Music Industry News

Jazz Artist Boney James Grammy-Nominated Saxophonist Struck by Suspected Drunken Driver

Source: All About Jazz
May 19, 2010

Publicists for Boney James say the Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist has canceled a show after being struck by a suspected drunken driver in Long Beach.

They say James was driving home from a jazz festival in Newport Beach on Saturday when his car was rear-ended while he was stopped in traffic on Interstate 405. He suffered a fractured jaw, two broken teeth and a gash on his chin that needed 14 stitches.

Passers-by pulled him from the car. He has been ...

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Can the Pompidou Center Revive a Fading French Town?

Source: All About Jazz
May 19, 2010

The French, say historians, prefer revolutions to reform. And in the cloistered world of French art museums, a small revolution erupted last week when the prestigious Pompidou Center opened France's first offshoot museum on home soil, in the small industrial town of Metz.

In a country where culture, wealth and power are overwhelmingly concentrated in the capital, officials are hailing the new museum as a break from the past as much about politics as the paintings inside. Opening the building ...

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Copyright Lawsuits Plummet in Aftermath of RIAA Campaign

Source: All About Jazz
May 19, 2010

New federal copyright infringement lawsuits plummeted to a six- year low in 2009, the year after the Recording Industry Association of America abandoned its litigation campaign against file sharers, court records show.

Copyright lawsuits numbered 2,192 in 2009, down almost a third from the previous year, and represented more than a 50 percent drop from 2005, when the recording industry's legal machinery was in full gear. The RIAA Bump? U.S. copyright cases more than doubled amid the recording industry's litigation ...

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Jazz is Dead. Long Live Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz
May 17, 2010

The music may never again be a popular force, but it is still swinging if you know where to listen.

Put yourself in this jazz musician's shoes for a minute. Your record label just dropped two of its most acclaimed acts from the roster in order to aggressively pursue pop artists. Still, you think you have a sound that's relevant to the moment and to prove it, you need a stay of execution from what's starting to look inevitable.

So ...

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"Fever" Singer Peggy Lee is Hot Again

Source: All About Jazz
May 17, 2010

Perhaps best known for her smooth, sultry 1958 cover of the rhythm-and-blues hit “Fever," Peggy Lee has returned to the “Billboard" Top 200 album chart hit for the first time since 1970. Lee died in 2002. Music buyers still have the fever for Peggy Lee.

Perhaps best known for her smooth, sultry 1958 cover of the rhythm-and-blues hit “Fever," the late pop-jazz singer, songwriter and actress has returned to the “Billboard" Top 200 album chart hit for the first time ...

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Interview: Greg Kot of Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music (Part 3)

Source: HypeBot
May 17, 2010

Kyle Bylin, Associate Editor-- (@kbylin) -- Part 1 & Part 2

Recently, I spoke with Greg Kot (again), who is the author of Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music (now in paperback and still amazing!), a rock critic at The Chicago Tribune and co-host of the popular radio show Sound Opinions. In this interview, Greg talks about escapism and popular music,the anti-capitalism argument, and the role of creative professionals in society.

It seems like, that ...

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Charlie Harrington Signs with Westone

Source: Michael Ricci
May 17, 2010

The award-winning jazz drummer, Charlie Harrington, is now an official Westone endorser. Charlie's well-renowned technique, mastery of his instrument, and well-established reputation as an in demand session player no doubt played a role in this partnership. Charlie is proud to be a member of the Westone family. Westone, the in-ear experts since 1959, has been at the forefront of in-ear musicians' monitoring technology (IEMs) since the early 1990's. Each one of their professional in-ear musicians' monitors is designed with one ...

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Sleepy Jazz Scene Shows Signs of Awakening

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2010

A recent Sunday afternoon jazz matinee at Cafe Royale was a sleepy affair. About 15 people, most of them middle-aged, sat around this ramshackle downtown San Francisco bar sipping tea and wine while a saxophone, drum and bass trio played a mellow mixture of mostly standards. The noise of rustling bags of pistachios and yogurt-covered pretzels, which several audience members had taken along for snacks, accompanied the polite applause at the end of each number. Anyone who stopped by the ...

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