Jazz News

Salif Keita Returns with "La Difference" and North American Tour

Source: rock paper scissors, inc.
May 13, 2010

White Skin, Black Blood: Salif Keita's Golden Voice Transforms Social Stigma into Global Grooves on La Difference

The descendant of warrior princes, the son of two black African parents, Afro-pop pioneer Salif Keita was born “white." Inheriting albinism, a lack of skin pigmentation, Keita instantly stood out among other Africans and stood out as a spokesperson for tolerance in all forms.

With La Difference (Emarcy Records; June 8, 2010), the legendary singer addresses this deeply personal issue -- albinism in ...

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Feufollet: Cajun Stars Experimenting on New Album

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

Deathbed ballads meet glockenspiels and omnichords. Cajun French choruses are written on iPhones. Indie-rock vibes invade Acadian archives.

Welcome to the world of Feufollet, a band both deeply rooted in the francophone soil of Louisiana and pushing boldly into unexplored yet utterly natural varieties of Cajun experience. Though famous for their renditions of heartbreaking songs and rollicking tunes, the quintet breaks new ground on En Couleurs (Feufollet Records; June 1, 2010) featuring originals that draw on deep roots tempered by ...

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Jose Conde Joins the Legendary Los Van Van at Summerstage June 6th

Source: rock paper scissors, inc.
May 13, 2010

Booty-Shaking History Making: Jose Conde Joins the Legendary Los Van Van at SummerStage as Cuban America and Cuba Reunite

Songwriter and musical bridge builder Jose Conde knows how to take sounds and run with themall the way to the dance floor. He brings his playful pan-Latin power pop to Central Park SummerStage on June 6, 2010 and joins Cuban legends Los Van Van in a lineup of historic proportions.

For the first time, Havana artists will share a bill with ...

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Dave Fisher Founding Member and Lead Singer of the 1960s Folk Group the Highwaymen Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

Dave Fisher, founding member and lead singer of the 1960s folk group the Highwaymen, whose recording of the Civil War anti-slavery song “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" became a surprise pop hit in 1962, has died. He was 69. Fisher died Friday at his home in Rye, N.Y., of myelofibrosis, a rare blood disease, family friend Nicole Fiftal said Wednesday. “The original Highwaymen, along with the Kingston Trio and, later, Peter, Paul and Mary, were among those responsible for popularizing ...

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Europe Strives to Catch up with Digital Revolution in Hollywood

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

As film critics hunker down in Cannes for the next week and a half to assess the state of cinematic art, millions of people across Europe will buy tickets to Hollywood blockbusters like Iron Man 2 and How to Train Your Dragon.

Europeans flocking to the cinema are contributing to a global boom in box-office receipts and generating a rare bit of good news for the troubled media industry. But American movie studios are enjoying most of the benefit. The ...

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For Musicians, Economy is the Mother of Invention

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

Enterprising music makers are turning to the Internet and micro-financing through donations.

Los Angeles singer and songwriter Sam Phillips turned up recently for a small-scale show at Hollywood's Hotel Caf. Playing for an intimate audience of several dozen, she was testing on a live audience new material she's been working on in her home recording studio. But for a select few regular visitors to her website, the new songs weren't so new they'd been able to hear them weeks or ...

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What's a Facebook Fan Page Worth?

Source: Michael Ricci
May 13, 2010

Vitrue, a social media research firm, has rolled out a tool for company's trying to figure out how to value its Facebook fan page.

Dubbed Social Page Evaluator, the tool attempts to help companies determine the page's potential revenues and marketing impact.

Visitors need only to input a Facebook fan page's URL into the search box and click the “submit" button. From there, the tool processes the page, looking at the number of fans it has, how many posts the ...

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Rockin' out with the Fender G-Dec 3 Amp

Source: All About Jazz
May 13, 2010

In the past few years, as music has become computerized, many aspiring and homegrown musicians may have forgotten about that old standby, the practice amp.

Fender's new G-DEC 3 attempts to correct that equation.

You can plug your guitar straight into the amp and rock out, but additionally, as you could do with a music program like Apple's Garage Band or Logic, you can use Fender's built-in software to give your guitar a different sound.

Fender G-DEC 3 amp has ...

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