Nathaniel Brown Palmer
Born	(1799-08-08)August 8, 1799 Stonington, Connecticut
Died	June 21, 1877(1877-06-21) (aged 77)
Monuments	Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House, Palmer Station, Palmer Land, Palmer Archipelago, N.B. Palmer (clipper), Nathaniel B. Palmer (icebreaker)
Nationality	American
Other names	"Captain Nat"
Occupation	Sealing captain, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer
Known for	22-year-old "Captain Nat" and his men were the first Americans to discover the Antarctic Peninsula. Later, he was active in the design of the first clipper ships.

Nathaniel Brown Palmer (8 August 1799 – 21 June 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He was born in Stonington, Connecticut.^[1]

Sealing career and Antarctic exploration[link]

During the 1810s the skins of Antarctic Ocean seals were highly valued as items for trade with China. As a skilled and fearless seal hunter, Palmer achieved his first command at the early age of 21. His vessel, a diminutive sloop named the Hero, was only 47 feet (14 m) in length. Palmer steered southward in the Hero at the beginning of the Antarctic summer of 1820–1821. Aggressively searching for new seal rookeries south of Cape Horn, on 17 November 1820, Palmer and his men became the first Americans and the third group of people to discover the Antarctic Peninsula. Larger ships skippered by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Edward Bransfield had reported sighting land earlier in 1820. Along with English sealer George Powell, Palmer also co-discovered the nearby South Orkney Islands archipelago.

Merchant marine career and development of the clipper ships[link]

After concluding a successful sealing career, Palmer, still in the prime of life, switched his attention to the captaining of fast sailing ships for the transportation of express freight. In 1843, Captain Palmer took command of the Paul Jones on her maiden voyage from Boston to Hong Kong, arriving in in 111 days. In this new role, the Connecticut captain traveled many of the world's principal sailing routes. Observing the strengths and weaknesses of the ocean-going sailing ships of his time, Palmer suggested and designed improvements to their hulls and rigging. The improvements made Palmer a co-developer of the mid-19th century clipper ship.

Palmer closed his sailing career and established himself in his hometown of Stonington as a successful owner of clipper ships sailed by others. He died in 1877, at the age of 77.

Legacy in the Antarctic and beyond[link]

Palmer Land, part of the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as the Palmer Archipelago, were named in his honor.

The Antarctic science and research program operated by the U.S. government continues to recall Palmer's role in the exploration of the Antarctic area. Palmer Station, located in the seal islands that Palmer explored, the clipper ship N.B. Palmer (built by Jacob Aaron Westervelt) and the Antarctic icebreaker RV Nathaniel B. Palmer are named after Captain Palmer.

Hero Bay, in the South Shetland Islands, is named for Captain Palmer's sloop Hero, one of the vessels of the Pendleton sealing fleet from Stonington which visited the islands in 1820-21.

Also named after Palmer's sloop Hero is Hero Rupes, an escarpment which was discovered in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mercury in 1973.

Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House, Stonington, CT

Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House, rear view with widow's walk

His home in Stonington, the Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• History of Antarctica
• Houqua, innovative early clipper ship which Capt. Nat helped design
• Paul Jones, ship which N.B. Palmer sailed on its maiden voyage
• N.B. Palmer (clipper), named after Capt. Palmer
• Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House

Online reading[link]

• Spears, John Randolph (1922). Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer: an old-time sailor of the sea. New York: The Macmillan Co.. OCLC 1834630. http://books.google.com/books?id=LPwlAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22n.b.%20palmer%22&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q=%22n.b.%20palmer%22&f=false. 

External links[link]

• Account of Nathaniel Palmer's sighting of Antarctica

Michael Josef "Mike" Longo (born March 19, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a jazz pianist, composer, and author. He is most known for his work with Dizzy Gillespie.

Early life[link]

Longo came from a musical background. His father played bass, his mother played organ at church, and his music training began at a young age. Mike recalled seeing Sugar Child Robinson playing boogie woogie piano: "The first time I saw him, man, he knocked me out. I must have been three or four years old. He played after the Count Basie show, so I went home and started picking out boogie woogie bass lines."^[1] His parents took him for formal lessons at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at four. He moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida soon after. At the age of 12 he won a local talent contest.

Career[link]

Mike's career started in his father's band, but later Julian Cannonball Adderley helped him get gigs of his own. Their working relationship began before Adderley was well-known as a band leader. Adderley approached the teenaged Longo because he needed a pianist at his church. At this time the town was largely segregated so the white Mike Longo playing at a black church was unusual. When this led to recordings with Adderley in the mid-1950s, Longo was initially too young to go to the clubs with him. Still in 10th grade, one of the places Longo played was Porky's, which was later portrayed in the movie.^[1] Mike would go on to receive his Bachelor of Music degree from Western Kentucky University.

The great Dizzy Gillespie first heard Longo when he was playing at The Metropole. "I was playing downstairs with Red Allen, and Dizzy was playing upstairs with his band. So every time he wanted to go outside for a break, he had to come down the stairs and pass us on the way out. There was a joint across the street called the Copper Rail, which was a soul food restaurant and a bar where the musicians from the Metropole would all hang out. Soon I learned Dizzy mentioned me in an interview in International Musician, the musician union’s magazine, when he was asked about any promising young musicians he heard".^[1] He was a fan of Oscar Peterson from a young age and he studied with the master pianist from 1961-1962. "In terms of technique, touch, I was playing with locked wrists and too much arm technique. The main thing I got from Peterson was how to play piano and how to be a jazz pianist- textures, voicings, touch, time, conception, tone on the instrument."^[1]

In the 1960s Longo began to lead the Mike Longo Trio, which would remain active for the next 42 years. Gillespie was playing at the Metropole again and Longo, depressed after divorcing his first wife, had just gotten a gig at Embers West playing with Roy Eldridge. Eldridge brought Gillespie to see Longo playing with Paul Chambers. Gillespie hired Longo the next day.^[1] Longo eventually became musical director for the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and later Gillespie chose him to be the pianist for the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Band. From 1966 onward his music career would be strongly linked to that of Gillespie's. In 1993 he delivered a eulogy at his funeral. He was also with Gillespie on the night he died.

