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Pic of the Week: August Birthdays Edition

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“Portrait of Benny Carter, Apollo Theatre, New York, N.Y., ca. Oct. 1946. Photo by William P. Gottlieb.

As August draws to a close, In the Muse would like to catch up on a number of birthdays you may have missed. August 4, which is the day we celebrated Louis Armstrong’s birthday,  was also the birthday of film composer David Raksin, who donated sketches and scores from films like LauraForever Amber, and Carrie (Dreiser, not King) to the Library of Congress.  Notable jazz birthdays this month include  Benny Carter (August 8),  Count Basie (August 21), Lester Young (August 27), and the legend whose picture graces our blog banner, Charlie Parker (August 29).  All of these greats from the golden age of jazz are represented by photographs in the William P. Gottlieb Collection. Finally, August 23rd was the birthday of pianist Martial Solal, who graced the Coolidge Auditorium stage earlier this year.  View an interview with Martial Solal conducted by Senior Reference Specialist Larry Appelbaum here.

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