

Leary is a graduate of Emerson College, in Boston, where he was classmates with fellow comic Mario Cantone, who remains his close friend. Comedian Steven Wright and actress Gina Gershon also attended Emerson at the same time as Leary. At the school, he and Jodi Haffner co-founded the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a troupe that continues on-campus to this day. After graduating with the Emerson Class of 1979, he took a job at the school teaching comedy writing classes and maintained the job for five years. Leary was honored with an honorary doctorate and spoke briefly at his alma mater's undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 16, 2005; he is thus credited as "Dr. Denis Leary" on the cover of his 2009 book, Why We Suck.

Career

Leary began working as a comedian in the Boston comedy scene of the 1980s, where he hosted his own show at the underground club "Play It Again Sam's". He also wrote and appeared on a local comedy series, Lenny Clarke's Late Show, hosted by his friend Lenny Clarke and written by Boston comedy writer Martin Olson. Leary and Clarke both spoke about their early affiliations and influences in the Boston comedy scene in the documentary film When Standup Stood Out (2006). It was during this time that he developed his stage persona. He also appeared in skits on the MTV game show Remote Control, playing such characters as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, the "brother" of co-host Colin Quinn, and artist Andy Warhol.

Leary first earned fame when he ranted about R.E.M. in an early 1990s MTV sketch. Several other commercials for MTV quickly followed, in which Leary would rant at high speeds about a variety of topics, playing off the then-popular and growing alternative scene. He released two records of his stand-up comedy: No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). In late 2004, he released the EP Merry F#%$in' Christmas, which included a mix of new music, previously unreleased recordings, and some tracks from Lock 'n Load.

In 1993, his sardonic song about the stereotypical American male, "Asshole", achieved much notoriety. It was voted #1 in an Australian youth radio poll (the Triple J Hottest 100). The video also became a staple of MTV's late-night programming. Due to its explicit and controversial content, it received limited airplay on mainstream American radio stations, with the exception of multiple Top 9 Tonight spins on 107.3 WAAF, Boston. At the 2004 Comics Come Home event in Boston, Massachusetts, Leary performed a new version of the song directed at the New York Yankees baseball team, and as the song concluded, Bronson Arroyo walked on stage with the World Series trophy. The song was also used as part of the Holsten Pils series of ads in the UK, in which Leary was participating, with adapted lyrics criticizing a drunk driver.

Leary has appeared as an actor in over 40 movies, including The Sandlot, as Scott's stepfather Bill, Monument Ave., The Matchmaker, The Ref, Suicide Kings, Dawg, Wag the Dog, Demolition Man, The Thomas Crown Affair and Operation Dumbo Drop. He had a small part in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, playing a ranting inmate during a prison riot; his part was eventually cut, but can be seen on the Special Edition DVD. He has had the lead role in two television series, The Job and Rescue Me. In addition, Leary has provided voices for characters in animated films, such as a fire-breathing dragon named Flame in the The Agents series, a prehistoric saber-toothed cat named Diego in the Ice Age film trilogy, and the pugnacious ladybug Francis in A Bug's Life. He has produced numerous movies, television shows, and specials through his production company Apostle; these include Comedy Central's Shorties Watchin' Shorties, the stand-up special Denis Leary's Merry F#$%in' Christmas, and the movie Blow. As a Boston Red Sox fan, he narrated the official 2004 World Series film. In 2006, Leary and Lenny Clarke appeared on television during a Red Sox telecast and, upon realizing that Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, delivered a criticism of Mel Gibson's antisemitic comments. As an ice hockey fan, Leary also hosted the National Hockey League video NHL's Greatest Goals. In 2003, Comedy Central honored Leary with the Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary. Friend Jeff Garlin acted as roastmaster. Roasters included Mario Cantone, Adam Ferrara, Dane Cook, Jim Breuer, Nick DiPaolo, Don Gavin, Christopher Walken, Lenny Clarke, Gina Gershon, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Gilbert Gottfried, Colin Quinn, and Michael J. Fox.

As of 2004, Leary is the star and co-creator of the FX cable-network series Rescue Me. He plays Tommy Gavin, a New York City firefighter dealing with alcoholism, family dysfunction, and other issues in post-9/11 New York City. Leary received Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. For this TV series, he turned down roles in two films: The Departed (Mark Wahlberg got the role after Leary turned down the role) and Bobby, which his close friend Emilio Estevez directed.

