Jazz News

Tony Adamo Reviewed by L.A. Jazz Scene's Jim Santella

Source: All About Jazz
December 2, 2008

Pop songs with R&B horns make Tony Adamo’s STRAIGHT UP DEAL sizzle with excitement. He sings with the bold character of a man who knows how to entertain, recalling pop singers Tom Jones, David Clayton-Thomas and Brook Benton as well as jazz singers Al Jarreau and Mark Murphy. His program, however, goes well beyond the pop and R&B arena into Jazz interpretations of standards such as “Milestones,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” ”Stolen Moments,” “In the WineLight,” and “Speak Low.” The band, ...

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Chopteeth: The Crazy Fools of Afrobeat

Source: All About Jazz
December 2, 2008

Crate-diggers, Demonstrators, Foot-tappers: Chopteeth, the Crazy Fools of Afrobeat, Call for Rhythmic Regime-Change in Washington, DC

Afrofunk band Chopteeth came from an unexpected place. Labor organizer and guitarist Robert Fox was mourning the sudden, heartbreaking death of a close friend in a car accident. It was a terrible, terrible thing, remembers Fox. I came back from this and thought, Wow, that could have been me! It made me assess whats important in life. After some soul searching, Fox realized that ...

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Indictment Dropped Against Dick Cheney

Source: Michael Ricci
December 2, 2008

Cheney and former Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales were included in a Texas prisoner-abuse case, Cheney because he invests in a company that invests in prison firms.

Reporting from Raymondville, Texas -- A judge dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales on Monday and chastised the southern Texas prosecutor who brought the case. Three of the eight indictments returned Nov. 17 targeted private prison operator the GEO Group, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., Cheney ...

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Jingle Bell Jazz South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center on December 5

Source: All About Jazz
December 2, 2008

Jingle Bell Jazz on Friday December 5th 7:30 pm at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. Our Jingle Bell Jazz event features the Jeno Somlai Qunitet a Latin/jazz group heavily influenced by many different styles in the afro-Cuban genre bringing a fresh interpretation of your favorite holiday music. Jeno will be joined by Donna Woodall, formerly the lead singer from the well-known Milwaukee Band Streetlife adding her own personal flare to the music The Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) Latin ...

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High-Definition Album Offered for Free Exclusively by Gibson Guitar and hdtracks.com

Source: All About Jazz
December 2, 2008

New York, NY - Gibson Guitar, the world's premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology, has partnered with HDtracks.com to offer free, downloadable, high-definition music - a first of its kind collaboration for an instrument manufacturer. The exclusive offering to fans of Gibson Guitar, titled Gibson Presents: Hot Tones in High-Definition, is a diverse collection of music performed by the world's best guitarists and will be available as a FREE download at Gibson.com for a limited time.

Gibson ...

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Firehouse 12 to Present the Flatlands Collective December 5th

Source: Improvised Communications
December 2, 2008

On Friday, December 5th, New Haven's Firehouse 12 will present the penultimate event of its 2008 Fall Jazz Series, a two-set performance by The Flatlands Collective. The group, which is touring the Northeast in November in support of its new CD, Maatjes (Clean Feed Records), pairs Boston-based, Dutch-born saxophonist/composer Jorrit Dijkstra with five of the most respected names from the eclectic Chicago creative music scene, James Falzone (clarinet), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and analog electronics), Jason Roebke (bass) ...

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Getting to Carnegie Via Youtube

Source: Michael Ricci
December 2, 2008

Traditionally, auditioning for an orchestra means appearing alone onstage in a nerve-jangling performance before grizzled veteran musicians. In the Google way, it means posting on the companys video-sharing site, YouTube, for online judging by the professionals and then, ultimately, the YouTube universe.

That second option is the main feature of a new marketing project by Google to bolster the organized presence of classical music on YouTube and promote the idea of online communities. And orchestras and professional musicians, poking around ...

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Gordon Goodwin: Big Band’S Pied Piper

Source: Boss Sounds
December 1, 2008

As leader of the 18-piece Big Phat Band, Grammy- and three-time Emmy-winning bandleader-composer-arranger-instrumentalist-conductor-instructor Gordon Goodwin is Big Band’s Pied Piper at the wave of a new tradition. With an energy that’s palpable and infectious, he’s connecting with a young audience that’s clamoring for more.

As the New York Times wrote: “An excited throng of students treated these jazz musicians like pop stars, screaming their approval.” Part of that adoration stems from their familiarity with Goodwin’s compositions as a staple of ...

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