BIRTHDAYS
1947     Dennis Alcapone, vocals, b. Clarendon, Jamaica. né: Dennis Smith.
1932     Dorothy Jeanne Ashby, Harp, b. Detroit, MI, d. 1986
1934     Willie "Earthquake" Blackmon, drums.
1949     Lillian Boutte, Vocal, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1963     Barry Bookbinder, (novelty) vocals. Member grooup,' Barry and the Bookbinders'.
1930     Lennie Breslaw, drums, b. England, UK.
1900     Willie Lee Brown, Blues guitar, b. Clarksdale, MS, USA.
1966     Regina Carter, violin, b. Detroit, Michigan, USA.
1931     Jean Louis Chautemps, Tenor-alto sax, flute, composer, b. Paris, France
1922     "Old Joe" Clark, (Bluegrass) banjo, b. Erwin, TN, USA. d. Feb. 20, 1998. né: "Manuel D. Clark". Member: 'The Renfro Valley Barn Dance' show, and 'Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys'
1921     Buddy Collette, Alto-Tenor Sax/Flute/composer, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. né: William Marcell Collette
1965     Ravi Coltrane, soprano-Tenor Sax, b. Huntington, NY, USA.
1945     Micky Cooke, Trombone, b. Hyde, England
1958     Randy Debarge, bassist/vocalist, b. Grand Rapids, MI, USA. 1985 single "Rhythm Of The Night" charted UK No.4.
1949     Philippe Deschepper, guitar/composer
1906     Vic Dickenson, Trombone, b. Xenia, OH, USA. d. Nov. 16, 1984. Age: 78
1936     Joe Diorio, Guitar/Composer, b. Waterbury, CT, USA.
1947     Mary Ann Douglas, Producer, Vocals, Arranger, b. California, USA. née: Mary Ann Fahey. She is married to Alan Douglas, who was one of the premiere producers of the rock era. Then through the 1980s and '90s he worked on many high-profile projects, including albums by Eric Clapton, Queen, Bill Laswell, and S Club 7.
1953     Mark DuFresne, C&W drummer, b, Green Bay, WI, USA. Member: "Confederate Railroad", and his own 'The Mark DuFresne Band'. CAUTION: Do not confuse with Mark DuFresne, vocals/harmonica/songwriter, b. March 12, 1953, Kansas City, MO, USA. Member group: 'Roomful of Blues'
1929     Mike Elliott, Sax, b. Jamaica, BWI. Member group: Foundations. (Possibly born: 1939)
1959     Ferdinando Farao, drums/percussion
1961     Victor Goines, soprano, tenor and baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, b. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA,
1928     Pierre Gossez (Gate), Clarinet, b. Valenciennes, France
1918     Norman Granz, Producer, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. d. Nov, 22, 2001. Founder of the Verve and Pablo record labels.
1937     Charlie Haden, bassist/leader, b. Shenandoah, IA, USA. In the mid-1950s, Haden relocated to Los Angeles, CA, where he found work with such men as saxophonist Art Pepper and pianist Hampton Hawes. In 1959, he joined forces with alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, -an innovative and controversial musician. All durng 1959-1961, Haden was a member of the 'Ornette Coleman Quartet' (which also included drummer Billy Higgins and trumpeter Don Cherry). In 1970, Haden formed the very political 'Liberation Music Orchestra', which recorded songs from the Spanish Civil War as well as "Song for Che," an ode to the late Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. Over the years, Haden has extended his work into the annals of Latin and Portugese music recording with Carlos Paredes from Portugal, Egberto Gismonti from Brazil, and Dino Saluzzi from Argentina. In 1986, Haden formed 'Quartet West' -a 'bop' group that celebrated the films, music, and sounds of the 1940s. The original lineup included half of Ornette Coleman's 1959-1961 quartet; Haden and drummer Higgins (later replaced by Larance Marable) were joined by pianist Alan Broadbent and tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts. In his album "Nocturne", Haden (with Gonzalo Rubalcaba) has recorded many Cuban ballads, as well as the boleros of great Latino composers such as Arturo Castro, Cesar Portillo de La Luz, Marta Valdes, and Martin Rojas, ("Nocturne" won the Best Latin Jazz Album GRAMMY at the 2002 GRAMMY AWARDS.) Haden lives in Los Angeles with his wife, singer Ruth Cameron.
1969     Martin Hathaway, Tenor Sax, b. Chelmsford, England
1938     Isaac Hayes, soul singer/songwriter/mulit-instrumentalist, b. Covington, TN, USA. 1971 single "Theme From Shaft" charted US No.1 and UK No.4, and 1998 single "Chef, Chocolate Salty Balls" charted UK No.2 .
1947     Kevin Henderson, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Bristol, England.
1946     Allan Holdsworth, Guitar/violin/piano, b. Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK. Member group: 'Soft Machine', and 'Gong'. (Some sources claim b. 1948, Bradford, Yorkshire, England. - about 10KM from Leeds.)
