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Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Robert Wells (songwriter), Bob Wells. Tormé won two Grammy Awards and was nominated a total of 14 times. Early life and education Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Tormé (born Wowe Torma, also spelled as Tarme or Tarmo), a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish immigrant from Brest, Belarus, Brest (now Belarus), and Sarah "Betty" Tormé (''née'' Sopkin), a New York City native. Named after the actor Melvyn Douglas, Tormé grew up in a home filled with music and entertainment. His father, whom he recalled as having the pure voice of a cantor, had been an amateur dancer in his youth. His aunt Faye Tormé had risen to local fame in Chicago, where, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of United States cities by population, third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the county seat, seat of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a Chicago Portage, portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and definition The term is descended from Latin, ''compōnō''; literally "one who puts together". The earliest use of the term in a musical context given by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is from Thomas Morley's 1597 ''A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music'', where he says "Some wil be good descanters ..and yet wil be but bad composers". "Composer" is a loose term that generally refers to any person who writes music. More specifically, it is often used to denote people who are composers by occupation, or those who work in the tradition of Western classical music. Writers of exclusively or primarily songs may be called composers, but since the 20th century the terms ' songwriter' or ' singer-songwriter' are more often used, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert System
The Albert system refers to a system of clarinet keywork and fingering developed by Eugène Albert. In the United Kingdom, it is known as the simple system. It has been largely replaced by the Boehm system and Oehler system. Big Band musician Jimmy Dorsey used a clarinet outfitted with the Albert system. Albert system clarinets are still used, mainly in Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek and Turkish folk music as well as Klezmer and Dixieland styles. Many musicians prefer the Albert system because its unkeyed tone holes make slurred notes easier to play. The system is a derivative of the early 19th century 13-key system developed by Iwan Müller and is related to the more advanced Oehler system used by most German and Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ukulele
The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. Ukuleles generally have four nylon strings tuned to GCEA. They have 16–22 frets depending on the size. History Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on several small, guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the , and , introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira, the Azores, and Cape Verde. Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the SS ''Ravenscrag'' in late August 1879, the '' Hawaiian Gazette'' reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arriv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Bond
War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are Security (finance)#Debt, debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are also a means to control inflation by removing money from circulation in a stimulated wartime economy. War bonds are either retail bonds marketed directly to the public or wholesale bonds traded on a stock market. Exhortations to buy war bonds have often been accompanied by appeals to patriotism and conscience. Retail war bonds, like other retail bonds, tend to have a yield which is below that offered by the market and are often made available in a wide range of denominations to make them affordable for all citizens. Before World War I Governments throughout history have needed to borrow money to fight wars. Traditionally they dealt with a small group of rich financiers such as Jakob Fugger and Nathan Mayer Rothsc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. Overview The term itself is derived from the Latin for "singer", though it is frequently used to translate a range of equivalent terms in other languages, such as for the leader of singing on a traditional chundan vallam or snake boat of Kerala. Role of the cantor Judaism In Judaism, a cantor sings and leads congregants in prayer in religious services. They are also sometimes called a ''huzzan'', which is the Hebrew term for the role. They often come from a long line of cantors in their family; born with a natural gift of singing with extensive vocal range. The role of professional cantor is especially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotchka'' (1939) with Greta Garbo. Douglas later played mature and fatherly characters, as in his Academy Award-winning performances in '' Hud'' (1963) and ''Being There'' (1979) and his Academy Award–nominated performance in '' I Never Sang for My Father'' (1970). Douglas was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting. In the last few years of his life Douglas appeared in films with supernatural stories involving ghosts, including '' The Changeling'' in 1980 and '' Ghost Story'' in 1981, his last completed film role. Douglas was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group. Early life Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla (née Shackelford) an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jewish World Review
''Jewish World Review'' is a politically conservative, online magazine updated Monday through Friday (except for legal holidays and holy days), which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously.” It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of syndicated columns written mostly by politically conservative writers, both Jewish and Gentile, advice columns on a number of issues, and cartoons."Mideast Mayhem:Give War a Chance" Wall Street Journal Opinion Archives, March 5, 2002. In 2023, Jolkovsky claimed the site was now “among the oldest surviving non-corporate sites on the web." Although the magazine is written to appeal to Orthodox Jews, Jolkovsky said he seeks a broader readership because "there are a lot of Christians who live Jewish values better than some Jews." Regarding his magazine's political orientation, he said: "It is hard to understand a religio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of with a population of . The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into Regions of Belarus, six regions. Minsk is the capital and List of cities and largest towns in Belarus, largest city; it is administered separately as a city with special status. For most of the medieval period, the lands of modern-day Belarus was ruled by independent city-states such as the Principality of Polotsk. Around 1300 these lands came fully under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; this period lasted for 500 years until the Partitions of Poland, 1792-1795 partitions of Poland-Lithuania placed Belarus within the Belarusian history in the Russian Empire, Russian Empire for the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brest, Belarus
Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug (river), Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the administrative center of Brest Region and Brest District, though it is administratively separated from the district. it has a population of 346,061. Brest is one of the oldest cities in Belarus and a historical site for many cultures, as it hosted important historical events, such as the Union of Brest and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Furthermore, the Brest Fortress was recognized by the Soviet Union as a Hero Fortress in honour of the defense of Brest Fortress in June 1941. In the High Middle Ages, the city often passed between Poland, the principalities of Kievan Rus', and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From the Late Middle Ages, the city was part of Lithuania, which later became a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of The Jews In Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long period of statutory toleration, religious tolerance and Qahal, social autonomy which ended after the Partitions of Poland in the 18th century. During World War II there was a nearly complete genocide, genocidal destruction of the Polish Jewish community by Nazi Germany and its collaborators of various nationalities, during the German occupation of Poland between 1939 and 1945, called the Holocaust. Since the fall of communism in Poland, there has been a renewed interest in Jewish culture, featuring an annual Jewish Culture Festival, new study programs at Polish secondary schools and universities, and the opening of Warsaw's Museum of the History of Polish Jews. From the founding of the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland in 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
