Cole Albert Porter (1891-1958) was an award-winning American lyricist, songwriter, and composer who embodied a life of elegance and sophistication that left a huge mark both in Broadway and Hollywood.

His undeniable musical creativity was already evident since he was trained at a young age and manifested through his compositions and musical collaborations at Worchester Academy, Yale, and Harvard.

Porter's musicality then heightened when he was in Paris and eventually found his way back to New York. Because of his wit, unique musicality, and urbane sophistication, he was able to concurrently worked for scores intended for motion pictures, also musical comedies and theatrical performances like “Panama Hattie” " Gay Divorce", “Nymph Errant” and others that run from 154 performances up to the whopping 1077 times in New York City for “Kiss Me, Kate” that broke all his records. 

Cole Porter was a legendary persona with an exciting, lavish lifestyle, an open LGBTQ achiever and despite the fact that he suffered from a tragic accident resulting in the amputation of his right leg, he was able to produce "Can-Can" which ended up as one huge Broadway success before his demise. 

Read more about his flamboyant yet significant musical life at: https://galaxymusicnotes.com/pages/cole-porter-the-sophisticated-american-broadway-song-writer

James Price Johnson (1894-1955), was an influential composer and pianist who reinvented the stride musical style and gave birth to the ragtime revolution paving the way to jazz.

He was a self-taught pianist, an artist that banked into authenticity and feelings, giving him a unique conceptualization and infusion of melody, harmonic devices, rhythm, chords, and interpolated scales hence the creation of hit pieces like “Charleston,” “Snowy Morning Blues,” “Carolina Shout,” ‘Don't Cry, Baby” and “If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) to name a few. 

James Johnson was able to meet Willie “The Lion” Smith and developed a lasting friendship which also opened door to outstanding collaboration and unforgettable performances. He was able to compose several symphonic pieces for ballet, waltzes, and light opera, and his remarkable talent was not left unnoticed. He was inducted into the  “Songwriters Hall of Fame” “Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame” not to mention other citations and recognitions even after he died.

Read more of his life and works at: https://galaxymusicnotes.com/pages/james-p-johnson-ragtime-pianist-evolving-into-jazz