December 5 - Bhumibol Adulyadej, titled Rama IX [ (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 5rd are here: Little Richard; Grace Moore (2019), Osvaldo Golijov (2020), Francesco Scarlatti (2021), José Carreras; Francesco Geminiani (2022), Henry Lawes (2023), and Francesco Scarlatti (2024)

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Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 1927 – 13 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 9 June 1946 until his death in 2016.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King of Swing

Bhumibol was an accomplished jazz saxophone player and composer, playing Dixieland and New Orleans jazz. He wrote a total of 49 compositions, much of it is jazz swing but he also composed marches, waltzes, and Thai patriotic songs. – adapted from Wikipedia

Said King Rama the Ninth when ruled over Thailand,

"I can do as I please, because this land is my land!"

So he learned to play jazz, quite a feat when you're royalty,

And his courtiers would listen with compulsory loyalty.

And the King played his sax in a style of his own,

As a way to relax after days on the throne.

 

 

 

 

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December 23 - Chet Baker (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 23rd are here: Chet Baker (2019), Mathilde Wesendonck (2020), Ross Lee Finney (2021), and José Greco (2022)

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Chet Baker (23 December 1929 – 13 May 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nocturne

As quiet music sets a mood

Romantic couples nibble food, —

The wistful trumpet of Chet Baker, –

The flash of the martini shaker.

How sad it is that jazz so cool

Is now a cheap designer’s tool

When clients give him the assignment

To set a vibe of louche refinement.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

December 21 - David Baker (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 21st are here: András Schiff; Michael Tilson Thomas (2019), Michael Tilson Thomas (2020), Frank Zappa; Werner von Trapp (2021), and Michael Tilson Thomas (2022)

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David Baker (21 December 1931 – 26 March 2016) was an American jazz composer, conductor, and musician, and educator, best known as a professor of jazz studies at the Indiana University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baker’s Dozen: A Tribute in Twelve Lines

David Baker, a performer, composer and educator who helped bring jazz studies into the academy at a time when the ivory tower considered the field infra dig… – New York Times obituary, March 29, 2016

In his own quiet way, David Baker

Lives on as a mover and shaker;

He proved from his base at IU

That jazz was a thing you could do

With suitable music school rigor,

And pursued it with affable vigor

In spite of the wild-eyed polemics

Of skeptical school academics;

And in spite of objections he heard

From jazzers who called it absurd,

And predicted that only anemia

Could result from a jazz academia.

 

 

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December 15 - Stan Kenton (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 15th are here: David Guion (2019), Ludwig van Beethoven [sic] (2020), A. P. Carter; Christoph Demantius (2021), and Michel Richard Delalande; Alan Freed (2022)

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Stan Kenton (15 December 1911 – 25 August 1979) was a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and band leader who led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gig

Though Kenton’s big band was arty and loud,

They never set out to disgruntle the crowd.

Their sound was a wall, and it powerfully plowed

Through any objections, and when they had wowed, ---

They ended the set with a flourish and bowed.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

 

November 29 - Billy Strayhorn; Gaetano Donizetti (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for November 29th are here: Gustave Reese; Gaetano Donizetti (2019), Gaetano Donizetti (2020), John Gary; Gaetano Donizetti (2021), and Gaetano Donizetti (2022)

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Billy Strayhorn (29 November 1915 – 31 May 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist,   and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gone Astray

Though Duke Ellington took credit for much of Strayhorn's work, he did not maliciously drown out his partner. Ellington would make jokes onstage like, "Strayhorn does a lot of the work but I get to take the bows!” – Wikipedia

It’s hard to imagine the Ellington band

Without Billy Strayhorn’s arrangements on hand,

And it wasn’t quite fair, though acknowledged aloud,

That he did the work, but Ellington bowed.

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪ 

Gaetano Donizetti (29 November 1797 - April 1848) was one of the most important and popular 
of nineteenth-century opera composers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Can't Miss It

In his operas, comic or grand,

He’s never insipid or bland,

But you’ll have to admit

After hearing a bit,

That subtlety wasn’t his brand!

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]