The Lombards or Langobards (Latin: Langobardī), were a Germanic tribe who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy.

The Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the Historia Langobardorum that the Lombards descended from a small tribe called the Winnili, dwelling in southern Scandinavia (Scadanan), who had migrated southward to seek new lands. In the 1st century AD they formed part of the Suebi, in northwestern Germany. By the end of the 5th century they had moved into the area roughly coinciding with modern Austria north of the Danube river, where they subdued the Heruls and later fought frequent wars with the Gepids. The Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552; his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567.

Following this victory, Alboin decided to lead his people to Italy, which had become severely depopulated after the long Gothic War (535–554) between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom there. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, and their invasion of Italy was almost unopposed. By late 569 they had conquered all the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and southern Italy. They established a Lombard Kingdom in Italy, later named Regnum Italicum ("Kingdom of Italy"), which reached its zenith under the eighth-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, and integrated into his Empire. However, Lombard nobles continued to rule parts of the Italian peninsula well into the 11th century, when they were conquered by the Normans, and added to their Kingdom of Sicily. Their legacy is apparent in the regional appellation, Lombardy.

Ed Motta (born Rio de Janeiro, 17 August 1971), is a Brazilian MPB, rock, soul music, funk and jazz musician. He is nephew of late Brazilian singer Tim Maia.

His musical career started as vocalist of the hard rock band Kabbalah. though his first album was with the band Conexao Japeri in 1988. In 1990, Motta departed to begin his solo career, recording his debut Um Contrato Com Deus, where he played almost all the instruments by himself. Since then he has released several solo albums. In 1997 he supplied to the soundtrack to the film, Pequeno Dicionário Amoroso (The Book of Love).

In 1999, he translated Phil Collins's songs for the Disney film Tarzan into Portuguese (Brazilian version).

His album Aystelum was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards of 2006 in the Latin jazz category.

Motta has worked with Roy Ayers, 4 Hero, Seu Jorge, Incognito, Bo Diddley and Ryuichi Sakamoto amongst others.

His work covers a variety of genres utilising influences from jazz to popular Brazilian music, rock to Hollywood film soundtracks, funk, classical music, bossa nova and reggae.

Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris (b. Long Beach, California, February 10, 1947) is an American jazz cornetist, composer and conductor.

Before his musical career, Morris served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Morris came to attention with saxophonist David Murray's groups in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Morris's brother, double bassist Wilber Morris sometimes performed and recorded with Murray during this period.

He also played with well-known artist and would be drummer A.R. Penck in 1990.

Morris currently leads a group called Orchestra SLANG. The group features Drummer Kenny Wollesen, alto saxophonist Jonathon Haffner, trumpeter Kirk Knuffke and others. He performs and presents regularly as part of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, held annually in New York City.

Morris is the originator of Conduction (a term knowingly borrowed from physics): a type of structured free improvisation where Morris directs and conducts an improvising ensemble with a series of hand and baton gestures.

These conductions have received generally positive reviews, and are often considered quite unique, not quite fitting into any one musical genre: critic Thom Jurek has written, "There are no records like Butch Morris' conduction sides, nor could there be, though he wishes there were." and Ed Hazell writes, "At his best, Morris can shake players out of their old habits, or place a microscope on one aspect of a musician's artistry and build an orchestral fantasia around it."

Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is a renowned American post-bop jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger.

Harrell has won numerous awards and grants, including multiple Trumpeter of the Year awards from Down Beat magazine,SESAC Jazz Award, BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) Composers Award, and Prix Oscar du Jazz. He also received a Grammy nomination for his big band album, Time's Mirror.

He has been recorded on over 260 albums (according to the discography on his website) and continues to actively compose, record and tour extensively around the world.

Tom Harrell was born in Urbana, Illinois, but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area at the age of five. He started playing trumpet at eight and within five years, started playing gigs with local bands. In 1969 he graduated from Stanford University with a music composition degree and joined Stan Kenton's orchestra, touring and recording with them throughout 1969.

After leaving Kenton, Harrell played with Woody Herman's big band (1970–1971), Azteca (1972), the Horace Silver Quintet (1973–1977), with whom he made five albums, the Sam Jones-Tom Harrell Big Band, the Lee Konitz Nonet (1979–1981), George Russell, and the Mel Lewis Orchestra (1981). From 1983 to 1989 he was a pivotal member of the Phil Woods Quintet and made seven albums with the group. In addition, he recorded albums with Vince Guaraldi for whom he also did some arranging for the Peanuts television specials, Bill Evans, Dizzy Gillespie, Ronnie Cuber, Bob Brookmeyer, Lionel Hampton, Bob Berg, Cecil Payne, Bobby Shew, Phillipe Catherine, Ivan Paduart, Joe Lovano, Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra, Art Farmer, Charles McPherson, David Sánchez, Sheila Jordan, Jane Monheit, King's Singers and Kathleen Battle among others.

Carole Lombard (October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress. She is particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s. She is listed as one of the American Film Institute's greatest stars of all time and was the highest-paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930s, earning around US$500,000 per year^{[citation needed]} (more than five times the salary of the US President). Lombard's career was cut short when she died at the age of 33 in a plane crash while returning from a World War II Bond tour.

Queen of the 1930s screwball comedies, she personified the anxiety of a nervous age. Graham Greene praised the "heartbreaking and nostalgic melodies" of her faster-than-thought delivery. "Platinum blonde, with a heart-shaped face, delicate, impish features and a figure made to be swathed in silver lamé, she wriggled expressively through such classics of hysteria as Twentieth Century and My Man Godfrey."