January 2023 – According to The Kidd

IS DEMOCRACY ON THE DECLINE IN THE U.S. ? – It’s complicated, and important.

STATUE OF LIBERTY
By Vrysxy – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12569772

PARADES OF GREY-SUITED GRAFTERS, A CHOICE OF CANCER AND POLIO (M.Jagger, K.Richard)

I read last week that Marjorie Taylor-Greene is the most probable choice to be the running mate of Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Presidential election in the United States. I live in Canada and what happens in the United States indirectly affects what happens here. Given how there is also talk about Republicans abandoning Trump, will they embrace DeSantis (who is as nasty as Trump but smarter), will DeSantis / Greene win in 2024? The democrats don’t seem to have a strong candidate in the wings, Biden is not particularly good at his job and his popularity waxes and wanes. Unfortunately the people who should be President of the United States, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or perhaps Elizabeth Warren (but not Hilary Clinton) are probably not electable. So, if DeSantis / Greene are victorious, will they act in accordance with what the majority of the people in America want? I doubt it. This is not democracy in action.

“It’s here the family’s broken, and it’s here the lonely say, that the heart has got to open in a fundamental way”

DEMOCRACY – Leonard Cohen – with an excellent backing band including Dino Soldo on mouth harp and the great Webb Sisters (Charley and Hattie) on vocals.

We hear quite a bit these days about the dangerous rapid decline of democracy in the United States. Are these alarmist exaggerations or is there some substance to the claims? After all democracy is declining pretty quickly in places like Poland and Hungary. Democracy is gone in North Korea, and I don’t think it was ever there in China. But what about the United States? When in doubt, look at the data:

In recent years some countries have become more democratic but others have become less, a process known as autocratization. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the UK-based company that publishes the highly esteemed newspaper The Economist, in 2016 the United States slipped down from being a ‘Full Democracy’ to being a ‘Flawed Democracy’. Will this trend continue? When did the factors causing this to happen first begin to emerge?

Donald Trump expressed his wish to have five African-American teenagers executed, after those same teenagers had been proven innocent of a crime they had been accused of. He bragged of sexually attacking women. He was known to refuse to pay workers for work done. And so many other things. All this before the 2016 election. I like to think that the number of Americans who disapprove of this behaviour outnumber those who are okay with it. Yet he won in 2016. Yes, I know that Hilary Clinton received three million more votes than Trump but the Trump victory stood. As it was it was disgusting that he got as many votes as he did given that he was not only nasty, but incompetent. The will of the people was not reflected in the 2016 election. We can thank the Electoral College, and the Primaries, for that.

This week eleven people died in a mass shooting in California, then a few days later seven more people died in a second mass shooting. Then there was Uvalde, and Sandy Hook, and so many others, including many incidents of individual handgun-related murders, accidental deaths and suicides. I know that the pro-gun lobby say that they are as appalled as the anti-gun lobby at these killings but there is hard and fast evidence that the pro-gun lobby’s assertions regarding how to stop these killings are simply wrong. On the other hand polls tell us that the majority of Americans want tougher gun control legislation. No such legislation exists. The will of the people has been stymied again and lots of people are dying unnecessarily because of it. One could also talk about reproductive rights, capital punishment and other issues. The United States is clearly not democratic. What’s going on?

I have heard it argued that when the United States was born it was anything but a democracy. For a start, all women, and all African-Americans had no legal right to the vote. African-Americans were in fact designated as being three-fifths of a human being. Some would say that the American nation was founded by a group of rich white males whose aim was to maintain their own power and control over the economy and the populace in general. Eight of the early presidents were slave owners, for example. That’s a complicated matter for a separate post. It is true, however, that lies have been circulated regarding the founding fathers, a group of flawed human beings worshipped as minor gods by many Americans. Many of the founding fathers were deists, for example, and they also may not have had the best interests of the average person in mind when they designed their new nation. Even if one grants that the United States at least attempted to become more democratic over the centuries since its inception, there are signs that it is no longer doing so. People have suggested various points at which the United States ceased to aspire toward democracy and started to become an autocracy:

The pardoning of Richard Nixon after Watergate
Letting Ronald Reagan off the hook after Contragate
The Supreme Court stealing the presidency from Al Gore
President Obama letting the banks off the hook in 2008 followed by the creation of the Tea Party Movement in 2009
The election of Donald Trump

Why didn’t people riot in the streets when Nixon was pardoned? He was pardoned by the Republican Party. Why, after the pardon, didn’t every eligible voter (except the few who were on Nixon’s side) who voted in an election for Senate, House of Representative, Governor, Dog Catcher and so on simply refuse to vote for a Republican? The same with Trump and all the rest. Some of the phenomena which work to undermine democracy:

Neoliberalism
Neoconservatism
Government support for the interests of corporations coupled with anti-union activity
The loosening of campaign finance laws (e.g. the Citizens United decision)
Rising inequality in wealth and political influence
The rise of Christian nationalism / white supremacy
The erosion of reproductive rights
The rise of the conservative judiciary (assisted by the Federalist Society)
The refusal to accept legitimate electoral outcomes
Voter suppression
Lack of meaningful gun control legislation
Increasing intolerance toward the LGBTQI community
The influence of Fox News, Newsmax and One America News

Are any or all of these things happening in the United States? Are they happening with greater frequency and intensity than previously? Will they continue to happen?

On the other hand, what does democracy look like? What forms can democracy take, and are those forms commonplace in the United States? Are they diminishing? How present are they compared with other countries? Democratic institutions and practices include freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and internet democracy for a start, all of which will help to ensure that the electorate are well informed so that they can vote in their own interest. Other aspects of democracy include freedom of assembly and association, freedom of religion, inclusiveness, consent of the governed, voting rights and minority rights.

Dilemmas also arise. What if the voice of some of the people want to take away the voice of some other people? According to a Jardina and Mickey poll in 2022 approximately a third of Americans want “a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with Congress or elections”, and approximately one quarter were actually in favour of military rule. If those minorities become majorities than the United States will have become de facto anti-democratic. Are the people expressing these views working against their own self-interest? Is it tribal warfare we’re talking about?

Furthermore, in recent years many voters in the United States have complained quite justifiably that there’s not a lot of point in voting if both choices are terrible (or if their vote isn’t even counted). Of course it is still essential to vote despite lack of choice since a nasty powerful politician can be far worse for the citizenry than a mediocre politician. Though third parties have come and gone, with little effect and staying power, there remain only two choices, Democrats or Republicans. In Canada there are three viable parties federally and even more regionally. So in the United States many eligible voters stay at home.

“Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter, His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows”

SALT OF THE EARTH – The Rolling Stones back in the day when they were much more political, and worth listening to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOiLH-2hTPQ&ab_channel=ABKCOVEVO

But all is not lost. Many Americans are pushing back against those attempting to dismantle their democracy. I have just finished reading ‘One Person, No Vote; by Carol Anderson. It does a comprehensive job of detailing and analysing the process of voter oppression primarily against African-Americans, but also against the poor generally, in the United States. Despite the long and bloody history of preventing African-Americans from voting, an oppressive process carried out with more subtlety now than in previous decades but still going on, I was impressed by the response to those anti-democratic initiatives. The African-American response has been well-organized, determined, strong and courageous, with many lives lost along the way, but it has also had considerable success. There is presently a long list of organizations working skilfully to dismantle voter suppression. This is impressive.

Throughout history there have been attempts to establish democracies but remember that many states that called themselves democracies, and had legislation promoting democracy, were democratic in name only, and their pro-democracy laws were either never enforced, or enforced selectively only against the poor and minorities. It was not uncommon for political leaders to pretend to lead democratically as a way of keeping people from rebelling when in fact they knew, and were all right with the moneyed classes, and, as capitalism developed, the corporate elites, pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Things are not always what they seem. Back when it was a country, the extremely undemocratic East Germany’s official name was ‘Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic)’. In Russia Vladimir Lenin basically invented what has been called democratic centralism in 1902 (in his work ‘What Is To Be Done?’) but Russia has been not just undemocratic but anti-democratic for about a century. By the way Russia also calls itself Communist but according to classical Marxist theory Russia has been very uncommunistic for over a century as well. It is categorized as Authoritarian by the EIU.

“I support the left, though I’m leaning to the right”

POLITICIAN – Cream – 2005

Democratic centralism is also specifically enshrined in the Constitution of present day China (Article 3) but there isn’t very much democracy in China. It became somewhat less autocratic with the clandestine ground-breaking appearance of anti-collectivist music by Cui Jian, the emergence of yaogun into the mainstream, and the rise of bands such as Tang Dynasty and Cobra. However, China is still anything but democratic. It is categorized as Authoritarian by the EIU.

“Boss man, Boss man, what do you say, gonna get you alone in the mine some day”:

BOSS MAN – Gordon Lightfoot

Some have also declared that capitalism is by its nature undemocratic, and those in power in the United States have taken capitalism to whole new levels. It’s certainly true that advanced capitalism is anti-union and would never abide by phenomena such as worker-owned businesses. Capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production designed to generate profit. It requires competitive markets and if they can’t be found domestically then you end up with imperialism and colonialism (and the mass murder and atrocities that often go with them), and the exploitation of foreign labour to the detriment of domestic workers. Capitalism also gives us periodic depressions and recessions – it’s built into the system. The rampant materialism of profit-driven corporatism has invaded the political sphere and things like human rights, economic equality and an equitable distribution of power and influence have all been ignored. And how exactly do advanced monopoly capitalist regimes maintain control, and keep the dissenters in the Labour Movement, and the spiritual leaders in the Liberation Theology Movement, from making progress in their attempts to dismantle corporate networks? The methods of the powers that be often include misdirection and racism, cynicism, even patriotic armed conflict:

MISDIRECTION

“To keep up his hate, so he never thinks straight, ‘bout the shape that he’s in”

ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME – Bob Dylan (Note: Medgar Evers was a prominent Civil Rights activist who was the victim of assassination)

CYNICISM

“ ‘Til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all”

WORKING CLASS HERO – John Lennon

PATRIOTIC ARMED CONFLICT

“The patriot’s dream is as old as the sky, it lives in the lust of a cold callous lie”

THE PATRIOT’S DREAM – Gordon Lightfoot

That’s unregulated capitalism, and deregulation gathered steam under President Reagan and has continued to thrive under more recent Republican regimes. But what about regulated capitalism? Or mixed economies and socialist financial structures? The word ‘socialism’ is one of those words, like ‘democracy’ itself, which is an umbrella term for a wide range of possibilities. Socialism, if nothing else, is clearly more democratic than straight capitalism given that the nations that hover around the top of the list of the world’s most democratic states are at least partially socialist. By the way, many right wing politicians also equate socialism with communism, of course, intentionally, as a scare tactic, when they are in fact quite different. American conservatives also talk about dangerous leftists in the Democratic Party when in fact the Democratic Party in America is to the right of centre on the Canadian political spectrum. It is laughable.

There are some who are not in favour of democracy. Plato didn’t believe in democratic ideals at all. He was a great philosopher, but guess who he thought should be in charge of society? Philosophers. What a surprise. Read all about Philosopher Kings (not the Canadian rock band) in Plato’s ‘Republic’ (Part III, Book V, Chapter XVIII). However democracy to my mind is the best way to go but to do that you need to have an electorate who have been trained in critical thinking at school, who have access to complete and accurate information about the political environment, and who are incentivised to use that information. People need to know how to vote in their own best interest. They need to vote using logic not emotion, policies not personalities.

But not to despair. Democracy is still alive and kicking in the world. According to the Varieties of Democracy Institute (an independent research institute) which has ranked nations on scales of electoral democracy, participatory democracy, liberal democracy, deliberative democracy and egalitarian democracy, the five most democratic nations in the world are, in descending order, Denmark, Sweden, Costa Rica, Norway and New Zealand. Other countries in the top twenty include Canada, Finland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and The Netherlands. These are all categorized as full democracies. Number thirty-three on the list is the United States, lower than countries such as Argentina and Slovakia. The EIU ranks Canada at 12, with the United States at twenty-six on the list of the most democratic nations.

So, time will tell whether the United States can move from being a Flawed Democracy back up into the Full Democracy category, or whether it will continue down the road to autocracy. For now:

“You mothafuckas owe me, Grandma told me, Get your money black man”)

THIS IS AMERICA – Childish Gambino (2018)

“When I think of the road we’re travelling on, I wonder what’s gone wrong”

AMERICAN TUNE – Paul Simon (1975)

I don’t know what to think when all is said and done. I see millions of American voters elect an openly boastful sexual predator, a grifter and racist, to be president in 2016. I see far too much racism, misogyny and xenophobia on the rise. The electorate are grasping at straws. But I also see plenty of anonymous Americans working hard to push back against the decline of democracy. The undemocratic legal framework in place, the cultural impetus to be cynical and resigned, the widespread misinformation being disseminated, and the growing economic inequality designed to distract people from an accurate assessment of the power structure, all make it difficult to make progress.

“Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried” – Winston Churchill, Nov. 11, 1947, in the House of Commons

I am no fan of Churchill. He was a racist, an imperialist and a staunch monarchist, but I give him full credit for this quote. After capably leading Britain to victory in World War Two as Prime Minister he was voted out of office democratically in 1945 when the British citizenry in their wisdom voted Clement Attlee in as Prime Minister for Labour. This quote comes after Churchill’s defeat. No complaints from him about election fraud.

I’d recommend something revolutionary except that all the revolutions I’m aware of ultimately failed. The Russian Revolution in 1917, and the revolution in China in 1949, led to disaster and tragedy on a massive scale despite good intentions. Better not to heed Elton John’s advice (burn down the mission). If you decide to stage a second American Revolution, good luck to you.

“There’ll be fighting in the streets, with our children at our feet”

WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN – The Who in 2000 – with Noel Gallagher of Oasis – at the Royal Albert Hall:

GHOST STORY 6 – Marching to Different Drums

THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT BY CHARLES DICKENS – ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH

A series of posts about important people long ago whose names are either forgotten, or were never well-known in the first place. The posts may also deal with little known aspects of the lives of famous people no longer alive.

Give this track a listen if you would. This well-crafted video starts quietly then takes off after the first minute. It’s from the group Fun and is an example of military drumming, sort of – the music features prominent drumming throughout though the drummer is only visible now and again.

This post is about some very important drummers who are no longer alive and who many people today have probably forgotten. The three basic elements of music are Melody, Harmony and Rhythm. This post is about rhythm, and about people who play rhythm instruments. Drums have been used prominently in military displays for centuries, as in this short example:

There are rattle drums, hourglass drums, tsuzumi drums, goblet drums, tamburas, tablas, kettle drums, congas and tympanis There are famous drummers such as Taylor Hawkins and Sheila E., but this post will look at highly skilled drummers from the past who are largely unfamiliar today. I’ve also thrown in three great living drummers at the end but two of them are essentially invisible in North America so they may as well be ghosts, and a third whose talents have been rendered invisible.

GINGER BAKER (1939 – 2019)

British drummer Ginger Baker was a masterful drummer of jazz, rock and world music and he was a member of rock’s first supergroup, Cream. He later spent years in Africa fronting his own band, and collaborating with the famous and infamous Fela Kuti. He was also addicted to heroin for years and was known for his irascible personality and his self-destructive behaviour, yet miraculously he made it to the age of eighty. Almost all rock drum solos in his day were boring but his never were.

1. Here is a track from Cream in 1993, featuring Ginger Baker, as well as the virtuoso bassist Jack Bruce. This is in 4/4 time but Baker is playing it in 2/4 time – watch him at 2m5s, then at 3m45s to the end – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUGOXnzn8bI&ab_channel=Rock%26RollHallofFame

2. Here is Cream in 2005 at the Royal Albert Hall – Ginger Baker takes lead vocals here on ‘Pressed Rat and Warthog’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_txpe6Ie2Nk&ab_channel=theeshrimpking

B.J. WILSON (1947 – 1990)

The original drummer for Procol Harum, the band that invented symphonic rock, Wilson was creative without bombast. He was Jimmy Page’s first choice for drummer in his new group Led Zeppelin but Wilson turned him down. Wilson was 43 when he died. He attempted to commit suicide with drugs when he was forty but instead went into a coma, finally dying three years later of pneumonia.

1. When the leader of Procol Harum, Gary Brooker, released this solo track, ‘Ghost Train’, he enlisted the aid of Wilson and his drumming on the track is dynamic (the visuals here are excellent as well). Notice how for most of the track one set of instruments is supplying eight beats to the bar, another is providing four, and another two, all simultaneously (Gary Brooker wrote the arrangement) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD6vjeR6hGo&ab_channel=Marbeat

2. Here is Procol Harum back in 1973 in Belgium doing ‘Power Failure’ featuring a drum solo by Wilson starting at the 1 minute 15 second mark – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ZfeiXUk_U&ab_channel=BrunoSamppa

CHICK WEBB (1905 – 1939)

Chick Webb was a jazz drummer and bandleader who cheerfully made the best of a tragic life. A childhood accident crushed several vertebrae in his back which led to tuberculosis of the spine leaving him with a short stature and deformed spine giving him a hunchbacked appearance. He didn’t let that stop him. He was only eleven when he began his professional life and by twenty-one he was leading his own band in Harlem. Webb used a complicated custom-made drum kit and became known for his powerful technique and virtuoso performances, and he held his own against the great bandleaders of his day. Such jazz legends as Duke Ellington and the first superstar drummer Gene Krupa cited Webb’s complex solos and powerful energy as important influences. When his health went into decline during the Great Depression Webb kept performing while in great pain in order to give his musicians much-needed employment. He died of complications from tuberculosis of the spine at the age of 34. Almost no footage exists of Webb performing. Here is a recording of Webb playing My Wild Irish Rose in 1938:

LEVON HELM (1940 – 2012)

The Band was one of the best rock bands to come out of Canada and four of the five members were Canadian but one, Levon Helm, was American. Richard Manuel was drummer on some of The Band’s tracks but their best drummer was Helm. He was also one of the group’s four (!) lead vocalists. Here he is singing and drumming on ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ in 1978 at The Band’s final concert – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsdUzN20Sow&ab_channel=Movieclips

GENE KRUPA (1909 – 1973)

Gene Krupa was the first superstar drummer. He was dominant playing with The Benny Goodman Orchestra during the famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert at which, they say, Jazz became respectable. Krupa later formed his own orchestra. Here Krupa plays an abbreviated version of the Louis Prima arrangement of ‘Sing Sing Sing’ which was the highlight of the Carnegie Hall concert. Notice how fast Krupa is playing, and he’s in his fifties here. He plays both softly and loudly, with strong off-beats, and at one point he strikes one drumstick with the other repeatedly, followed by the cowbell, and he’s also not afraid of letting his sidemen solo as well – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyAUKU_ImNg&ab_channel=TheEdSullivanShow

