Jazz News

Armen Nalbandian Trio Announced as Finalist in Gilles Peterson Worldwide Talent Search

Source: All About Jazz
June 5, 2008

Jazz musician Armen Nalbandian and his trio have been announced as finalists in Gilles Peterson Worldwide Talent Search on behalf on the World Wide Festival. TALENT SEARCH FINALISTS REVEALED The first stage of the Worldwide Talent Search has ended and the finalists can now be announced. The 20 finalists have been selected based on fan ratings. The finalists will now have their music listened by our panel of judges led by Gilles Peterson himself and they will choose which act ...

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Martin Fabricius Trio, "When Sharks Bite", is Now Available in the US.

Source: All About Jazz
June 5, 2008

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Billy Bragg Performs at L.A.'s El Rey

Source: Michael Ricci
June 5, 2008

Billy Bragg puts words on a page and suspends them in the air The English musician (and author) performs in L.A. in support of his Mr. Love & Justice album.

ALTHOUGH it's been nearly six years since Billy Bragg has released an album, his hiatus can hardly be characterized as quiet. In fact, the English guitarist-songwriter, who has spent more than two decades belting out politically charged, punk-tinged folk songs, continued to speak out on those same themes of politics ...

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New iPhone is Already Here

Source: Michael Ricci
June 5, 2008

APPLE WATCH The launch of the next-generation iPhone promises to be Steve Jobs' greatest stunt yet.

APPLE, JOB'S SECRETIVE COMPUTER AND GADGET COMPANT, has been quietly positioning millions of units of a mysterious new product--almost certainly the new iPhone--in key markets since March. And yet, incredibly, not one credible image of Apple's new product has yet been published.

If the new phone is a flop, it's going to be a doozy. Apple is promising to sell 10 million ...

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Carlos Santana on Playing Woodstock

Source: All About Jazz
June 5, 2008

When Santana played at Woodstock in 1969, you already had your trademark sound, that piercing sustain in which you hold a single note for what seems like ages. How did playing with so much high-speed percussion affect your approach to soloing? The more somebody plays fast around you, the more you slow down and play long, legato lines. In “Jingo" [on 1969's Santana], we had that bass line and the conga going in that rhythm. I had to ...

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Billy May on Cherokee and Legacy

Source: All About Jazz
June 5, 2008

WILDLY IMAGINATIVE Arranger-Bandleader Billy May Leaves Legacy On Making A Tune Sound Great

The following article on Billy May was originally published in the July 2000 issue of Jazz Connection Magazine. THE WAY BILLY MAY SEES IT, being an arranger requires a good imagination. And May himself has been described by big band critic George T. Simon as “wildly imaginative." May, a huge man with a dry wit that was reflected in much of what he wrote, has ...

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Usher Scores Second Best Sales Debut Of 2008

Source: All About Jazz
June 5, 2008

Four years after his Confessions rocked the charts, Usher returns to The Billboard 200 at No. 1 with Here I Stand.

With 433,000 U.S. copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the LaFace/Zomba album is the second biggest debut this year behind the 463,000 start of Mariah Carey's E=MC2.

Here I Stand was led by the single Love in This Club featuring Young Jeezy, which was No. 1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Usher's Confessions started at the ...

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Dreyfus Records Focuses on New Music from India

Source: All About Jazz
June 5, 2008

If any further proof were still needed that the boundaries between East and West have been obliterated, two new albums being released by Dreyfus Records on July 22nd will more than suffice. Niladri Kumar's Zitar and U. Shrinivas' Samjanitha define the term Indian fusion, although neither can be constrained by category quite that easily. These are recordings that pay homage to tradition while rocketing fearlessly into the future, folding together established genres such as rock, jazz, electronica and world music ...

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