Music Industry News

Jazz This Week: Todd Mosby, Legacy Jazz Quintet, Funky Butt Brass Band, a Jazz St. Louis Benefit, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 26, 2009

There's only time for a very short post this week, so here, in abbreviated form, are some of the jazz and creative music performances worth checking out over the next few days in St. Louis:Tonight, guitarist Todd Mosby and his group will do a free concert for the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and tomorrow night, the summer Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University will present a free concert by the Legacy Jazz Quintet.

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Michael Jackson -- Cardiac Arrest

Source: Michael Ricci
June 25, 2009

Pop star Michael Jackson was rushed to a hospital this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.

[Updated at 3:15 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.]

[Updated at 2:46 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson is in a coma and his family is arriving at his bedside, a law enforcement source told The Times.]

Capt. Steve Ruda said ...

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Composer Joseph Brooks Faces Trial for 11 Rapes

Source: Michael Ricci
June 24, 2009

The Oscar-winning composer and director behind “You Light Up My Life" raped 11 women he lured to his apartment with the promise of a starring role in a movie, prosecutors said at his arraignment in New York on Tuesday.

Joseph Brooks, 71, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, where he was arraigned on a 91-count indictment. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of first-degree rape.

Brooks won the Oscar for best original song for ...

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Phil Spector Will Be Allowed Jam Sessions with Fellow Prisoners

Source: Michael Ricci
June 24, 2009

Phil Spectors permanent assignment in the state prison system is a massive Central Valley penitentiary with special accommodations for older and disabled inmates. And even behind bars, the man credited with inventing the “Wall of Sound" will still be allowed to create music.

The 69-year-old record producer, serving at least 19 years for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, arrived Monday at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, corrections officials said.

A prison spokesman said ...

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35,000-Year-Old Flute is Oldest Known Musical Instrument

Source: Michael Ricci
June 24, 2009

The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, suggests that the first humans to occupy Europe had a fairly sophisticated culture. The instrument was excavated from a cave in Germany.

The wing bone of a griffon vulture with five precisely drilled holes in it is the oldest known musical instrument, a 35,000-year-old relic of an early human society that drank beer, played flute and drums and danced around the campfire on cold winter evenings, researchers said today.

Excavated from a cave ...

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Variable MP3 Pricing Making Money for Labels

Source: PC Magazine
June 23, 2009

In April, soon after Apple gave labels the ability to set different prices for their songs on iTunes, every track on Pink Floyd's “Dark Side of the Moon" was raised to $1.29. Some music fans complained about these price increases, and many technology executives and bloggers proclaimed that labels were making the wrong move. But while sales of individual tracks from “Dark Side of the Moon" dipped by 11%, album sales remained steady. And all sales combined generated about 12% ...

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Preservation Hall Jazz Band Signs to Ted Kurland Associates

Source: All About Jazz
June 22, 2009

Exciting new slate of programs planned for 2010, including a new collaboration with Bluegrass Legends The Del McCoury Band Boston, MA--Ted Kurland Associates has signed the venerated Preservation Hall Jazz Band for exclusive representation on a worldwide basis. TKA's history of working with legendary artists and their extraordinary careers was key to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's consideration of the Agency as their new home. TKA is already soliciting dates for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. While dedicated to ...

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Grammy Nominee, Phil Kelly Joins the Artists Recording Collective

Source: Artists Recording Collective + the ARC Record Label
June 21, 2009

Grammy Nominee and noted composer/arranger, Phil Kelly has joined the Artists Recording Collective (ARC). In addition to more than 40 years as a composer/arranger for film, TV, and other media applications, he has written for bands like Bill Watrous' NY Wildlife Refuge, the Old Tonight show band, Doc Severinsen, Si Zentner, as well as functioning as arranger/conductor/drummer for vocalists Buddy Greco, Julius LaRosa, Frank D'Rone, Sylvia Syms, John Gary, Jenny Smith, and Al 'TNT' Braggs among others. Early on in ...

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