CHARLIE WATTS (1941 – 2021)

Watts was one of the original members of The Rolling Stones. As many have said, the main reason the Stones were so successful was because they had a solid rhythm section in Charlie on drums and Bill Wyman on bass. Throughout their career the Stones were famous for excessive use of drugs and a hedonistic lifestyle. Not so Charlie. While the others partied Charlie preferred to spend his time at home with his longtime wife Shirley whom he married in 1964. They remained married for almost sixty years, until Charlie’s death. Charlie’s first love was jazz and he led his own jazz band, The Charlie Watts Quintet, on the side as well as playing with the Stones. Charlie was also trained as a graphics designer. On this track the camera stays on Charlie:

The Rolling Stones – ‘Monkey Man’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3FUA0Hj7fI&ab_channel=55qwerty

KEITH MOON (1946 – 1978)

Known as Moon the Loon, Keith Moon was famous for his wild behaviour and intense drumming but he was also highly skilled and innovative. The Who often ended their sets by destroying their musical instruments and Moon did this by planting explosives in his drum kit. Moon, unfortunately, was also known for his drinking and drug use, sometimes passing out on stage during a performance. While under the influence he also killed his friend Neil Boland, driving over him in his car. Moon died at the age of thirty-two in the flat of singer Harry Nilsson in London. Four years earlier, in exactly the same flat, Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas and Papas had also died. She was thirty-two, the same age as Moon. Two tracks:

1. The Who – ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ – note the strongly political lyrics, and the technique of John Entwistle (who always looks bored) considered to be the most technically brilliant of the rock bassists – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts193VvyDGw

2. The Who – ‘Who Are You’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNbBDrceCy8

WARREN ‘BABY’ DODDS (1898 – 1959)

When Warren Dodds was playing with another teenager named Louis Armstrong, Dodds was already breaking new ground, modifying the traditional marching style of drumming, playing drum rims and hitting cymbals with sticks which no one had done before. It was also his idea to add a ride cymbal to his kit, and he invented the hi-hat cymbal. He was one of the first to play the broken-triple beat which has since become standard, and he popularized Chinese cymbals. He was able to play classical and popular music as well as playing jazz, and was a highly influential jazz pioneer. Here is a rare recording from 1947 with the great Jack Teagarden on trombone and Muggsy Spanier on trumpet – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RhUOzy7urs

JOE MORELLO (1928 – 2011)

Quiet self-effacing Joe Morello is the best drummer on this list IMHO, and was one of those people who simply overflowed with natural musical talent. His father was born in France, his mother was born in Canada, and they encouraged his musical efforts early on. He suffered from partial vision from birth but he learned to play the violin at six and he was only nine when he was the featured soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. But he preferred drumming. When Dave Brubeck was putting together the most famous version of his quartet he selected Morello first he was so impressed by him. It was only when Morello joined the group that they were able to play Brubeck’s compositions in unusual time signatures such as 5/4, 7/4, 11/4 and 13/4 because no other drummer was capable of improvising naturally using those patterns. During performances Brubeck did something I’ve never seen anyone else do. Brubeck was usually at the piano with his back to Morello but when Morello went into a drum solo Brubeck would stop playing, turn round and watch and listen to Morello he was always so impressed by what Morello could do. The first jazz recording to sell a million copies was the group’s recording of ‘Take Five’, in 5/4 time, which featured a solo by Morello. Here are four tracks by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in unusual time signatures – see if you can follow the beat patterns:

1. ‘Castilian Drums’ in 5/4 time – the drum solo starts at the 2 minute 10 second mark – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULLvIlgl20Q

2. ‘Take Five’ in 5/4 time – The drum solo starts at the 1 minute 51 second mark –

3. ‘World’s Fair’ in 13/4 time (in a 3 3 2 2 3 pattern, except for two bars) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjUL33Pnq4

4. ‘Three’s a Crowd’ in 7/4 time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUTfyeMHA2g

This track has more complexities to it than any string quartet by Mozart. A detailed analysis of this piece can be found in one of my earlier posts, here, near the beginning – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2021/10/06/music-to-your-wars-3-listen-up/

JOHN BONHAM (1948 – 1980)

Bonham was known for his hard-hitting style and his versatility, he could play hard rock as well as funk and Latin music, and he also played congas, timpani drums and a gong on tour. He was the solid foundation of Led Zeppelin, one of the most influential pioneering hard rock bands of the 1970’s. He also recorded with many other great artists. In September 1980 he was recovering from a heroin problem and drinking heavily, as well as taking drugs for anxiety and depression. After drinking an unusually large amount of vodka over a twenty-four hour period he passed out and died, choking on his own vomit. He was thirty-two.

Here is Led Zeppelin in 1973 at Madison Square Gardens doing a shorter number – The Ocean – notice that the song goes back and forth between a 15 beat pattern and a straight 4/4 time signature, then at the 3 minute mark the song finishes up with a 2/4 rock and roll riff.

TONY ALLEN (1940 – 2020)

Tony Allen basically invented Afrobeat, and he was Fela Kuti’s drummer and Musical Director for more than a decade. His influences included polyrhythmic Juju (Yoruba) music and highlife jazz, as well as American jazz (Max Roach and Art Blakey) and the drumming of Kofi Ghanaba. Later he formed his own band and invented Afrofunk. He could effortlessly maintain four distinct rhythm patterns with his hands and feet simultaneously.

1. The five major drum patterns of Afrobeat – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnxL66aHWsI&ab_channel=RestInBeats

2. The track ‘Go Back’ also featuring Damon Albarn – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-hMkHkoFrU&ab_channel=TonyAllenAfrobeat

Finally, three living ghosts. Two of these people are extremely good, but I doubt if you have ever heard of them.

