Jazz News

Home Life with Mikes: A Jazz History

Source: Michael Ricci
February 21, 2009

THE cardboard boxes are everywhere, stacked almost to the ceiling, in the Manhattan loft where W. Eugene Smith, the renowned American photojournalist, once shared living space with Hall Overton, an obscure composer and pianist.

Inside the boxes are wigs, maybe thousands, the inventory of a Chinese business that now holds the lease. Nothing about this nondescript building in the flower district betrays its decade-long history as a bustling clubhouse for the jazz scene, beginning in the mid- 1950s.

So it ...

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Creating Tom Waits One from the Heart Soundtrack

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

With the Academy Awards tomorrow night, take a look at what actually goes into the creation of the musical score for the soundtrack a motion picture.

Tom Waits is brought onto the Francis Coppola classic, One From The Heart, before even the script is finished. All recording is complete before shooting begins. Waits music gives fabric to the characters, all lost soles in Las Vegas.

Scroll down and watch the videos, the contrasting sounds of the voices of Tom Waits ...

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Giants of Jazz for Charlie Rice at Ortlieb's JazzHaus on February 22

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

On Sunday February 22nd, three of Philadelphia's most revered jazz legends will appear on stage at Ortlieb's JazzHaus, Bootsie Barnes, Larry McKenna, and Sam Reed, at 847 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA from 4-7PM. The rhythm section will be pianist Jason Shattil, bassist Mike Boone, and drummer Jim Miller. All of these musicians are donating their time to help legendary jazz drummer Charlie Rice (see below). Admission is $15. For info call: Jazz Bridge at 215-517-8337 or 856-858-8914. Update on ...

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Got Big Ears? John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble at Painted Bride on February 28 and March 6

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

With a huge sound and mesmerizing subtlety, John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble combines the sonic range of a big band and the intimacy of a small group of closely-knit musicians. Hollenbeck is striking for his compositional process, one that is deeply immersed in personal experience and that uses the accumulation of simple elements to create a complex, yet coherent whole. His large ensemble work is informed by his experience playing in a formidable roster of big bands, including Bob Brookmeyer's New ...

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How We Bungled the Digital Television Transition

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

America's transition to over-the-air digital television signals, which netted the government $19 billion in a wireless spectrum auction, was doomed from the start, thanks to a flawed voucher program and a time frame that left the country stranded between administrations.

In January, close to two million people were stuck on the waiting list for $40 coupons that only cover part of the cost of a digital television converter. The converters make new over- the-air digital signals watchable on analog televisions, ...

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Feds Propose Storing Internet User Data for 2 Years

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

In the name of combating child pornography, federal lawmakers are proposing that internet users' online surfing habits be retained for two years.

The so-called “Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act of 2009," or SAFETY Act, was floated in both the House and Senate on Thursday. Among other things, it demands: “A provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service shall retain for a period of at least two years all records or other information ...

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Confessions of an iPod Touch Artist

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

Mobile devices are no longer just for communication, entertainment and business: They can make art, too. Several different iTunes apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch allow users to edit photos, record music and now paint.

Last month, French artist and videographer David Lasnier began composing paintings with the Brushes app on his iPod Touch and uploading the artwork to Flickr. The paintings quickly garnered praise and links from commenters and bloggers.

“The small screen and the limited types of ...

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The Evolution of Art

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

We may be genetically predisposed to appreciate listening to Sinatra or staring at a Seurat. Art suffuses our lives. Whether it's bluegrass, heavy metal, Frank Sinatra or Mozart, music moves us all.

On a trip to a foreign city, visiting an art museum is a mandatory exercise. Imaginative writing affects many of us, though—alas—with decreasing frequency.

Why should art be important? Being seen as an “art lover" may increase our status, but otherwise art is not useful. Yet ...

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