24 November 24

I'm wearing my bright red jazz trombones tie today! We are going to a concert featuring the Canadian Brass this evening, at the EKU Center for the Arts. We have enjoyed many hours of music on CDs from the Canadian Brass, and this time we get to see and hear them in person!

22 November 21

 Today's jazz trombones help celebrate a medley of musical events for 22 November: the birthdays of Hoagy Carmichael (1899) and Benjamin Britten (1913); the premiere of Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" (1928) and Ferde Grofe’s “Grand Canyon Suite” (1931); the release of the Beatles' "White Album" (1968); and the debut of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel on American Bandstand, billed as “Tom & Jerry” (1957).

26 October 20

 Here comes a list of many musicians who were born on this date. I doubt that there's anything in the "music of the spheres" to make this date special -- but it's fun to imagine how it would sound to hear all these voices and instruments in one concert. My jazz trombones tie is very suitable.

Musicians: Hans Buchner (1483), Domenico Scarlatti (1685), Johan Helmich Roman (1694), Joaquin de Oxinaga (1719), Ernest Louis Muller (1740), Louis Charles-Joseph Rey (1758), Joseph Mayseder (1789), Nicolaos Mantzaros (1795), Henry Thomas Smart (1813), Stefano Golinelli (1818), Polibo Fumagalli (1830), Hendrick Waelput (1845), Arthur Friedheim (1859), Joseph Moorat (1864), Hermann Lohr (1871), Gustav Hermann Unger (1886), Beryl Rubinstein (1898), Giovanni Salviucci (1907), Mahalia Jackson (1911), Hans Peter Haller (1929), Hans-Joachim Rödelius (1934), Dietmar Polaczek (1942), and Keith Hopwood (1946). Yesterday -- Johann Strauss II (1825) and Georges Bizet (1838).

Three others born on 26 October but not known for music are Felix the Cat (1917), Pat Sajak (1946) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947).

 

9-10 February 19

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to my big sister Gloria Rae Kleppinger Huizenga! She deserves some extra pageantry for milestone #76, so we agreed to have me wear this red tie with trombones (especially to celebrate music) and to recall the special parade of 76 trombones and more from "The Music Man"!

26 October 17

Today's music-themed tie celebrates the birthday of all of these musicians: Hans Buchner (1483), Domenico Scarlatti (1685), Johan Helmich Roman (1694), Joaquin de Oxinaga (1719), Ernest Louis Muller (1740), Louis Charles-Joseph Rey (1758), Joseph Mayseder (1789), Nicolaos Mantzaros (1795), Henry Thomas Smart (1813), Stefano Golinelli (1818), Polibo Fumagalli (1830), Hendrick Waelput (1845), Arthur Friedheim (1859), Joseph Moorat (1864), Hermann Lohr (1871), Gustav Hermann Unger (1886), Beryl Rubinstein (1898), Giovanni Salviucci (1907), Mahalia Jackson (1911), Hans Peter Haller (1929), Hans-Joachim Rödelius (1934), Dietmar Polaczek (1942), and Keith Hopwood (1946). Three others not known for music are Felix the Cat (1917), Pat Sajak (1946) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947).

22 November 16

Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" premiered on this date in 1928. Other musical "debuts" associated with today include the births of composers Hoagy Carmichael (1899) and Benjamin Britten (1913), the first performance of Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite" (1931), the first appearance of Simon and Garfunkel -- as "Tom and Jerry" -- on American Bandstand (1957), and the release of the Beatles' "White Album" (1968). If you want a good way to slide into your memories of "Bolero," you can listen to the trombone solo passage at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6uQg0j_P38.

25 April 16

Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald was born on this date 99 years ago, so I'm wearing my jazzy trombones music tie. The pin on my pocket is my award for 20 years' service to EKU -- not counting nine years of part-time teaching before that! Today is also World Penguin Day, and the 63rd anniversary of the publication of the helical structure of the DNA molecule.

23-24-25 April 15

This is my last tie-wearing day for the week, so I'm combining the celebrations of a bunch of music-related birthdays! Wikipedia's calendar at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Music/DateOfBirth leads you to the list for any date. Among those for 23 April I will mention boogie-woogie pianist Cow Cow Davenport (1894-1955). Tomorrow is Barbra Streisand's 73rd birthday, and also number 71 for Creedence Clearwater Revival's drummer Doug Clifford. And then Saturday marks the 98th birthday of great jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)!

24 April 14

Today's tie was chosen to honor the birthday tomorrow of the great jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996). But I found out that today is Barbra Streisand's 72nd birthday! And you can see a list of many other famous musicians born on this date at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Music/DateOfBirth/April_24, including Creedence Clearwater Revival's drummer Doug Clifford (1945). The full calendar at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Music/DateOfBirth leads you to the list for any date.

13 November 13

Last week in New Orleans I found this wonderfully jazzy tie. Today marks the birthday of these jazz greats, according to the Jazz Birthday Calendar site: Idris Muhammad, Bennie Moten, Blue Lu Barker, Hampton Hawes, Janet Lawson.