YURIKO SEKI (aka MIMI) played drums in the band Tokyo Groove Jyoshi put together by the legendary bass player / vocalist Juna Serita. Two clips from Yuriko Seki:

1. Seki here with the legendary bassist Juna Serita – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2CWirEskL8&ab_channel=JunaSerita

2. Seki in the spotlight alone – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFa0pqhFEVY&ab_channel=%E9%96%A2%E5%84%AA%E6%A2%A8%E5%AD%90YURIKOSEKI

MATT CHAMBERLAIN is a producer, songwriter, and session drummer who has worked with Pearl Jam and David Bowie among many others. Two tracks:

1. This Fiona Apple track solo is the best drum solo I’ve heard in fifty-four years. The drumming is interesting from 37 seconds on and the solo starts at 2 minutes 5 seconds – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfTNpbraBbI&ab_channel=fionaappleVEVO

2. Here he goes back and forth between 7/4, 4/4 and 6/4 time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU9flx-1Vz0&ab_channel=YamahaDrums%28Official%29

The third ghost is a very famous drummer but also a very under-rated one. His considerable skills are, like a ghost, almost invisible. I won’t go into detail on the various innovations he has come up with, and his various other achievements, but the drumming on the rock track included here is unlike any other, it is under-stated but very thoughtful, and it fits the song perfectly well. The drummer, born and raised in Dingle, the toughest slum in northern England, is Ringo Starr (real name: Richard Starkey), the sanest member of The Beatles. Here is the track – the drums don’t start until 47 seconds in (notice what he does at the 2 minute 20 second mark behind the lyric “Woke up, fell out of bed” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usNsCeOV4GM&ab_channel=TheBeatlesVEVO .

His son Zak Starkey has played drums as a member of both The Who and of Oasis.

Finally, there’s this:

RICK ALLEN – DRUMMER WITH DEF LEPPARD – HE LOST ONE ARM IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
By Raph_PH – A cropped version of File:DefLappardO2061218-51 (49913641228).jpg, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99232024

OTHER DRUMMERS OF NOTE, LIVING AND DEAD

I am not including Buddy Rich here; although he had a great reputation his drumming style was all flash with little subtlety. He was also a bully and an egotistical asshole, so fuck him. Some other noteworthy drummers:

Rick Allen (Def Leppard) – a one-armed drummer
Barriemore Barlow (Jethro Tull)
Louie Bellson
Cindy Blackman (Lenny Kravitz)
Jim Capaldi (Traffic)
Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters)
Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five)
Cozy Cole (Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong)
Phil Collins (Genesis)
Stewart Copeland (The Police)
Micky Dolenz (The Monkees)
Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane)
Sly Dunbar (Sly and Robbie)
Sheila E. (Prince)
Graeme Edge (The Moody Blues)
Jon Farriss (INXS)
D.J. Fontana (Elvis Presley)
Michael Giles (King Crimson)
Jim Gordon (Derek and the Dominoes)
Dave Grohl (Nirvana and Foo Fighters)
Alex Van Halen (Van Halen)
Bobbye Hall (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Bill Withers, Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, Dolly Parton and many others)
Chico Hamilton (The Chico Hamilton Trio)
Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters)
Don Henley (The Eagles)
Jon Hiseman (Colosseum)
Brie Howard (Fanny)
Jack Irons (The Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Elvin Jones (John Coltrane)
Kenney Jones (The Faces, The Small Faces, The Who)
Jim Keltner (Ry Cooder, The Travelling Wilburys)
Russ Kunkel (James Taylor, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne)
Honey Lantree (The Honeycombs)
Shelly Manne
Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)
Nigel Olsson (Elton John, Uriah Heep)
Ian Paice (Deep Purple)
Neil Peart (Rush)
Jason Pierce (Our Lady Peace, Paramore, Justin Bieber)
Jeff Porcaro (Toto)
Cozy Powell (The Jeff Beck Group, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
Max Roach
Patty Schemel (Hole)
Bon Scott (AC/DC)
Phil Seamen (Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Big Bill Broonzy)
Philip Selway (Radiohead)
Ed Shaughnessy (Doc Severinson)
Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie)
Michael Shrieve (Santana)
Zutty Singleton (Louis Armstrong)
Henry Spinetti (Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney)
Grady Tate (Quincy Jones, The New York Jazz Quartet)
Roger Taylor (Duran Duran)
A different Roger Taylor (Queen)
Ed Thigpen (The Oscar Peterson Trio)
Dave Tough (Woody Herman)
Maureen Tucker (Velvet Underground)
Twink (i.e. John Alder) (The Pretty Things)
Lars Ulrich (Metallica)
Max Weinberg (The E Street Band)
Meg White (The White Stripes)
Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys)

PREVIOUS GHOST STORIES:

1 – Houdini’s Secret Army and The Decline of Democracy – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2022/11/19/ghost-story-1-houdinis-secret-army-and-the-decline-of-democracy/

2 – The Power of the Spirit – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2022/11/25/ghost-story-2-the-power-of-the-spirit/

3 – A Slaughterhouse, a Melancholy Dane, an Impossible Cat and a Cambridge Apostle – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2022/12/02/ghost-story-3-a-slaughterhouse-a-melancholy-dane-an-impossible-cat-and-a-cambridge-apostle/

4 – Tickling the Ivories 1 –

GHOST STORY 4 – Tickling the Ivories 1

5 – Tickling the Ivories 2 –

GHOST STORY 5 – Tickling the Ivories 2

GHOST STORY 5 – Tickling the Ivories 2

MARLEY’S GHOST from A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens – By Arthur Rackham – Swann Galleries, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46238171

This post is about keyboard instruments and the ghosts that play them. The previous post was about male pianists. This one is about female pianists.

What do you think of this (Cleo Brown is both singing and playing piano)?

You’re My Fever – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKI6Iet7bzo&ab_channel=warhol soup100

CLEO BROWN (1909 – 1995)

Brown was an accomplished singer and stride piano player. Some have compared her great technique to that of accomplished players such as Art Tatum and Fats Waller. Born in Mississippi, Brown began playing piano as a child in church, and later she took lessons from her brother who worked with ‘Pinetop’ Smith playing boogie woogie piano in dance halls. She worked in Vaudeville and in clubs, and in 1935 replaced Fats Waller on radio in New York. From the 1930’s to the 1950’s she toured and recorded. On the West Coast a young up and coming unknown musician named Dave Brubeck played during the intermissions of her shows. He has talked about watching her intently during those shows, studying her playing with great admiration. Later he composed and recorded the song ‘Sweet Cleo Brown’ in tribute to her. Here is another short but energetic early track from Cleo Brown:

Here Comes Cookie – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ytLOWfyTqs&ab_channel=warholsoup100

HAZEL SCOTT (1920 – 1981)

