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Ernest and Cootie

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Ernest Bloch, self-portrait ca. 1923. From the Eric Johnson Collection of Ernest Bloch Photographs.

Today we  remember the July birthdays of two very different musical luminaries represented in the Music Division’s august coffers.

Ernest Bloch was born July 24th, 1880. A special performance of his viola suite was given on December 10th, 2009, in the Coolidge Auditorium by violist Roberto Diaz and pianist Andrew Tyson to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the composer’s death.  Read more about Bloch’s relationship with the Library in this blog post. Celebrate his birthday with a selection of  early works available online in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia.

[Portrait of Cootie Williams, New York, N.Y.(?), between 1938 and 1948] / William P. Gottlieb
Portrait of Cootie Williams, New York, N.Y.(?), between 1938 and 1948. Photo by William P. Gottlieb.

Born July 10, 1911, Charles Melvin “Cootie” Williams was one of the many legendary trumpet players features in the storied history of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and one who was memorialized in song. Play “Concerto for Cootie” and see photos of Cootie Williams in the William P. Gottlieb Collection in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia.

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