Category: people

Mycologist? That’s mushroom maven to you and me. The late composer was fascinated by the fungi throughout his life, often foraging for them and at one point making money selling his finds to New York restaurants. In 1959, he won the grand prize on an Italian quiz show with his expertise on the subject. He refused, however, to make any connection between mushrooms and music. – The Guardian

He didn’t start the community radio movement (that was Lew Hill of Pacifica), but, as one radio historian wrote, “if Lew Hill fathered the movement, Lorenzo Milam reared it.” He founded independent, community-supported stations in Seattle (KRAB-FM), St. Louis, San Francisco, Portland, Dallas, and other cities, and he even wrote a guide to starting up a station, titling it Sex and Broadcasting. A polio survivor, he spent later life as a writer (The Cripple Liberation Front Marching Band Blues; Cripzen: A Manual for Survival) and published two literary journals. – The New York Times

He died recently at the age of 103 and his legacy is profound. “Bentley’s legacy in the theater as a pathbreaker is profound. By shining a critical light on the American stage, he exposed the gimcrack that had been fobbed off as treasure and in the process made room for the genuine.” – Los Angeles Times

“Known for his unique voice which had both depth and softness, Pandit Jasraj was one of a handful of remaining old school musical giants of the Indian classical world, alongside artists like Bhimsen Joshi and Kishori Amonkar. Incredibly, he was performing and teaching online until the end with a remarkably robust, age-defying voice.” – The Guardian

Before Miles Davis went electric and Ornette Coleman bloomed, Brubeck was the surest name to start an argument. A cynical section of the jazz audience perceived his experimental nature as a search for a catchy idiom that might eventually bring him the triumph of a hit. And of course, this line of argument claimed a win when “Take Five” propelled the world onto the dance floor in 5/4 time. – Times Literary Supplement

Sarah Cooper is a UX engineer who, during lockdown, decided to take advantage of TikTok and the United States president’s, er, unique response to the pandemic, earning her a huge response and putting her career as a comedian into a unique space. “The world now has more avenues for #content than ever before. Traditional television shows and films have been massively sidelined by Covid-19 lockdowns—and while we all miss shows like Euphoria and the usual summer blockbusters, a lot of other forms of entertainment, like Cooper’s videos on social media, have emerged to fill the void.” – Wired

Hurtado spent eight decades “resolutely committed to documenting the interconnectedness of human beings, nature, and terrestrial life,” according to her gallery. In the past two years, she’s finally gotten some recognition for the work she did at night, after her husband and kids went to sleep. – ARTnews

Manz also featured in Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue. – Variety

You may not know you know his work, but you definitely do. A partial description: “Emmy-winning composer who worked with Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley, scored Steven Spielberg’s early work and wrote the theme music for more than a dozen television series.” – The New York Times