Nat Love

Nat Love, also known as Deadwood Dick (1854–1921), pronounced as Nate Love, was an African American cowboy following the American Civil War. In 1907, Love wrote his autobiography, "Life and Adventures of Nat Love." In his autobiography, Nat Love explains that his father was a slave foreman in the fields, and his mother managed the kitchen. Love had an older brother Jordan and an older sister Sally.

Love was born a slave on the plantation of Robert Love in Davidson County, Tennessee, in June, 1854. Despite slavery era statutes that outlawed black literacy he learned to read and write as a child with the help of his father, Sampson Love. When slavery ended, Sampson attempted to start a family farm to raise tobacco and corn, but he died shortly after the second crop was planted. Nat then took a second job working on a local farm to help make ends meet. After a few years of working odd jobs, he won a horse in a raffle. He sold the horse for one hundred dollars and gave half to his mother, and he used the other half to leave town. He went west to Dodge City, Kansas, to find work as a cowboy. In Dodge City, he joined the cowboys from the Duval Ranch which was stationed in Texas. Because of his excellent horse riding skills, the Duval Ranch cowboys gave Nat the nickname "Red River Dick." Once he joined the Duval cowboys he left Dodge City and returned with them to the home ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Nat Love's autobiography tells of many adventures fighting against cattle rustlers and inclement weather. His many years of experience made him an expert marksman and cowboy. He entered a rodeo in Deadwood, South Dakota on the 4th of July in 1876. He won the rope, throw, tie, bridle, saddle and bronco riding contests. It was at this contest that the fans gave him the nickname "Deadwood Dick."^[1] In October 1877, he was captured by a band of Akimel O'odham (Pima) while rounding up stray cattle near the Gila River in Arizona. Love reported that his life was spared because the Indians respected his fighting ability. A while after being captured, Love stole a pony and managed to escape into West Texas.

Love spent the latter part of his life working as a Pullman porter. He died in Los Angeles at age 67 in 1921.

In 1969, a clothing company in Boston took the name Nat Love to pay homage to this 'groovy guy.' Nat Love, Inc. introduced hot pants to the United States at the first National Boutique Show held at the Hotel McAlpin in New York City.

Eventually Nat Love’s family was freed from bondage because of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. As he got off on his own, some of his associates were Billy the Kid, Bat Masterson, the James Brothers. He also was adopted by more than one Indian tribe. As a young man he wanted to get into the west and start living on his own, and he knew he could find work as a cowhand. He started working in Dodge City, Kansas, but it was then when he started to become a really good cowboy- he could catch cattle and rope them very easily. Then, he was offered more money at the Pete Gallinger company, so he started to work there. When he was 22, Love entered in a Roping contest on the 4th of July in Deadwood, South Dakota. He impressed the crowd so much that he received the nickname, “Deadwood Dick.” He won many contests, and published two autobiographies- The Life and Adventures of Nat Love and Better Known in the Cattle Country. Nat rode through hailstorms so hard that "only men could withstand them." Nat fought off attacks by Indians a lot, like many other cowboys. The first time he met a mean group of Indians he said he was too scared to run. Nat found love at first sight by a Spanish woman when he passed by a house in Old Mexico. They got married, but she died the spring after because of sickness. Later, he married another woman in Denver, CO. Nat eventually gave up on being a cowboy for the railroad industry instead. In 1890, he got a job in the Pullman service on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.

Quotes by Nat Love:

"Mounted on my horse my... lariat near my hand, and my trusty guns in my belt... I felt like I could defy the world."^{[citation needed]}

"Every time you shoot at someone, plan on dying."^{[citation needed]}

"If a man can't go out in the blaze of glory, he can at least go with dignity."^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

1. ^ Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience P.175

External links[link]

• Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick," by Himself. Los Angeles, Cal.: s.n., 1907.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Olivia Ong
Olivia Ong performing at a mini-concert in Hong Kong, 2010
Background information
Birth name	王俪婷, 王儷婷
Also known as	オリビア・オン (Japanese)
Born	(1985-10-02) October 2, 1985 (age 26)
Origin	Singapore
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	S2S Pte. Ltd. (Japan) H.I.M Music (Taiwan)
Website	blog.livedoor.jp/oliviaong/

Olivia Ong (simplified Chinese: 王俪婷; traditional Chinese: 王儷婷; pinyin: Wáng Lìtíng; born 2 October 1985) is a Singaporean singer. She sings mostly in English but developed her career singing in English and Japanese. In addition, she has released rare tracks, recorded in Mandarin, and Cantonese which can be found on limited edition albums.

Biography[link]

Likened to Seiko Matsuda, she won a singing contest and was signed to a Japanese recording company S2S Pte Ltd at the age of 15.

After taking her O-level examinations in Singapore, Ong moved to Japan to further her studies as well as her career as a solo artist. In Singapore, Ong, along with 2 other Singaporean girls formed the Japanese pop (J-pop) group, Mirai. Their first single, "Open Up Your Mind", was one of the theme songs in the Japanese anime Gensoumaden Saiyuki.

She released her bestselling début, A Girl Meets Bossa Nova at only 19.^[1] With her sultry, soulful, pristine and innocent vocals, she reinterprets Frank Sinatra's hits such as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars", among other jazz and pop numbers. She is one of the new wave of Singaporean talent being exported internationally. So far, Ong is the only pop sensation exported exclusively to Japan; previous stars such as Mavis Hee, Kit Chan, Tanya Chua, Joi Chua, Stefanie Sun, Michelle Saram etc., have been promoted mainly in the Greater Chinese market.