1924     Ella Louise Jenkins, guitar, b. St. Louis, MO, USA.
1909     Lem Johnson, Tenor Sax, clarinet., b. Oklahoma City, OK, USA. d. April 1, 1989, New York, NY, USA.
1940     Egil Kapstad, Piano/arranger, b. Oslo, Norway
1963     Jamie Kensit, guitar/Keyboards, b. Great Britain. Member group: 'Eighth Wonder'
1956     Stephanie Kramer, actress/singer, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. née: Stepfanie Kramer. (The Screen Actors Guild made her change her name.) Father was a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and her mother was Native American.
1942     Byard Lancaster, Alto Sax/Flute, b. Chestnut Hill (near Philadelphia), PA, USA. (The "Philadelphia" is important. There are 5 other "Chestnut Hills" in Pennsylvania.)
1896     Ernesto Lecuona, composer, b. Havana, Cuba, d. Nov. 29, 1963, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands.
1942     Marc Levin, Cornet/flute, b. Bayonne, NJ, USA.
1930     Abbey/Abbie Lincoln, voc, née: Anna Marie Wooldridge, Chicago. IL, USA.
1961     Ramón López, percussion, conga, b. Alicante, Spain. López has played with many artists, including Denis Colin, Stan Kenton, 'Orchestre National de Jazz', Ivo Perelman, Christine Wodrascka, Paul Rogers, and Harri Sjöström. For his fifth CD, "Flowers Of Peace", (Leo Records) drummer Ramon Lopez's trio included two of the most famous ladies of new jazz in France: pianist Sophia Domancich and bassist Joelle Leandre. He currently (2005) resides in Paris, France where he teaches Indian music at the Paris Conservatory and performs in the 'National Orchestra du Jazz'.
CAUTION: There are other Ramon Lopez's, one of whom also played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.
-- Ramon H. Lopez (Genre: Latin). Very well known percussionist who played with Stan Kenton Orch., and was active all -- during the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. d. May 29, 2002, Age: 66. Please see our entry for Ramon H. Lopez on our June 12 Calendar
-- Ramon Lopez Alvarado (Genre: R&B/Soul/Urban).
-- Ramon Santiago Lopez, (Genre: Latin).
-- Ramon Velarde Lopez, (Genre: Latin). Most recent album: "Canciones del Intimo Decoro"
1940     Myrna Lorrie, C&W guitar, b Cloud Bay (near Thunder Bay), Ont, Canada. née: Myrna Lorraine Petrunka In 1989 she was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
1964     Patsy Lynn C&W singer, One of famed C&W singer Loretta Lynn's twin daughters. Crystal Gayle is their aunt and Patty Loveless is a cousin. Patsy was married at 16, had children, and then divorced.
1964     Peggy Lynn, C&W singer, One of famed C&W singer Loretta Lynn's twin daughters. Crystal Gayle is theiraunt and Patty Loveless is a cousin. Peggy was married at 18, had children, and then divorced. In 1987, Peggy moved to Nashville and tried her hand at songwriting.
1936     Maurice "Reese" Markewich, piano, flute, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.
1952     Pat McDonald, guitar/vocals, b. UK. Member group: 'Timbuk 3'. 1987 single "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades" charted UK No.21 .
1928     Eddie McFadden, guitar, b. Baltimore, MD, USA.
1957     Hendrik Meurkins, harmonica/vibraphone, b: Hamburg Germany
1922     Willie Nix, singing drummer/tap dancer, b. Memphis, TN, USA. Though he never found great success, he was a hard working entertainer. By age 12, and as a teenager during the late '30s, he toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels Shows as a Tap dancing comedian. In the early '40s, he appeared in local Memphis, TN venues and performed on the streets and in the parks around town. In 1947, Nix, with Robert Lockwood, Jr., was heard on a Little Rock, AR radio station. He was also on Memphis radio when he appeared with such stars as B.B. King and Joe Hill Louis. Subsequently, he worked with the Four Aces touring Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. The group consisted of Sonny Boy Williamson II, Willie Love, and Joe Willie Wilkins. In 1951, he cut his first records (in Memphis) for the RPM label. In 1952, he cut some sides for the Chess Records' Checker subsidiary. In early 1953, Sam Philips signed him as a singing drummer with a band for the Sun label, promoting him as "the Memphis Blues Boy". In Chicago, he recorded for Art Sheridan's Chance label. During the mid '50s, he worked with Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny Shines, and Elmore James. The end of the 1950s found him back in Memphis, where he also did a short stretch in prison. During the '60s and '70s, his health and abilities deteriorated, and he only performed occasionally.
1900     Tony Parenti, clarinet/leader, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. April 17, 1972, New York, NY, USA.
