A Saturday for Obama

"Dear Arnaldo DeSouteiro --

Sorry to bug you on a Saturday. But you are registered and living in California's 30th Congressional District.

The FEC wouldn't let us push back their big March 31st deadline. (I tried.)

Just hours to go -- please chip in $3 or more:
https://donate.barackobama.com/Today

Thanks,
Rufus Gifford
National Finance Director - Obama for America"

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.

NY Ad Agency Needs Song for Big $ TV Commercial...

Below is a special opportunity that we wanted to give you a heads up about. Just got the word about this project today, and they need the music by 9:30AM PDT, Monday, April 2, 2012. You can find this listing under the Rap/Hip Hop (Film & TV) genre in the Submit Music section of your TAXImusic.com hosting site.

Top NY Ad Agency needs a COOL, EPIC, PARTY ANTHEM for a National TV Commercial. Quoting the folks in New York, "The vibe for this is LINKIN PARK, KID ROCK, KEVIN RUDOLPH/LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z/RICK RUBIN... ROCK meets HIP HOP. Lyric theme: HAVING A GOOD TIME, NIGHTLIFE, PARTY, FEEL GOOD..."

As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artists or songs in any way, shape, or form! Your SONG should sound COOL, CONTEMPORARY, SEXY and STYLISH. It needs to have a real PULSE and DRIVE the visual images on screen. Imagine the most EPIC NIGHT of your life -- what's the soundtrack for THAT?! You must own or control 100% of the Master and Composition rights to submit for this listing. NO SAMPLES of other songs or artists can be incorporated into your song. Broadcast Quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine.)

ESTIMATED fee for this license is $50,000-$75,000. This is DIRECT-to-the-AGENCY, so you'll KEEP 100% of the fee. Broadcast Quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine). Please have an Instrumental and a capella track available because if you are chosen, the Ad Agency will need them FAST. You should NOT submit them at this time. If you ARE chosen, the Ad Agency will contact you DIRECTLY. Please submit one to three songs online. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS by a person Hand-Picked by the agency rep. NO FULL CRITIQUES FROM TAXI. Submissions must be received no later than 9:30AM PDT, Monday, April 2, 2012. TAXI #Y120402RA

TAXI, 5010 N. Parkway Calabasas, Suite 200, Calabasas, CA 91302, USA

Gina Saputo: an evening of excessive music loving @ Steamers, tomorrow nite

Tomorrow night, March 30, come share an evening of excessive music loving!
Gina Saputo live @ Steamers Jazz Club Cafe
138 West Commonwealth Ave in Fullerton, CA

Featuring: Gina Saputo (vocals), Matt Politano (piano), Eric Sittner (bass), Ramon Banda (drums) & Tony Guerrero (trumpet)
Come hang out with us, call (714) 871-8800 for your RSVP!

PRESS
"One of our favorite vocalists in the contemporary jazz scene, LA-based young diva Gina Saputo...she likes to sing in Portuguese, scatting and phrasing in a very creative way, sometimes sounds like the missing link between Carmen, Basia (check his own groovy "Explain," on which she also emulates Billie), Flora and Tierney. Not to be missed." - Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Jazz Station

"Gina Saputo. In a crowded field of young female jazz singers, Saputo’s soaring vocals and rhythmic lift suggest that she’s ready to step up from the pack." - Don Heckman, LA Times & The International Review of Music

R.I.P.: Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs, Bluegrass Pioneer, Dies at 88
Mr. Scruggs was a banjo player whose hard-driving picking style influenced a generation of players and helped shape the sound of 20th-century country music.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/arts/music/earl-scruggs-bluegrass-banjo-player-dies-at-88.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28_20120329

Pop Song Needed for Independent Film

Below is a special opportunity that we wanted to give you a heads up about. Just got the word about this project today, and need the music by 5 PM (PDT) Monday, April 2nd, 2012. You can find this listing under the Pop (Film & TV) genre in the Submit Music section of your TAXImusic.com hosting site.

Successful Hollywood Film & TV Music Production Company needs a FUN, UPTEMPO POP song a la MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD & GIFT OF GAB - What I Got -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGcy_x1MIgs for placement in an Indie Documentary Film. Your song should have a similar VIBE, TEMPO and FEEL. It's a FEEL-GOOD, SUMMERY, BRIGHT and TOE-TAPPINGLY RHYTHMIC song. It's LIVELY and yet feels sort of LAID-BACK at the same time. The song must be at least 2 minutes long. Lyric themes should be PG-Rated and UNIVERSAL. As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artist in any way, shape or form! Use it only as a guide for general texture, energy, and vibe. Broadcast quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine.)

The ESTIMATED PAYMENT for this placement is a Festival License fee of $250-$500 with the possibility of more depending upon the success of the film. Quoting the listing company, "William Morris is representing the film and expects to be able to sell it into a limited theatrical release, and then to an HBO or Showtime type network. Once it gets sold, there could be additional license money available." You must own or control 100% of your composition and master recording. NO SAMPLES of other artists work allowed. You will keep all your publishing and writer's share - NO publisher splits on this. Please submit one to three songs online, and include lyrics. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis by TAXI and must be received no later than 5 PM (PDT) Monday, April 2nd, 2012. TAXI # Y120402PO

Ella's Grace Glows in the Jazz Museum

Commissioned works by KC artists join artifacts in a tribute to the First Lady of Song.
by Heather Lustfeldt for The Kansas City Star
March 28, 2012

The joyous elegance of Ella Fitzgerald fills the air of the American Jazz Museum's Changing Gallery in a remarkable tribute exhibit to her life and career in jazz.

"Ella: First Lady of Song" comprises film, objects and artifacts drawn from the museum's collections and the collection of Gary and Anita Maltbia. It also features commissioned artwork by 10 Kansas City artists and sculptor Howard Lazar, from San Francisco.

"I wanted people to walk in and be introduced to Ella Fitzgerald," said Sonie Joi Ruffin, artist and visiting curator at the museum.

Visitors immediately experience Fitzgerald's dynamic performances through archival film footage on a large flat-screen monitor of the classic tunes "Summertime," "Lush Life," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Lady Be Good," accompanied by Duke Ellington and his orchestra.

Ruffin collaborated with Zachary Hoskins, the museum's first John H. Baker Jazz film fellow, to present this footage from television performances in the late 1960s. On the walls, salon-style vignettes combine with art, framed album covers, objects, awards and photographs to offer a historical and pictorial journey of Fitzgerald's life as a prolific artist and performer.

While providing this structure, Ruffin emphasized her improvisational, collaborative approach to organizing and installing the exhibit, a method reflecting the spirit of jazz.

"Improvisation is a planned act," she said. "I wanted to maintain that sense of improvisation in planning the show."