In 2009 Ong was signed to Taiwanese record company HIM Music and became a big hit back in Singapore after she sang the theme song of the peranakan-themed drama serial, The Little Nyonya. She has stated that her paternal grandfather is Peranakan.

Her first record under HIM Music was released on 5 March 2010, entitled Olivia. In 2011, Ong recorded a duet, "最後一眼" (Just One Look), with label mate Aaron Yan of Fahrenheit, which was released in his debut EP The Next Me.^[2]

Olivia has recently released her latest album entitled 'Romance' on 22 July 2011

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EP/Singles[link]

Movie Debut[link]

Olivia appeared in the movie It's a Great, Great World (大世界) as Ah Min, a young fashion photographer who stumbled across a set of old photographs taken by her late grandmother (Yvonne Lim). She brought the photographs to her grandmother's old friend, Ah Meng (Chew Chor Meng) who might have connections to the people in the photographs.

Ah Meng then proceeds to tell 4 different stories based on each photograph, each telling a story from different generations.^[3]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Olivia's personal website
• H.I.M Official website
• H.I.M Official forum
• Olivia王俪婷Ong personal Weibo Microblog

This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (July 2010)

Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole performing in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Natalie Maria Cole
Born	(1950-02-06) February 6, 1950 (age 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, soul, pop, soft rock, jazz, quiet storm, adult contemporary
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, pianist, actress
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1955–present
Labels	Capitol (1975–1981) Epic (1982–1984) Modern (1984–1986) EMI-Manhattan (1986–1990) Elektra (1991–2001) Verve (2001–2007) DMI / Rhino (2008–2010)
Associated acts	Nat King Cole
Website	www.nataliecole.com

Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)", "Inseparable" and "Our Love". After a period of failing sales and performances due to a heavy drug addiction, Cole reemerged as a pop artist with the 1987 album, Everlasting, and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac". In the 1990s, she re-recorded standards by her father, resulting in her biggest success, Unforgettable... with Love, which sold over seven million copies and also won Cole numerous Grammy Awards.

Early life[link]

Natalie Cole was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of crooner Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Cole. Raised in the affluent Hancock Park district of Los Angeles;^[1] regarding her childhood, Cole has referred to her family as "the black Kennedys" and was exposed to many great singers of jazz, soul, and blues. At the age of six Natalie sang on her father's Christmas album and later began performing at age 11.

Cole grew up with older adopted sister Carole "Cookie" (1944–2009) (her mother Maria's younger sister's daughter); adopted brother Nat "Kelly" Cole (1959–95), and younger twin sisters Timolin and Casey (born 1961).^[2][3]

Her paternal uncle Freddy Cole is a singer and pianist with numerous albums and awards. Cole enrolled in Northfield Mount Hermon School, an elite New England preparatory school, at age 15 afer her father died of lung cancer in February 1965. Soon afterwards she began having a difficult relationship with her mother. She enrolled in the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She briefly transferred to University of Southern California where she pledged the Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She later transferred back to the University of Massachusetts, where she majored in Child Psychology and minored in German, graduating in 1972.

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Following graduation, Cole, who grew up listening to a variety of artists from soul artists such as Aretha Franklin to psychedelic rock icon Janis Joplin, began singing at small clubs with her band, Black Magic. Initially welcomed to the clubs due to her being Nat King Cole's daughter only to be disappointed when she began covering R&B and rock numbers. While performing, she was noted by a couple of producers in the Chicago area, Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy, who then approached her to do records. After cutting several records together, they passed off the music to several record labels. Most labels turned them down with one ironic exception. Capitol Records, her father's label, heard the records and agreed to sign her.

Cole, Yancy and Jackson went into studios in Los Angeles to polish the recordings they had shipped, resulting in the release of Cole's debut album, Inseparable, which included songs that reminded listeners of Aretha Franklin. In fact, Franklin later contended that songs such as "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)", "I Can't Say No" and others were originally offered to her while she was recording the You album. Franklin turned most of the songs down but agreed to record the title track for her album. Cole also recorded "You". Released in 1975, the album became an instant success thanks to "This Will Be", which became a top ten hit and later winning Cole a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. A second single, "Inseparable", also became a hit. Both songs reached number-one on the R&B chart. Cole also won Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards for her accomplishments. Due to the media's billing of Cole as the "new Aretha Franklin", it inadvertently started a rivalry between the two singers.

Initial stardom[link]

Becoming an instant star, Cole responded to critics of an impending sophomore slump with Natalie, released in 1976. The album, like Inseparable, became a gold success thanks to the funk-influenced cut, "Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady)" and the jazz-influenced "Mr. Melody".

Cole released her first platinum record with her third release, Unpredictable, mainly thanks to the number-one R&B hit, "I've Got Love on My Mind". Originally an album track, the album's closer, "I'm Catching Hell", nonetheless became a popular Cole song during live concert shows. Later in 1977, Cole issued her fourth release and second platinum album, Thankful, which included another signature Cole hit, "Our Love". To capitalize on her fame, Cole starred on her own TV special, which attracted such celebrities as Earth, Wind & Fire, and in 1978, released her first live album, Natalie Live!

In early 1979, the singer was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That same year, she released two more albums, I Love You So and the Peabo Bryson duet album, We're the Best of Friends. Both albums reached gold status in the U.S. continuing her popularity.

Career detour and resurgence[link]

Following the release of her eighth album, 1980's Don't Look Back, Cole's career began to take a detour. While Cole scored an adult contemporary hit with the soft rock ballad "Someone That I Used To Love" off the album, the album itself failed to go gold. In 1981, Cole's personal problems including battles with drug addiction began to take public notice and her career suffered as a result. In 1983, following the release of her album, I'm Ready, released on Epic, Cole entered a rehab facility in Connecticut reportedly staying there for a period of six months.