1923     Jack Parnell, leader, vocal, drums, percussion, b. London, UK. né: John Russell Carr. Was the musical director for Englebert Humperdick TV series show (1967-71).
1949     Carol Pope, singer/songwriter. b. Canada.
1937     Roberto Baden Powell, Guitar, composer, b. (near) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, d. Sept, 26, 2000. né: Baden Powell de Aquino. Baden Powell remains one of the greatest guitar player Brazil has ever produced. Very early in his career, Powell mastered the bossa nova guitar technique, and then began to interpolate both Jazz and Classical elements, and a dizzying melodic attack frequently used by African players (as, for example, the rapid picking common to acoustic "palm wine guitar" playing - see below). He worked mainly as a session player, but also began to compose. In the late 1950s, Powell wrote the popular song "Samba Triste". In the early 1960s, Powell began a partnership with Vinicius de Moraes. The two men composed dozens of songs, many of them reflective of the Afro religious drumming known as 'candomble'. The team's songwriting was built around the strong melodies that Powell would inventively improvise. In the late 1960s, Powell and Moraes amicably ended their partnership and Powell spent much of the next 30 years living in Europe working primarily as a solo artist and session player.
HISTORICAL NOTE:
"Palm Wine" music (also called 'Maringa' in Sierra Leone), now sadly in decline, dates back to the days when Portuguese sailors introduced guitars to West Africa. The expression "palm wine music" comes from the music's association with the drink called 'palm wine', which is made by tapping a oil palm tree and fermenting the sap. A mellow, milky drink (2 percent alcohol) is produced that gives one a relaxed kind of high. Palm wine is cheaper and easier to make at home than beer, and so it is associated with a more relaxed rural and working class existence. Early African guitarists played at gatherings where revelers drank palm wine. "Palm wine music" is basically a West African style of guitar music, mainly from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria. Originally, it was a couple of acoustic guitars accompanied by percussion (and in Ghana by a big bass "thumb piano" called a 'pempensoa', (a sound box with metal tongues -usually the size of a cigar box). Palm Wine Music is a kin to the "Highlife" music genre, and many palm wine musicians, including S. E. Rogie, ventured into 'Highlife' as well. The intertwining guitar lines of palm wine guitar (so characteristic of much African guitar music) is the most gentle form of African guitar music around. The genre straddles a fine line between music you can relax and listen to, and music that makes you want to get up and dance. Palm wine guitarists had a tremendous impact on most of the West African music, and their influence can be heard in both 'High Life' and 'Soukous' guitar players. The songs were mainly sung in the creole English patois of Freetown, South Africa (called 'Krio'). In the 1950s and early 1960s, the music was first made internationally famous by 'Ebenezer Calender and his Maringar Band', who cut dozens of records none of which, sadly, are available on CD. Unfortunately, 'Palm wine music' is on the decline, -the last well known exponent Sooliman (S. E.) Rogie died in 1994. Some expatriate muscians (most notably Ghanian Daniel "Koo Nimo" Amponsah) living in London (where S.E. Rogie died), have kept the music alive, but this too is fading.

These very short audio clips from S. E. Rogie's album titled: "Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana" should give a good idea of the "Palm Wine" music genre.
"Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana"
"Nyalimagotee"
"A Time In My Life"

"Palm wine music" is akin to "High Life" music (aka: 'Highlife' music). 'Palm wine music' is something like a front porch, rural form of 'High Life'. "High Life" began as the dance music of Ghana and Eastern Nigeria. It is music derived from a blending of European Foxtrots and Caribbean Kaiso, with African rhythms of Liberia (Dagomba), Sierra Leone (Ashiko and Goombe) and Fante (Osibisaba). In the 1920's, the first real High Life bands appeared. They were large dance bands fronted by Brass horn sections. Among the better known bands were 'The Accra Orchestra', 'The Cape Coast Sugar Babies', and 'The Jazz Kings'. Two main streams of "High Life" emerged. Larger dance bands such as "E.T. (Emmanel Tettey) Mensah's Tempo", "Ramblers International" and the "Uhuru Dance Band" played at Society galas and other elite functions. High Life guitar bands commonly played in clubs and bars. The best known were "Nana Kwame Ampadu's African Brothers", "Bobby Benson", "Alex Konadu", "Dr. K. Gyasi and his Noble Kings" and "C.K. Mann". In more modern times, perhaps the best known big band was "The Bulowayan High Life and Sweet Music Orchestra". -- Murray Pfeffer

These very short audio clips from Eric Agyeman's album titled: "Highlife Safari" should give a good idea of the "High Life" music genre.
