Happy Birthday, Clarence "Frogman" Henry!

R&B singer and pianist Clarence “Frogman” Henry was born in New Orleans on March 19, 1937, and is best known for his hits "Ain't Got No Home" (1956) and "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" (1961). Influenced by Fats Domino and Professor Longhair, Henry started learning piano as a child, and started playing professionally in 1952. One night that year, he improvised the song "Ain't Got No Home", using his trademark croak. He recorded it in Cosimo Matassa's studio in 1956, and it eventually rose to number 3 on the national R&B chart and number 20 on the US pop chart. This earned Henry his nickname of 'Frogman' and jump-started his career. Henry opened eighteen concerts for the Beatles across the US and Canada in 1964, but his main source of income came from performing on Bourbon Street, where he played for nineteen years. In 2007, Henry was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. He continues to draws adoring fans at the various events and festivals where he performs, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Today we join Clarence in celebrating his birthday! Many happy returns, Frogman! 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 3/17

Aaron Neville at The Canyon at The Rose in Pasadena on 3/13/20 & The Canyon at Agoura Hills on 3/14/20!

Aaron Neville recorded his first single in 1960, but it was his second single, six years later that first gave Neville a taste of stardom. “Tell It Like It Is” became a #2 pop hit and #1 R&B smash. In the late 70s, The Neville Brothers – Cyril, Charles, Art and Aaron – found success primarily on the touring circuit but also garnering attention for albums like their 1989 debut for A&M Records, Yellow Moon, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of that era. 1989 was also a very good year for Aaron’s solo career, as he had his fist real hit in 23 years with “Don’t Know Much,” a #2 pop smash that was one o several duets with Neville that Linda Ronstadt included on her album Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind.

For the quarter-century that followed, Neville deftly balanced the needs of dual group and solo careers. But eventually the demands of the road got to him. In 2012, the Neville Brothers played a farewell show at the Hollywood Bowl, then, feeling that their hometown deserved their real adieu, reunited in May 2015 for a “Nevilles Forever” all-star jam and goodbye blast in New Orleans during Jazz Fest.

Neville records and tours as a solo artist these days, and continues to satisfy and even amaze audiences around the world.

Happy Birthday, Terence Blanchard!

Trumpeter, composer and music educator Terence Blanchard was born in New Orleans on March 13, 1962, and began playing piano at age five, and trumpet at eight. His childhood friends in eluded Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and he studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. His composition teacher there was none other than Ellis Marsalis. Blanchard started his career in 1980 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed on more than fifty. He received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Score on Spike Lee's 2018 film BlacKkKlansman. From 2000 to 2011, Blanchard served as artistic director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In 2011 he was named artistic director of the Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami. In the fall of 2015 he was named a visiting scholar in jazz composition at Berklee College of Music. In 2019, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), named Blanchard their Endowed Chair in Jazz Studies, where he will remain until 2024. The Metropolitan Opera announced it will stage Blanchard's opera Fire Shut up In My Bones in their 2021-2022 Season, which will be the first production by a black composer staged by the Metropolitan Opera in the organization's 136-year history. Let’s wish the amazing Terence Blanchard a very happy birthday!

Photo by: jhderojas

Celebrating International Women's Day! 3/8

International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on the 8th of March every year around the world and is a focal point in the movement for women's rights. Celebrate, march, protest … do whatcha gotta do to promote women’s rights!

British poster for Women's Day March 1974

Aaron Neville at The Canyon at The Rose in Pasadena on 3/13/20 & The Canyon at Agoura Hills on 3/14/20!

Aaron Neville recorded his first single in 1960, but it was his second single, six years later that first gave Neville a taste of stardom. “Tell It Like It Is” became a #2 pop hit and #1 R&B smash. In the late 70s, The Neville Brothers – Cyril, Charles, Art and Aaron – found success primarily on the touring circuit but also garnering attention for albums like their 1989 debut for A&M Records, Yellow Moon, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of that era. 1989 was also a very good year for Aaron’s solo career, as he had his fist real hit in 23 years with “Don’t Know Much,” a #2 pop smash that was one o several duets with Neville that Linda Ronstadt included on her album Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind.

For the quarter-century that followed, Neville deftly balanced the needs of dual group and solo careers. But eventually the demands of the road got to him. In 2012, the Neville Brothers played a farewell show at the Hollywood Bowl, then, feeling that their hometown deserved their real adieu, reunited in May 2015 for a “Nevilles Forever” all-star jam and goodbye blast in New Orleans during Jazz Fest.

Neville records and tours as a solo artist these days, and continues to satisfy and even amaze audiences around the world.