Following her release, she signed with the Atco imprint, Modern Records, releasing Dangerous, which started a slow resurgence for Cole in terms of record sales and chart success. In 1987, she changed to EMI-Manhattan Records and released the Everlasting album, which returned her to the top of the charts thanks to singles such as "Jump Start (My Heart)", the top ten ballad, "I Live For Your Love" and her dance-pop cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac". That success helped Everlasting reach one million in sales becoming Cole's first platinum album in ten years. In 1989, she released her follow-up to Everlasting, Good to Be Back, which produced the number two hit, "Miss You Like Crazy", which also achieved international success reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom.

Cole released her best-selling album with 1991's Unforgettable... with Love on Elektra Records, which saw Cole singing songs her famous father recorded, nearly 20 years after she initially had refused to cover her father's songs during live concerts. Cole produced vocal arrangements for the songs, with piano accompaniment by her uncle Ike Cole. Cole's label released an interactive duet between Cole and her father on the title song, "Unforgettable". The song eventually reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number ten on the R&B chart, going gold. Unforgettable...with Love eventually sold more than seven million copies in the U.S. alone winning several Grammys including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for the top song.

Cole followed that success with another album of jazz standards titled Take a Look, in 1993, which included her recording of the title track in the same styling that her idol Aretha Franklin had recorded nearly 30 years earlier. The album eventually went gold while a holiday album, Holly & Ivy, also became gold. Another standards release, Stardust, went platinum and featured another duet with her father on a modern version of "When I Fall in Love", which helped Cole earn another Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Later works[link]

In 1999, Cole returned to her 1980s-era urban contemporary recording style with the release of Snowfall on the Sahara on June and second holiday album The Magic of Christmas on October, which recorded with London Symphony Orchestra. A year later, the singer collaborated on the production of her biopic, Livin' For Love: The Natalie Cole Story, which featured Theresa Randle in the role of Cole. She also released the compilation Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 to fulfill her contract with Elektra. She changed to Verve Records and released two albums. 2002's Ask a Woman Who Knows continued her jazz aspirations, while 2006's Leavin' again featured Cole singing pop, rock and R&B standards. Her cover of Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming", became a minor hit on the R&B charts. In 2008, seventeen years after Unforgettable... with Love, Cole released Still Unforgettable, which included not only songs made famous by her father but other artists, including Frank Sinatra. The album later resulted in Grammy wins for Cole.

In April of 2012, she appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

Television and film[link]

Cole has carved out a secondary career in acting. She has also appeared several times in live concerts or other music related programs, including the 1998 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute with sidemen Richard Campbell, Jeffrey Worrell, Eddie Cole and Dave Joyce. In 1990, she (along with jazz vocalist Al Jarreau) sang the song "Mr. President" (written by Ray Reach, Mike Loveless and Joe Sterling) on HBO's Comic Relief special, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. After Johnny Mathis appeared on a special of Cole's in 1980, the two kept in contact, and in 1992, he invited Cole to be a part of his television special titled "A Tribute To Nat Cole" for BBC-TV in England. It had high viewer ratings and was successful. From that project, an album with the same name was released, and featured several medley and solo numbers.

In 1992, following the success of the Unforgettable: With Love album, PBS broadcast a special based on the album. Unforgettable, With Love: Natalie Cole Sings the Songs of Nat "King" Cole received emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program; and Cole received a nomination for Outstanding Individual Performance, losing to Bette Midler.

In 1993, she was among the Guests of Honor attending Wrestlemania IX at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. She was interviewed by television staff after the conclusion of the Money Incorporated vs Megamaniacs tag team match regarding her upcoming work. The same year she performed at 65th Academy Awards performing medley of two Oscar nominated songs: "Run to You" and "I Have Nothing", both originally performed by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard.

Cole has made a number of dramatic appearances on television, including guest appearances on I'll Fly Away, Touched by an Angel, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2006, she made a memorable guest appearance on the popular ABC show Grey's Anatomy as a terminally ill patient. Her character visited Seattle Grace Hospital to have a fork removed from her neck that her husband had stabbed her with during a mishap; the couple had been having sex in public.^[4]

Cole has also made several appearances in feature films, most recently in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely. She has appeared in several made-for-TV movies, most notably as the lead in Lily in Winter. Cole was featured on Macy Gray's album Big, singing "Finally Make Me Happy".

In 2001 she starred as herself in Livin' for Love: the Natalie Cole Story, for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television, Mini-Series of Dramatic Special.

She also sang the national anthem with the Atlanta University Center Chorus at Super Bowl XXVIII.

On December 2, 2006, Cole performed for the first time in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, as part of the annual Cayman Jazz Fest.^[5]

On the February 5, 2007 episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Cole sang "I Say a Little Prayer" at a benefit dinner for Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson).

She can also be seen in the last scene of Nas' music video for "Can't Forget About You". The song uses a sample of her father's song "Unforgettable". Cole is sitting at a piano in a cabaret-style lounge mouthing her father's song with Nas standing beside her.

Natalie Cole also performed "Something's Gotta Give" on American Idol on April 29, 2009.

In September 2010, Cole performed with Andrea Bocelli in a concert at the Kodak Theatre, for his album My Christmas, in which she recorded a duet with him, and on December 10–13, 2009, she appeared with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in their annual Christmas concerts. Both were videotaped for presentation on PBS in December 2010.

On July 22, 2011 Cole appeared on the reality television series, Real Housewives of New York City.

