Jazz News

Supreme Court on George Carlin

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

WARNING! The following is directly quoted from the Supreme Court Decision of FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION v. PACIFICA FOUNDATION, 438 U.S. 726, 98 S.Ct. 3026 (1978). Mr. Justice STEVENS (delivering the majority opinion) This case requires that we decide whether the Federal Communications Commission has any power to regulate a radio broadcast that is indecent but not obscene. A satiric humorist named George Carlin recorded a 12-minute monologue entitled “Filthy Words" before a live audience in a California theater. He began ...

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Mickey McMahan Trumpeter for Lawrence Welk Dies

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

Mickey McMahan, trumpet player with big-band leaders Lawrence Welk, Les Brown and others, died June 11.

McManhan 77, died at his home in Van Nuys of neuropathy and an unrelated blood disease, his stepson Steve Land said. McMahan played trumpet on “The Lawrence Welk Show" from 1967 to 1982. He also played with Les Brown's Band of Renown on “The Steve Allen Show" in the 1950s and '60s and toured with Brown's band when it accompanied comedian Bob Hope on ...

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Leonard Pennario Top Selling Recording Pianist Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
June 28, 2008

Pianist Leonard Pennario, a best-selling recording artist

Pennario who made his concert debut with the Dallas Symphony at age 12 after learning Grieg's Piano Concerto in a week so he could play it from memory, died Friday at his home in La Jolla after a long illness, according to his biographer, music critic Mary Kunz Goldman. He had been battling Parkinson's disease, she said. He was 83. “Playing with this musician has been one of the joys of my life," ...

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Sonny Okosun Pioneer of Nigerian Pop Music Dies

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

Sonny Okosun, key figure in Nigerian pop music who mixed traditional African forms with Western rock elements

Okosum died May 24 of colon cancer at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., according to news reports, he was 61. Born in Benin, Nigeria, in 1947 to musician parents, Okosun taught himself to play the guitar. He began his music career by covering British and American rock 'n' roll tunes. Singing and playing guitar, Okosun led a string of bands that showcased ...

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Rob Mullins June-July Performance Schedule

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

JUNE 28 The Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater Albuquerque, NM

JUNE 29 The Jazz Bakery Culver City, CA

JULY 04 Pasadena Jazz Institute - Paseo Colorado Pasadena, CA

JULY 20 Quail Botanical Gardens San Diego, CA

About Rob Mullins Rob Mullins has built his musical reputation in the world with a solid string of releases in the contemporary jazz field over the ...

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Gilberto Gil, Devendra Banhart to Share the Stage

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

The tenth anniversary season of KCRW's World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl continues on Sunday, June 29, at 7pm, with a compelling and rare double bill featuring Gilberto Gil and Devendra Banhart, who share the stage for the very first time. The Album Leaf featuring Mike Heron from The Incredible String Band opens the show. KCRW DJ Anne Litt hosts. The inspiration for this pairing began with Banhart, a Texas-born, Venezuela-raised world-folk epicurean who exploded on the international music scene ...

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Michel Benebig July Tour in Melbourne, Australia

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

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Stevie Wonder Talks Touring and Obama

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2008

Singer says he hit the road 'to say thank you to the fans' Stevie Wonder is fidgeting with his camera phone, embarrassed because he can't get it to work right. But wait, it's not what you think.

Wonder is trying to show a reporter how the device helps him “see" written documents; moments later, the blind superstar reveals how the camera takes photos of text, converts it to audio and reads the words aloud, and instantly has wowed his audience ...

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