Ronnie Damien Jackson (born May 9, 1953 in Birmingham, Alabama) is a coach and a former player in Major League Baseball. He was the hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox in 2004 when they won their first World Series in 86 seasons.

From 1975 through 1984, Jackson played first base and third base with the California Angels (1975–78, 1982–84), Minnesota Twins (1979–81), Detroit Tigers (1981) and Baltimore Orioles (1984). He batted and threw right-handed.

Jackson was called up to the Angels after hitting .281 in 144 games for the Salt Lake City Gulls of the Pacific Coast League, and made his major league debut on September 12, 1975.

In a 10-year career, Jackson compiled a .259 batting average with 56 home runs and 342 RBI in 926 games.

Jackson played for managers Gene Mauch, Sparky Anderson, Dick Williams and Jim Fregosi. With the Angels, he hit a career-high .297 in 1978, and in 1979 posted personal highs in hits (158), doubles (40), home runs (14), RBI (68), runs (85) and games (153) for Minnesota. In that season, his .9943 fielding percentage at first base broke Rod Carew’s Twins’ record.

Following his retirement as a player, Jackson coached for the Brewers, Dodgers and White Sox systems. The 2006 season marked his 18th year as a major league or minor league hitting coach, and his fourth with the Boston Red Sox. In his first two seasons with Boston, the Red Sox led the majors in runs, batting average, doubles, extra-base hits, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging average. In 2003 the Sox set ML records for extra-base hits, total bases and slugging, finishing one off the major league lead with 238 home runs. The Red Sox tied an ML record with 373 doubles in 2004.

Affectionately nicknamed "Papa Jack" since his playing days, Jackson was a highly respected and popular person among the Red Sox members and Fenway Park fans. However at the end of the 2006 season his contract was not renewed, as the front office decided "new voices" could not hurt.

Jackson served as the hitting coach for the Round Rock Express, then the top affiliate of the Houston Astros from 2007-2009.

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

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John Pisano
Birth name	John Pisano
Born	(1931-02-06) February 6, 1931 (age 81)
Origin	Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar
Labels	Melbay
Associated acts	Chico Hamilton, Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Herb Alpert, Natalie Cole, Michael Franks, Diana Krall

John Pisano (born February 6, 1931) is a jazz guitarist born in Staten Island, New York.

John has accompanied in concert or recording some of music's biggest names, including Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Herb Alpert, Natalie Cole, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Joe Pass, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Billy Bean and Chico Hamilton and many more

Pisano wrote So, What's New which appeared as the B-side of Herb Alpert's hit single Flamingo in 1966

As a leader[link]

• Among Friends (Pablo, 1991–1994) Mit Joe Pass, Lee Ritenour, Phil Upchurch, Joe LaBarbera
• Conversation Pieces (Pablo)
• Joe Pass & John Pisano: Duets (Pablo 1991)

As sideman[link]

• Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: 1965 through 1974; Albums included Going Places, What Now My Love, S.R.O., Sounds Like, Herb Alpert's Ninth, The Beat of the Brass, Christmas Album, Warm, The Brass Are Comin', Summertime, and Coney Island, all on the A&M Records label
• Gato Barbieri: Latino America (Imp!ulse, 1973)
• Frank Capp: In A Hefti Bag (Concord, 1994–95)
• Chico Hamilton: The Original Duke Ellington Suite (Blue Note, 1958), Reunion (Soul Note, 1989)
• Diana Krall: The Look Of Love (Verve, 2001)
• Joe Pass: Ira, George And Joe (OJC, 1981); Apassionato, Nuages (Pablo), My Song (Telarc)
• Bill Perkins: Quietly More (OJC, 1966)
• Lalo Schifrin: Gone with the Wave (Colpix, 1964)
• Jimmy Scott: All The Way (Sire/Warner Br* Joe Pass & John Pisano: Duets (Pablo 1991).,1992)

External links[link]

• John Pisano's official website
• The Flying Pisanos
• The John Pisano Signature Guitar

Edita Abdieski
Edita Abdieski (2011)
Background information
Birth name	Edita Abdieski
Born	(1984-11-14) November 14, 1984 (age 27) Bern, Switzerland
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Columbia, Sony
Website	www.edita.de

Edita Abdieski (born November 14, 1984) is a Swiss pop singer. She rose to fame during the debut series of the German X Factor show, which she won in November 2010.^[1]