Longo performs at weekly jazz sessions held at the New York City Bahá'í center in honor of Gillespie,^[2] a tradition he helped start.^[3] Like Gillespie he is a member of the Bahá'í Faith.^[4] Longo also teaches a master class^[5] to upcoming jazz musicians including Adam Rafferty and John Austria.^[1] Longo's big band, the New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble, plays at the center intermittently and provides upcoming musicians a chance to learn on stage and the audience receives a jazz experience at reasonable cost.^[5] A big part of Mike Longo's mission is to reestablish the apprenticeship relationship in teaching jazz. He says "I know jazz education is an important thing and I know that the field means well, but there seems to be a trend in that field to teach jazz where people are actually copying off recordings instead of actually learning to play jazz. The apprenticeship aspect of jazz has always been the way it has evolved."^[6]

Awards[link]

Mike Longo received many awards, among which are, a scholarship from the Ft. Lauderdale Symphony Orchestra in 1955, a Downbeat Hall of Fame Scholarship in 1959 and a National Endowment for the Arts Grant in 1972. He was inducted into Western Kentucky University's Wall Of Fame in 2002.^[7]

Albums[link]

As leader[link]

Longo has at least 18 albums under his own name.^[5] He has also appeared as a sideman or contributed original compositions to more than 50 additional albums.^[7] His first album, "A Jazz Portrait Of Funny Girl" by The Mike Longo Trio, for Clamike Records in 1962, was his debut album as leader of own trio.)^[7] Here are just the more recent albums.

• Funkia (1973)^[8]
• 900 Shares Of The Blues (1975) and (re-released 2006 with guests Joe Farrell, Ron Carter)^[9]
• The Earth Is But One Country, Mike Longo with Dizzy Gillespie^[10]
  • Mike Longo (Piano, Electric Keyboards), Ben Brown (Acoustic Bass, ESP Electric Bass), Ray Mosca (Drums), Potator Vlades (Congas), Keith Lovig (Guitar), Phil Young (Drums) and Sheyvonne Wright (Vocals), Dizzy Gillespie (Trumpet Soloist).
• I Miss You, John (1995) with guests Cecil Bridgewater, Frank Wess, James Moody, David Sánchez^[11]
  • Mike Longo (piano), Frank Wess, James Moody, David Sánchez (tenor saxophone), Jimmy Owens, Cecil Bridgewater (trumpet); Paul West (acoustic bass); Ray Mosca (drums).
• Dawn Of A New Day (1998)
  • Mike Longo (piano), Paul West (bass), Ben Brown (bass), John Lee (bass), Ray Mosca (drums), Ignacio Berroa (drums)^[12]
• Explosion (2000)
  • Mike Longo/New York State Of The Art Jazz Ensemble: Mike Longo (piano); Joe Shepley, Burt Collins, Virgil Jones, Ryan Kysor, Greg Sisbert, Senneca Black (trumpet); Wayne Andre, Sam Burtis, Bob Suttmann, Johnathan Greenberg (trombone); Bob Magnuson, Lee Greene, Frank Perowsky, Bob Curtis, Frank Basile, Matt Snyder (woodwinds); Adam Rafferty (guitar); Lyn Christie, Cameron Brown (bass); Darryl Pelegrini (drums).
• Still Swingin' (2001) Inspired by Ken Burns' Jazz - looking for a contemporary place for the effect from the first outdoor jazz festival -"I think they showed the first outdoor jazz festival with Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Ole' Joe Jones. Jones was playing drums and the band was swinging so hard. They panned the audience and you saw every kind of ethnic group, people dancing in ecstasy, and I said, "look man, its like the people's spirit is free.""
  • Mike Longo (piano); Ben Brown (bass); Ray Mosca (drums).
• Live: Detroit International Jazz Festival (2003) with guest Santi DeBriano^[13]
  • Mike Longo (piano); Santi Debriano (bass); Ray Mosca (drums). Recorded live at the Detroit International Jazz Festival, Detroit, Michigan on September 1, 2002. Includes liner notes by Bernie Strassberg.
• Oasis (2004)
  • Mike Longo/New York State Of The Art Jazz Ensemble: Mike Longo (piano); Hilary Gardner (vocals); Adam Rafferty (guitar); Claire Daly, Frank Perowsky, Gerry Niewood, Bob Magnuson, Lee Greene, Matt Snyder (saxophone); Gary Guzio, Joseph Magnarelli, Freddie Hendricks, Waldron Ricks, Nabate Isles, Seneca Black (trumpet); Don Mikkelsen, Sam Burtis, Bob Suttman, Eric Goletz, Jonathan Greenberg (trombone); Santi DeBriano (double bass); Daryl Pellegrini (drums).
• Float Like a Butterfly (2007) ^[14]

As sideman[link]

This section requires expansion.

With Dizzy Gillespie

• Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac (Impulse!, 1967)
• The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band (MPS, 1968)
• The Real Thing (Perception, 1969)
• Portrait of Jenny (Perception, 1970)

Other publications[link]

• A nine part series of lectures/courses by Longo (some available audio taped)^[15] was started in 1976 with "Systematic Harmonic Substitution", ISBN: B0006XY9SA^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Extensive bio from jazzbeat
• Interview with Mike Longo
• All about Jazz interview