Music Industry News

Plans on to stage 2006 Jazz Fest

Source: All About Jazz
September 10, 2005

The Associated Press September 10, 2005 Despite the destruction brought by Hurricane Katrina, organizers of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival say there will be a 2006 musical extravaganza. “There will be a Jazz Fest. We are committed to putting on the 2006 Jazz and Heritage Festival, whatever that may take," said Quint Davis, Jazz Fest's producer-director. At this time, Davis said a site, dates and a format have not been determined. “There will be a Jazz Fest in ...

Continue Reading...

New Orleans Jazz Musicians Unpack Talents in Houston

Source: All About Jazz
September 9, 2005

HOUSTON -- Hurricane Katrina wrecked the “home of jazz" 10 days ago.

Many musicians living there found safety in Houston, and the sounds of the Crescent City are no longer silent. Nothing could sound sweeter to New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich. “Let's look at this house and see what we've got," said Paul English, New Orleans and Houston Jazz Musicians (NOAH). Inside they find big rooms, wood floors and hope for the future. “I hope we can get a place ...

Continue Reading...

Music of New Orleans Reminds of What's Lost

Source: All About Jazz
September 8, 2005

LOS ANGELES: In the drowned city of New Orleans, Preservation Hall is still standing. A story in Monday's Los Angeles Times said the fate of the historic jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter was still unknown. But – in the uncertainty of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath and because of the dicey nature of communications out of the city – information about New Orleans is being passed hand to hand, from one soul to the other. Ben Jaffe ...

Continue Reading...

New Orleans: Fears for a Unique History and Culture

Source: All About Jazz
September 8, 2005

Assessing battered state of New Orleans' landmarks after the deluge With rescue operations in New Orleans focused on saving lives and restoring order in the hurricane battered city, little effort has been made so far to catalog the damage to the city’s considerable historic and cultural landmarks. The hurricane and subsequent flooding damaged historical landmarks and wiped away at least some of the precious remnants of Louisiana’s time under French rule. But officials say many of the buildings that make ...

Continue Reading...

Amoeba Music Auctions for Red Cross Relief Efforts Hurricane Katrina Relief

Source: All About Jazz
September 8, 2005

Please help us help! We’re accepting donations of music, movies, and other related stuff (i.e. tickets, memorabilia, cross promotional items ranging from the strange and the obscure to cool and high demand)! All donations will be auctioned to raise funds for donation to the American Red Cross Emergency Services, and other organizations to Benefit Gulf Coast Victims. Amoeba is matching each donation dollar for dollar!

Our first auction will be held this Friday, September 9th, between 5:30 & 6 PM. ...

Continue Reading...

In New Orleans, Sounds of Jazz Have Faded

Source: All About Jazz
September 8, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin paused. A military helicopter was clattering thunderously overhead. “You know," he said when the ruckus died down. “The sounds of New Orleans were jazz, people laughing, people eating a good meal. And now the sounds of New Orleans are helicopters and army vehicles. This is almost surreal." A city once known for its bacchanalian diversions and Bohemian elegance, New Orleans today is a place of uniforms and guns, helicopters and airboats, and ...

Continue Reading...

Fastest Drummer Champ Drums Himself into the Mass Media

Source: All About Jazz
September 7, 2005

East Hanover, NJ, September 7, 2005 - Who does one of the leading communication companies, Comcast, call on to represent their High-Speed Internet Service on a commercial? World's Fastest Drummer Champ, Art Verdi.

In the last few weeks, Art has been featured in the leading drum magazine, Modern Drummer, in which he was described as having a “frightening fast" single stroke roll; contacted by a major radio station to appear; and flown down to Florida to display his blazing drumming ...

Continue Reading...

Houston musicians organize to help New Orleans brethren

Source: All About Jazz
September 7, 2005

A group of more than 50 musicians and music-lovers, including jazz artists Paul English and Joe LoCascio, have come together to help out those musicians displaced by Katrina. “Many musicians have lost everything," says founder Paul English. “We are musicians helping musicians. We're opening our stage to them, sharing our gigs, our instruments, our homes. Anything we can do to help them find immediate work and become a part of our community." “New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz, and ...

Continue Reading...