Leary did the TV voiceover for MLB 2K8 advertisements, where he used his trademark rant style in baseball terms, and ads for the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck. He has also appeared in commercials for Hulu and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package. Leary was a producer of the Fox Broadcasting series Canterbury's Law and wrote and directed its pilot episode. Canterbury's Law aired in the spring of 2008 and was canceled after eight episodes.

On September 9, 2008, Leary hosted the sixth annual Fashion Rocks event, which aired on CBS. During one part of the show, Leary came onstage dressed in a long gold halter dress and wearing diamond earrings and a bracelet; he carried a purse and a pair of high heels. In another segment, he let out a controversial rant about Britney Spears, the birth of Ricky Martin's twins, and David Duchovny going to rehab for sex addiction.

In December 2008, Leary appeared in a video on funnyordie.com critiquing a list of some of his "best" films, titled "Denis Leary Remembers Denis Leary Movies".

In 2008, Leary was a guest star on The Simpsons. In this episode titled "Lost Verizon", the second episode of season 20, Leary was called a "very epic" superstar.

On March 21, 2009 Leary began the "Rescue Me Comedy Tour" in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 11-date tour, featuring Rescue Me co-stars Lenny Clarke and Adam Ferrara, was Leary's first stand-up comedy tour in 12 years.

On January 1, 2010, both Leary and Lenny Clarke sang the Neil Diamond song "Sweet Caroline" at the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, flanked by members of the Boston and Worcester Fire Departments. On January 10, 2010, Denis sang at Road Recovery at New York City's The Bowery along with Peter Frampton, John Varvatos and Leary's band The Enablers.

A new Comedy Central special, "Douchebags and Donuts", filmed during the Rescue Me Tour, debuted on American television January 16, 2011 with a DVD release on January 18, 2011.

Personal life

Leary has been married to writer Ann Lembeck Leary since 1989. During the 2010 NHL Winter Classic he appeared with his friend Lenny Clarke and members of the Worcester Fire Department and the Boston Fire Department and led the crowd in singing "Sweet Caroline". He is also a diehard Boston Red Sox fan, as well as a fan of the Green Bay Packers.

He has said, "I'm more interested in my issues than I am in the guy" and "I was a life-long Democrat, but now at my age, I've come to realize that the Democrats suck, and the Republicans suck, and basically the entire system sucks. But you have to go within the system to find what you want." Leary supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

Leary considers himself a lapsed Catholic. He said about his religious beliefs; "I'm a lapsed Catholic in the best sense of the word. You know, I was raised with Irish parents, Irish immigrant parents. My parents, you know, prayed all the time, took us to mass. And my father would sometimes swear in Gaelic. It doesn't get more religious than that. But, no, after a while, they taught us wrong. I didn't raise my kids with the fear of God. I raised my kids with the sense of, you know, to me, Jesus was this great guy...".

Allegations of plagiarism

For many years, Leary had been friends with fellow comedian Bill Hicks. When Leary's comedy album No Cure for Cancer was released, many people believed Leary had stolen Hicks' act and material. The friendship ended abruptly as a result. Hicks once famously told an interviewer: "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did".

At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks' material, comedic persona and attitude. One similar routine was about the band Judas Priest, during which Hicks says "I don’t think we lost a cancer cure."

During a 2003 roast of Denis Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.

The feud is also mentioned in Cynthia True's biography American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story:

:Leary was in Montreal to host the "Nasty Show," at Club Soda, and Colleen was coordinating the talent so she was standing backstage when she heard Leary doing material that sounded incredibly similar to old Hicks riffs, including his perennial Jim Fixx joke: ("Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut dude. The plot thickens."). When Leary came offstage, Colleen, more stunned than angry, said, "Hey, you know that's Bill Hicks' material! Do you know that's his material?" Leary stood there, stared at her without saying a word and briskly left the dressing room.

She reportedly said, upon hearing a tape of Leary's album No Cure for Cancer, "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it." On a later episode of the same show, Leary challenged this assertion by claiming that he (Leary) co-wrote the song with Chris Phillips.