Fitzgerald made her singing debut at 17 in 1934 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Clifford Doyle harks back to that time with an impressionistic oil painting depicting the Apollo's marquee illuminated by bright lights reflecting on the shiny, busy street.

Other works evoking Fitzgerald include a large, intricate wall sculpture of steel and white porcelain by Reilly Hoffman and Kelly Dickens' depiction of the concave interior of a floral hat, an impressive, unconventional reference to Fitzgerald's iconic style.

"Iconography," an acrylic on panel by Myles Cheadle, depicts a black keyhole on a white background filled with meandering text and symbols -- insulin (a reference to her diabetes), a jewel, a microphone, her name, birth and death dates, and a shiny gold crown.

An ethereal black-and-white portrait in oil wash by Michael Brantley is among ranging interpretations of her image and persona.

A buoyant acrylic on canvas by Robert Quackenbush depicts Fitzgerald singing in a pink, feathered hat, her name aside in gold print above a green, structured ground. The piece pops, installed with grommets upon a central orange wall.

Also striking, albeit very different, is Lazar's gleaming, larger-than-life ceramic bust of Fitzgerald in an emerald green dress and Brantley's monumental, evocative oil on canvas, "First Lady," a monochromatic, dreamily realistic vision of Fitzgerald deep in song.

Joseph Smith's five portraits on paper, including a watercolor, "Ella at the Gem," of an older Fitzgerald in front of the Gem marquee and an emotive three-quarter profile watercolor, "Queen of Scat," with the lyrics for "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," are quiet and reflective within vignettes.

NedRa Bonds, who contributed two intimate, framed quilts, incorporates screen prints of Fitzgerald and song lyrics, including a verse from "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" in one quilt with a basket-patterned, beaded brown band and a green and white floral outer edge.

Everyone has a different take: Clifford Doyle's glamorous acrylic-on-canvas of Fitzgerald, based on an iconic photograph from the early '50s, contrasts with Cheadle's funky mixed-media portrait in dazzling blues and reds; Michelle Beasley's acrylic-on-panel depicting four full-length, multicolored portraits of Fitzgerald as a blossoming icon looks to Andy Warhol's multiples.

Pivotal photographs include a 1947 image by William Gottlieb of Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, and a Herman Leonard image of Fitzgerald performing in New York for an audience including Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.

Female camaraderie emanates from photographs of Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at New York City's Bop City Club in 1947, and a radiant Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe at Mocambo Nightclub in Hollywood in 1955.

Fitzgerald credited Monroe for persuading owner Charlie Morrison to book her at the club, making her the first African-American to perform at Mocambo. Her move to Verve Records in 1956 and the subsequent release of "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook" -- the first of eight multi-album songbooks with Verve produced by Norman Granz -- launched her into the mainstream.
__________

"Ella: First Lady of Song" continues in the Changing Gallery at the American Jazz Museum, 1616 E. 18th St., through June 1. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the exhibit is free. For more information, 816-474-8463 or http://americanjazzmuseum.com

R.I.P.: Lou Colombo

Lou Colombo; Trumpeter Dazzled Stars of the Jazz World
by Kathleen McKenna for The Boston Globe
March 28, 2012

Lou Colombo had been chiseling, hammering, and reworking an old trumpet mouthpiece until March 3, when he finally got it just right.

"My dad was always searching for the perfect mouthpiece," said his son David of Sandwich. "Over the years, he'd probably been to every music store in the country."

Mr. Colombo was not scheduled to play that Saturday night at the Roadhouse Cafe, which his family owns, in Fort Myers, Fla., but the musicians on the bill urged him to sit in. He agreed and even ironed a new shirt for the occasion. "He was so excited," his son said.

A consummate entertainer, Mr. Colombo was known for his ability to play the trumpet with just one hand, and his set that night was his best ever, according to the musicians who shared the stage. They invited him to play another set, but he decided to go home to his wife.

Mr. Colombo died in a car accident as he pulled out of the Roadhouse Cafe parking lot at about 9:30 p.m. March 3. He was 84 and had divided his time between his home in South Yarmouth and Florida.

"He was in the best shape of his life," his son said. "He went out on a high note, doing what he loved right up until the end. It was like God said, 'You're at the top. You got the sound you always wanted. Now we're going to take you.'"

Louis Bernard Colombo was born in Brockton. Though he kept close ties to his hometown and the jazz scene there, he spent most of his life on Cape Cod, where he was a force in the music community, playing steady gigs to capacity crowds.

Among the luminaries who watched him perform were Tony Bennett and Dizzy Gillespie. During his career, he played alongside the likes of Rosemary Clooney and Mel Torme.

In later years, Mr. Colombo played winter gigs in Florida.

As a child, he was a standout baseball player who never struck out during four years on the varsity team at Brockton High School. His friends included Rocky Marciano, the future heavyweight boxing champion, who lived two doors down and married one of Mr. Colombo's cousins.

In 1944, Mr. Colombo joined the Army and played trumpet for a military band during World War II.

Upon returning to Brockton, he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Playing for farm teams, his batting average hovered around.300. When he traveled to games in the South, Mr. Colombo corralled fellow athletes to sneak out past curfew and visit jazz clubs.

Even while playing baseball, his son said, Mr. Colombo kept his trumpet close. As television stations began airing games and team owners scrambled to fill the stands with fans, Mr. Colombo was often called on to play his trumpet before games or during breaks in the action, dressed in his baseball uniform and often backed by a full band at home plate.

"He was very popular," his son said. "The crowds loved him."

When an ankle injury ended his baseball career, he returned home and threw his energies into music.

After touring for a few years with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and others, he met Noel Tremblay of North Attleborough when she went with a friend to hear him play. They married in 1951 and settled in South Yarmouth.

From then on, he played mainly regional gigs, often with Dick Johnson on sax and Dave McKenna on piano. One of Mr. Colombo's most admired albums was 1990's "I Remember Bobby," a tribute to his friend, musician Bobby Hackett.

Reviewing the album in 1991, People magazine noted that "in the '50s Lou Colombo was a minor-league baseball player with a.300 batting average. Not bad, but he bats 1,000 here. If his propulsive renditions of 'It All Depends on You' and 'Three Little Words' fail to wrest listeners from their seats, their next stop ought to be the doctor; something is seriously amiss with their vital signs."

In 1988, trumpeter and bandleader Dizzy Gillespie, who died in 1993, was speaking with WGBH-FM. "This guy's amazing," he said of Mr. Colombo. "I've been preaching his name ever since that night I first heard him down on Cape Cod."

Mr. Colombo, Gillespie said, "starts playing and the notes keep going, but the chord keeps changing all the time.... I went one night to hear him play. Boy, he asked me to play with him and I said 'No, you got it, brother. I'm not going to jump into that hot water.'"

Saxophonist Ted Casher of Bridgewater, who played with Mr. Colombo for years, called him "the most superb and most natural musician I ever ran into."