Filmography[link]

NOTE: this filmography is not yet completed

Personal life[link]

Cole has been married three times. She married Marvin Yancy, songwriter, producer and former member of the ’70s R&B group The Independents on July 31, 1976. She has a son, Robert Adam "Robbie" Yancy (born October 1977); he is now a musician who tours with her. Marvin was her producer, and an ordained Baptist minister who helped reintroduce her to religion. Under his influence, Cole changed from a lapsed Episcopalian to become a devout Baptist.^[6] Cole and Yancy divorced in 1980 before Yancy died of a heart attack in 1985, aged 34. In 1989, Cole married record producer and former drummer for Rufus Andre Fischer; they divorced in 1995. In 2001, Cole married bishop Kenneth Dupree; they divorced in 2004.^[7]

Cole has been active in the Afghan World Foundation cause, supporting Sonia Nassery Cole.^[8]

Drug abuse and recovery[link]

In 2000, Cole released an autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder, which described her battle with drugs during much of her life.

• In the book, Cole admitted to using heroin and crack cocaine.
• Cole said she began recreational drug use while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
• She also disclosed that she was arrested in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for possession of heroin in 1975.
• Cole continued to spiral out of control – including one incident where she refused to evacuate a burning building, and another where her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she was on a drug binge. She did eventually enter rehab in 1983.

In concert with the release of the book, her autobiography was turned into a made-for-TV movie, Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, which aired December 10, 2000 on NBC and re-aired October 26, 2011 on Centric TV CTRC.

Health problems[link]

On July 16, 2008, Cole announced that she was diagnosed with hepatitis C (a disease affecting the liver) likely caused by her drug use: "I've been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences. I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends; I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life." Dr. Graham Woolf, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA/Cedars Sinai Medical Center, said that Cole "had a terrific response to her medication and is now virus negative. This gives her an increased chance of cure. But, she has also suffered significant side effects from the anti-viral medicine, which is the only FDA authorized treatment for hepatitis C. Her side effects include fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration but she is recovering from these. On September 19, 2008 she was rushed to the hospital due to her Hepatitis C medications.^[9][10]

Cole has also had struggles with kidney disease. Before receiving a kidney transplant on May 20, 2009, Cole had been receiving kidney dialysis three times a week.^[11] During her March 31, 2009 appearance on Larry King Live "dozens of emails flooded the CNN studio" with offers for replacement kidneys.^[12]

As of June 2009, Cole had received a kidney transplant. The news of the organ came on the same day her sister Carole died from cancer. Natalie attended the memorial services and continues to heal and grow stronger with her new kidney.

She made a triumphant stage comeback on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in LA. In December 2009 she achieved a life-long dream of performing at the Christmas Extravaganza with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Selective awards and recognitions[link]

Grammy Awards[link]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Cole has received nine awards from twenty-one nominations.^[13]

Other Awards[link]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Natalie Cole

• Official website
• Natalie Cole at Allmusic
• Natalie Cole at the Internet Movie Database
• Natalie Cole interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' September 2008
• Natalie Cole biography and updates at Soul Tracks

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

Lester Young
Lester Young at the Famous Door, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1946. Photo by William P. Gottlieb.
Background information
Birth name	Lester Willis Young
Also known as	"Pres" or "Prez"
Born	(1909-08-27)August 27, 1909 Woodville, Mississippi, U.S.
Origin	Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Died	March 15, 1959(1959-03-15) (aged 49) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Saxophonist, clarinetist
Instruments	Tenor saxophone, clarinet
Years active	1933–1959
Labels	Verve

Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959),^[1] nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums.

Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument, playing with a cool tone and using sophisticated harmonies. He invented or popularized much of the hipster ethos which came to be associated with the music.

Early life and career[link]

Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi and grew up in a musical family. Young's father, Willis Handy Young, was a respected teacher, his brother Lee Young was a drummer, and several other relatives played music professionally. His family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, when Lester was an infant and later to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although at a very young age Young did not initially know his father, he learned that his father was a musician. Later Willis taught his son to play the trumpet, violin, and drums in addition to the saxophone.

Lester Young played in his family's band in both the vaudeville and carnival circuits. He left the family band in 1927 at the age of 18 because he refused to tour in the Southern United States, where Jim Crow laws were in effect and racial segregation was required in public facilities.^[2]

With the Count Basie Orchestra[link]

In 1933 Young settled in Kansas City, where after playing briefly in several bands, he rose to prominence with Count Basie. His playing in the Basie band was characterized by a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the aggressive approach of Coleman Hawkins, the dominant tenor sax player of the day.

Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra.^[3] He soon left Henderson to play in the Andy Kirk band (for six months) before returning to Basie. While with Basie, Young made small-group recordings for Milt Gabler's Commodore Records, The Kansas City Sessions. Although they were recorded in New York (in 1938, with a reunion in 1944), they are named after the group, the Kansas City Seven, and comprised Buck Clayton, Dicky Wells, Basie, Young, Freddie Green, Rodney Richardson, and Jo Jones. Young played clarinet as well as tenor in these sessions. He was a master of the clarinet, and there too his style was entirely his own. As well as the Kansas City Sessions, his clarinet work from 1938-39 is documented on recordings with Basie, Billie Holiday, Basie small groups, and the organist Glenn Hardman.

After Young's clarinet was stolen in 1939, he abandoned the instrument until about 1957. That year Norman Granz gave him one and urged him to play it (with far different results at that stage in Young's life--see below).

Leaving Basie[link]

Young left the Basie band in late 1940. He is rumored to have refused to play with the band on Friday, December 13 of that year for superstitious reasons, spurring his dismissal.^[3] Lester left the band around that time and subsequently led a number of small groups that often included his brother, noted drummer Lee Young, for the next couple of years; live and broadcast recordings from this period exist.

