Music Industry News

Retired Prosecutor Says He Lied in HBO Documentary About Roman Polanski Case

Source: Michael Ricci
September 30, 2009

A retired Los Angeles County prosecutor who claimed in a 2008 documentary that he advised a judge to sentence Roman Polanski to prison for having sex with a minor now says that he lied on film about his role in the case.

The on-camera statements by David Wells in Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired were seized upon by Polanskis defense attorneys, who say in court documents that Superior Court Judge Laurence J. Rittenband and Wells engaged in misconduct by improperly ...

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Kimmel Center to Manage University of the Arts Merriam Theater

Source: Michael Ricci
September 29, 2009

Kimmel Center President and CEO Anne Ewers and Sean Buffington, President of the University of the Arts announced today a five-year agreement to have the Center manage the University's historic Merriam Theater. The agreement allows the Kimmel Center to book theatrical productions, such as its successful Broadway series, additional Kimmel Center Presents concerts and performances, as well as making the space available for rent by commercial and non-profit organizations. The University will continue to present its main-stage student performance season ...

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Leo Records: Thirty Years Old and Counting

Source: Michael Ricci
September 28, 2009

Remarkably, the latest batch of releases from Leo Records marked the labels thirtieth anniversary. In those three decades, proprietor Leo Feigin has released a prodigious amount of music on the Leo, LeoLab, Golden Years, Long Arms and Feet First labels, achieving an enviable balance between releases by established stars and those by lesser known artists that the label has backed and developed.

Leo has a fine array of releases by Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, the Ganelin Trio, Joelle Leandre, Sainkho ...

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Saxophonist Hailey Niswanger Tapped for Alto Chair in Either/Orchestra - Berklee Sophomore Also on NPR's Jazzset Starting 10/01

Source: MFA - Mitchell Feldman Associates
September 28, 2009

(Boston, MA - September 28, 2009) Saxophonist Hailey Niswanger (pronounced NICE-wonger), a 19-year-old sophomore studying jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship, has been selected as the new alto saxophonist in the Either/Orchestra, saxophonist Russ Gershon, the founder and music director of the Cambridge, MA-based band announced today. Miss Niswanger is the first woman to become a full-time member of the ensemble (as opposed to appearing as a guest vocalist or substitute instrumentalist) ...

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Roman Polanski's Attorneys Stunned by Arrest

Source: Michael Ricci
September 27, 2009

Director Roman Polanski and his attorneys were stunned by his arrest in Switzerland on Saturday on a child sex charge filed decades ago in Los Angeles, according a French newspaper report. “We absolutely were not expecting such an arrest, in so far as he regularly goes to Switzerland, and he’s done so for several years,” lawyer Herve Temime told Le Figaro, adding that Polanski “even owns a chalet situated in the Gstaad," a Swiss ski village. Polanski was arrested 31 ...

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Brian Setzer Recruits Visionary Arranger Frank Comstock

Source: Michael Ricci
September 26, 2009

What does a modern-day big band leader do when they want to re-create the sounds of classic 1950s film noir music? For Brian Setzer, the answer was simply to go to the source, the legendary Frank Comstock, who wrote arrangements for Benny Carter, Stan Kenton, Les Brown, and Judy Garland, penned the theme songs for Rocky & Bullwinkle, Adam 12, and Dragnet, and recorded the cult classic “Music From Outer Space." Comstock wrote the horn charts for nine of the ...

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Rhino Records Lays off 30-40

Source: HypeBot
September 26, 2009

WMG's catalog arm Rhino has pink slipped 30-40 staffers with cuts across all departments.

A statement from Rhino blamed “fundamental transformation of the physical new release and catalog business" for the cuts. Rhino will evolve into a leaner division that “handles WMG's global digital catalog initiatives, film, TV, videogame and commercial licensing, and name and likeness representation for legendary artists."

ANALYSIS: Catalog departments are generally among the most profitable divisions at most label ...

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A Must Read: Wynton Marsalis's Enduring Opus

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
September 26, 2009

The Thursday, September 24 edition of the Wall Street Journal contains a terrific piece by Larry Blumenfeld taking a close look on the positive impact that Jazz at Lincoln Center has had on the New York and national jazz scene since its founding in 1986 and principally since moving into its own three-venue performance space five years ago. The range of its impact, with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis as its highly visible, deeply engaged and perceptive artistic director, is considerable. Check ...

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