Jazz News

Songwriters Fight Threat to Royalties

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2008

EC Told to Leave System Alone

LONDON -- European songwriters and composers are lobbying the European Commission over proposals that could harm the royalties they earn from their work. The EC has been investigating the way in which music royalties are collected after suggestions that the current system is unfair. At the moment, each of the 27 EU member states have separate royalty collection agencies, but it has been claimed that this means that each agency in fact enjoys a ...

Continue Reading

Abba Foursome Make Rare Appearance

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2008

All four members of supergroup ABBA appeared together on Friday at the Swedish premiere of the film “Mamma Mia!", delighting fans with their first public showing for years.

Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad -- known as Frida - - and Agnetha Faltskog walked down the red carpet at a Stockholm movie theatre to the cheers of several thousand fans. The movie follows “Mamma Mia!" the musical, which toured worldwide and features 22 ABBA songs, including “Dancing Queen," “Take ...

Continue Reading

2008 Chicago JVC Jazz Festival

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2008

JVC Jazz Festival Chicago Kicks Off July 18

The 2008 JVC Jazz Festival Chicago will run July 18-20, showcasing members of the local Chicago jazz scene and jazz musicians from around the country. The festival will take place at five music venues around the city, including the recently reopened Jazz Showcase. Notable performances include the John Abercrombie Organ Trio with Chicago saxophonist Eric Schneider, the Corey Wilkes Quartet and “Three Generations of Chicago Tenors," a showcase of Chicago saxophonists Von ...

Continue Reading

New York Songwriters' Circle Accepting Contest Submissions

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2008

The New York Songwriters' Circle announced that it is now accepting submissions for its third annual Songwriting Contest.

Twelve finalists will be selected to perform before a panel of music industry judges and a live audience at the NYSC finale event in November.

The contest will also include an International Award and a Young Writer Award. The International Award will be given to an outstanding songwriter originating from anywhere outside the U.S. to help further their career in the U.S. ...

Continue Reading

Bands Encouraged to Not Sign and Do It Yourself

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2008

Creation Records Founder McGee Tells Bands to “Do It Yourself"

Alan McGee, the former head of Creation Records who is credited with discovering artists like Oasis and the Libertines, spoke out against record labels in an interview with XFM. McGee urged new bands not to sign with labels, saying “I'd recommend a band not to go to any record label, I think they're all fucking rubbish. You're better off doing it yourself. They're living in the past." McGee apparently practices ...

Continue Reading

Yera Son: Free Latin Jazz at Waterside Plaza

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2008

Continue Reading

Natasha Shneider Rock Musician Dies

Source: All About Jazz
July 5, 2008

Rock musician Natasha Shneider dies of cancer

Moscow native, singer/songwriter Natasha Shneider, who collaborated with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and rock band Queens of the Stone Age, died Tuesday of cancer.

Shneider, her husband Alain Johannes and Jack Irons formed the rock band Eleven in 1990 following the latter's departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It released five albums, the best known of which was a 1993 self-titled affair for Disney's Hollywood Records. A celebration of Natasha Shneider ...

Continue Reading

Mark Twain Americas Original Superstar

Source: All About Jazz
July 5, 2008

Mark Twain: Our Original Superstar

Twain first came to national attention in 1865, when he published a comical short story in dialect, which was eventually titled The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. ("You never see a frog so modest and straightfor'ard as he was, for all he was so gifted.") It appeared in newspapers all across the country, was received as a whole new kind of hilariousness and made him famous. “At the close of the Civil War, Americans ...

Continue Reading