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☆ What’s the Greatest Jazz Record? Here’s a Clue: Miles Davis.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Peter Keepnews | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

3 SHADES OF BLUE: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool, by James KaplanMiles Davis was one of the biggest stars in jazz as well as one of the most innovative and influential musicians. John Coltrane was both a saxophone virtuoso and a fearless explorer whose lifelong musical and spiritual quest attracted a passionate following — and later, as that quest went beyond the boundaries of jazz as many people understood the word, heated criticism. Bill Evans redefined the concept of the piano trio and rewrote the rules of jazz harmony. Well, we may not need it, but we have it. And if “3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool” is neither an essential addition to the jazz literature nor quite the sweeping statement its subtitle promises, it’s certainly a compelling read.

Persons: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, James Kaplan Miles Davis, Davis, Coltrane, Evans, Ashley Kahn’s, Eric Nisenson’s “, Richard Williams’s “, Miles Davis’s, it’s, James Kaplan, — Organizations: Modern Music

☆ Melanie, Singer Who Made a Solo Splash at Woodstock, Dies at 76
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Peter Keepnews | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Melanie, the husky-voiced singer and songwriter who was one of the surprise stars of the Woodstock music festival in 1969 and two years later had a No. 1 single with the disarmingly childlike “Brand New Key,” died on Tuesday. Her death was announced on social media by her children, Leilah, Jeordie and Beau Jarred. Neither the cause nor the location were cited. Melanie, born Melanie Safka in 1947, was only 22 but already a presence on the New York folk scene when she appeared at Woodstock.

Persons: Melanie, ”, Beau Jarred, Melanie Safka Organizations: Woodstock Locations: York, Woodstock

☆ Alan Arkin, Comic Actor With a Serious Side, Dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Robert Berkvist | Peter Keepnews | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His son Matthew Arkin said that Mr. Arkin, who had heart ailments, died at home. Mr. Arkin was not quite a show-business neophyte when he was cast in the 1963 Broadway comedy “Enter Laughing,” Joseph Stein’s adaptation of Carl Reiner’s semi-autobiographical novel about a stage-struck boy from the Bronx. He had toured and recorded with the Tarriers, a folk music group, and he had appeared on Broadway with the Second City, the celebrated improvisational comedy troupe. In a cast that included established professionals like Sylvia Sidney and Vivian Blaine, Mr. Arkin stole the show and won the hearts of the critics. “‘Enter Laughing’ is marvelously funny, and so is Alan Arkin in the principal role,” Howard Taubman wrote in The New York Times.

Persons: Alan Arkin, Matthew Arkin, Mr, Arkin, Joseph Stein’s, Carl Reiner’s, Sylvia Sidney, Vivian Blaine, “, ” Howard Taubman Organizations: Broadway, Calif, Second, The New York Times Locations: San Marcos, Bronx, Second City

☆ Sheldon Harnick, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Lyricist, Dies at 99
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Robert Berkvist | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Lady Bird: First Lady of the Land,” an opera about Lady Bird Johnson, for which he wrote the libretto and Henry Mollicone wrote the music, had its premiere in Texas in 2016 and has been performed in New York and elsewhere. In an interview with The Times, he said that he had no thoughts of retirement, and that he continued to attend every show on Broadway, as he had for many years. He added that he was working on a new show of his own. “I hope I live long enough to complete it,” he said. “I won’t tell you what idea I have, because you’ll steal it.”Robert Berkvist, a former New York Times arts editor, died in January.

Persons: Harnick, ”, Bizet’s “ Carmen, Jinks, Horse Marines ”, Jack Beeson, Norton Juster, Arnold Black, Bird, Lady Bird Johnson, Henry Mollicone, “, ” Robert Berkvist, Peter Keepnews Organizations: Horse Marines, The Times, New York Times Locations: Texas, New York, “ Dragons

☆ Harry Belafonte: A Life in Photos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Peter Keepnews | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Harry Belafonte, born in Harlem to West Indian immigrants, captivated audiences with his singing and almost single-handedly ignited a craze for Caribbean music. He achieved movie stardom with his striking good looks and won a Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical. But Mr. Belafonte, who died on Tuesday, was more than an entertainer; his primary focus from the late 1950s until the end of his life was civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and took part in the March on Washington in 1963. In the 1980s, he helped organize a cultural boycott of South Africa under apartheid to raise money to fight famine in Africa.

☆ Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Peter Keepnews | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

He provided money to bail Dr. King and other civil rights activists out of jail. His spacious apartment on West End Avenue in Manhattan became Dr. King’s home away from home. The suit was settled the next year, with Mr. Belafonte retaining possession.) In an interview with The Washington Post a few months after Dr. King’s death, Mr. Belafonte expressed ambivalence about his high profile in the civil rights movement. In Atlanta for a benefit concert for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1962, Mr. Belafonte was twice refused service in the same restaurant.

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