Awards

Filmography

Films

TV shows

TV commercials

Quaker State Motor Oil

MTV promos (1991–93)

Lotus Notes

Holsten O'Pils beer

2009, 2010 Ford F-150 (voice only)

Hulu (2009)

Direct TV Sunday Ticket (2009)

Discography

1993: No Cure for Cancer

1997: Lock 'n Load

2004: Merry F#%$in' Christmas

Bibliography

2008: Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, Viking ISBN 978-0-670-03160-3

2010: Suck on This Year : LYFAO @ 140 Characters or Less, Viking ISBN 978-0-670-02289-2

References

External links

DenisLeary.com - Official Site.

Leary Firefighters Foundation

Annleary.com

Category:1957 births Category:Actors from Massachusetts Category:American comedians Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American film actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Emerson College alumni Category:Emerson College faculty Category:Irish comedians Category:Irish film actors Category:Irish people of American descent Category:Irish stand-up comedians Category:Irish television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Worcester, Massachusetts

Name	Aesop Rock
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Ian Matthias Bavitz
Origin	New York City, New York, U.S.
Born	June 05, 1976 Northport, New York, U.S.
Genre	Avant-hopAlternative hip hopUnderground hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, musician, producer
Years active	1996 – present
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, synthesizer, keyboard, sequencer, MPC |Label = Definitive JuxMush Records
Associated acts	The WeathermenBlockheadDoseoneThe OrphanageEl-PFeltHail Mary Mallon Two of Every Animal
Url	Official Website

Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it went on hiatus in 2010. He is a member of the groups The Weathermen, Hail Mary Mallon (with Rob Sonic & DJ Biz Wiz), and Two Of Every Animal (with Cage). Regarding his name, he said: "I acquired the name Aesop from a movie I had acted in with some friends. It was my character's name and it sort of stuck. The rock part came later just from throwing it in rhymes."

Early & personal life

Bavitz was born and raised in Northport, Long Island, New York to his father Paul and mother Anita. His mother is Jewish. Ian has two brothers: Chris (born 1975) and Graham (born 1977). Ian, along with his siblings, was raised Catholic but later on in his life became agnostic. Bavitz attended Northport High School in 1990 and graduated in 1994. He is also a graduate of Boston University. He studied fine arts and eventually acquired his bachelors in 1998. He is on the B.U. Wall of Fame, along with people like Howard Stern and Bill O’Reilly. In August 2001, Bavitz had a nervous breakdown. His song "One of Four" on his Daylight E.P. documents his struggles. He married Allyson Baker, guitarist of rock band Parchman Farm in 2005. They now reside in San Francisco, California.

He has tattoos on each forearm. His left arm says the words "Must Not Sleep", and the right says "Must Warn Others," which are quotes inspired by the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aesop Rock has used these quotes as lyrics in the chorus of his song "Commencement at the Obedience Academy": "Must not sleep; must warn others / Trust blocks creep where the dust storm hovers." He also used them in his song "Antisocial," in the line "Must not sleep; must warn others / I'll tourniquet your turbulence then trample on your stutters."

Music career

As a youth, Ian and his family would usually commute to New York City, this would greatly have a impact on him and the way he viewed the hip-hop culture. Ian began rapping in the mid-90's. He states Public Enemy, BDP, KMD, and Run DMC as being his early influences. Aesop initially recorded and released two self-financed efforts, Music for Earthworms (1997), a full length featuring underground legend Percee P on two tracks, and the Appleseed EP (1999), online at aesoprock.com, a website that was active until April 2001 while also working as a waiter.

After his breakthrough success in the underground hip-hop & indie rap community he was eventually noticed by the Mush label and obtained his first record deal in 1999, just a year after he graduated from college. Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), with guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. Production was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One.

Shortly after releasing Float Aesop Rock signed to Manhattan-based label Definitive Jux (commonly shortened to Def Jux), where he released Labor Days (2001), an album dedicated to the discussion of labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves". This album was most well known for its single "Daylight." Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a 7-track EP, including an "alternative" new version of the song, "Night Light," whose paraphrased lyrics simultaneously refer back to, and stand in stark opposition to, the original's. The song "Labor" (from Labor Days) was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, giving Aesop Rock more recognition.

Labor Days was followed by Bazooka Tooth in 2003. For the first time, production was mostly handled by Aesop himself, with three tracks from longtime collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Definitive Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing "No Jumper Cables" as a single and music video, then another single, "Freeze", shortly after. A remix of "No Jumper Cables" was featured on Tony Hawk's Underground 2, furthering Aesop's recognition.

