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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 final acting role. The film marked the first collaboration for Lee and Washington. 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 Ble ... [...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, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Peabody Awards. He has also been honored with an Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2015. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the largest in the Western United States with a print circulation of 118,760. It has 500,000 online subscribers, the fifth-largest among U.S. newspapers. Owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by California Times, the paper has won over 40 Pulitzer Prizes since its founding. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. As with other regional newspapers in California and the United States, the paper's readership has declined since 2010. It has also been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in the salsa, and Latin jazz genres. As a songwriter, Blades brought the lyrical sophistication of Central American ''nueva canción'' and Cuban ''nueva trova'' as well as experimental tempos and politically inspired Son Cubano salsa to his music, creating "thinking persons' (salsa) dance music". Blades has written dozens of hit songs, including " Pedro Navaja" and " El Cantante" (which became Héctor Lavoe's signature song). He has won twelve Grammy Awards out of 20 nominations and twelve Latin Grammy Awards. His acting career began in 1983, and has continued, sometimes with several-year breaks to focus on other projects. He has prominent roles in films such as '' Crossover Dreams'' (1985), ''The Milagro Beanfield War'' (1988), '' The Super' ... [...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. He produced and arranged an album by Don Armando's 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 known as Sugarcoated Andy while in Dr. Buzzard' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Murphy (actor)
Charles Quinton Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. 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 older 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 made his first film appearance in the 1970 comedy-drama film '' The Landlord''. The film was shot in a neighborhood where Murphy lived and he appears in a brief scene as a boy stealing hubcaps. Murphy had minor roles in several films in the late ... [...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: * Anard/Nardu/Lewnardu/Leunardu (Maltese) * Leen, Leendert, Lenard (Dutch) * Lehnertz, Lehnert (Luxembourgish) * Len ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel L
Samuel L. may refer to: * Samuel L. Jackson (born 1948), American actor * Samuel L. Clemens aka Mark Twain (1835 – 1910), American author * Samuel L. Devine (1915 – 1997), American politician * Samuel L. Gravely Jr. (1922 – 2004) African-American naval officer * Samuel L. Greitzer (1905 – 1988), American mathematician * Samuel L. Lewis (1896 – 1971) American mystic and horticulturalist * Samuel L. Mitchill (1764–1831) American physician, naturalist, and politician * Samuel L. Popkin (born 1942), American political scientist * Samuel L. Southard (1787 – 1842), American statesman {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Turturro
Nicholas Turturro Jr. (born January 29, 1962) is an American actor. Turturro is best 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. Career He received an Emmy Award nomination for playing James Martinez ... [...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 and songwriter. 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. Early life Lincoln was born on August 6, 1930, in Chicago, but raised in Calvin Center, Cass County, Michigan. She was one of 12 children. Career Music Lincoln was one of many singers influenced by Billie Holiday. Lincoln's 1956 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!'' (subtitled ''Freedom Now Suite''), "regarded as the earliest full-scale protest record in jazz", as historian Nat Hentoff observed. Lincoln's lyrics were often connected to the civil rights movement in America. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff "Tain" Watts
Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is an American 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 John Beasley * ''Letter to Herbie'' (Resonance, 2008) * ... [...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. A person who plays the saxophone is called a ''saxophonist'' or ''saxist''. 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 mem ... [...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 Quarry, 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, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
