21:58 Mar 19, 2011 

... BTW few people know it, but Santana's great Afro-Cuban hit "Oye cómo va" (also featured in the soundtrack of "The Big Lebowski") was his work, not Carlos'.

21:53 Mar 19, 2011 

If he were still with us, he would be a 'living legend'. Now, I suppose you and his other fans will have to apply to have him registered for 'iconic status'.

21:47 Mar 19, 2011 

In "Latin Jazz", the vibraphone is still quite a respected instrument (here and there). This recording ist relatively recent -- so for everybody's late Saturday enjoyment, some "real percussion" + vibes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lnuto2l2Pk

Sadly, he is not among us anymore -- miss you badly, Tito.

17:46 Mar 19, 2011 

These traditions are intimately related. The figures on church columns/piers absolutely mimic the previous Greek tradition.

17:44 Mar 19, 2011 

According to asker’s own research, the ‘stylites’ occupied the columns in their own lifetimes.
Stylites (from Greek stylos, "pillar") or Pillar-Saints are a type of Christian ascetic who in the early days of the Byzantine Empire stood on pillars preaching, fasting and praying: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylites and parallel page
Als Säulenheiliger oder Stylit (von griechisch stylos ‚Säule‘) wurde zunächst in der Ostkirche ab dem 4./5. Jahrhundert ein Mönch bezeichnet, der zum Zeichen besonderer Askese sein Leben auf dem Kapitelleiner Säule zubrachte.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Säulenheiliger

16:28 Mar 19, 2011 

refers to the columns or piers in a cathedral or church to which statues of saints are affixed.

14:03 Mar 19, 2011 

... your proposal is quite ok -- but there's no allusion to the instrument's resonator tubes here IMHO (which are called "Röhren" in the case of vibes anyway). -- "Säulenheilige" is just a slightly ironical way of talking about those legends of the instrument, a bit like "the untouchables" or "sacred cows". :-]