During this period Young accompanied the singer Billie Holiday in a couple of studio sessions in 1940 and 1941 and also made a small set of recordings with Nat "King" Cole (their first of several collaborations) in June 1942. His studio recordings are relatively sparse during the 1942 to 1943 period, largely due to the American Federation of Musicians' recording ban. It was Holiday who gave Young the nickname "Pres", short for President.^[4]

In December 1943 Young returned to the Basie fold for a 10-month stint, cut short by his being drafted into the army during World War II (see below). Recordings made during this and subsequent periods suggest Young was beginning to make much greater use of a plastic reed, which tended to give his playing a somewhat heavier, breathier tone (although still quite smooth compared to that of many other players). While he never abandoned the wooden reed, he used the plastic reed a significant share of the time from 1943 until the end of his life. Another cause for the thickening of his tone around this time was a change in saxophone mouthpiece from a metal Otto Link to an ebonite Brilhart. In August 1944 Young appeared alongside drummer Jo Jones, trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and fellow tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet in Gjon Mili's short film Jammin' the Blues.

Army service[link]

In September 1944 Young and Jo Jones were in Los Angeles with the Basie Band when they were inducted into the U.S. Army. Unlike many white musicians, who were placed in band outfits such as the ones led by Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw, Young was assigned to the regular army where he was not allowed to play his saxophone.^{[citation needed]} Based in Ft. McClellan, Alabama, Young was found with marijuana and alcohol among his possessions. He was soon court-martialed. Young did not fight the charges and was convicted. He served one year in a detention barracks^{[5][dead link]} and was dishonorably discharged in late 1945. His experience inspired his composition "D.B. Blues" (with D.B. standing for detention barracks).

Some jazz historians have argued that Young's playing power declined in the years following his army experience, though critics such as Scott Yanow disagree with this entirely. Recordings show that his playing began to change before he was drafted. Some argue that Young's playing had an increasingly emotional slant to it, and the post-war period featured some of his greatest renditions of ballads.^{[citation needed]}

Post-war recordings[link]

Young's career after World War II was far more prolific and lucrative than in the pre-war years in terms of recordings made, live performances, and annual income. Young joined Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) troupe in 1946, touring regularly with them over the next 12 years. He made a significant number of studio recordings under Granz's supervision for his Verve Records label as well, including more trio recordings with Nat King Cole. Young also recorded extensively in the late 1940s for Aladdin Records (1946-7, where he had made the Cole recordings in 1942) and for Savoy (1944, '49 and '50), some sessions of which included Basie on piano.

While the quality and consistency of his playing ebbed gradually in the latter half of the 1940s and into the early 1950s, he also gave some brilliant performances during this stretch. Especially noteworthy are his performances with JATP in 1946, 1949, and 1950.^{[citation needed]} With Young at the 1949 JATP concert at Carnegie Hall were Charlie Parker and Roy Eldridge, and Young's solo on "Lester Leaps In" at that concert is a particular standout among his performances in the latter half of his career.

Struggle and revival[link]

From around 1951, Young's level of playing began to decline more precipitously, as he began to drink more and more heavily. His playing showed reliance on a small number of clichéd phrases and reduced creativity and originality, despite his claims that he did not want to be a "repeater pencil" (Young coined this phrase to describe the act of repeating one's own past ideas). A comparison of his studio recordings from 1952, such as the session with pianist Oscar Peterson, and those from 1953–1954 (all available on the Verve label) also demonstrates a declining command of his instrument and sense of timing, possibly due to both mental and physical factors.^{[citation needed]} Young's playing and health went into a crisis, culminating in a November 1955 hospital admission following a nervous breakdown.

He emerged from this treatment improved. In January 1956 he recorded two Granz-produced sessions featuring pianist Teddy Wilson (who had led the Billie Holiday recordings with Young in the 1930s), trumpet player Roy Eldridge, trombonist Vic Dickenson, bassist Gene Ramey, and drummer Jo Jones - available on the Jazz Giants '56 and Prez and Teddy albums. 1956 was a relatively good year for Lester Young, including a tour of Europe with Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet and a successful stint at Olivia's Patio Lounge in Washington, DC.

Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Young had sat in on Count Basie Orchestra gigs from time to time. The best-known of these is their July 1957 appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival, the line-up including many of Lester's old buddies: Jo Jones, Roy Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet and Jimmy Rushing. His playing was in better shape, and he produced some of the old, smooth toned flow of the 1930s. Among other tunes he played a moving "Polkadots and Moonbeams", which was a favorite of his at that time.^{[citation needed]}

The final years[link]

On December 8, 1957, Young appeared with Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan in the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz, performing Holiday's tunes "Lady Sings The Blues" and "Fine and Mellow". It was a reunion with Holiday, with whom he'd fallen out of contact for years. She was also in decline at the end of her career, and they both gave moving performances. Young's solo was brilliant, considered by many jazz musicians an unparalleled marvel of economy, phrasing and extraordinarily moving emotion.^{[citation needed]} But, Young seemed gravely ill, and was the only horn player who was seated (except during his solo) during the performance. By this time his alcoholism had cumulative effect. He was eating significantly less, drinking more and more, and suffering from liver disease and malnutrition. Young's sharply diminished physical strength in the final two years of his life yielded some recordings with a frail tone, shortened phrases, and, on rare occasions, a difficulty in getting any sound to come out of his horn at all.^{[citation needed]}

Lester Young made his final studio recordings and live performances in Paris in March 1959 with drummer Kenny Clarke at the tail end of an abbreviated European tour during which he ate next to nothing and virtually drank himself to death. He died in the early morning hours of March 15, 1959, only hours after arriving back in New York, at the age of 49. He was buried at the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn.^[6] According to jazz critic Leonard Feather, who rode with Holiday in a taxi to Young's funeral, she said after the services, "I'll be the next one to go."^[7] Holiday died four months later at age 44.

