Jazz News

20th Annual Houston International Jazz Festival

Source: Michael Ricci
April 13, 2010

20th Houston International Jazz Festival featuring; Rachelle Ferrell, Tito Puente, Jr., Hiroshima HOUSTON, TX -- Jazz will fill the air in downtown Houston Saturday and Sunday, August 7th and 8th as the 20th Annual Houston International Jazz Festival kicks off August Jazz Month. The event will be held at Discovery Green Park, 4:00 to 10:00 PM each day. An all-star lineup is scheduled including: Rachelle Ferrell, Tito Puente, Jr., Hiroshima, Texas Brass Band, Summer Jazz Workshop All-Stars, and The Latin ...

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After Vegging Out, Guitar God Jeff Beck Takes a Sharp Turn

Source: All About Jazz
April 13, 2010

What a tabloid headline it would have made: “Guitar god felled by mutant carrot!" And it would have been no Spinal Tap-ish joke. The incident occurred last fall as Jeff Beck, five-time Grammy winner, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and one-of-a-kind six-string wizard, was prepping for a dinner party at his home outside London. “We had these massively long carrots," he says. “For some stupid reason, I started slicing them lengthwise. I got a bit lazy, and ...

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FCC Broadcasters Guard Their Spectrum

Source: Michael Ricci
April 13, 2010

An offer TV station owners can't refuse? Broadcasters fear that an FCC plan for them to give up some of their rights to the public airwaves would cost them future revenue.

For decades, owning television stations, with their fat profit margins, was a license to print money. But the growth of cable and now broadband has lured away TV viewers and made stations less profitable. Finding new sources of revenue is crucial, and broadcasters are counting on -- and jealously ...

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R.I.P.: Jazz Drummer Steve Reid Dies at 66

Source: Michael Ricci
April 13, 2010

Domino Records announced today that percussionist Steve Reid, who performed with artists as varied as Martha Reeves, Miles Davis and Four Tet's Kieran Hebden, died in his sleep Monday after a fight with cancer. Perhaps most heard on Martha & the Vandellas' “Dancing in the Street," he also had a brief stint backing James Brown (that's him on the funk standard “Popcorn"). Reid also performed with Fela Kuti in Africa before his career was briefly derailed by serving time for ...

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Patti LaBelle to Get Honorary Degree in Philly

Source: All About Jazz
April 13, 2010

Veteran R&B diva Patti LaBelle is getting an honorary degree from Temple University in her hometown of Philadelphia. The university will present LaBelle with the doctorate in humane letters at its May 13 commencement ceremony. LaBelle's singing career has spanned more than four decades and includes several hit records and two Grammy Awards. She has also written four books, two of which are cookbooks. LaBelle served as a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association after being diagnosed with the condition. ...

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Twitter to Start Selling Ads

Source: All About Jazz
April 13, 2010

Twitter announced Tuesday that it will start showing sponsored tweets on some search pages, taking a cautious first step into a traditional advertising business model that could provide a steady source of revenue for the 4-year-old startup which doesn't make any serious money yet, but is reckoned to be worth a billion dollars. The so-called Promoted Tweets will put tweets from paying customers at the top of some Twitter search pages, clearly marked as ads, the company said in a ...

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Nnenna Freelon to Release New Record

Source: On Target Media Group
April 13, 2010

Next week, Concord Jazz will release Homefree, the highly anticipated new album from esteemed jazz vocalist and multi-Grammy nominee, Nnenna Freelon. Homefree is a collection of contemporary interpretations of classic American Songbook tunes as well as a new poignant original, “Cell Phone Blues" composed by Nnenna, and spirited arrangements of two anthems (the gospel treasure “Lift Every Voice and Sing" and the national hymn “America the Beautiful") that close the album. Homefree, ...

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Jake Hertzog Releases New CD "Patterns" This Month

Source: Michael Ricci
April 13, 2010

Guitar Player Magazine is calling him “...the blazing wunderkind." The Boston Phoenix has declared him “...the WOW! factor." Award-winning jazz guitarist and composer Jake Hertzog is making it big in New York City. Jake's debut album, Chromatosphere, continues to bring him critical acclaim, including a five-page interview in Guitar Player Magazine (June 2009), highlighting his unique technique and approach to modern jazz guitar. Both albums, recorded and produced by Grammy Award-winner Joshua Paul Thompson, feature some of New York's top ...

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