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Mo' Better Blues
''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (played by Washington) as a series of bad decisions result in his jeopardizing both his relationships and his playing career. The film focuses on themes of friendship, loyalty, honesty, cause-and-effect, and ultimately salvation. It features the music of the Branford Marsalis quartet and Terence Blanchard on trumpet. The film was released five months after the death of Robin Harris and is dedicated to his memory, being his penultimate acting role. Plot In Brooklyn, New York in 1969, a group of four boys walk up to Bleek Gilliam's Brownstone apartment and ask him to play baseball with them. Bleek's mother insists that he continue his trumpet lesson. His father becomes concerned that Bleek will grow up to be a sissy, and a family argument ensues. Bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut with ''She's Gotta Have It'' (1986). He has since written and directed such films as '' School Daze'' (1988), ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), '' Mo' Better Blues'' (1990), '' Jungle Fever'' (1991), ''Malcolm X'' (1992), '' Crooklyn'' (1994), '' Clockers'' (1995), '' 25th Hour'' (2002), ''Inside Man'' (2006), ''Chi-Raq'' (2015), ''BlacKkKlansman'' (2018) and ''Da 5 Bloods'' (2020). Lee also acted in eleven of his feature films. His films have featured breakthrough and acclaimed performances from actors such as Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Delroy Lindo and John David Washington. Lee's work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Los Angeles Times
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diahann Carroll
Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including ''Carmen Jones'' (1954) and ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959). In 1962, Carroll won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a first for an African-American woman, for her role in the Broadway musical ''No Strings.'' In 1974 she starred in ''Claudine'' alongside James Earl Jones for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her title role in ''Julia'', for which she received the 1968 Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Female, was the first series on American television to star a black woman in a non-stereotypical role, and was a milestone both in her career and the medium. In the 1980s, she played the role of Dominique Deveraux, a mixed-race diva, in the prime time soap opera ''Dynasty''. In 1997, she had a significant r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coati Mundi (musician)
Andy Hernandez (born January 3, 1950), better known by his stage name Coati Mundi, is an American musician, percussionist, notably playing the vibraphone, and a member of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, then of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. He scored the Top 40 UK hit "Me No Pop I" in 1981, just before the release of ''Tropical Gangsters''. He produced and arranged an album by "Don Armando Second Avenue Rhumba Band", which spurred the disco hit song "Deputy of Love". Early life Hernandez is a first-generation Puerto Rican who grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. As a young teenager, the first band he played and recorded with was called Eddie Hernandez & his Orchestra. He learned to play the vibes from George Rodriguez of The New Swing Sextet. Career Hernandez has worked with assorted musical groups and artists including Ralfi Pagan, Joe Bataan, Vernon Reid, N'Dea Davenport, Nona Hendryx, Tito Puente, Manny Oquendo & Conjunto Libre, Hall & Oates and Machito. He was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Murphy (actor)
Charles Quinton Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. He was best known as a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series ''Chappelle's Show'' as well as the co-star of the sitcom '' Black Jesus''. He was the brother of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy. Early life Murphy was born on July 12, 1959, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. His mother Lillian Murphy was a telephone operator and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer, actor, and comedian. As an adolescent, Murphy spent ten months in jail. In 1978 on the day of his release, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as a boiler technician. Career Murphy had minor roles in several films in the late 1980s and early 1990s and worked behind the scenes with hip hop group K-9 Posse, a duo composed of his half-brother Vernon Lynch Jr. and Wardell Mahone. On their 1988 self-titled debut, Murphy was credited as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard L
Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' Leo,'' and the suffix ''hardu'' ("brave" or "hardy"). The name has come to mean "lion strength", "lion-strong", or "lion-hearted". Leonard was the name of a Saint in the Middle Ages period, known as the patron saint of prisoners. Leonard is also an Irish origin surname, from the Gaelic ''O'Leannain'' also found as O'Leonard, but often was anglicised to just Leonard, consisting of the prefix ''O'' ("descendant of") and the suffix ''Leannan'' ("lover"). The oldest public records of the surname appear in 1272 in Huntingdonshire, England, and in 1479 in Ulm, Germany. Variations The name has variants in other languages: * Leen, Leendert, Lenard (Dutch) * Lehnertz, Lehnert (Luxembourgish) * Len (English) * :hu:Lénárd (Hungarian) * Lenart ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel L