Early life[link]

Abdieski is the eldest child born to a Macedonian Albanian father and a Montenegrin Albanian mother.^[2] Raised in Bern alongside three younger siblings, she spent much of her childhood in the Bern borough of Bümpliz-Oberbottigen, where she was enrolled at primary and secondary school.^[3] Her father died of cancer in 1992.^[4] At eleven, Abdieski became part of her first school band and by the age of thirteen, she began writing songs.^[2] After leaving school, she was trained as qualified office employee,^[2] but as she hoped to embark on a professional singing career, Abdieski enrolled at the Swiss Musical Academy in Bern — much against the wishes of her mother, who was sceptical about her daughter's ambition, prompting Abdieski to leave home and move into a girls' flat-sharing community in 2002.^[4] To fund her academical training, she was forced to take four side jobs at times.^[5]

Career[link]

2002—2009: Career beginnings[link]

In 2002, a producer asked Abdieski and school friend Vanessa Tancredi to collaborate on a mundart album, a collection of songs in Swiss German dialect.^[5] Barely trained in mundart singing, Abdieski even so accepted the offer to record a full-length album, and during the following two years, the pair worked with production duo Thomas Fässler and Ben Mühlethaler on what would eventually become the debut album of Vanessædita.^[6]

Meanwhile, Abdieski was hired as a backing vocalist for the Swiss pop–rock band Lunik and worked with musician Santiago Cortés on his debut album Welcome to My Airline (2005).^[2] The album's leading single, "Don't Leave Me," sung and co-written by Abdieski, reached number forty on the Swiss Singles Chart.^[7] Still with Vanessædita, Abdieski was cast in the leading role of Kimberly in the musical Dance Me! – The Streetdance Musical in fall 2005. A same-titled album, on which she appeared along with her ensemble, was released in January 2006 but failed to chart.^[8]

After Vanessædita's contract signing with Muve Recordings, their album Z'Debü ("The Debut") was finally released in Switzerland in March 2006. Although its first single "Wenn ig nume wüsst" entered the top fifty of the Swiss Singles Chart, the pop soul–influenced album underperformed commercially, only reaching number eighty-two on the Swiss Albums Chart.^[9] In 2007, Abdieski and Tancredi disbanded amicably, citing musical differences.^[10] Abdieski later stated, that after one album, she had become aware that mundart singing was "not [her] thing."^[5]

[edit] 2010: X Factor

Abdieski auditioned for the debut series of X Factor in 2010, singing Joss Stone's "Tell Me 'Bout It". She was mentored by Till Brönner and was announced the winner on November 9, 2010, winning a record deal with Sony Music.^[1]

[edit] 2010: First Studio Album One

In November and December 2010, Edita was recording her debut studio album which will be called One. The record will be released in March 2011.^{[dated info]} It will include her top ten hit "I've Come to Life" and her 2nd single "The Key" which was written by Jörgen Elofsson who has also written songs for Celine Dion Britney Spears and Il Divo. Another highlight will be a feature with Latin star Ricky Martin. The track is called "The Best Thing About Me Is You" and features writing from another Swedish heavyweight, Andreas Carlsson. Keeping up the Scandinavian presence are Norwegian production/songwriting teams Dsign Music and Tracksville ("When The Music Is Over"), as well as writers Mads Hauge ("Another Universe") and Torgeir Bjordal ("I Don't Know"). In January Edita won the DIVA Award in the category "Talent of the Year". Abdieski shot the video for her single "The Key" in Teneriffa. On January 25, 2011 it was confirmed that another track on One will be called "Give A Little Love, Get A Little Love". The song was written by Ben Cullum, Jamie Cullum's brother.

2011: Edita Club Tour and new album[link]

In June 2011 Edita was on her first Club Tour in four German and two Swiss cities. She presented two new songs called "Done With You" and "Really Love Me", which she wrote by herself. The two songs are from her expected upcoming second studio album.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Featuring Singles[link]

Awards[link]

See also[link]

• X Factor (Germany season 1)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Edita Abdieski at the Internet Movie Database

