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In response to your side note: I'm very disappointed I didn't learn about ANY jazz musicians in my music history classes! :o( It's unthinkable, really. We studied neo-classical & modern composers like Cage and Copeland, but we totally skipped vaudeville, jazz, folk, blues...I realize there's only so much you can fit in, but truly, these remarkable musicians helped shape American popular music so much, they deserved at least a cursory mention. :o(

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Now, on to Valaida! I love Val- names, for one, so it's got that going for it. ;o) I'm generally drawn to classier sounding names, like Corisande or Belrose, but I'm also discovering the beauty in the less-polished, less-refined, homespun, folksy names, like Jeanna (to me, it doesn't sound classy but very down-to-earth), Moselle or Liliola. Valaida falls squarely into the homespun, folksy category; I can almost picture a woman piecing together the syllables from names of beloved friends or family members to make a one-of-a-kind work of art. It's just got that hand-crafted feel to it. I'm really starting to love the name (especially so, the more I'm learning about Valaida Snow, myself), and if I'm not careful, Evangeline Belrose just might lose out to Evangeline Valaida. Granted, it's a messier combo than the former, but I like the recurring v's and the rhythm of the two names together. Very jazzy sounding, don't you think?

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