​​Clazzical Notes will observe Black History Month with a tribute to an icon of our era:  Maya Angelou.
 
An unremarkable beginning of a life would seemingly shape the destiny of Marguerite Johnson.  Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928, she experienced all the unfortunate challenges of too many Black families:  poverty, her parents’ divorce, relocation to her grandmother’s house, and a brutal rape followed by personal trauma and an aftermath leading to five years of absolute silence.

Luis Villegas is a Mexican American guitarist best known for his debut CD Cafe Olé, which mixed new-age music, flamenco, and jazz and garnered a spot on the Grammy ballot for Best New Age Album of the Year in 1999. He is known for using a technique of playing fast, intricate lines by using the fingernail of his right index finger in place of a guitar pick. He also had a small role, as a member of a band, in the film Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Currently, he is a member of the group "Heavy Mellow" along with founder Benjamin Woods and percussionist Mike Bennett.