Oscar Peterson, whose dazzling piano playing made him one of the most popular jazz artists in history, died Sunday night at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, outside Toronto. He was 82.
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Mr. Peterson was one of the greatest virtuosos in jazz, with a technique that was always meticulous and ornate and sometimes overwhelming. But rather than expand the boundaries of jazz, he used his gifts in the service of moderation and reliability and in gratifying his devoted audiences, whether playing in a trio or solo. His technical accomplishments were always evident, almost transparently so. Even at his peak, there was very little tension in his playing.
PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) - Italian police burst into the room of a suspected Mafia mobster in Sicily and arrested him as he watched a television show about the arrest of a Mafia boss, investigators said Friday.
Police said Michele Catalano was watching the concluding chapter late Thursday of the TV mini-series “The Boss of Bosses,” recounting the arrest in 1993 of real-life Cosa Nostra leader Salvatore “Toto” Riina, when he was detained.
They Catalano, 48, was suspected of being a senior commander serving under the latest “boss of bosses” Salvatore Lo Piccolo, who was arrested this month after nearly 25 years on the run.
Steven Colbert, because even with the writer’s strike, I still get reruns (the Willie Nelson ep!) and his article on Glamour.com, complete with slideshow:
Good news, girls! You don?t have to be a man to have balls. You can be a lady and have ?lady balls,? or what I like to call ?Thatchers,? after England?s Iron Lady, who had a lordly pair of lead swingers.
Screenwriter Irv Brecher (Meet Me In St. Louis, Bye Bye Birdie, Shadow of the Thin Man, Marx Bros’ At The Circus & Go West, creator of Life of Riley, & more!) offers his perspective on current events.
