Jack K. Pleis (May 11, 1917 – December 5, 1990) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, Pleis worked with many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Benny Goodman, Earl Grant, Brenda Lee, and Joe Williams. Between 1950 and 1976, over 150 songs were arranged by Pleis.

Early life and education

Jack Pleis was born in Philadelphia on May 11, 1917. Starting at age four, he began his training in classical piano. He first performed in concert when he was seven. By the time he was eleven, he appeared on radio programs for children.

Pleis enrolled in college intending to study medicine. To support his studies, he played piano in jazz and popular music bands. Eventually he left school and moved to New York City, where he began his musical career.

Career

Early days

In New York, Pleis became successful as a pianist, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was one of Jan Savitt's Top Hatters, playing piano and doing arrangements, a position he left in 1942 to enlist in the Army during World War II. In 1947, the Jack Pleis Trio provided instrumental support for Larry Laurence (with The Quintones providing vocal harmonies). By 1948, Pleis was working at the RCA Victor studios on 24th Street, appearing on the cover of the January 1, 1949 issue of Billboard playing piano at the studio's holiday party. His orchestra backed Teresa Brewer and Bobby Wayne on their 1949 single "Copper Canyon"/"'Way Back Home".

His is the possessive form of he.

His or HIS may also refer to:

An orchestra (/ˈɔːrkᵻstrə/ or US /ˈɔːrˌkɛstrə/; Italian: [orˈkɛstra]) is a large instrumental ensemble used in classical music that contains sections of string (violin, viola, cello and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes be grouped into a fifth section such as a keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for 20th and 21st century compositions, electric and electronic instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ὀρχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century.

An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble usually composed of string, brass, and woodwind sections, sometimes with a percussion section.

Orchestra may also refer to:

Orchestra 2001 is an American orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which specialises in the performance of contemporary classical music. Orchestra 2001 is the performance ensemble-in-residence at Swarthmore College, and performs concerts at Swarthmore's Lang Concert Hall as well as in Philadelphia.

James Freeman founded Orchestra 2001 in 1988 as its artistic director and conductor, and continues to serve in both posts. The ensemble is noted for performances of works by composers based in the Philadelphia region, in particular George Crumb. Orchestra 2001 has performed many of Crumb's works since the ensemble's inception. These have included premieres of his American Songbooks series of compositions and other works such as Voices from a Forgotten World. The orchestra has also premiered compositions by other composers such as:

Recordings

Orchestra 2001 has made commercial recordings for such labels as Bridge Records, CRI Records, and New World Records, including compositions by:

Mangifera caesia is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. Common names include jack, white mango, binjai (Malay language), wani (Balinese language), yaa-lam (Thai language), bayuno (Filipino language) and mangga wani (Cebuano language). It belongs to the same genus as the mango and is widely cultivated in areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, Kerala and the Philippines.

Plant description

These are restricted to lowlands about 400m to 800m, requires rainfall. It is found rare in forests and abundant in marshy places. Grows up to 30 m (100 ft) tall with a dense crown of round-shaped leaves. The flowers are purple or pink, 0.7 cm long with five sepals. The fruit is a large, edible, elliptical drupe 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long and 6–8 cm (2–3 in) wide. The skin is thin and brown with darker patches, and the flesh is yellow-white, mushy, and strongly odorous with an acid-sweet or sour taste. The binjai is believed to originate from the island of Borneo, but is commonly grown elsewhere for its edible fruit. The tree is one of the most common and valuable Mangifera species in western Malaysia, where it is cultivated extensively in orchards. It is also widely grown in Bali, Sumatra, and Borneo.

Jack (died 1890) was a chacma baboon, who attained a measure of fame for acting as an assistant to a disabled railroad signalman in South Africa.

History

Jack was the pet and assistant of paraplegic signalman James Wide, who worked for the Cape Town-Port Elizabeth Railway service. James "Jumper" Wide had been known for jumping between railcars prior to an accident where he fell and lost both of his legs. To assist in performing his duties, Wide purchased the baboon named "Jack" and trained him to push his wheelchair and to operate the railways signals under supervision.

An official investigation was initiated after a concerned member of the public reported that a baboon was observed changing railway signals at Uitenhage near Port Elizabeth.

After initial skepticism, the railway decided to officially employ Jack once his job competency was verified. The baboon was paid twenty cents a day, and a half-bottle of beer each week. It is widely reported that in his nine years of employment with the railroad, Jack never made a mistake.