IN: Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is an American jazz pianist/electric keyboardist and composer. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta" and "Windows", are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis's band in the late 1960s, he participated in the birth of jazz fusion. In the 1970s he formed the fusion band Return to Forever.

In the early 1970s, Corea took a profound stylistic turn from avant-garde to a crossover jazz fusion style that incorporated Latin jazz with Return to Forever. Named after their eponymous 1972 album, the band relied on both acoustic and electronic instrumentation and drew upon Latin American styles more than on rock music. On their first two records, Return to Forever consisted of Flora Purim on vocals, Joe Farrell on flute and soprano saxophone, Airto Moreira on drums , and Stanley Clarke on double bass. Drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors later joined Corea and Clarke to form the second version of the group, which expanded the earlier Latin jazz elements with a more rock and funk-oriented sound inspired by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, led by his Bitches Brew bandmate John McLaughlin. This incarnation of the group recorded the album Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, before Connors' departure and replacement by Al Di Meola, who was present on the subsequent releases Where Have I Known You Before, No Mystery, and Romantic Warrior. Corea's composition "Spain" appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album Light as a Feather. This is probably his most popular piece, and it has been recorded by a variety of artists. There are also a variety of recordings by Corea himself. These included an arrangement for piano and symphony orchestra that appeared in 1999 and a collabration with vocalist Bobby McFerrin on the 1992 album Play. Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (1940), which earlier received a jazz orchestration on Davis and Gil Evans' Sketches of Spain. In 1976, he issued My Spanish Heart, influenced by Latin American music and featuring vocalist Gayle Moran (Corea's wife) and electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The album combined jazz and flamenco, supported by Minimoog backup and a horn section.
QUESTION: Did he collaborate with any other artists on the Light as a Feather album?
IN: Barkley was born and raised in Leeds, Alabama, ten miles (16 km) outside Birmingham, and attended Leeds High School. As a junior, Barkley stood 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg). He failed to make the varsity team and was named as a reserve. However, during the summer Barkley grew to 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and earned a starting position on the varsity as a senior.

During his 16-year NBA career, Barkley was regarded as one of the most controversial, outspoken and dominating players in the history of basketball. His impact on the sport went beyond his rebounding titles, assists, scoring and physical play. His confrontational mannerisms often led to technical fouls and fines on the court, and his larger than life persona sometimes gave rise to national controversy off of it, such as when he was featured in ads that rejected pro athletes as role models and declared, "I am not a role model." Although his words often led to controversy, according to Barkley his mouth was never the cause because it always spoke the truth. He stated, "I don't create controversies. They're there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention." Besides his on-court fights with other players, he has exhibited confrontational behavior off-court. He was arrested for breaking a man's nose during a fight after a game with the Milwaukee Bucks and also for throwing a man through a plate-glass window after being struck with a glass of ice. Barkley continues to be popular with the fans and media because of his sense of humor and honesty. As a player, Barkley was a perennial All-Star who earned league MVP honors in 1993. He employed a physical style of play that earned him the nicknames "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound". He was named to the All-NBA team eleven times and earned two gold medals as a member of the United States Olympic Basketball team. He led both teams in scoring and was instrumental in helping the 1992 "Dream Team" and 1996 Men's Basketball team compile a perfect 16-0 record. He retired as one of only four players in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in their career, In recognition of his collegiate and NBA achievements, Barkley's number 34 jersey was officially retired by Auburn University on March 3, 2001. In the same month, the Philadelphia 76ers also officially retired Barkley's jersey. On March 20, 2004, the Phoenix Suns honored Barkley as well by retiring his jersey including him in the "Suns Ring of Honor". In recognition of his achievements as a player, Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
QUESTION: What kind of controverseries did he bring to people's attention?
IN: Michael Bloomberg was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, on February 14, 1942. Bloomberg's family is Jewish. Bloomberg's father, William Henry Bloomberg (1906-1963), was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts and worked as an accountant for a dairy company. He was the son of Alexander "Elick" Bloomberg, an immigrant from Russia.

During his second term as the mayor of New York City, Bloomberg unveiled PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York on April 22, 2007, to fight global warming, protect the environment and prepare for the projected 1 million additional people expected to be living in the city by the year 2030. Under PlaNYC, in just 6 years New York City reduced citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 19% since 2005 and was on track to achieve a 30% reduction ahead of the PlaNYC 2030 goal. In October 2007 as part of PlaNYC, Bloomberg launched the Million Trees NYC initiative, which aimed to plant and care for one million trees throughout the city in the next decade. In November 2015, New York City planted its one millionth tree, two years ahead of the original 10-year schedule. In 2008, Bloomberg convened the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), an effort to prepare the city for climate change. In 2012, Travel + Leisure readers voted New York City the "Dirtiest American City," for having the most extant litter. Bloomberg has been involved in motivating other cities to make changes and has spoken about reducing carbon dioxide emissions, using cleaner and more efficient fuels, using congestion pricing in New York City, and encouraging public transportation. Bloomberg unveiled the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR) in June 2013, after the city was affected by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The $20-billion initiative laid out extensive plans to protect New York City against future the impacts of climate change. On September 26, 2013, Bloomberg announced that his administration's air pollution reduction efforts had resulted in the best air quality in New York City in more than 50 years. The majority of the air quality improvement was attributed to the phasing out of heavy polluting heating oils through New York's "Clean Heat" program. As a result of the improved air quality, the average life expectancy of New Yorkers had increased three years during Bloomberg's tenure, compared to 1.8 years in the rest of the country.
QUESTION:
Was the Million Trees Initiative successful?