Sona Jobarteh, who was born in London, is a member of one of the five principal kora-playing (griot) families from West Africa, and the first female member of such a family to rise to prominence on this instrument. The playing of this 21-stringed harp-like instrument was exclusively passed down from father to son. The instrument […]
Oblivion
Oblivion is an instrumental work by Astor Piazzolla. He spent many of his formative years in the Italian neighbourhoods of New York City, where he learned to play the bandoneón (a button accordion of Italian origin, now associated most often with the Argentine tango). After moving to Buenos Aires and receiving a formal music education, […]
Julee Cruise
Julee Cruise was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1985, Badalamenti was composing the score for David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, as well as serving as the vocal coach for the film’s star, Isabella Rossellini. When […]
The Carioca
“The Carioca” is a 1933 popular song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Edward Eliscu and Gus Kahn, as well as being the name of the dance, it was choreographed for the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio. The word “Carioca” refers to inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro. The number was sung in […]
River Flows in You
Since it was featured in the Twilight saga, ‘River Flows in You’ has morphed into the ‘Clair de lune’ of the 21st century. Yiruma, whose real name is Lee Ru-ma, is a South Korean-British composer and pianist. Born in 1978, he started playing piano at the age of five, and moved to London when he […]
Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong “Spike” Jones was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early […]
“Belle Nuit, ô Nuit D’Amour”
“Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” (“Beautiful Night, Oh Night of Love” often referred to as the “Barcarolle“) is a piece from The Tales of Hoffmann (1881), Jacques Offenbach’s final opera. A duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano, it is considered the most famous barcarolle ever written and described in the Grove Book of Operas as “one […]
“I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year but lost out […]
To Zanarkland
“To Zanarkand” is the main theme of Final Fantasy X, composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu who got the idea of the tune for the opening theme from a flautist he consulted for help. He requested the tune to be used in Final Fantasy X and coaxed the team in using it for certain event […]
“I Wanna Be Loved by You”
“I Wanna Be Loved by You” is a song written by Herbert Stothart and Harry Ruby, with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, for the 1928 musical Good Boy. It was first performed by Helen Kane in September 1928, who was the inspiration behind the cartoon Betty Boop. Kane who became known as the ‘Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl’ because […]