Hazel Scott was born in Trinidad but moved to the United States when she was four. She was a musical prodigy and was invited to study at the prestigious Juilliard School when she was only eight. She was already performing on the radio at sixteen, and she performed with the Count Basie Orchestra while still in her teens. In the 1940’s she took major roles in several big budget feature films. By 1945 her annual salary exceeded a million dollars (in today’s money) and in 1950 she became the first African-American to host her own television show. On tour she refused to play before segregated audiences, in films refused to play servants or maids, and in 1949 she successfully sued a Washington restaurant for refusing to serve her because she was black. In 1950 she appeared before the House Un-American Committee charged with being a Communist. She wasn’t. Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, Harry Belafonte and others were accused in a similar fashion. However as a result her television show was cancelled and work was hard to find. So she moved to France where she was quite successful.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN (RIGHT) WITH ALBERT EINSTEIN IN 1931
By Publisher: Photoplay Publishing page 2 – Photoplay page 36, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28249538

Here Scott plays the opening of Frederic Chopin’s famously difficult ‘Waltz in D Flat Major’ aka The ‘Minute Waltz’ note for noting before turning it into a jazz improvisation at the 30 second mark:

NINA SIMONE (1933 – 2003)

Born to a poor family of eight children in North Carolina, her mother was a Methodist preacher. Simone herself made it to the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and learned to play classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and pop music, then went on to play piano in nightclubs to support herself. She taught herself how to sing as well and ended up recording forty albums between 1948 and 1974 as both singer and pianist.

NINA SIMONE 1969
By Gerrit de Bruin – http://amazingnina.com/presskit.html, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57893728

On June 12, 1963, Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers was gunned down, and three months later the KKK bombed the 16^th Street Baptist Church and killed four young African-American children. These events prompted Simone to compose and record ‘Mississippi Goddam’ which was banned in the southern United States. She also co-wrote ‘Mr. Backlash Blues’ with poet, activist, novelist, playwright, columnist Langston Hughes, the leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Simone spoke at Civil Rights marches, supported Malcolm X, and counted Stokely Carmichael and James Baldwin among her friends. The dangerous negative response in the U.S. to her activities led her to flee to Barbados, then to Liberia, London, Paris, Amsterdam and other places outside the U.S. Two highly political songs from Nina Simone:

1. ‘Mississippi Goddam’ performed in Sweden in 1965 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLcoKebBg2g&ab_channel=Derek

2. ‘Mr. Backlash Blues’ performed in England in 1968 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciROMLNlhxs&ab_channel=BGB

PIANISTS ALICE HERZ-SOMMER AND LUIZA BORAC IN 2010
By Luiza Borac – This file has been extracted from another file, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69160212

ALICE HERZ-SOMMER (1903 – 2014)

Alice was born in Prague, her mother was highly educated and was friends with Franz Kafka, Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud, all of whom visited when Alice was growing up. The great Austrian concert pianist Artur Schnabel encouraged Alice to pursue her aspirations as a concert pianist. She began concertizing but when the Nazis rose to power she and her family were arrested and sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp where her mother and husband died. At that camp Alice’s talent was put to good use and she gave over 100 concerts there playing for hopeless, sick, hungry people many of whom would have died without those concerts. In later life she played the piano three hours a day until she died at the age of 110. She remained optimistic about life to the end, and refused to dwell on her past sufferings. Films have been made about her, and the introduction to her biography was written by former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

By No photographer credited. – "Three Noted Artists to Record for Duo Art" Music Trades (October 1, 1921): 31., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69610911

DAME MYRA HESS (1890 – 1965)

During The Blitz in World War Two the German Luftwaffe bombarded Great Britain with great power and ferocity. Internationally known British concert pianist Myra Hess contributed to the boosting of the morale of the besieged nation by giving free lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. She gave over 1698 concerts attended by 824 152 people, and never took a cent. In gratitude King George VI created her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. One of the works Hess performed at those concerts during the Blitz was her own arrangement of Bach’s ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’. The story goes that during the war a newsman heard a soldier whistling Bach’s ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’ while travelling on a train. The surprised newsman asked the soldier if he was interested in Bach. The man replied indignantly “That’s no Bach. That’s Myra Hess”.

In the 1920’s she gave lessons to a brilliant young pianist named Elizabeth Ivey. Ivey aspired to be a concert pianist herself but when she married her husband insisted that she abandon her career. However she had a son named David, she taught him music, and he would go on to revolutionize jazz and create a great body of work consisting of a synthesis jazz and classical music. Elizabeth Ivey’s married name was Elizabeth Brubeck.

AN ARRANGEMENT BY MYRA HESS OF BACH’S ‘JESU JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING’

LIL HARDIN (1898 – 1971)

Lil Hardin was a pianist, composer, arranger and singer, and she also formed her own band. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the grand-daughter of a slave. She learned how to play classical music as well as hymns and spirituals, and later completed a music degree from Fisk University in 1917, and 12 years later a post-graduate degree from the New York College of Music. She was playing in King Oliver’s band in Chicago when Oliver brought a new musician into his band, an unsophisticated unknown passive trumpeter named Louis Armstrong. Hardin took Louis under her wing, recognizing his immense talent, taught him how to become more in tune with the musical community, and encouraged him to aspire to greater things than playing second trumpet in King Oliver’s Band. Lil and Louis were married and she collaborated with Louis on many of his greatest recordings.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG 1936
By Maud Cuney-Hare, 1874-1936 – Negro musicians and their music by Maud Cuney-Hare. Washington, D.C.: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1936, p. 154. Copyright not renewed., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41831786

After Lil and Louis were divorced in 1938 they remained friends and she had a successful solo career leading various bands of her own and composing hits for Armstrong, Ray Charles and even Beatle Ringo Starr. Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack in July 1971 and Lil attended his funeral as a friend of the family. Just a month later Lil Hardin herself also died of a heart attack. Here is a track called ‘Doin’ The Suzie Q’, composed and arranged by Hardin, who also sings and plays the piano on the track – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1iOUQ_YIYQ&ab_channel=warholsoup100

MARIA MOZART (1751 – 1829)

Maria Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria and when she was seven her father Leopold took her on tour as a child prodigy playing the harpsichord and the piano. The tour included all the major European capitals, and Maria was often given top billing. She toured with her younger brother, a lad named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, someone who, with Bach and Beethoven, historians describe as the three greatest European classical composers.

