Jazz News

Elo Bass Player Kelly Groucutt Dies

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

Kelly Groucutt, former bass player with 1970s rock hitmakers ELO, died Feb. 19 in Worcester, central England, after having a heart attack. He was 63.

Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1971 by local musicians Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, ELO -- short for Electric Light Orchestra -- combined rock 'n roll with orchestral arrangements replete with string sections, choirs and symphonic sweep.

Groucutt joined ELO in 1974 after leaving his previous band, Sight and Sound. He played bass and sang ...

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A. R. Rahman Slumdog Fusionist in Oscar Spotlight

Source: Michael Ricci
February 21, 2009

A. R. Rahman one of Indias most prolific film composers knows how big a deal it would be if he wins an Oscar on Sunday.

Rahman, in his natural habitat at the computer, works on five or six films a year, juggling several at a time. He is a kind of national hero in India.

One of the most prolific and successful film composers in India, he has three nominations, all for Slumdog Millionaire: best original score and best original ...

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Bob Rodriguez's "Portraits" on Art of Life Records (CD & MP3 Download Release)

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

Following the 2008 release of the duo recording, Ripples (Art of Life AL1034), with guitarist Scott Sherwood, Portraits is Bob Rodriguez's fourth release as a leader and finds him in a solo piano setting. Bob performs his unique solo piano arrangements of Bill Evans “Waltz for Debby", Rodgers & Hart's “Spring Is Here", Kern & Hammerstein's “All the Things You Are" and Thelonious Monk's “'Round Midnight" in addition to five of his own compositions. Portraits was recorded on July 16, ...

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Watts, the Place, Inspires Jeff 'Tain' Watts

Source: Michael Ricci
February 21, 2009

It was more than a shared name that first got the attention of drummer Jeff “Tain" Watts. Even as a kid growing up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, he recognized something profound about a distant neighborhood in Los Angeles.

He knew of those six days of rioting in 1965, but he also knew that Watts was the hometown of Charles Mingus, the monumental bassist and jazz composer whose work was often fueled by the heavier sociopolitical issues of his ...

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Why Facebook is for Old Fogies

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

Facebook is five. Maybe you didn't get it in your news feed, but it was in February 2004 that Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, along with some classmates, launched the social network that ate the world.

Did he realize back then in his dorm that he was witnessing merely the larval stage of his creation? For what began with college students has found its fullest, richest expression with us, the middle-aged. Here are 10 reasons Facebook is for old ...

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Leonard Cohen Waxed the Beacon Theater NY

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

Defying his 74 years and his decades spent as rock'n'roll's hard-living bard, Leonard Cohen impishly scampered onto the Beacon Theater's newly renovated stage to a standing ovation last night (Feb. 19) in New York.

He proceeded to nimbly sink down to one knee to serenade his bandurria player, Javier Mas, with “Dance Me To The End Of Love" in a voice as hot and raspy as a flaming shot of whiskey.

After a 15-year hiatus from touring, many fans were ...

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Billy Joel Opens Concert Venue in the Desert

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

A grand-opening performance by Billy Joel is guaranteed to boost the profile of a concert venue.

So The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa near Palm Springs in Rancho Mirage, Calif., snagged the musical legend for its opening show last week.

The $76 million, 2,000-seat theater is about two hours by car from L.A. and includes VIP boxes. Chicago, Matchbox Twenty, Tony Bennett, Jay Leno and Melissa Etheridge have signed on to entertain.

The resort is home to a ...

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Ask Van Morrison

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

10 QUESTIONS With his signature growl and unique blend of blues, jazz and celtic folk, Van Morrison is consistently ranked as one of the most iconic and influential rock artists of all time.

Writer of such classic songs as “Gloria", “Moondance" and “Brown Eyed Girl", his 1968 masterwork, Astral Weeks, is listed by almost every major music publication as one of the most essential albums ever made.

A newly recorded, live version Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood ...

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