Bucky Pizzarelli
Jazz guitarists Bucky and John Pizzarelli at the Village Jazz Lounge in Walt Disney World
Background information
Birth name	John Paul Pizzarelli
Also known as	'Bucky'
Born	(1926-01-09) January 9, 1926 (age 86)
Origin	Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, swing, big band
Occupations	Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar, banjo, electric guitar
Labels	Arbors, Chesky, Victoria, Savoy, Challenge
Associated acts	John Pizzarelli, Martin Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, Stephane Grappelli, Soprano Summit
Notable instruments
Benedetto guitar

John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (born January 9, 1926) is an American Jazz guitarist and banjoist, and the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and upright bassist Martin Pizzarelli. Pizzarelli has also worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) and also ABC with Bobby Rosengarden in (1952). The list of musicians Pizzarelli has collaborated with over his career includes Les Paul, Stephane Grappelli, and Benny Goodman. Pizzarelli acknowledges Django Reinhardt, Freddie Green, and George Van Eps^[1][2] for their influences on his style and mode of play.

Biography[link]

Pizzarelli began his professional career at 17 when he joined the Vaughn Monroe dance band in 1944.^[3] Near the end of World War II, while in Austria as an infantryman fulfilling wartime military service for the Army, Pizzarelli was absent from Monroe's band (though he rejoined the outfit in 1946 and played for another five years with them). While in the military, he played in an unauthorized dance band.^{[citation needed]}

In 1952 Pizzarelli became a staff musician for NBC, playing with Skitch Henderson.^[3] In 1964, he became a member of the Doc Severinsen band on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. During his time spent performing for the Tonight Show, Pizzarelli accompanied guest bands and musicians playing through a variety of musical genres, even playing with Tiny Tim (after tuning the performer's ukulele) on the day that Tiny Tim married Miss Vicki on Carson's show.^[3] While self-professedly not a big fan of rock and roll, Bucky performed on seven hits with Dion and the Belmonts during this period.^{[citation needed]}

From 1956–1957, Pizzarelli, using the stage name "Johnny Buck," performed with The Three Suns pop music trio. He toured several times off and on with Benny Goodman up and until 1986, the year of Goodman's death. Beginning in the 1970s, Pizzarelli began recording as a leader, performing many tributes to musicians of the 1930s era. Bucky has performed at the White House in Washington, D.C. with artists such as Benny Goodman, two performances for President Ronald Reagan and one for President Bill Clinton. He also played a private birthday party for former First Lady Pat Nixon at her home.

"Jersey Jazz Guitars" was the name of a 1985 concert held at the Rutgers University Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick. The ticket featured Bucky, Les Paul, Tal Farlow, and Bucky's son John. The concert was aired on New Jersey's PBS station as part of their 3-part New Jersey Summerfare Series. Bucky and Les Paul had performed together before with one another, as they were neighbors and cordial friends. The show aired for one hour in August 1985, with son John adding his vocals on two selections.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Bucky Pizzarelli was born January 9, 1926 in Paterson, New Jersey, learning to play the guitar and banjo at a young age. His uncles (Pete and Bobby Domenick) were professional musicians, and sometimes the extended family would gather at one of their homes with their guitars for jam sessions. Pizzarelli cites Joe Mooney — a blind accordion player who led a quartet that included Pizzarelli's uncle, guitarist Bobby Domenick — as a major inspiration.^[3] During high school, John was guitarist for a small band that performed classical music.^[2]

In addition to his son John, Pizzarelli's son Martin is a professional musician, a bassist who has recorded both with his father and brother. His daughter Mary is a classical guitarist who appeared on her father's third album as leader, Green Guitar Blues, as well on as other recordings. Pizzarelli has also appeared on three albums of his daughter-in-law (John's wife), Jessica Molaskey.

Today Bucky Pizzarelli resides in a home on the banks of the Saddle River in Saddle River, New Jersey with his wife Ruth. An avid amateur painter, Pizzarelli's home is filled with his own artwork.

Pizzarelli's guitars[link]

Pizzarelli's first guitar was an archtop Gibson, an expensive instrument at the time. He plays a Benedetto Bucky Pizzarelli Signature seven-string guitar, made by Robert Benedetto, who also makes guitars for Howard Alden and Frank Vignola, among others. He learned to play the 7-string from George Van Eps.^[3] The extra string on Pizzarelli's guitar provides him with a bass line during performances.

Awards[link]

• June 23, 2005 - ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame Induction
• 2002 - Mac Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2011 - New Jersey Hall of Fame induction

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bucky Pizzarelli at Allmusic
• Bucky Pizzarelli at NPR Music