MARIA MOZART
By Unidentified painter – from enwiki, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=512481

When she reached eighteen her father believed she was of marriageable age so she was no longer allowed to perform. Though she wanted to marry Franz d’Ippold Leopold disapproved so instead she married Leopold’s choice, an older magistrate with five children from a previous marriage. She had three children of her own as well, and one of them, named Leopold after his grandfather, was taken from Maria and raised by Leopold as his attempt at raising another Wolfgang Amadeus. In her declining years Maria became blind, languid, exhausted, feeble and nearly speechless. Wolfgang had always admired Maria and they had been close as children. We know that Maria composed music because Wolfgang praised her work in letters to her but none of her compositions survive.

Here are profiles of two other pianists, both living, which I couldn’t resist including because one, to my mind, is the most talented classical pianist (male or female) on the planet, and the other is the most talented jazz pianist (male or female) on the planet.

HIROMI UEHARA

Uehara is a Japanese pianist and composer known for her incredible technique and engaging, energetic personality. She is able to play stride, post-bop, progressive rock, fusion and even classical styles of music. She performed with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at age fourteen. Her group, Hiromi’s Sonicbloom, went through a series of personnel changes and continued to record and tour. Here is her recording of the George Gershwin classic piece ‘I Got Rhythm’ – notice who she dedicates the piece to. The clip starts at an easy pace but at the 3 minute 8 second mark it takes off reaching breakneck speeds and stays fast but intricate until the end – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JfKY0K_NQk&ab_channel=PickingSaffron

YUJA WANG

Yuja Wang was born in Beijing, China and began studying at the Central Conservatory of Music there at age seven and when she was fifteen she studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She captured a series of awards for her playing but her breakthrough came in 2007 when she performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Since then she has performed with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors, and there have been an impressive series of works written for or premiered by her. It is her intelligence and passion for the music, along with her physical dexterity and strength, that leads me to conclude that she is the best concert pianist I have ever heard.

Most of her best and most impressively difficult performances have been rather lengthy but I have linked to an easier and shorter but still excellent performance (Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’). The piano part doesn’t start until a minute in, well after the impossible opening clarinet glissando. Notice her hand over hand work, the clarity and evenness of her runs, the strength and confidence of her octaves, and how happy she is as she plays – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce3OERuCY0E&ab_channel=PeterChen2.0

DIANA KRALL
By Chris Govias – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3247918

OTHER WELL-RESPECTED PIANISTS LIVING AND DEAD:

Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Martha Argerich, Carla Bley, Gvantsa Buniatishvili, Khatia Buniatishvili, Kate Bush, Alice Coltrane, Sheryl Crow, Allison Crowe, Dorothy Donegan, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Angela Hewitt, Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka, Janet Jackson, Norah Jones, Rickie Lee Jones, Alicia Keys, Carole King, Diana Krall, Chantal Kreviazuk, Lady Gaga, Valentina Lisitsa, Sarah McLachlan, Marian McPartland, Natalie Merchant, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Sara Quin, Tegan Quin, Alice Sara Ott, Mona Asuka Ott, Olivia Rodrigo, Grace Slick, Taylor Swift, Mary Lou Williams and Ann Wilson.

FRANZ LISZT 1839
By Henri Lehmann – The original uploader was Todeswalzer at English Wikipedia., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1839557

Wikipedia lists 409 female classical pianists who are no longer with us. Here is some information about some of those incredible yet largely anonymous musical talents:

THOSE WITH CONNECTIONS WITH MUSICAL LEGENDS:

MARIANNA AUENBRUGGER (1759 – 1782) was a composer who also studied under both Haydn and Salieri
JOSEPHA BARBARA AUERNHAMMER (1758 – 1820) and ROSE CANNABICH (1764 – 1839) both studied under Mozart.
BARBARA PLOYER (1765 – 1811) was a pianist and she also studied composition under Mozart
SOPHIE MENTER (1846 – 1918) was a composer and pianist who studied under Liszt
ILONA EIBENSCHŰTZ (1873 – 1967) was a close friend of Brahms as well as being a pianist herself
MARCELINA CZARTORYSKAYA (1817 – 1894) was a student of Chopin
NADEZHDA RIMSKAYA-KORSAKOVA (1848 – 1919) was a classical pianist and composer who was also married to the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and was the mother of the musicologist Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov.
CLARA SCHUMANN (1819 – 1896) was a pianist, composer and teacher who changed the format and repertoire of the traditional piano recital format. She was married to the composer Robert Schumann, as well as being a close friend of Johannes Brahms (she premiered several works composed by Brahms).
FANNY MENDELSSOHN (1805 – 1847) was a pianist and composer, and the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn.
AMPARO ITURBI (1898 – 1969) was a pianist, and the sister of the conductor / pianist José Iturbi.

CONDUCTOR ANTONIA BRICO 1930
By Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-09203 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5414454

PEOPLE WHO HAD SUCCESSFUL CAREERS AS SOLO CLASSICAL PIANISTS AS WELL AS OTHER MUSICAL VOCATIONS:

COMPOSERS: Isabelle Delorme (1900 – 1991), Anne Macky (1913 – 2005), and 131 others among the 409.
COMPOSER OF MUSICAL THEATRE: Marian Grudeff (1927 – 2006)
MUSICOLOGISTS: Helza Cameu (1903 – 1995), Anne Rey (1944 – 2012), Alba Herrera y Ogazòn (1885 – 1931), Eline Nygaard Riisnæs (1913 – 2011) and Elizabeth Norman McKay (1931 – 2018). Ella Adayevskaya (1846 – 1926) was an ethnomusicologist
ORCHESTRA CONDUCTORS: Dinoráde Carvalho (1905 – 1980), Eugénie-Emilie Folville (1870 – 1946), Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847 – 1935), Jacqueline Richard (1928 – 2015), Draga Matković (1907 – 2013), Virginia Campolieti (1869 – 1941), Sofia Cancino de Cuevas (1897 – 1982), Jennie Macandrew (1866 – 1949), Ruth Lagesen (1914 – 2005), Antonia Brico (1902 – 1989), Liza Redfield (1924 – 2018), Lucy Scarbrough (1927 – 2020) and Teresa Carreño (1853 – 1917)
CHOIR CONDUCTORS: Yvonne Gouverné (1890 – 1982) and Maja Flagstad (1871 – 1958)
MUSIC DIRECTOR: Blanche Hermine Barbot (1842 – 1919)
MUSIC EDUCATORS / TEACHERS: Luna Alcalay (1928 – 2012), Dinoráde Carvalho (1905 – 1980) and 182 others among the 409.
VOICE EDUCATORS: Irène Aïtoff (1904 – 2006), Victoire Ferrari (1785 – 1823), Jadwiga Szamotulska (1911 – 1981) and Beverley Peck Johnson (1904 – 2001)
THE FOUNDER OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA: Adelia Prentiss Hughes (1869 – 1950)
MUSIC SCHOOL FOUNDERS: Elena Waiss (1908 – 1988) and Kate Sara Chittenden (1856 – 1949)
IMPRESARIOS: Adelia Prentiss Hughes (1869 – 1950) and Yolanda Mero (1887 – 1963)
MUSICAL ARRANGER: Lucille Dompierre (1899 – 1968)
MUSIC BROADCASTERS: Nadia Tagrine (1917 – 2003) and Gertrude Lightstone Mittelmann (1907 – 1956)
MUSIC PUBLISHER: Theodora Cormonton (1840 – 1922)
MUSIC WRITERS: Eva Clare (1885 – 1961), Amalie Christie (1913 – 2010), Cella Delavrancea (1887 – 1991) and Julia Smith (1905 – 1989)
RECORD PRODUCER: Teresa Sterne (1927 – 2000)
MUSIC CRITIC: Olga Samaroff (1880 – 1948)

ROSALYN TURECK

CLASSICAL PIANISTS WHO ALSO PLAYED OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND SANG:

Pianists who also sang: composer, music educator and soprano Albertine Morin-Labrecque (1886 – 1957), singer and actor Yvonne Arnaud (1890 – 1958), singer and educator Marie Dihau (1943 – 1935), singer, composer and philanthropist Elisabeth von Herzogenberg (1847 – 1892), Therese von Zandt (1771 – 1858), singer and Madame Ravissa (died 1807), singer, conductor and composer Sofia Cancino de Cuevas (1897 – 1982), singer, composer and educator Doris Gertrude Sheppard (1902 – 1982), singer and composer Elena Asachi (1789 – 1877), singer, writer and artist Marianne Ehrenstrőm (1773 – 1867), singer and artist Sara Augusta Malmborg (1810 – 1860), cantor and composer Amanda Sandborg Waesterberg (1842 – 1918), actor, composer, drama teacher and mezzo-soprano Bertha Tammelin (1836 – 1915), concert singer Emilia Uggla (1819 – 1855), singer and composer Fanny Hűnerwadel (1826 – 1854), singer, harpist and composer Sophia Dussek (1775 – 1831), composer and soprano Maria Frances Parke (1772 – 1822), singer, composer, organist and educator Emilie Hammarskjold (1821 – 1854), singer, actor and composer Mana-Zucca (1885 – 1981), voice educator and soprano Beverley Peck Johnson (1904 – 2001), and conductor, composer and soprano Teresa Carreño (1853 – 1917)
Pianists who also played the clavichord: Joan Benson (1925 – 2020)
Pianists who also played the harp: Sophia Dussek (1775 – 1831)
Pianists who also played the harpsichord: Edith Picht-Axenfeld (1914 – 2001), Käte van Tricht (1909 – 1996), Olivera Ðurđević (1928 – 2006), Marguerite Roesgen-Champion (1895 – 1976), Millicent Silver (1905 – 1986), Martha Goldstein (1919 – 2014), Rosalyn Tureck (1913 – 2003) and Lucille Wallace (1898 – 1977)
Pianists who also played the ondes Martenot: Ginette Martenot (1902 – 1996)
Pianists who also played the organ: Victoria Cartier (1867 – 1955), Jeanne Demessieux (1921 – 1968), Henriette Puig-Roget (1910 – 1992), Käte van Tricht (1909 – 1996), Jennie Macandrew (1866 – 1949), Ika Peyron (1845 – 1922), Esther Allan (1914 – 1985), Emilie Hammarskjold (1821 – 1854)
Pianists who also played the violin: Eugénie-Emilie Folville (1870 – 1946), Sophie Eckhardt-Gramatté (1899 – 1974), Nobu Koda (1870 – 1946), Millicent Silver (1905 – 1986) and Terry Winter Owens (1941 – 2007)

CLASSICAL PIANISTS WHO ALSO EXCELLED OUTSIDE THE FIELD OF MUSIC:

Actors: Yvonne Arnaud (1890 – 1958), Bertha Tammelin (1836 – 1915) and Mana-Zucca (1885 – 1981)
Artists: Yaltah Menuhin (1921 – 2001), Françoise Landowski-Caillet (1917 – 2007), Marianne Ehrenstrőm (1773 – 1867), and Sara Augusta Malmborg (1810 – 1860)
Arts Advocate: Martha Baird Rockefeller (1895 – 1971)
Drama Teachers: Bertha Tammelin (1836 – 1915) and Mary Louise Boehm (1924 – 2002)
Human Rights Activist: Hephzibah Menuhin (1920 – 1981)
Journalists: Anne Rey (1944 – 2012) and Philippa Schuyler (1931 – 1967)
Linguist: Marquesa del Ter (1864 – 1936)
Olympic athlete: Micheline Ostermeyer – shot put, discus throw and high jump (1922 – 2001)
Philanthropists: Yolanda Mero (1887 – 1963), Martha Baird Rockefeller (1895 – 1971) and Elisabeth von Herzogenberg (1847 – 1892)
Poets: Miriam Hyde (1913 – 2005), Rhoda Coghill (1903 – 2000), Lūcija Garūta (1902 – 1977) and Yaltah Menuhin (1921 – 2001)
Roman Catholic Nun: Margaret Fairchild (1911 – 1989)
Translator: Amelia von Ende (1856 – 1932)
Writers: Helza Comeu (1903 – 1995), Hephzibah Menuhin (1920 – 1981), Alice Diehl (1844 – 1912), and 9 others among the 409.

PREVIOUS GHOST STORIES:

1 – Houdini’s Secret Army and The Decline of Democracy – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2022/11/19/ghost-story-1-houdinis-secret-army-and-the-decline-of-democracy/

2 – The Power of the Spirit – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2022/11/25/ghost-story-2-the-power-of-the-spirit/

4 – Tickling the Ivories 1 –

GHOST STORY 4 – Tickling the Ivories 1