Posthumous dedications and influence[link]

Charles Mingus dedicated an elegy, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", for Young only a few months after his death.^[8] Wayne Shorter, then of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, composed a tribute, called "Lester Left Town".

Young's playing style influenced many other tenor saxophonists. Perhaps the most famous and successful of these were Stan Getz and Dexter Gordon, but he also influenced many in the cool movement such as Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Gerry Mulligan. Paul Quinichette modeled his style so closely on Young's that he was sometimes referred to as the 'Vice Prez' (sic).^[9] Sonny Stitt began to incorporate elements from Lester Young's approach when he made the transition to tenor saxophone. Lester Young also had a direct influence on young Charlie Parker ("Bird"), and thus the entire be-bop movement. Indeed, recordings of Parker on tenor sax are similar in style to that of Young. Lesser known saxophonists, such as Warne Marsh, were strongly influenced by Young.^{[citation needed]}

Don Byron recorded the album Ivey-Divey in gratitude of what he learned from studying Lester Young's work, modeled after a 1946 trio date with Buddy Rich and Nat King Cole. "Ivey-Divey" was one of Lester Young's common eccentric phrases.

Young is a major character in English writer Geoff Dyer's 1991 fictional book about jazz, But Beautiful. "The Resurrection of Lady Lester" by OyamO (Charles F. Gordon) is a play and published book depicting Young's life; subtitled "A Poetic Mood Song Based on the Legend of Lester Young".

In the 1986 film Round Midnight, the fictional main character Dale Turner, played by Dexter Gordon, was partly based on Young - incorporating flashback references to his army experiences, and loosely depicting his time in Paris and his return to New York just before his death.

Acid Jazz/boogaloo band the Greyboy Allstars song "Tenor Man" is a tribute to Young. On their 1999 album "Live", saxophonist Karl Denson introduces the song by saying, "now some folks may have told you that Lester Young is out of style, but we're here to tell you that the Prez is happenin' right now." Those were literally the lyrics Rahsaan Roland Kirk wrote and sang to the melody of the Charles Mingus elegy, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat".

Peter Straub's short story collection Magic Terror (2000) contains a story called "Pork Pie Hat", a fictional account of the life of Lester Young. Straub was inspired by Young's appearance on the 1957 CBS-TV show, The Sound of Jazz, which he watched repeatedly, wondering how such a genius could have ended up such a human wreck.[1]

He is said to have popularized the term cool as slang for something fashionable.^[10] Another slang term he coined was the term "bread" for money. He would ask "How does the bread smell?" when asking how much a gig was going to pay.^[11]

Discography[link]

This section requires expansion.

As member of Basie band[link]

• The Complete Decca Recordings (1937–39) Decca Records
• America's #1 Band: The Columbia Years (1936-1940 and non-Young sessions to 1942) Columbia Records
• Super Chief (1936-1940 and non-Young sessions to 1964) Columbia Records

Solo career[link]

• The Kansas City Sessions (1938 and 1944) Commodore Records
• The Master's Touch (1944) - Savoy Records
• The Complete Aladdin Recordings (1942-7) - the 1942 Nat King Cole session and more from the post-war period
• Lester Young Trio (1946) - with Cole again, and Buddy Rich Verve Records
• The Complete Savoy Recordings (1944–50)
• Lester Young Trio (1946) - Verve Records
• One Night Stand - The Town Hall Concert 1947 - live recording
• Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1952) Verve Records
• Live at Birdland- Lester Young (1953)
• Pres and Teddy (1956) Verve Records
• The Jazz Giants '56 (1956) - Verve Records
• The Complete Lester Young Studio Sessions on Verve - 8-CD boxed set (includes the only two Young interviews in existence)
• Lester Young in Washington, D.C., 1956 (5 volumes), with house-band the Bill Potts Trio.
• Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport (1957)

References[link]

• Luc Delannoy. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-264-1. 

External links[link]

	Biography portal
	Music portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lester Young

• The Legendary Lester Young: an article in the TLS by John Mole, July 18, 2007.
• A detailed chronology of recordings featuring Lester Young
• Who 2
• Lester Young multimedia directory
• Why Lester Young Matters by Ted Gioia (jazz.com)
• Lester Young Centennial by Ethan Iverson
• Lester Young 100th Year Anniversary Site

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich at the Arcadia Ballroom in New York City in May 1947.
Background information
Birth name	Bernard Rich
Also known as	Traps the Drum Wonder (as a boy) and "B" (as an adult)
Born	(1917-09-30)September 30, 1917
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, US
Died	April 2, 1987(1987-04-02) (aged 69)
Genres	Jazz, big band, swing, bebop
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, bandleader, actor
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1919–1987
Associated acts	Joe Marsala Bunny Berigan Artie Shaw Tommy Dorsey Benny Carter Harry James Les Brown Frank Sinatra Charlie Ventura Jazz at the Philharmonic Nat King Cole Ella Fitzgerald Gene Krupa and Louis Armstrong
Website	http://www.buddyrich.com/

Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer"^[1] and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.