Mr. Colombo passed a love for music to his children, several of whom operate restaurants where their father performed as a regular. His daughter Lori is a jazz singer.

"Every time my dad entered the room, people would respond," she said. "He was such a showman and had a way of getting the crowd excited, first with his amazing comedic wit, and then when he picked up the trumpet."

His son recalled that when Tony Bennett visited Hyannis 20 or so years ago, the singer watched Mr. Colombo after performing nearby.

"He tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'That's the best trumpet player I ever heard in my life,'" Mr. Colombo's son said. "And I said, 'Yeah, Tony, me, too."

A few years ago, Bennett invited Mr. Colombo to join him onstage at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston.

Bennett told JazzTimes magazine: "Lou Colombo was a magnificent musician and was known as Dizzy Gillespie's favorite trumpet player. Lou was a wonderful human being and his sudden passing is a tragedy and a great loss to his family and all who have known him and worked with him over the years."

In addition to his wife, son, and daughter, Mr. Colombo leaves three other daughters, Lynda of Delray Beach, Fla., Lou Anne of Brewster, and Sherri Colombo Neeley of Fort Myers; another son, Thomas of Sandwich; a brother, Vincent of Brockton; a sister, Jeannette Small of Bridgewater; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

His family will hold a New Orleans-style funeral procession on June 17, Father's Day. It will begin at 2 p.m. in Hyannis at Colombo's, a restaurant David owns, and end with a memorial service at the Cape Cod Melody Tent.

Lori will host a free tribute concert July 11 at Wequassett Inn in Chatham and perform along with many of her father's friends. Students will be featured, as well, which is fitting, she said, since Mr. Colombo was a strong advocate for young musicians.

"My father told me over and over: 'Play the melody,'" she said. "He believed that people needed to hear the melody, that it helped rekindle something inside them so they could connect with the song on a much deeper level. That's what Dad was about."

Diana Krall's ticket pre-sale alert for Turlock

Ticket Pre-Sale & VIP Offer Alert for Diana Krall's upcoming performance, on August 21, 2012 @ the Turlock Community Theatre in Turlock, CA

Pre-Sale tickets for this show will be available Monday, April 2 at 12pm local time:
http://dianakrall.artistarena.com
username: diana
password: krall

A Pre-Sale VIP offer will be available for this concert, including:
- One Premium Reserved Seat Ticket
- One Limited Edition Signed Diana Krall Poster
- One Exclusive Diana Krall T-Shirt
- One Diana Krall Cork Screw
- One Commemorative VIP Laminate

SESC in the NY Times

Brazil's Unique Culture Group Stays Busy Sharing the Wealth
Brazil's most active culture organization, SESC, finances not just arts programs but also books, CDs, courses, recreation and health clinics, and it is raising the country's global profile.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/arts/brazils-leading-arts-financing-group-shares-the-wealth.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28_20120327

Compilation of the Week - "Selectro"

Compilation of the Week (2-CD set)
"Selectro Rezidents - Andy Kleeko/B2B/Shaun Lever" (Selectro) 2012

Jazz Songs Needed for Indie Film with Major Studio Distribution

Below is a special opportunity that we wanted to give you a heads up about. Just got the word about this project today, and TAXI needs the music by NOON (PDT) on Thursday, March 29, 2012. You can find this listing under the Jazz (Film & TV) genre in the Submit Music section of your TAXImusic.com hosting site.

SMOKEY, SULTRY, DARK JAZZ SONGS with VOCALS in the style of Billie Holiday, needed by the Music Supervisor for a horror film with supernatural overtones based in/around a hidden mansion! Songs submitted ABSOLUTELY MUST fit with a Billie Holiday type sound. THINK: HAUNTING, SUBTLE, SOMBER, RAINY-DAY type tracks with smooth vocals that can provide the perfect eerie quality to specific scenes. Vocals, lyrics, and production MUST all be as authentic and believable as possible!

NO profanity, NO current lingo, NO lyrics that are too literal. This is a non-exclusive license and the opportunity for songs to be considered for use in the trailer for the film. We recently ran this as Dispatch #D120314JZ, and the music supervisor would like to hear more material. If you submitted to the Dispatch listing, please send in new songs this time around. As always, vocal and instrumental performances MUST be top-notch. Excellent performances are absolutely necessary. You must own 100% of your master recording and publishing. Broadcast quality needed (excellent home recordings are fine.) Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than NOON (PDT) on Thursday, March 29, 2012. TAXI #Y120329JZ.

TAXI, 5010 N. Parkway Calabasas, Suite 200, Calabasas, CA 91302, USA

Amy Winehouse's "Rehab Part 3" comes out today on 12" picture disc

12" Single of the Week
Amy Winehouse: "Rehab Part 3" (PICT 109 - France) 2012

Side A
1. "Rehab" (original extended mix)
2. "Rehab" (Demo extended version)
3. "Rehab" (Desert Eagle disc vocal)
Side B
1. "Rehab" (Hot Chip remix)
2. "Rehab" (Festival London 2007)
3. "Rehab" (Napster Live)

George Benson interviewed by Howard Reich

George Benson Swings Guitar Back to Jazz Standards
Howard Reich for The Chicago Tribune
March 22, 2012

Few living jazz musicians have enjoyed the broad acclaim of George Benson, and fewer still are likely to in the future. The implosion of the record industry and the marginalization of jazz in our popular culture -- notwithstanding the recent crossover success of bassist-vocalist Esperanza Spalding and pianist-bandleader Robert Glasper -- have made Benson's career quite the anomaly.

So as he sees his 70th birthday not far in the offing -- he reaches that milestone next March -- Benson can look back with some satisfaction at having emerged at the right time, and with the right gifts.

"I can't complain, because I came along just before that happened," says Benson, referring to the ravages of the record business in the digital age.

"I sold millions of records and I saved my pennies and we did well. I think they eventually will figure out how to turn it into a money machine again," adds Benson, who plays the Chicago Theatre on Friday night on a bill with Boney James.

"They made some terrible mistakes. They didn't jump on (the Internet) fast enough, and now people get records for free and people are losing fortunes every day.

"But like everything else, it will find its place. Nothing we can do about that."

Except for one thing: keep recording and performing, which is what Benson has been doing quite artfully, most recently with the album "Guitar Man" (Concord Jazz). In emphasizing Benson's fluidity as instrumentalist, while also featuring him on select vocal tracks, "Guitar Man" gently evokes the earlier, pre-pop-star chapters of Benson's career. Moreover, its emphasis on classic repertoire reminds listeners that Benson remains a jazz musician at heart.

That Benson opens the recording with "Tenderly" (also the title track to his 1989 collection of standards) and moves on to "My One and Only Love," "It's Only a Paper Moon" and John Coltrane's "Naima" underscores his interest in core repertoire. His idiosyncratic version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and a solo account of "Danny Boy" similarly point to an artist looking warmly upon a distant past.

