Composer Steve Martland Dead At 53

“Throughout a fruitful musical career he worked almost exclusively with artists outside of traditional classical institutions – in particular with Dutch and American groups, freelance musicians and especially his own Steve Martland Band. … His works are frequently intended to be played amplified and their muscular and rhythmic forms led to many dance commissions.”

Why Pulitzer Winner Ayad Akhtar Wrote Disgraced

“I was at a dinner party in 2006 with some friends and talk turned to Islam and a couple of European friends were there … who I don’t think had identified me as Muslim, at least not in any operative sense. And I noticed in a very subtle way how that evening shifted their idea of me and it always – after that night, it always struck me that this would be a great idea for a play.”

Who Was Moms Mabley? The First Successful Female Stand-Up Comedian, That’s Who

“Born Loretta Mary Aiken, she was a pioneer in her field – a black woman who pushed the boundaries of taste, politics, and race as far back as the 1920s, while performing on the Chitlin’ Circuit. … Her career extended well into the ’70s, leaving behind a legacy of over 20 albums, and memorable appearances” on Ed Sullivan’s, Johnny Carson’s and the Smothers Brothers’ television shows. Yet most people born after 1970 have never heard of her.

Richie Havens, 72, Folk Musician And Icon Of Woodstock

“From the beginning, when he played Village folk clubs in the mid-Sixties, Havens stood out due to more than just his imposing height (he was six-and-a-half feet tall) and his ethnicity (African-American in a largely white folk scene). He played his acoustic guitar with an open tuning and in a fervent, rhythmic style, and he sang in a sonorous, gravel-road voice that connected folk, blues and gospel.”