"I Don't Care"
"Nea Abe Beto"
"Matutu Mirika"
"Abenaa Na Aden"

1921     Ella Raines, vocals, b. Sinoqualmie Falls, WA, USA. d. June 6, 1988. Age: 66. née: Ella Wallace Raubes.
1902     Luis Russell, Piano/Leader, b. Careening Cay (Islet nr Boca Del Toro), Panama, d. Dec. 11, 1963. né: Luis Carl Russell.
1959     Darrell Scott, C&W singer/songwriter/record label owner.
1935     Herschel Sizemore, Bluegrass Mandolin, b: Alabama, USA.
1968     Lisa Stewart, C&W singer, b. Louisville, MS, USA.
1956     Phil Todd, Reeds, b.1956, Borehamwood, England
1956     Vinnie Vincent, Heavy Rock guitar.
1953     Lynn White, Blues vocals, b. Mobile, AL, USA.
1953     Richardo G. Williams, drums, b. Northbrook, VA, USA.
         Notable Events on this date include:
1931.    Jazz Cornetist and composer Bix Beiderbecke died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 28.
1939.    Dinah Shore, after singing with Ben Bernie on network radio, was heard every Sunday evening. on her own show on the NBC "Blue" network flagship radio station WEAF 660kc. (At the time, NBC had two networks, the flagship station of their "Red" network was WJZ 770kc; -both stations in New York city). However, in the very early 1940s, Dinah had her first real success as the "girl" singer on "Blue" network radio show called "The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street", that featured Henry "Hot Lips" Levine, and His Chamber Music Society Orchestra of Lower Basin Street. The band later became the 'official' band of the 1964-'65 New York World's Fair. The announcer, in stentorius tones, would often introduce the band as the "Chamber Music, Marching, Chowder, and Jazz Society Orchestra of Lower Basin Street", or "The Barefoot Dixieland Philharmonic". Besides regular Dinah, and occasional guest Lena Horne, the show also had such guests as "Jelly Roll" Morton, Sidney Bechet, Earl Hines, and "Leadbelly". Dinah went on to an over two decades long successful TV career. ("Hotlips" Levine was a truly fine Dixieland musician.)
1966.    Joe Gilbert, Gospel/Folk vocals, died in Long Beach, CA, USA. Age: 23. Member duo: Joe & Eddie
1973.    Wilmoth Houdini, (Calypso) singer-songwriter, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 78
1973.    "Memphis Minnie", Blues vocals/guitar, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 76
1974.    Gene "Jug" Ammons, tenor sax, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 49
1981.    "Big Sam" Clark, piano, died in Little Rock, AR, USA. Age: 65
1981.    Ned Elliott Williams editor/Downbeat, died in Council Bluffs, IA, USA. Age: 84
1984.    Joe Thomas, trumpet, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 75
1983.    "Brother" John Willing, harmonica, died in Dekalb, Illinois, USA. Age: 34
1998.    Nat Gonella, leader/trumpeter and vocalist died in Gosport, England, UK (complications following a fall. b. March 7, 1908, London, England, UK)
2001.    Larry Adler, harmonica, died in London, England, UK. Age: 87.
2003.    Grover Mitchell, trombone, arranger, leader died in New York, NY, USA. (cancer)
2005.    William Thomas "Keter" Betts, bass,died in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. ("Keter" was short for "Mosquito")
2006.    Moacir Santos, arranger, composer, alto and baritone sax died in Pasadena, California, USA. ( Stroke Complications )
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1914     "Sweetie Dear", - Conway's Band
1923     "By The Waters Of The Minnetonka", - Abe Lyman Orch.
1924     "I Wonder What's Become of Sally", - Al Jolson vocal with Carl Fenton Orch.
1924     "Susquehanna Home", - Bennie Krueger and his Orch.
1928     "Ragging the Scale", - The Anglo-Persians Orch.
1931     "I Apologize", - Robert Hood Bowers voc. release
1932     "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye", - The Boswell Sisters voc. release
1934     "Tattooed Lady", - Rudy Vallee and his Connecticut Yankees
1937     "Loch Lomond", - Maxine Sullivan (voc.) and Her Orch. (Claude Thornhill Orch ??)
1937     "I'm Coming Virginia", - Maxine Sullivan (voc.) and Her Orch. (Claude Thornhill Orch ??)
1937     "Till The Clock Strikes Three", - Richard Himber Orch.
1940     "Pickin' My Tomatoes", - Brownie McGhee vocal release
1941     "Chattanooga Choo Choo", - Jan Savitt and his Tophatters
1941     "Why Don't We Do This More Often", - Jan Savitt and his Tophatters
1948     "Cool Water", - Vaughn Monroe vocal and Orch.
1948     "Underneath The Arches", - Primo Scala With The Keynotes
1955     "Yellow Rose Of Texas, The", - Mitch Miller
1966     "Summertime", - Billy Stewart
1983     "Don't Cry", - Asia
1988     "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man", - Rick Astley
1988     "One Good Woman", - Peter Cetera