"I definitely felt connected to the older roots" in making "Guitar Man" and touring with that music, says Benson.

"Especially when I did 'Paper Moon.' I was going to do it as a vocal. Forget it, man. You're not going to top Nat 'King' Cole's version.

"So I said, 'You know what?' It still feels like the '40s without a vocal, why not just do it (on guitar) alone.

"And... it still feels old-fashioned. All that stuff from that era has a quality on it that does not exist today. There are some great artists (today), don't get me wrong. But not the percentage of years ago."

Certainly the golden era of Nat "King" Cole -- whom Benson considers his "favorite artist" -- has long since passed. Yet perhaps no one working today captures Cole's unique synthesis of instrumental virtuosity and disarming vocals as eloquently as Benson. To him, the aesthetic values he shares with Cole run deep.

"Because I started off as a singer first, I heard Nat 'King' Cole as a young man," remembers Benson, who began singing in clubs as a boy and recording before he was a teenager.

"He had everything: sophistication, great tonality, diction that I hadn't heard from a lot of other (contemporary) singers, except maybe Billy Eckstine," adds Benson, though the list surely includes Johnny Hartman, Cab Calloway, Joe Williams and others.

"When Nat started playing piano, that brought it all together. You can hear the musicianship. That made everything he did sound fresh."

As for Benson, he acknowledges what "Guitar Man" clearly illustrates: that his jazz work has sweetened over the years (and we needn't digress into his most egregiously commercial outings of the early and mid-1980s). Benson believes that he has become a stronger vocalist-guitarist, even if he probably has lost a couple of notes at the uppermost reaches of his voice.

"I still can perform just about every song in the same key as before," says Benson.

"My sound has developed. It's a little more mellow than it was before, but more than that, it seems to go (well) with my ideas now.... It doesn't seem to make a difference what (style) I play. It all comes from different genres: jazz, pop, R&B. But it seems like it's the same guy telling the story."

Still, after all these decades, the guitar indisputably stands at the heart of everything Benson does, and he still tries to gain control of it every day of his life, an ultimately futile task, he says.

"The guitar is the most challenging instrument," observes Benson. "I imagine all the instruments are challenging. But just when you think you've mastered (the guitar), here's somebody who plays something that never occurred to you.

"That's what keeps the guitar alive in my life. It's the foremost instrument in my life."

And jazz is the better for it.

People will be watching

"Dear Mr. Arnaldo DeSouteiro --

You are currently registered and living in California's 30th Congressional District. The end of this week is the most important fundraising deadline of the campaign so far.

Here's why: As the other side starts to settle on an opponent for us, people will be watching what we do like never before. They'll want to see just how we measure up, and just how ready we are.

That opponent will have a war chest of millions of dollars from mostly high-dollar donors. We'll have this grassroots campaign of millions of people giving whatever they can afford.

I'm placing my bet on us -- now I want to know where you're placing yours. Please give $3 or more, before the deadline:
https://donate.barackobama.com/March-Deadline

Thanks,

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager - Obama for America"

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.

Steve Lawrence on "Awake"

Legendary singer Steve Lawrence, of the Steve & Eydie (Gormé) fame, will be doing a special guest appearance on a new NBC Hit Drama, "Awake," starring Jason Issacs (of Harry Potter Fame.)
Thursday, April 5th at 10pm/9c
Be sure to watch. He’s great!

Mark Murphy interviewed by Roseanna Vitro

Mark Murphy: Repertoire and Relaxation
Roseanna Vitro interviews the legendary jazz singer and improviser
www.JazzTimes.com - March 23, 2012

Mark Murphy turns 80 years young this year. He is famous for his soaring instrument and his distinctive vocal improvisations, with melody and lyrics. He was a recipient of DownBeat's readers' jazz poll for Best Male Vocalist in 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001. Notably Mark has received six Grammy nominations for Best Vocal Jazz Performance. Among his best known nominated recordings are "Stolen Moments" (Muse Records), "September Ballads" (Milestone Records) and "Song for the Geese" (RCA Records). Mark's original lyrics to Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" and Freddie Hubbard's standard "Red Clay" live on through vocal jazz programs all over the world today. From "Meet Mark Murphy" (1956) to the 2010 recording "Never Let Me Go," Murphy continues to attract audiences and fans around the world.

Roseanna Vitro: As a young man, what music first inspired you?

Mark Murphy: Art Tatum. I would go to my grandmother and uncle's house for Sunday dinners. All of my family were part of a local choir. My grandfather, Milton Cross, always listened to the Metropolitan Opera on Sunday afternoons. But when I was thirteen, what really caught my ear was Art Tatum's "Humoresque." I was always singing and fortunately I inherited my dad's glorious voice. Mom was a flapper and she knew rhythm and jazz. Dad knew oratorio church music.

RV: How early in your career did you start performing?

MM: As a young man, I didn't know anything about baseball or anything else but singing. I didn't have a voice teacher but as early as middle school, I was given all the solos to perform. To learn my parts, I just listened and copied. I was also influenced by my older brother who played the bass and my younger sister who was a first soprano. Early on, we listened to Benny Goodman records. I fell in love with Peggy Lee's sound, Sarah Vaughan, Ella, Arthur Prysock, Billy Eckstine and Nat Cole was my favorite. I listened to the radio constantly after I found a jazz station.

RV: Were you a disciplined student?

MM: To a point I was, because I was always singing and listening to the music. I have undisciplined ways. I don't just sit down and work. Sometimes I hear an idea in the morning and write it down and I never sing solos or phrases the same way, I'm not rigid. I remember hearing that Nat Cole practiced two hours a day. My practice evolved sitting in on piano with my brother's six piece band. When they rehearsed, I'd sit in and play piano and sing just playing the chords. My aunt played a little piano and she showed me the basics on "Lullaby of Rhythm." Later on, I took the bus from Fulton to Syracuse, NY to attend college I studied in drama school for four years and really dug Jack Kerouac. Kerouac's writing was very rhythmic, very jazz-like. His prose is divine.

RV: Your ballad singing is renowned. What is your focus when singing a ballad?

MM: I send out a beam of attention, like radar. I learned this from Peggy Lee. I used to watch her on Steve Allen's show. Peggy would sit there very still; she never took her eyes off the camera. You'd feel as though she was singing just to you. I see inside the song I'm singing as though I'm watching in a movie, always drawing the picture with my words and sounds. This is art.

RV: Do you have advice for today's young singers who are following in your path?

