John Simmons (conductor)
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John Simmons (conductor)
John Simmons (October 22, 1947 – March 16, 1988) was an American conductor, musical arranger, soul singer and keyboardist. Biography Singer Whitney Houston's enormous popularity in the 1980s gave audiences a chance to see John Simmons in action during events such as the Moment of Truth World Tour. This conquest of the international pop music audience took place in 1987 and 1988, the last years of Simmons' life, but as a keyboardist as well as a vocalist himself, Simmons was Houston's musical director and backup bandleader, an assignment he had also previously carried out for Stephanie Mills. Simmons had his own taste of chart success as a member of the Reflections, a vocal group formed in New York City in the early 1970s. His background was in gospel, a talent that logically helped push him into R&B waters, as in the case of many other performers in these related styles. Melba Moore wanted a vocal group who could hold forth with credibility during a special gospel section of ...
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Conductor (music)
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way which reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and "shape" the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal. The conductor typically stands on a raised podium with a large music stand for the full score, which contains the musical notation for all the instruments or voices. Since the mid-19th century, most conductors have not played an instrument when conducting, a ...
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Heiner Stadler
Heiner Stadler (April 9, 1942 – February 18, 2018) was a jazz composer, record producer, pianist and arranger whose work has traversed genres including jazz, blues and country, baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary classical music. He was also the founder and CEO of Labor Records, distributed by Naxos Records. Early life Stadler was born April 9, 1942 in West Prussia (now part of Poland) in the town of Lessen (Łasin) in the county of Graudenz (Grudziąd). His great-grandmother was Josephine Amann-Weinlich, who founded and conducted Europe's first women's orchestra, the ''Wiener Damen-Orchester'' (later the ''Erste Europäische Damenorchester''), which toured extensively, including an 1871 appearance at New York's Steinway Hall. Stadler studied piano at the Hamburg Conservatory and composition privately with composer Walter Steffens. Jazz Composer and Arranger Stadler relocated to New York City in 1965 to begin a career as a jazz composer and pianist. His first co ...
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American Male Songwriters
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * B ...
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American Music Arrangers
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
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African-American Songwriters
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslaved Africans who are from the United States. While some Black immigrants or their children may also come to identify as African-American, the majority of first generation immigrants do not, preferring to identify with their nation of origin. African Americans constitute the second largest racial group in the U.S. after White Americans, as well as the third largest ethnic group after Hispanic and Latino Americans. Most African Americans are descendants of enslaved people within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of West/Central African with some European descent; some also have Native American and other ancestry. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-iden ...
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1988 Deaths
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicentennial on January 26; The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea; Soviet troops begin their withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is completed the next year; The 1988 Armenian earthquake kills between 25,000-50,000 people; The 8888 Uprising in Myanmar, led by students, protests the Burma Socialist Programme Party; A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103, causing the plane to crash down on the town of Lockerbie, Scotland- the event kills 270 people., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Piper Alpha rect 200 0 400 200 Iran Air Flight 655 rect 400 0 600 200 Australian Bicentenary rect 0 200 300 400 Pan Am Flight 103 rect 300 200 600 400 1988 Summer Olympics rect 0 400 200 600 8888 Uprising rect 200 400 400 600 1988 Armenian ...
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1943 Births
Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – WWII: Greek-Polish athlete and saboteur Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz is executed by the Germans at Kaisariani. * January 11 ** The United States and United Kingdom revise previously unequal treaty relationships with the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China. ** Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City. * January 13 – Anti-Nazi protests in Sofia result in 200 arrests and 36 executions. * January 14 – January 24, 24 – WWII: Casablanca Conference: Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States; Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud of the Free French forces meet secretly at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan the ...
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Rickey Minor
Rickey Minor is an American bass player, music director, composer and music producer. He was the musical director and bandleader on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' from 2010 to 2014, taking over after Kevin Eubanks left. Minor worked as musical director for American Idol. Minor has served as musical director for numerous superstar tours, including Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé and for television productions, including the Grammy Awards, the NAACP Image Awards and the Super Bowl. He has received twelve Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Music Direction, winning two of them, for ''Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America'' (2017) and ''The Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala c ...
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Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he introduced, including his renditions of "In the Pines", "Goodnight, Irene", "Midnight Special (song), Midnight Special", "Cotton Fields", and "Boll Weevil (song), Boll Weevil". Lead Belly usually played a twelve-string guitar, but he also played the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and diatonic accordion, windjammer. In some of his recordings, he sang while clapping his hands or stomping his foot. Lead Belly's songs covered a wide range of genres, including gospel music, blues, and folk music, as well as a number of topics, including women, liquor, prison life, racism, cowboys, work, sailors, cattle herding, and dancing. He also wrote songs about people in the news, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitl ...
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Musical Arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestration in that the latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra, concert band, or other musical ensemble. Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions, transitions, or modulations, and endings. Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety".(Corozine 2002, p. 3) In jazz, a memorized (unwritten) arrangement of a new or pre-existing composition is known as a ''head arrangement''. Classical music Arrangement and transcriptions of classical and serious music go back to the early history of this genre. Eighteenth century J.S. Bach frequently made arrangements of his own and other composers' pieces. O ...
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Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) in New York City to Gertrude Melba Smith (1920–1976), who was a singer professionally known as Bonnie Davis and Teddy Hill (1909–1978), a big band leader. Moore grew up in the Harlem section of New York until age 9 when her mother remarried jazz pianist Clement Leroy Moorman and the family relocated to Newark, New Jersey. For high school, Moore attended Newark Arts High School , graduating in 1958. In 1970, she graduated from Montclair State College with a BA in music. Early career Moore began her recording career in 1967, cutting the track "Magic Touch" which was left unreleased until 1986. In later years it became an enormous track on the Northern Soul Scene, eventually leading to Moore performing it live in ...
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