Early life[link]

Rich was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish vaudevillians Robert and Bess Rich.^[2] His talent for rhythm was first noted by his father, who saw that Buddy could keep a steady beat with spoons at the age of one. He began playing drums in vaudeville when he was 18 months old, billed as "Traps the Drum Wonder." At the peak of Rich's childhood career, he was reportedly the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world (after Jackie Coogan).^[3] At 11 he was performing as a bandleader. He received no formal drum instruction, and went so far as to claim that instruction would only degrade his musical talent. He also never admitted to practicing, claiming to play the drums only during performances^{[citation needed]} and was not known to read music. He expressed great admiration for, and was influenced by, the playing of Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Dave Tough, and Jo Jones, among others.^{[citation needed]}.

Jazz career[link]

Buddy Rich in New York City in August 1946.

Rich first played jazz with a major group in 1937 with Joe Marsala and guitarist Jack Lemaire. He then played with Bunny Berigan (1938) and Artie Shaw (1939), and even instructed a 14-year-old Mel Brooks in drumming for a short period when playing for Shaw.^[4] At 21, Rich participated in his first major recording with the Vic Schoen Orchestra (the band that backed the Andrews Sisters).^[5] In 1938, he was also hired to play in Tommy Dorsey's orchestra where he met and performed with Frank Sinatra. In 1942, Rich left the Dorsey band to join the United States Marine Corps. He rejoined the Dorsey group after leaving the Marines two years later. In 1946, Rich formed his own band with financial support from Sinatra, and continued to lead different groups on and off until the early fifties.^[6][7]

Buddy Rich performing with a jazz group in the 1940s.

In addition to Tommy Dorsey (1939–1942, 1945, 1954–1955), Rich also played with Benny Carter (1942), Harry James (1953-1956–1962, 1964, 1965), Les Brown, Charlie Ventura, and Jazz at the Philharmonic, as well as leading his own band and performing with all-star groups. In the early fifties Rich played with Dorsey and also began to perform with trumpeter Harry James, an association which lasted until 1966. In 1966, Rich left James in order to develop a new big band. For most of the period from 1966 until his death, he led successful big bands in an era when the popularity of big bands had waned from their 1930s and 40s peak. In this later period, Rich continued to play clubs but he had stated in multiple interviews that the great majority of his big band's performances were at high schools, colleges and universities, with club performances done to a much lesser degree. Rich also served as the session drummer for many recordings, where his playing was often much more understated than in his own big-band performances. Especially notable were Rich's sessions for the late-career comeback recordings of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, on which he worked with pianist Oscar Peterson and his famous trio featuring bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis.

Drumming technique and well known performances[link]

Buddy Rich drumming at a concert in Cologne, Germany on March 3, 1977.

Rich's technique has been one of the most standardized and coveted in drumming. His dexterity, musicality of playing style, speed and smooth execution are considered "holy grails" of drum technique and have been considered next to impossible to duplicate. While Rich typically held his sticks using traditional grip, he was also a skilled "match grip" player, and was one of few drummers to master the one-handed roll on both hands. Some of his more spectacular moves are crossover riffs, where he would criss-cross his arms from one drum to another, sometimes over the arm, and even under the arm at great speed.

He often used contrasting techniques to keep long drum solos from getting mundane. Aside from his energetic explosive displays, he would go into quieter passages. One passage he would use in most solos starts with a simple single-stroke roll on the snare picking up speed and power, then slowly moving his sticks closer to the rim as he gets quieter and then eventually playing on just the rim itself while still maintaining speed. Then he would reverse the effect and slowly move towards the center of the snare while increasing power.

Rich also demonstrated incredible skill at brush technique. On one album, 1955's The Lionel Hampton Art Tatum Buddy Rich Trio, Rich plays brushes almost exclusively throughout.

Another Rich technique that few drummers have been able to perfect is the stick-trick – a fast roll performed by slapping two drumsticks together in a circular motion.

In 1942, Rich and drum teacher Henry Adler co-authored the instructional book Buddy Rich's Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments, regarded as one of the more popular snare-drum rudiment books.^{[citation needed]}

One of Adler's former students introduced Adler to Rich. "The kid told me Buddy played better than [Gene] Krupa. Buddy was only in his teens at the time and his friend was my first pupil. Buddy played and I watched his hands. Well, he knocked me right out. He did everything I wanted to do, and he did it with such ease. When I met his folks, I asked them who his teacher was. 'He never studied,' they told me. That made me feel very good. I realized that it was something physical, not only mental, that you had to have."

In a 1985 interview^{[citation needed]}, Adler clarified the extent of his teacher-student relationship to Rich and their collaboration on the instructional book:

"I had nothing to do with [the rumor that I taught Buddy how to play]. That was a result of Tommy Dorsey's introduction to the Buddy Rich book," Adler said. "I used to go around denying it, knowing that Buddy was a natural player. Sure, he studied with me, but he didn't come to me to learn how to hold the drumsticks. I set out to teach Buddy to read. He'd take six lessons, go on the road for six weeks and come back. He didn't have time to practice."^{[citation needed]}

"Tommy Dorsey wanted Buddy to write a book and he told him to get in touch with me. I did the book and Tommy wrote the foreword. Technically, I was Buddy's teacher, but I came along after he had already acquired his technique."^{[citation needed]}

When asked about Rich's ability to read music, Bobby Shew, lead trumpeter in Rich's mid-60s big band replied,

"No. He’d always have a drummer there during rehearsals to read and play the parts initially on new arrangements... He’d only have to listen to a chart once and he’d have it memorized. We'd run through it and he'd know exactly how it went, how many measures it ran and what he'd have to do to drive it... The guy had the most natural instincts."^[8]

[edit] The West Side Story Medley

Perhaps his most popular later performance was a big band arrangement of a medley derived from the Leonard Bernstein classic West Side Story, first released on the 1966 album Buddy Rich's Swingin' New Big Band