MM: Yes. Disciplined listening, studying the history and where the music is heading now a days. Go on an exploration of who's doing what and how they're doing it. See if it's something you can do. When I taught at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria, first I taught voice technique. But when the students learned good voice technique and would try to be creative and improvise, they'd forget their technique. You have to keep your technique and you have to always be creative, always exploring. A few of my students got it, like Tessa Souter and a girl from Belgrade that I first heard in Cape Town. It can take almost ten years to "originalize" your delivery. There's no particular method when improvising with lyrics, except to bend and caress the story and melodic ideas in your head as your singing, like painting a picture with your voice. Naturally, it depends on the tempo and the mood of the song. First chorus, tell the story in your own way and in the second chorus, continue to stretch and be spontaneous. I'm motivated by harmonics, like Jimmy Rowles and Peggy Lee. They played for years together. Your accompanist has a lot to do with how you sing, so experiment and choose your partner wisely.

RV: Drummers are very important. What do you like when choosing a drummer for your groups?

MM: First, I must have someone who knows how to play brushes. A musician with a wide rhythmic skill set complete with a bunch of mallets and the ability to make it sound like a big band if you want or a whisper. He has to connect with the bassist and invent a pulse for the pianist to float on. Then, I can float on top of this layer and communicate. I love percussive sounds. That's what your lips are for. [With] the tongue inside the mouth, there are around fifty articulations possible. This came to me bit by bit experimenting through the years. For a while, I couldn't find the right group of musicians in New York that booted me up. So I worked with a group from Cincinnati, Ohio, featuring Frank Vincent on piano for about ten years.

In closing I would like to say how important it can be for an artist's development to work with the same group consistently. I developed a repertoire and relaxation with my Cincy group. My singing evolved with a feeling of intense relaxation, always using my diaphragm and breathing specifically through my nose. This focuses the air stream as accurate as a hit with drum stick. Dave Lambert, one of my favorites, had that kind of control. He could read music or just blow long solos breathing through his nose with absolute accuracy.
**********
Mark Murphy will be honored on May 21st at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City in a show called "Celebrating Mark Murphy: A Life in Song," featuring a short film of Mark's life and a host of singers honoring Mark, including Sheila Jordan, Annie Ross, Steve Ross, Tom Lellis, Tessa Souter, Dena DeRose, myself and more. Mark is still singing great and teaching with every concert. For bookings, please contact Jean-Pierre Leduc at (514) 247-0706.

Win tickets to Jean Rollin's "Fascination"

This week's Update we've listened a new compilation featuring soundtrack music to French filmmaker Jean Rollin's psycho-sexual thrillers. New York residents will also get a chance to see a screening of one of his masterpieces, 1979's "Fascination," which is playing in Brooklyn at Williamsburg's Nitehawk Cinema on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31, with Morricone Youth providing live music and soundscape for the film!

Other Music has two pairs of passes for the Saturday night screening (12:20 a.m.) and you can enter to win a pair by emailing giveaway@othermusic.com. They'll notify the two winners on Friday morning.

SATURDAY, MARCH 31
NITEHAWK CINEMA
136 Metropolitan Ave
Williamsburg, BKLN

Clark Terry Fundraising Event in NY, April 23 @ Saint Peter's Church

CLARK TERRY FUNDRAISING EVENT
MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012, 7 PM
SAINT PETER’S CHURCH
619 Lexington Ave, New York, NY
“E” train to Lexington Avenue or “6” to 51st Street
Ph: (212) 935-2200
www.saintpeters.org/events
www.clarkterry.com

Gwen Terry, The Duke Ellington Society, International Women in Jazz, Jazz Foundation of America and Saint Peter’s Church – Jazz Ministry are partnering to produce a fundraiser for Clark Terry on Monday, April 23 at 7 PM at Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, New York City.

Over 30 musicians will perform for their colleague, Clark Terry, to raise funds to help defray Clark’s medical expenses. Clark Terry plans to appear at the event via Skype.

Suggested donation is $25 at the door.

Checks should be written to Jazz Foundation of America with “Clark Terry account” in the memo line.

Donations can also be sent to Jazz Foundation of America, 322 W. 48th Street, New York, NY 10036. (212) 245-3999. www.jazzfoundation.org

Clark Terry’s career in jazz spans more than seventy years. He is a world-class trumpeter, flugelhornist, educator, composer, writer, trumpet/flugelhorn designer, teacher and NEA Jazz Master. He has performed for eight U.S. Presidents, and was a Jazz Ambassador for State Department tours in the Middle East and Africa. More than fifty jazz festivals have featured him at sea and on land in all seven continents. Many have been named in his honor.

He is one of the most recorded musicians in the history of jazz, with more than nine-hundred recordings. Clark’s discography reads like a “Who’s Who in Jazz,” with personnel that include greats such as Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Washington, Ben Webster, Aretha Franklin, and the list goes on.

Among his numerous recordings, he has been featured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Dutch Metropole Orchestra, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Woody Herman Orchestra, Herbie Mann Orchestra, Donald Byrd Orchestra, quartets, quintets, sextets, octets, and two big bands – Clark Terry’s Big Bad Band and Clark Terry’s Young Titans of Jazz.

His Grammy and NARAS Awards include: 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, NARAS President’s Merit Award, three Grammy nominations, and two Grammy certificates.

He broke the color barrier by accepting an offer in 1960 from the National Broadcasting Company to become its first African American staff musician. He was with NBC for twelve years as one of the spotlighted musicians in the Tonight Show band. During that time, he scored a smash hit as a singer with his irrepressible “Mumbles.”

Clark has received dozens of other Hall and Wall of Fame Awards, NEA Jazz Master Award in 1991, keys to cities, lifetime achievement awards (four were presented to him in 2010), trophies, plaques and other prestigious awards. The French and Austrian Governments presented him with their esteemed Arts and Letters Awards, and he was knighted in Germany.

His long-awaited book – Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry– is available now, published by University of California Press.

For a complete biography on Clark Terry, visit his website at www.clarkterry.com

Donations:
Jazz Foundation of America with “Clark Terry account” in the memo line.
322 W. 48th Street, New York, NY 10036. (212) 245-3999.
www.jazzfoundation.org

For More Info Contact:
Lynne Mueller
Ph: (917) 207-4953

Katie Thiroux live @ Steamers, March 28

Next Wednesday, jazz bassist/vocalist Katie Thiroux will be performing standards and her original songs @ Steamers, with The Evan Stone Trio: Evan Stone (drums), Matt Politano (piano) & Dave Goldberg (sax).

Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe
138 W. Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton, CA 92832
Ph: (714) 871-8800
www.steamersjazz.com

Long Beach-based Katie Thiroux, born February 3, 1988, and raised in Los Angeles, California, is a bassist and vocalist of outstanding talent and determination. In early 2009, Thiroux joined Terri Lyne Carrington at the Munster Jazz Festival. Shortly after the performance in Germany, they formed a trio with my late dear friend Dr. Billy Taylor for a special performance in Boston, Massachusetts.

