Jazz News

Isaac Hayes, Deep-Voiced Soul Icon, is Dead at 65

Source: Michael Ricci
August 10, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)--Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless “Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday afternoon, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. He was 65. A family member found him unresponsive near a treadmill and he was pronounced dead an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, according to the sheriff's office. The cause of death was not immediately known. In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what ...

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Singer Isaac Hayes Dead at 65

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Soul singer and arranger Isaac Hayes, who won Grammy awards and an Oscar for the theme from the 1971 action film Shaft has died, sheriff's officials in Memphis, Tennessee, reported Sunday. Singer Issac Hayes seen performing in the U.K. last year. Hayes was found dead Sunday at age 65.

Relatives found Hayes, 65, unconscious in his home next to a still-running treadmill, said Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.

Paramedics attempted to revive him and took ...

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Wayne Shorter Quartet Plays Newport and Montrey Jazz Festivals

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

One of the most original of all jazz musicians, whether as a tenor and soprano saxophonist or as a composer, Wayne Shorter has always used his own fresh ideas to create new music that is unpredictable but ultimately logical.

Shorter headlined the JVC Newport Jazz Festival Saturday with the Wayne Shorter Quartet. Shorter will perform September 21st at the Montrey Jazz Fesival in California. His Quartet wil play Carnegie Hall December 12th.

Long Career After two years in ...

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Jazz Drummer, Singer Lee Young Dies at 94

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Lee Young, who emerged from a family with musical roots deep in New Orleans jazz, drummed for greats like Ellington and Basie, became a pioneering black man in music's executive suites -- and survived his musician brother, Lester, by a half-century -- died on July 31 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94. The death was confirmed by his grandson Wren Brown. In contrast to his brother, whose debilitating battle with alcohol and personal demons is almost as ...

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About The Corey Cook Ensemble

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Corey Cook & his associates represent a diverse range of New York City's most promising artists & music business impresarios, from graduates of prominent conservatories such as The Julliard School, New Jersey City University, and The Manhattan School of Music to seasoned veterans of the music industry who've toured the United States and abroad. Among Mr. Cook's most esteemed associates is the veritable Harold V. Zinno, Jr., whose famed colleagues have included such legendary entertainers as Sammy Davis, Jr. and ...

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12-Year-Old Saxophonist Gets Time with Brubeck

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

A gifted Burlington boy will have quite a story to share when he goes back to Har-Bur Middle School in a few weeks. Dakota Austin says his 10-minute performance with Dave Brubeck at the Litchfield Jazz Festival last Saturday seems like a dream. But it wasn't. A serendipitous sequence of events led to the invitation for the young saxophonist. Dakota, 12, was attending a jazz camp on Aug. 2 sponsored by the festival and during a question-and-answer session he mentioned ...

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Marty Ashby Labeled Jazz Genius

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Marty Ashby's career constantly twists and turns, but he never gets lost. “Like music, your work doesn't always go from A to B," says the executive producer at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in the North Side. “It doesn't always go in a straight line." Straight lines seem nonexistent in the work of this jazz musician and organizer who has, in 22 years, established the Craftsmen's Guild as the dominant jazz-presenting force in Pittsburgh and led to the capture of four ...

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Jazz Fest Hits Just the Right Chord

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

FOR FANS IN S.J., $10 CHARGE 'STILL AWESOME BARGAIN' This summer's new $10 admission didn't appear to thin the crowd Saturday at this weekend's 19th annual San Jose Jazz Festival, where thousands turned out for a range of music, wine, carnival food, dancing - and all that jazz. The popular festival, which includes jazz, blues, R&B, and salsa, is held in and around the Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose for one weekend each summer. Last year's total ...

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