In February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP included an 88 page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP (the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow); later pressings of the album come without the booklet, but with an additional bonus track, "Facemelter". In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from Def Jux with Aesop Rock's graffiti tag on them. In response to demands from his fans, Aesop did less production on the EP: three songs are produced by Blockhead, three produced by Aesop, and one by Rob Sonic. During this time he was asked to join the Weathermen to replace Vast Aire.

Aesop Rock was commissioned to create a 45-minute instrumental track for the Nike+iPod running system, entitled All Day. It was released in February 2007. Distributed via the iTunes Music Store and featuring his wife Allyson Baker on guitar and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, Aesop has described the release as "something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as though the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes."

All Day was followed in August of the same year by Bavitz's fifth full-length album, None Shall Pass (2007). The album also contained original artwork by Jeremy Fish. About Jeremy Fish, Aesop Rock said: "Man that guy is my hero. We have a friend in common who hit me up a while back saying that this guy Jeremy Fish had an opportunity to pitch a cartoon to Disney and wanted me to be involved in the music side. I flipped out cuz I was also a fan of his, and owned some of his work." Aesop Rock also teamed up with Jeremy Fish again in a project called Ghosts of the Barbary Coast. Aesop Rock made a song called Tomorrow Morning, to go along with a slideshow of drawings that Jeremy Fish drew. This was displayed in San Francisco, but was also made available for download online.

In 2009, Aesop Rock produced Felt's third album; . Aesop recently announced via Twitter that he is working on his next studio album, due to be released in 2011 along with Hail Mary Mallon's debut album.

On April 20th, 2011 it was announced that Rhymesayers Entertainment would release Hail Mary Mallon's debut album Are You Going To Eat That? A music video for their first single off the album Smock was announced that same day.

Lyricism

Bavitz's lyrics are generally seen as complex and abstract. Critics state that the use of words can be so detailed that it becomes difficult to determine their originally intended meaning. The interpretation is highly subjective, because the messages conveyed are not always clearly defined. The lyrics are sometimes inspired by events which have occurred in Bavitz's personal life.

Questioned about his lyrical style in an interview, Bavitz responded:

It’s probably because it’s not the most accessible music in the world. It may pose a slight challenge to the listener beyond your average pop song. I'm no genius by a long shot, but these songs are not nonsensical, that's pretty preposterous. I'd have to be a genius to pull this many nonsensical records over people's eyes. It's not exactly fast food but when people pretend I'm just spewing non-sequiturs and gibberish I can’t help but think they simply haven’t listened and are regurgitating some rumor they’ve heard about me. Even if it's not laid out in perfect sentences—is any rap?—you’d have to be an idiot to not at least grasp a few things from these songs. Or have had no interest in pulling anything from them in the first place.

Selected discography

Albums

Music for Earthworms (1997)

Float (2000)

Labor Days (2001)

Bazooka Tooth (2003)

None Shall Pass (2007)

EPs

Appleseed (1999)

Daylight (2002)

Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives (2005)

Compilations

Build Your Own Bazooka Tooth (2003)

Collaborations

Ghosts of the Barbary Coast - Aesop Rock and Jeremy Fish (2009)

Are You Gonna Eat That? - Hail Mary Mallon (Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz) (2011) Untitled - Two Of Every Animal (Aesop Rock and Cage) (TBA)

Filmography

References

External links

900Bats Artist Website

Aesop Rock on LastFM

Definitive Jux Biography

Mush Records Biography

Aesop Rock on IMDb

Aesop Rock discography at Discogs.

Aesop Rock interview and profile in Exclaim! magazine

Interview with Aesop Rock in Guernica (guernicamag.com)

"All Day, All Night" April 2008, Interview with Submerge Magazine

Sept 2008 Interview with L.A. Record

September 2008 Interview with L.A. Weekly

Pitchfork article

Know The Ledge interview with Aesop Rock

Delarge interview

Category:1976 births Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:Living people Category:Abstract painters Category:American abstract artists Category:American agnostics Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:American graffiti artists Category:American rappers Category:American hip hop musicians Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Alternative hip hop Category:American painters Category:Artists from New York Category:Boston University alumni Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American experimental musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:East Coast hip hop musicians Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:People from Suffolk County, New York Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Rappers from New York Category:Psychedelic drug advocates Category:Underground artists Category:Underground rappers