While in her last semester at Berklee College of Music, to which she was awarded the Presidential Scholarship, Miss Thiroux received an invitation to join the faculty at the University de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador for one year. In late August 2009, Thiroux began teaching over 30 bass and vocal students. Between working on her pedagogical techniques, composing new material and adapting to the fascinating culture in Ecuador, Thiroux performs with her own trio and other notable artists across the world. Being on the road and performing internationally galvanizes her to collect influences for her art.

Most recently, Katie and her trio performed at the 2010 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Other notable performances include club venues such as Catalina's, Regattabar, The Kitano, The Lighthouse, and festivals such as The Monterey Jazz Festival (Berklee Monterey Quartet), Beantown Jazz Festival, San Miguel Allende International Jazz Festival (Mexico), Quito International Jazz Festival (Ecuador), Punta del Este International Jazz Festival (Uruguay), Newport Beach Jazz Festival and the Sweet & Hot Jazz Festival. Katie's impressive vocals and brilliant instrumental arrangements make her a rising force in today's LA jazz scene.

Diana Krall Opens "2012 Summer Nights Tour" at DPAC with Spellbinding Performance

http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/opens-53760-performance-diana.html(Grammy award-winning musician Diana Krall performed to a sold-out audience at the Durham Performing Arts Center on Thursday night.)
Diana Krall Opens Tour at DPAC with Spellbinding Performance
by Keren Rivas for Times-News, March 24, 2012
Burlington (North Carolina)

Grammy-winning jazz diva Diana Krall captivated a sold-out audience at the Durham Performing Arts Center during an intimate performance Thursday night.

The performance was the first stop on the Canadian artist's 40-city 2012 Summer Nights tour.

Wearing her signature black dress, Krall opened the night with an upbeat rendition of "I Just Found Out About Love," which served as a playful introduction and set the tone for the entire performance.

Her sultry voice held listeners under a spell as she drew them up-close with songs such as Sergio Mendez's "So Nice," from her bossa-nova inspired album, "Quiet Nights," "I'll String Along with You" and "Love Scenes," which she dedicated to her family, 5-year-old twin boys and husband Elvis Costello.

Krall's jazz pianism took center stage throughout the night, enhanced only by the outstanding accompaniment provided by guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Karriem Riggins. Their up-beat jazz performance, particularly during tunes like "Jockey Full of Bourbon," "How Deep Is the Ocean?" and "The Frim Fram Sauce" kept the audience tapping their feet and bursting into cheers and applause, always wanting more.

Krall seemed more at ease during her in-between-song chats, which despite being random anecdotes about growing up in Canada and life as a mother that seemed to be more notes to herself than anything else, provided a chance for the audience to laugh and relax and connect with her in a more intimate way.

"You've taken the position of a bartender, even though you are the ones who've paid the ticket," she said jokingly during one such chat. "That's okay. We're all in the same living room."

In her more intimate moments, when Krall played the piano by herself while the band took a break, she surprised the audience with a deliciously soulful performance of Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In."

Before returning to the stage for an encore that included "Walk on By" and "I'm Walking," Krall closed the night with Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek," which she somehow managed to turn into a playful medley that included contemporary tunes like "Low Rider" and "Come Together," with the audience singing along.

NYT: Whitney Houston Drowned, Coroner Says

The pop singer also suffered from heart disease, according to the coroner's report, which ended a month of speculation about the cause of Whitney Houston's sudden death on Feb. 11.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/arts/music/whitney-houston-drowned-coroner-says.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28_20120323

Anna Mjöll & The Pat Senatore Trio live @ Vibrato, April 3

Lee Ranaldo in-store performance in NY

LEE RANALDO IN-STORE: TUESDAY, MARCH 20 @ 9:00 P.M. Just in!
We are excited to announce a record release party and special in-store performance @ Other Music from a New York City legend, none other than Lee Ranaldo, celebrating the release of his great new Matador LP, "Between the Time and the Tides!"

OTHER MUSIC
15 East 4th Street, NYC
Free Admission, Limited Capacity

Scot Albertson & Daryl Kojak Duo @ Tomi Jazz, NYC, next Thursday

Win tix to films by Sara Driver

Win tickets to films with these unique scores by filmmaker Sara Driver in her retrospective at Anthology Film Archives, which starts Friday March 23. Her film "When Pigs Fly" features a soundtrack by Joe Strummer, and those screenings will be followed by a half-hour film, shot by Jim Jarmusch, documenting Strummer as he composes the music to the film. UNCUT Magazine named the "When Pigs Fly" soundtrack as one of the 50 greatest bootlegs.

Driver's films "Sleepwalk" and "You Are Not I" feature music composed by the innovative composer Phil Kline. Other Music has a pair of tickets to give away to each of these screenings: "Sleepwalk" on Fri, Mar 23rd at 7pm; "You Are Not I" on Fri, Mar 23 at 9:15pm; and "When Pigs Fly" on Sun Mar 25 at 6:30pm! Enter by emailing contest@othermusic.com, and list the screening that you would like to see. Driver and actress Suzanne Fletcher will be present for selected screenings, including the ones we've listed above.

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES: 32 Second Ave. NYC

Vinyl releases in March

All available from www.jazzloft.com

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew Live (180g Music on Vinyl)
Miles Davis - We Want Miles (180g Music on Vinyl)
Leonard Cohen - Greatest Hits (180g Music on Vinyl)
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Area 52 (180g 2-LP 45rpm Music on Vinyl)
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball (180g + CD Columbia)
Soft Machine - Live at Het, Turfschip, Netherland 1970 (Vinyl Lovers)
Van der Graaf Generator - H To He, Who Am The Only One (4 Men With Beards)
Weather Report - Black Market (180g Music on Vinyl)
Dexter Gordon - Round Midnight Soundtrack (180g Music on Vinyl)
Leonard Cohen - The Songs of Leonard Cohen (180g Music on Vinyl)
Van Morrison - His Band and The Street Choir (180g)
The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo (180g Analog Remaster)
Soft Machine - Third (180g Analog Remaster)
Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes (180g)
Bob Dylan - Before The Flood (180g)
Patty Waters - College Tour (180g)

Anat Cohen's concerts this month

March is here and spring is arriving with it. And some Anat Cohen's shows coming up:

March 17th in Bern, Switzerland
Anat Cohen Quartet at the Bern Jazz Festival with special guest Yuval Cohen
With: Jason Lindner, Daniel Freedman and Reuben Rogers
Playing at the Stadttheater Bern at 8 pm.
For more info: http://www.jazzfestivalbern.ch/html/home_e.htm

March 23rd in Tel-Aviv, Israel
Anat Cohen in duo setting with pianist Stefano Bolano
in the Tel-Aviv Opera ( Hamishkan Le Umanuiot Habama)
21:30 pm
Omri Mor is playing duo with Bolani as well at this concert,
For more info: www.israel-opera.co.il/?CategoryID=579&ArticleID=2060

