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Book / Magazine

A Spotify playlist for Ted Gioia's "The Jazz Standards" of 2,000 songs

Source: Michael Ricci
July 9, 2012

My passage as a listener into the jazz world was accidental and fortuitous. As a young rock fan browsing the vinyl cutouts at Jack's Record Rack, I found one of Miles Davis' Live at the Blackhawk albums for $1.99 or so. Something about the moody cover appealed to me, so I bought it. Not long after that, I heard my first live jazz performance. The shortlived Winterfest booked tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, who'd made a remarkable comeback after some lean ...

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Recording

New Orleans Legends The Preservation Hall Jazz Band Celebrated With 50th Anniversary Box Set

Source: Michael Ricci
July 9, 2012

FIVE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS RESCUED FROM STUDIO AND RESTORED AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA � SESSIONS FEATURE PETE SEEGER (ON “WE SHALL OVERCOME"), RICHIE HAVENS, TOM WAITS, ANDREW BIRD, AND YIM YAMES (OF MY MORNING JACKET) Available everywhere September 25, 2012, through Legacy Recordings NEW YORK, NY: Fifty years after a former art gallery on St. Peter Street became a haven and platform for the surviving musicians who made New Orleans the birthplace of jazz, THE PRESERVATION HALL 50th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION box ...

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Interview

Charlie Watts talks jazz, Stones plans

Source: Michael Ricci
July 9, 2012

Even though he's played in the same rock 'n' roll band for nearly 50 years, Charlie Watts still prefers playing jazz. The Rolling Stones drummer learned how to play it by imitating his favorite jazz players as a teenager. So during his breaks with the Stones, Watts has played jazz, not rock, and that legacy continues with his latest venture, The A, B, C, and D of Boogie Woogie. The quartet recently released “Live in Paris" from one of their ...

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Obituary

New Orleans Iconic Musician Uncle Lionel Batiste Dies

Source: Wade Luquet
July 9, 2012

Treme Brass Band bass drum player “Uncle" Lionel Batiste passed away on Sunday at the age of 80 after a short illness. In a city filled with characters, Uncle Lionel may be the most recognizable. He began to play the bass drum at the age of ten and was a French Quarter tap dancer as a child. He played with numerous brass bands before settling in as a member of the Treme Brass Band with whom he played hundreds of ...

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Career

B.j. Jansen Becomes An Official Endorsing Artist For Yanagisawa (Conn-DSelmer Inc.)

Source: JM Creative
July 9, 2012

Baritone Saxophone Artist, B.J. Jansen, has just become an official endorsing artist and clinician for Yanagisawa Saxophones of Japan. With a heritage of instrument-making in Japan that traces back to 1893, Yanagisawa is recognized today as a maker of the most carefully handcrafted family of artist-level saxophones in the world. In models ranging from sopranino to baritone, these superb instruments have won the praise of many celebrated musicians worldwide. Conn-Selmer, Inc. is the leading manufacturer and distributor of band and ...

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Recording

It’s Another Contemporary Jazz Home Run For Project Grand Slam With The Joyfully Melodic And Grooving "Spring Dance"

Source: Miles High Productions
July 7, 2012

Los Angeles, CA: When is the last time a jazz ensemble named after the nefarious scheme of a James Bond villain packed such a solidly melodic and grooving punch? Project Grand Slam, named by leader Robert Miller as a play on “Goldfinger”’s plan to steal all the gold from Fort Knox, is probably the first—and he and PGS are up to plenty of melodic and grooving wonder this summer on Spring Dance, their explosive new album on Cakewalk Records. The ...

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Event

Luna Stage Fusion Festival in West Orange, NJ -- July 28 & 29

Source: Monifa Brown
July 5, 2012

West Orange, NJ: Luna Stage initiates a new tradition in the Valley Arts District when it brings electric jazz and big band rock to its stages for the last weekend in July. Fans of arena rock, bebop, big bands and jam bands are all welcome to join some of New York’s busiest studio musicians, composers, and teachers for two days of futuristic nostalgia. Afternoon events are free and each evening event is $20 for adults, $15 for students with ID. ...

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Recording

15-year Old Award-winning Songwriter Hayley Reardon Releases First Single From Debut Album

Source: 1888 Media
July 6, 2012

Where The Artists Go Issued For Limited Time As Free Download Via Bandcamp Digital Single Due July 17 Via Kingswood Records Assumes Role As National Peer Spokesperson For PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center Boston, MA: Acclaimed 15-year old singer-songwriter Hayley Reardon has issued the title track from her debut album Where The Artists Go as a free download via BANDCAMP for a limited time before the official single, that includes three different versions, is released on July 17 via Kingswood ...

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