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.

Hector Lombard (born February 2, 1978) is a Cuban born, Australian mixed martial artist and former Olympic Judoka who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Hector Lombard, a 4th degree black belt in Judo and former Olympic Judo competitor from Cuba. Lombard currently trains at the world-renowned American Top Team facility in Miami, Florida. Marcus "Conan" Silveira (ATT Head Coach) awarded Lombard with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu following his victory at CFC 12.

In 2006, Lombard fought twice in Pride Fighting Championship, losing two unanimous decisions, one to Akihiro Gono and one to Gegard Mousasi.

Lombard headlined the first Cage Fighting Championship show on July 28, 2007, where he fought top Australian fighter Kyle Noke. The result was a controversial draw. On November 23, 2007, Lombard defeated French Kickboxer and Actor Jean-François Lénogue to be the CFC Middleweight Champion. He has defended his title six times with the last title defense coming against Art Santore. Lombard next successfully defended his belt against UFC veteran Joe Doerksen at CFC 16 on March 25.

Jake Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the middleweight division of the UFC. He is the last Rumble on the Rock 175 lb (79 kg) champion. He is the first and last Elite XC Welterweight Champion. He is also the former Shooto Welterweight Champion and is the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. Shields is currently ranked as the #8 welterweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.

He has trained extensively with Cesar Gracie, and is a member of the "Elite Pack" which includes fellow Cesar Gracie students Dave Terrell, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. After his loss to Akira Kikuchi he won 15 consecutive fights over 6 years, until his loss to Georges St-Pierre. Among his victories are wins over Martin Kampmann, Dan Henderson, Paul Daley, Hayato Sakurai, Jason 'Mayhem' Miller, Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, and Yoshihiro Akiyama. He describes his style as American Jiu jitsu.

Shields was raised near Mountain Ranch California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He was home schooled up to junior high. He and his two older brothers grew up at the end of a dirt road on the rim of the Jesus Maria Canyon. Their nearest friends were a 45 minute hike down one side of the canyon and up the other. Their activities included mountain biking, wild caving, snowboarding, clearing brush, bucking firewood, climbing mountains, exploring the high country, and wrestling.

Evan Christopher (born August 31, 1969 in Long Beach, California) is an American clarinetist and composer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Recognized mainly for a personal brand of "contemporary early-jazz,” he strives to extend the legacy of the unique clarinet style anchored in the musical vocabulary created by early New Orleans clarinetists such as Lorenzo Tio Jr., Sidney Bechet, Omer Simeon, Barney Bigard, and Johnny Dodds.

His first musical training was at the Idyllwild Arts Academy (then known as the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts). After high school, he studied saxophone at the [[University of Southern California]] with Dr. Thom Mason and went on to graduate from California State University at Long Beach where he studied clarinet with Gary Bovyer. Early mentors include clarinetists Kenny Davern, Tony Scott,soprano saxophonist George Probert and bassist, Marshall Hawkins

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.