March 27th & 28th in Savannah, GA
with neo-bopper trombonist Wycliffe Gordon in his "Hello Pops" show
Celebrating the music of Louis Armstrong
For more info: http://www.savannahmusicfestival.org/

March 30th in Boston, MA
An Evening with Kirill Gerstein & Anat Cohen: "Rhapsody in Blue"
8:15 pm at the Berklee Performance Center
For more info: http://www.berklee.edu/events/detail/11124/an-evening-with-kiril-gerstein-rhapsody-in-blue

March 31st in Reading, PA
Anat Cohen Quartet at the Berks Jazz Festival
Anat Cohen Quartet at the Miller Center for the Arts with:
Jason Lindner on piano, Ben Williams on bass & Johnathan Blake on drums
(Eldar plays solo at 7:30 pm. ACQ goes on around 9 pm)
For more info http://berksjazzfest.com/

Nite Jewel ticket & test pressing give away

Nite Jewel's anticipated second full-length, "One Second of Love," has just been released on Secretly Canadian, who are not only offering up one pair of tickets to see her upcoming show at Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday, April 24 (with Mac DeMarco and Sophia Knapp opening) but also an autographed test pressing of her new album to a lucky winner. Email giveaway@othermusic.com to enter.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24
BOWERY BALLROOM
6 Delancey St.
NYC, NY

Barbara Morrison returns to Steamers tonite!

THE RETURN OF BARBARA MORRISON!
TONITE FRI+SAT, MAR 16-17
8:30P-12:30A
ALL AGES $8
CALL 714-871-8800 TO RSVP

Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe
138 W. Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton, CA 92832
714-871-8800

Critically acclaimed vocalist Barbara Morrison returns to Steamers this Friday night! And tomorrow night!!! The dazzling Barbara Morrison has been featured on over 20 recordings in almost every genre from traditional jazz and blues to gospel and pop. Her melodic voice, with its two-and-a-half-octave range, are known worldwide, as are her rich, unique, soulful and highly spirited interpretations of both, familiar jazz and blues classics, and original contemporary tunes. Most striking is her ability to belt out down-home, soul-stirring Blues. Breathtaking are her impassioned renditions of old and favorite torch songs.

It come as no surprise that listeners have experienced the pleasures of Morrison's rich and vibrant tones as the lead vocalist on the movie sound track for The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington, as well as her vocals on The Duke Ellington Millennium CD, and Johnny Otis's "Ooo Shoo Be Dooo" CD. Additional credits include the hit NBC TV comedy The Naked Truth, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Dennis Miller Show.

Born and raised in and around Ypsilanti, Michigan, Barbara Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detroit at the age of 10. Well known in the Los Angeles area for her duo and trio dates, Morrison also tours extensively across the continental United States, Western Europe, the Far East and "Down Under", wowing audiences with her own band, opening for such greats as Ray Charles and appearing as guest star with the Count Basie Orchestra, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Doc Severinsen's Big Band.

Besides her gigs with such luminaries, she also performs at many festivals around the world including Montreux, Nice, Pori, Northsea, Monterey, and Long Beach. Her Salute to Dizzy Gillespie and her Tribute to Benny Golson, are fondly remembered by Morrison fans that return again and again to share her rare, unique and exceptional vocal gifts.

Scot Albertson & Keith Ingham live @ Toshi's Playhouse-NYC, March 21

Monterey Jazz Festival receives $285,000 in grants

The Monterey Jazz Festival just announced that the Surdna Foundation has awarded a three-year grant totaling $225,000 to support Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Festival and Next Generation Jazz Orchestra through 2015.

The 2012 Next Generation Jazz Festival, which includes the 42nd Annual High School Jazz Competition, will showcase over 60 competitively selected high school and college groups at the Monterey Conference Center, March 30 – April 1, 2012. The event, established in 1971, has been described by saxophonist Joshua Redman as “the Superbowl” of high school jazz competitions. Admission is free to the public.

The concurrently-established Next Generation Jazz Orchestra selects the best high school jazz musicians in the country to represent the Monterey Jazz Festival. In addition to performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Orchestra tours domestically and internationally, past tours include Australia, Canada, Europe, and Japan. The ensemble is slated to tour Canada in June, 2012.

“The Monterey Jazz Festival is excited and extremely grateful to the Surdna Foundation for their assistance in funding these two vital cornerstones of our program,” said Paul Contos, Education Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival. “The opportunity to bring young musicians from multiple disciplines throughout the United States is invaluable--to experience what it means to be professionals and passionate artists. These programs would not be possible without Surdna’s assistance in supporting these important resources for young people.”

The Monterey Jazz Festival has also received a $50,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and an additional $10,000 NEA Jazz Masters Live Program grant to support the Festival’s Artist-In-Residence, Commission Artist, and Showcase Artist for the 55th Monterey Jazz Festival in 2012.

“The NEA has been an important supporter of our education programs over the last 20 years,” said Tim Jackson, Artistic Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival. “The ability to present superlative jazz artistry as diverse as Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell and Ambrose Akinmusire is a foundation of our mission and I am proud the NEA shares our vision.”

As the 2012 Artist-In-Residence, the award-winning trumpeter, Ambrose Akinmusire, will act as a clinician and performer during the Next Generation Jazz Festival, March 30 - April 1; as a mentor and clinician at the Festival’s Summer Jazz Camp, June 11 - 22, and will appear at the 55th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 21 – 23, with his own groups and as a guest soloist with his former student band, the Festival’s own Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, of which Mr. Akinmusire was a member in 1999 and 2000.

Guitarist Bill Frisell, called “the most innovative and influential jazz guitarist of the past 25 years” by The Wall Street Journal, will be the Festival’s 2012 Commission Artist, chartered with creating and debuting a new work at the 55th Monterey Jazz Festival.

2012 NEA Jazz Master, GRAMMY®-winning drummer, composer, and pianist, Jack DeJohnette, will act as the Festival’s 2012 Showcase Artist, and will be performing throughout the Festival weekend with several of his own projects. Considered to be one of the greatest drummers in jazz, Mr. DeJohnette’s important, influential, and lasting musical associations with Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis, and Keith Jarrett have inspired countless musicians and fans since the mid-‘60s. The NEA Jazz Masters Live is a program of the National Endowment of the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

The Surdna Foundation seeks to foster just and sustainable communities in the United States. For more information, please visit www.surdna.org.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, visit www.arts.gov

For more information about the Monterey Jazz Festival and its Jazz Education Programs, visit www.montereyjazzfestival.org

About the Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates the legacy of jazz and expands the boundaries of and opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs. The 2012 Monterey Jazz Festival will take place September 21 - 23, 2012.

