Jazz News

Derrick Gardner Wins Independent Music Award for Jazz Album "Echoes of Ethnicity"

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations
January 27, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS, January 26, 2010 - Echoes of Ethnicity, the most recent album by Derrick Gardner and The Jazz Prophets for Owl Studios, today was named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as a Winner in The 9th annual Independent Music Awards, the influential awards program for independent bands and fans, for Best Jazz Album. This prestigious award adds to the long list of accolades Echoes of Ethnicity has received in 2009. When informed, the nearly speechless trumpeter Derrick Gardner said, “That's ...

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Sacred Choral Works - Songs of Praise: The Sacred Choral Music of Dave Brubeck

Source: Michael Ricci
January 27, 2010

Dave Brubeck, one of the most well-known jazz pianists of all time, has for some time explored new avenues in composition and performance--including his many choral compositions. This album features the first recording of Brubeck's Sacred Choral music (less “Sleep Holy Infant, Sleep") premiered by the Grammy-nominated Pacific Mozart Ensemble in concert. The album -- released January 26, 2010 -- also features another Grammy-nominated ensemble, Quartet San Francisco. Songs of Praise consists entirely of sacred music and opens with Brubeck's ...

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Daniel Merriweather at the Troubadour

Source: Michael Ricci
January 27, 2010

The young Australian wanders away from the carefully produced retro soul of 'Love & War' for improvised flights of soul-funk fancy.

The only thing more memorable than Daniel Merriweather's vocals Wednesday night at the Troubadour was the face he kept making while delivering them. Wonderfully expressive, this guy: eyes squeezed shut, cheeks bunched up, mouth moved pretty much entirely to the left side of his head. Picture a huskier version of Mr. Schuester from “Glee" crossed with one of those ...

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Charlie Harrington to Perform at Jim Chapin Memorial Teacher Scholarship Launch

Source: Michael Ricci
January 27, 2010

The award-winning jazz drummer, Charlie Harrington, is slated as a guest performer at the upcoming launch of the Jim Chapin Memorial Teacher Scholarship at the famed Hard Rock Cafe in New York City on February 17, 2010 at 7:00 P.M. The event, which celebrates one of drumming's most dedicated and influential legends, will include performances by some of today's leading drummers, along with music by members of the Chapin family. The Jim Chapin Memorial Teacher Scholarship, open to instructors that ...

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Jazz/Folk Chanteuse Lissy Walker to Release Debut CD, "Life is Sweet," on Feb. 9

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
January 27, 2010

After an acting and singing career that took her from Berkeley High to New York's Public Theater to San Francisco's ACT, Lissy Walker has returned to her hometown and to her musical roots. On Wednesday, March 10, she will celebrate the release of her sublime debut album Life Is Sweet with a performance at the new Freight & Salvage on Addison Street in the heart of Berkeley's downtown Arts and Cultural District. The show will be a true homecoming for ...

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Salute to Jazz at the Grammy Museum

Source: Michael Ricci
January 27, 2010

The Recording Academy started ramping up for Sundays Grammy Awards on Tuesday night, honoring influential guitarist and educator Kenny Burrell as part of its annual Salute to Jazz.

Held in the Grammy Museums cozy performance space, the evening felt like a more scaled-back affair compared with last years glitzy celebration of Blue Note Records at Club Nokia, but the fans making up the packed house (which included ever-dapper soul legend Solomon Burke) were no less devout as seats were tough ...

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Apple Event to Focus on Reinventing Content, Not Tablets

Source: All About Jazz
January 27, 2010

The teaser for Apples press event, Come see our latest creation, has a double meaning. Content creators, not gadget freaks, will be the biggest target of Apples Wednesday press conference.

Although most of the speculation has centered on a tablet device that will likely be announced at the event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs probably has bigger plans in mind.

Apples goal is to offer a new platform for content creators to reinvent books, magazines and online content in addition to ...

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Forget the Tablet-Apple Needs to Rebuild iTunes

Source: All About Jazz
January 27, 2010

The time is ripe for a reinvention of iTunes, which has grown into a sort of micro-Microsoft within Apple in terms of its bloated size and slow operation.

And its not even making money, according to Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, who said on Monday of the iTunes Store, were running those a bit over break even, and that hasnt changed, adding that the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms could help push iTunes into the black. The Apple tablet will run ...

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