01-15a: Elton John Christmas in London 1974 - Jack Teagarden 1944-1947 - G.B. Sammartini : Complete Early Symphonies / Ferrari 1994

Not shown: Charles-Hubert Gervais & Johannes Herbst

Not shown: Viktor Patrik Vretblad, Francesco Maria Saraceni & Euphemia Giannini-Gregory

1744 – Charles-Hubert Gervais (French composer)
1755 – Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaja (Italian organist, harpsichordist, composer & organ builder)
1765 – Carlmann Kolb (German priest, organist & composer)
1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini (Italian composer, organist, choirmaster & teacher)
1788 – Gaetano Latilla (Italian opera composer & harpsichordist, uncle of Niccolò Piccinni)
1812 – Johannes Herbst (German composer, active also in the United States)
1816 – Dr. Henry Harington (English physician, composer, poet, mathematician & classical scholar)
1844 – Joseph [Giuseppe] Mazzinghi (Italian-born English composer, active in Australia)
1864 – Isaac Nathan (English-born Australian composer, musicologist & journalist)
1904 – Eduard Lassen (Danish-born Belgian composer & pianist, active also in Germany & Italy)
1907 – Karl August Franz Sales Freiherr von Perfall (German composer & opera house director)
1909 – Ernest Reyer (French opera composer & music critic)
1915 – Guillaume Couture (Canadian teacher, conductor, choirmaster, composer, organist, baritone & music critic)
1924 – Géza Zichy (Hungarian composer & world's first professional one-armed pianist)
1926 – Enrico Toselli (Italian pianist & composer)
1935 – Lucien Fugère (French baritone)
1953 – Viktor Patrik Vretblad (Swedish composer)
1961 – Francesco Maria Saraceni (Italian composer)
1964 – Jack Teagarden (American jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer & singer, "Father of Jazz Trombone")
1967 – Albert Szirmai (Hungarian operetta composer & pianist, active also in the United States)
1973 – Jef Alpaerts (Belgian pianist & conductor)
1974 – Karel Salmon [Karl Salomon] (German-born Israeli composer, conductor, pianist & baritone)
1979 – Euphemia Giannini-Gregory (American soprano & vocal coach, Curtis Institute of Music)
1987 – Ray Bolger (American actor, singer & dancer)
1987 – Dolores Hawkins (American R&B singer)
1989 – Günter Reich (German-born Israeli baritone)
1992 – Dee Murray (English rock bass guitarist & singer, Elton John, Spencer Davis Group)
1993 – Sammy Cahn (American pop songwriter, pianist & violinist)

Sorry, it's been more than a week, hasn't it? I'll try to post more often. And as my therapist was wont to say "I'll "try" means I "won't. " When was the last time I said "I'll try" and actually did something?"

01-09: Handel : Giustino HWV 37 / McGegan 1994 - Cozy Cole Hits! 1958 - Songs of Lutoslawski | Serocki | Bloch : Lukomska / Markovsky 1960s

Not shown: Francesca Bertolli, Filippo Traetta & Alexey Kozlovsky

1679 – Werner Fabricius (German composer)
1767 – Francesca Bertolli (Italian contralto, creator of roles in several of Handel's operas)
1854 – Filippo Traetta [Philip Trajetta] (Italian-born American composer & teacher)
1863 – Ferdinand Huber (Swiss composer & collector of Alpine folk music)
1886 – Jakob Eduard Schmölzer (Austrian composer, flutist & collector of Styrian folksongs)
1911 – Edwin Arthur Jones (American composer & violinist)
1911 – William Hall Sherwood (American composer, pianist & teacher, pupil of Liszt)
1939 – Johann Strauss III (Austrian composer & conductor, nephew of Johann Strauss II)
1949 – Amilcare Zanella (Italian composer, pianist & conductor)
1957 – Mary Carr Moore (American composer, conductor, singer & teacher)
1959 – Paul de Maleingreau (Belgian composer & organist)
1962 – Roy Shield (American composer, conductor & music director at NBC)
1966 – Haro Levoni Stepanian [Аро Левонович Степанян] (Azerbaijani composer)
1968 – Louis Aubert (French composer, pianist & singer)
1969 – Ladislav Vycpálek (Czech composer & violist)
1970 – Jani Christou [Γιάννης Χρήστου] (Greek composer & pianist)
1977 – Alexey Kozlovsky [Алексей Козловский] (Ukrainian composer)
1979 – Avery Claflin (American composer & banker, pupil of Erik Satie, business associate of Charles Ives)
1981 – Kazimierz Serocki (Polish composer & pianist, co-founder of Warsaw Autumn music festival)
1981 – Cozy Cole (American jazz drummer)
1987 – Marion Hutton (American jazz & pop singer & actress, sister of Betty Hutton)
1994 – Silas Hogan (American blues singer, guitarist & songwriter, the Rhythm Ramblers)

I'm disappointed at not being able to offer you any Silas Hogan, one of the greats of Louisiana swamp blues. Every day it seems that more things become unavailable. Locating links used to be the easy part of this job.

To clear things up about the Handel: Francesca Bertolli (known more for her beauty than for her voice - which makes it strange that I couldn't locate a likeness of her) sang in about 15 or 20 of Handel's operas during her career, creating roles in some of them. In Giustino (1737) the role she created was that of Leocasta, which is sung here by Jennifer Lane.