Charlie "Bird" Parker blew the sound of his soul through his alto and tenor sax, and for many musicians, hearing his music was like a religious conversion. He is immortalized as jazz music's "first existential hero," a blazing talent that burned out at age 35 from heroin, alcohol, and racism. The t

Bebop, Bright, Improvised, Loose, Overflowing, Pioneering

To salsa fans around the world, Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz is one of a kind. In the course of her career, which by now has yielded more than 60 albums, she has been elevated to an icon status on par with Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith, or Edith Piaf. After decades as the reigning queen of the Latin

Bright, Ebullient, Lush, Salsa music, Sensual

It took a direct immersion in the politics of the Mexican Revolution to give Diego Rivera's art the cause and the audience it needed. Commissioned by the new government to execute huge public murals, Rivera created a new socialist iconography from a mixture of Renaissance, academic, Cubist, and indig

Bright, Composed, Muralists, Political, Round, Social realism, Social revolution

"Sometimes I have to take a young violinist, string her up between two mike stands, and make an example of her. It's very cruel. But very effective." As you can see, Danny Elfman is different. A strange child with a vivid imagination -- his bedroom walls were completely covered in pictures torn from

Bright, Cartoonish, Funny, Quirky, Round