A dombra performance by Marzhan Kapsamat of Nursultan, Kazakhstan. The 23-year-old musician is playing in Lake Köbeituz, a salt lake in Kazakhstan that turns pink every several years.
Remembering Glenn Gould, born on this day in 1932 in Toronto. Here he is performing Bach's Partita
#2
at his cottage in Uptergrove, Ontario in the 1958 documentary “Off the Record.”
Senegalese musician Sallilou playing the Cas Cas, also known as Kashaka, which is an instrument made by connecting two small, bean-filled gourds with a string.
Remembering Sister Rosetta Tharpe, gone 46 years today. When she was asked about music in the late 1960s, she said, "Oh, these kids and rock and roll — that is just sped up rhythm and blues. I've been doing that forever."
Remembering Fayard Nicholas, born on this day in 1914 in Mobile, Alabama. Here he is dancing with his younger brother Harold in the 1943 film “Stormy Weather.”
Remembering Sister Rosetta Tharpe, gone 45 years today. When she was asked about music in the late 1960s, she said, "Oh, these kids and rock and roll — that is just sped up rhythm and blues. I've been doing that forever."
Dame Evelyn Glennie was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1965. Deaf since the age of 12, she taught herself to hear with parts of her body other than her ears. The virtuoso percussionist plays barefoot during live & studio recordings to feel the music.
Ballerina
@KittyPhetla
performing a rain dance in the middle of the nearly empty Theewaterskloof Dam in South Africa in 2017. About a week after her dancing at the reservoir, it started to rain in the Western Cape.
Remembering Sister Rosetta Tharpe, born on this day in 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. Here she is performing “Didn’t It Rain” at a train depot in Manchester, England in 1964.
Jaylin Chu is a musician from eastern China. In 2019, he moved to Limerick, Ireland to study Irish music. Here he is earlier this month performing “Bucks of Oranmore” on the Chinese instrument, the Hulusi.
R.I.P. Chick Corea, June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021. Here he is playing electric piano with Miles Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums in France in 1969.
Remembering Big Mama Thornton, born on this day in 1926 in Ariton, Alabama. Here she is performing "Hound Dog" in 1965 with Buddy Guy, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Lee Robinson and Fred Below.
Remembering John Lee Hooker, born on this day in 1917 in Tutwiler, Mississippi. Here he is performing “Boom Boom” at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963.
Remembering Glenn Gould, born on this day in 1932 in Toronto. Here he is performing Bach's Partita
#2
at his cottage in Uptergrove, Ontario in the 1958 documentary film “Off the Record.”
Remembering Roger Troutman, born 69 years ago this week in Hamilton, Ohio. Here he is in 1987 demonstrating the voice box technique he used to create his band Zapp’s song “Computer Love.”
Happy birthday to clarinetist Doreen Ketchens, born on this day in 1966 in New Orleans. Here she is performing on Royal Street in the French Quarter in 2018.
@doreenja
Remembering Nina Simone, born on this day in 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina. Here she is performing “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” in Montreux, Switzerland in 1976.
Happy birthday to Bootsy Collins, born on this day in 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Here he is sharing his formula for funk in the BBC series “Rockschool” from the 1980s.
R.I.P. Astrud Gilberto, March 29, 1940 - June 5, 2023. Here she is performing "The Girl from Ipanema" in 1964 with Stan Getz on tenor sax, Gary Burton on vibraphone, Gene Cherico on bass, and Joe Hunt on drums.
Remembering Django Reinhardt, born on this day in 1910 in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium. Here he is with violinist Stéphane Grappelli and their band the Quintette du Hot Club de France performing "J'Attendrai" in 1938.
Happy birthday to clarinetist Doreen Ketchens, born on this day in 1966 in New Orleans. Here she is performing "When the Saints Go Marching In" in 2012.
@doreenja
Remembering Celia Cruz, born on this day in 1925 in Havana, Cuba. Here she is performing "Guantanamera" with Johnny Pacheco at a sound check in Kinshasa in 1974.
Bass Tong performing recently in Nantes, France. He refers to his style of music as “acoustic techno,” which he produces using an instrument he named the Pipe Drum. It is made from PVC tubes and is played with flip-flops. His kit also includes a cajón, a hi-hat, and a snare drum.
Happy birthday to Dolly Parton, born on this day in 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee. Here she is performing "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy” at the Ryman Auditorium in 1969.
R.I.P. Kenny Rogers, August 21, 1938 - March 20, 2020. Here he is performing “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” with the First Edition in 1967.
Happy birthday to Sly Stone, born on this day in 1943 in Denton, Texas. Here’s Sly and the Family Stone performing “Everyday People” and “Dance to the Music” in 1969.
Remembering R.L. Burnside, born on this day in 1926 in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Here he is playing "See My Jumper Hanging on the Line" at his home in 1978. Thanks to Alan Lomax for filming this performance and
@CulturalEquity
for digitizing the film.
Remembering Cherry Wainer, born on this day in 1935 in East London, South Africa. Here she is on the Hammond organ with Don Storer on drums playing the “Peter Gunn” theme in 1966.
Los Luzeros de Rioverde is a Houston-based family band featuring siblings Yaxeni and Ricardo Rivera. Here they are performing “40 Cartas” in 2017.
@losluzeros
German musician Armin Küpper recently came across a set of large gas pipes while jogging. He returned with his saxophone so he could play with the delay and reverb. “This sound on the tube, in this loneliness, always gives me the feeling: Hey, you’re not alone there,” he said.
Remembering Celia Cruz, born on this day in 1925 in Havana, Cuba. Here she is singing with Tito Puente and Johnny Pacheco at Victor’s Cafe in New York City in 1988.
Remembering James Brown, born on this day in 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina. Here he is performing “Night Train” in Santa Monica, California in 1964.
Happy birthday to Bootsy Collins, born on this day in 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Here he is sharing his formula for funk in the BBC series “Rockschool” from the 1980s.