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the third highest-grossing actor of all time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him an Academy Honorary Award in 2022 as "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide". Jackson started his career on stage making his professional theatre debut in ''Mother Courage and her Children'' in 1980 at The Public Theatre. From 1981 to 1983 he originated the role of Private Louis Henderson in '' A Soldier's Story'' Off-Broadway. He also originated the role of Boy Willie in August Wilson's ''The Piano Lesson'' in 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He returned to the play in the 2022 Broadway revival playing Doaker Charles. Jackson early film roles include ''Coming to Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Turturro
Nicholas Turturro Jr. (born January 29, 1962) is an American actor, known for his roles in New York City based films and on the television series '' Blue Bloods'' and ''NYPD Blue''. He has collaborated with director Spike Lee since the late 1980s, starting with voice work for ''Do the Right Thing'', and playing a supporting role in ''BlacKkKlansman''. Nicholas is the younger brother of John Turturro and the cousin of Aida Turturro. Early life Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Katherine Florence (Incerella), was an amateur jazz singer, who worked in a Navy yard during World War II, and was born in the U.S., to Italian parents, with roots in Sicily.Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', October 31, 2017 His father, Nicholas Turturro Sr., was a carpenter and shoemaker who emigrated from Giovinazzo, Apulia, Italy, at the age of six and later fought as a US Navy serviceman on D-Day. In 1983, Turturro, then a struggling actor, was employed as a doorman for the Manhattan ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbey Lincoln
Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering deeply felt presentations of standards as well as writing and singing her own material. Musician Born in Chicago but raised in Calvin Center, Cass County, Michigan, Lincoln was one of many singers influenced by Billie Holiday. Her debut album, ''Abbey Lincoln's Affair – A Story of a Girl in Love'', was followed by a series of albums for Riverside Records. In 1960 she sang on Max Roach's landmark civil rights-themed recording, ''We Insist!'' Lincoln's lyrics were often connected to the civil rights movement in America. After a tour of Africa in the mid-1970s, she adopted the name Aminata Moseka. During the 1980s, Lincoln's creative output was smaller and she released only a few albums. Her song " For All We Know" is featured in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff "Tain" Watts
Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is a jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others. Biography Watts got the nickname "Tain" from Kenny Kirkland when they were on tour in Florida and drove past a Chieftain gas station. He was given a Guggenheim fellowship in music composition in 2017. Watts attended Berklee College of Music, where he met collaborator Branford Marsalis. Discography As leader * ''Megawatts'' (Sunnyside, 1991) * ''Citizen Tain'' ( Columbia, 1999) * ''Bar Talk'' (Columbia, 2002) * ''Detained at the Blue Note'' (Half Note, 2004) * ''Folks Songs'' (Dark Key Music, 2011) * ''Watts'' (Dark Key Music, 2009) * ''Family'' (Dark Key Music, 2011) * ''Blue, Vol. 1'' (Dark Key Music, 2015) * ''Blue, Vol. 2'' (Dark Key Music, 2018) * ''Detained in Amsterdam'' (Dark Key Music, 2018) As sideman With Paul Bollenback * ''Double Gemini'' (Challenge, 1997) * ''Soul Grooves' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called '' saxophonists''. The saxophone is used in a wide range of musical styles including classical music (such as concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, and occasionally orchestras), military bands, marching bands, jazz (such as big bands and jazz combos), and contemporary music. The saxophone is also used as a solo and melody instrument or as a member of a horn section in som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Types Apostle Island brownstone In the 19th century, Basswood Island, Wisconsin was the site of a quarry run by the Bass Island Brownstone Company which operated from 1868 into the 1890s. The brownstone from this and other quarries in the Apostle Islands was in great demand, with brownstone from Basswood Island being used in the construction of the first Milwaukee County Courthouse in the 1860s. Hummelstown brownstone Hummelstown brownstone is extremely popular along the East Coast of the United States, with numerous government buildings throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and Delaware being faced entirely with the stone, which comes from the Hummelstown Quarry in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, a small town outside of Har ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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