The West Side Story medley is a complex and difficult-to-perform big-band arrangement which highlights Rich's remarkable ability to blend the rhythm of his drumming into his band's playing of the musical chart. Penned by Bill Reddie, Rich received the West Side Story arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's melodies from the famed musical in the mid-1960s and found it to be very challenging even for him. It consists of many rapid-fire time changes and signatures and took almost a month of constant rehearsals to perfect. It since became a staple in all his performances, clocking in at various lengths from seven to fifteen minutes. Bernstein himself had nothing but praise for it.^{[citation needed]} In 2002, a DVD was released called The Lost West Side Story Tapes that captured a 1985 performance of this along with other numbers.^[9] These tapes had been previously thought to have been lost in a fire. Rich's ability to create spontaneous drum solos that matched and melded with the musical intricacies and intensity of big band scores was chief among his musical brilliance.

[edit] Channel One Suite

After the West Side Story Medley, Rich's most famous performance was the Channel One Suite by Bill Reddie. Like the West Side Story Medley, the Channel One Suite generally was a quite long performance ranging from about 12 minutes to about 26 minutes and usually contained 2 or 3 drum solos. Although 26 minute performances of the Channel One Suite were not incredibly common, they were not unheard of. A recording of one of his live performances was released in 2006 which contained a 26 minute Channel One Suite.^[10]

In Italy, Rich's version of Winning the West was from 1973 to 1976 the musical theme of a weekly TV sports magazine broadcast, La domenica sportiva.

TV appearances[link]

In the 1950s, Rich was a frequent guest on The Steve Allen Show and other television variety shows.^[11] Beginning in 1962, Rich was also a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and The Merv Griffin Show, among others, and appeared with his Big Band on British television, on Michael Parkinson's talk show Parkinson and on the Terry Wogan Show (the last on October 29, 1986, only a few months prior to his death).^[12] Along with singer Buddy Greco and comedian George Carlin, Rich starred in a 1967 summer replacement television series called Away We Go.^[13] One of his most widely seen television performances was in a 1981 episode^[14] of The Muppet Show, where he engaged Muppet drummer "Animal" (played by Ronnie Verrell) in a drum battle. Rich also made guest appearances on the TV shows Here's Lucy and Hee Haw.

In an episode of Michael Parkinson's British talk show, Parkinson kidded Rich about his Donny Osmond kick, by claiming that Rich was the president of The Osmonds' fan club.^{[citation needed]}

Instruments[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Buddy was known as a performer and endorser of Slingerland Radio King, and Rogers Drums. He switched to Ludwig drums for much of the 1970s to the early 1980s. While recovering from a heart attack in 1959,^[15] Rich was presented with an original Slingerland Radio King 5X14 wood snare drum completely reconditioned by the Eames drum company. Later, a mismatched Radio King set was completely refurbished for Rich and he used that set right up to his death in 1987. His typical setup included a 14"X26" bass drum, 9"X13" mounted tom, two 16"X16" floor toms (although he rarely used the second tom where he would simply place a towel on the surface), and a 5"X14" snare drum. His cymbals were typically Zildjian consisting of standard 14" hi hats, 20" ride, either a 6" or 8" splash, two 18" crashes, and a 20" swish.

Personality[link]

Although Rich was usually helpful and friendly, he had a short temper. While he threatened many times to fire members of his band, he seldom did so, and for the most part he lauded his band members during television and print interviews. Dusty Springfield allegedly slapped Rich after several days of "putting up with Rich's insults and show-biz sabotage."^[16][17]

In the Beastie Boys song "Sabotage", the lyrics "I'm Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle," referred to Rich's temper. Buddy Rich held a black belt in karate, as mentioned in a CNN television interview with Larry King, c. 1985.

Band member and lifelong friend David Lucas says that "Rich had a soft heart underneath it all. His favorite song was "It's Not Easy Being Green".

The tapes[link]

Rich's temper, mercurial attitude and imposing personality are documented in secret recordings that pianist Lee Musiker made during some of his tantrums on tour buses and backstage in the early 1980s.^[18] These recordings, long circulated in bootleg form, have done much to fuel the reputation of Rich's personality. The tapes were popular with comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, who used three quotes from them more or less verbatim on Seinfeld:^[19]

• "If I have to tell you again, we're gonna take it outside and I'm gonna show you what it's like!" ("The Opposite")
• "This guy – this is not my kind of guy." ("The Understudy")
• "Then let's see how he does, up there, without all the assistance!" ("The Butter Shave")

On one recording, Rich threatens to fire Dave Panichi, a trombonist, for wearing a beard.^[20][21] Days before Rich died, he was visited by Mel Tormé, who claims that one of Rich's last requests was "to hear the tapes" that featured his angry outbursts.^{[citation needed]} At the time, Tormé was working on an authorized biography of Rich which was released after Rich's death, titled Traps, The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich.

Death and legacy[link]

Buddy Rich remained active performing until the end of his life. On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumor. He is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. He was 69.

Since Rich's death, a number of memorial concerts have been held. In 1994, the Rich tribute album Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich was released. Produced by Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, the album features performances of Rich staples by a number of rock and jazz drummers such as Kenny Aronoff, Carl Palmer, Matt Sorum, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Max Roach, Steve Smith, and Peart himself, accompanied by the Buddy Rich Big Band. A second volume was issued in 1997.

Discography[link]

Studio and live albums as leader or co-leader[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Buddy Rich

Biography portal

• Official website
• Buddy Rich on Drummerworld
• Buddy Rich at Wikiquote
• Buddy Rich at Allmusic (Discography and brief biography)