Claire Bouchers' Grimes give away

The infectious avant electro-pop of Claire Boucher's new Grimes album, "Visions," is an early 2012 favorite, and these two dates this weekend will probably the last time that her New York fans will be able to catch her in a small club. Both Grimes' early-evening Mercury Lounge show this Friday and Saturday night's performance at Glasslands are sold out, but Other Music has a pair of tickets up for grabs to each of these. To enter, email giveaway@othermusic.com and make sure to list which show you'd like to see. They'll notify the 2 winners via email.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23
MERCURY LOUNGE: 217 E. Houston St. NYC
SATURDAY, MARCH 24
GLASSLANDS: 289 Kent Ave. Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Maria Rivas - Thursdays for Jazz @ Kitchen 305

Tonight, Kitchen 305 Presents "Thursdays For Jazz" @ Newport Beachside Resort (16701 Collins Ave, North Miami Beach, FL)!
Live Performance by Maria Rivas & her band with a unique blend of American jazz and latin music. From 7:30pm to 10pm.

Reward your good taste & prepare for the weekend with great jazz, wine, food & cocktails. Many thanks to my dear friends Hannah Becker & Saul Rodriguez for the invitation. And you may attend every Thursday because Maria's show is never the same! U go, girl!
RSVP: (305) 749-2110

Jim was a lifelong Republican...

"Dear Arnaldo DeSouteiro --

According to our records, you are a lawful permanent U.S. resident currently registered and living in California's 30th Congressional District.

Well, the guy who just won the next seat at dinner with President Obama is a Republican.

Or, rather, he was.

He's from Ohio -- one of all too many states where Tea Party extremism has completely seized the Republican Party.

But when the Tea Party agenda -- the same one that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have been fighting to take to the White House -- personally affected Jim, it shook him into action.

He started organizing and volunteering time locally and donating. And just recently, he won a seat at Dinner with Barack.

There are two seats left -- and one of them could be yours. Donate $3 or whatever you can right now to be automatically entered for that chance.

If you win, you'll get to meet the President.

But you'll also get to meet Jim and hear his story -- it's an incredible one.

How about it?
https://donate.barackobama.com/Get-Dinner

Thanks,

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager - Obama for America"

No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter or win. Contributing will not improve chances of winning. Void where prohibited. Winners will be selected throughout the promotion. Entries must be received by 2/22/12, 3/3/12, 3/18/12, and 3/31/12 to be eligible for each successive drawing. You may enter by contributing to Sponsor here or click here to enter without contributing. Four winners will each receive the following prize package: one round-trip ticket from within the fifty U.S. States, DC, or Puerto Rico to a destination to be determined by the Sponsor; hotel accommodations for one; and dinner with President Obama on a date to be determined by the Sponsor (approximate combined retail value $1,150). Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Promotion open only to U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of 50 United States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 18 or older (or of majority under applicable law). Promotion subject to Official Rules and additional restrictions on eligibility. Sponsor: Obama for America, 130 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.

Unique Covers of Patriotic Songs for Hollywood Feature Film

Below is a special opportunity that we wanted to give you a heads up about. Just got the word about this project today, and need the music by 9:30 AM (PST) Monday, March 19th, 2012. You can find this listing under the Hard to Classify (Film & TV) genre in the Submit Music section of your TAXImusic.com hosting site.

Top Film/TV Music Licensing Company needs covers of classic American Folk and Patriotic songs for a Hollywood film. From the company, "You know those time-honored songs that marching bands play at parades - the great American songs that proudly blare as we puff up our chests during 4th of July fireworks? My Country Tis of Thee, Glory Glory Hallelujah, I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy, Anchors Aweigh, etc., etc. We're after UNIQUE versions of those timeless, American classics.

We're looking for tortured Singer-Songwriter, down tempo BLEAK, GLOOMY, SINISTER or OMINOUS interpretations. It could also be EXTREMELY SINCERE. It could be SOFT and HAUNTING as well. (The vibe of Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" or Gary Jules' "Mad World" come to mind, but there are plenty of other ways to go.) The other direction is: FUN UPTEMPO, RAUCOUS and GRITTY INDIE ROCK, HARDCORE or PUNK. MALE VOCALS ONLY, please. No contemporary songs! In fact, please do not cover songs written after the Harding administration."

NO synths or electro-sounding drums please. Instruments must sound AUTHENTIC and NATURAL. TAXI Tip: Emotion is going to go a long way on this pitch. Make the listener FEEL what you're singing! The fee for this license is estimated at $5,000. YOU WILL KEEP 70% of the ultimate fee, and you will NOT give up ANY of your master, publishing and writer's share! You must own or control 100% of the Master rights to submit for this listing.

NO SAMPLES of other songs or artists can be incorporated into your track. As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artists or songs in any way, shape, or form! Broadcast Quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine.) If you submit a SONG, please make sure you have a mix minus vocal on the shelf and ready to go if your music gets picked. Please submit one to three songs online. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS by a person Hand-Picked by the listing company.

ALL submissions must be received no later than 9:30 AM (PST) Monday, March 19th, 2012. TAXI #Y120319AL

Why this race is closer than you think

"Dear Mr. Arnaldo DeSouteiro --

You are currently living and registered in California's 30th Congressional District.

If the general election were held today, President Obama would lose to Mitt Romney -- according to the latest poll from Washington Post-ABC News.

Now, many other polls put the President on top, but all point to the same reality: We're looking at a race that will be tighter than you think. And the other side has groups ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to tear down President Obama.

We cannot underestimate someone like Romney who has shown he will spend and say anything to win. We need to turn up the pressure now.

If the idea of a President Romney scares you, it's time to own a piece of this campaign. Donate $3 or more today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/If-The-Election-Were-Today

Of course, we have plenty of good news to celebrate, and we must not overreact to any one poll. But this one is a reminder that we have to remain vigilant -- always focused on November 6th and the work we have to do to win.

Thanks,

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager - Obama for America"

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.

Win tickets to Big Deal

Big Deal's Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood quickly won over UK music fans last year with their debut album, Lights Out, a record built from not much more than a couple of guitars and the duo's heartbreak vocal melodies. But wow, it's a shimmering set packed full of intoxicating emotions and nostalgia, and the album has finally been released in the States. Big Deal will be playing a couple of New York shows before heading over to Austin for SXSW: Sunday, March 11 at Brooklyn's Glasslands and Monday, March 12 at Mercury Lounge. For your chance to win a pair of tickets, email enter@othermusic.com. Good luck!

SUNDAY, MARCH 11
GLASSLANDS GALLERY: 289 Kent Ave, BKLN
MONDAY, MARCH 12
MERCURY LOUNGE: 217 E. Houston St. NYC

Sicilian Night in Beverly Hills

Next week!!! LISA NICHOLS frm THE SECRET will be speaking on "Truly setting your champion free","Turning your passion into profit" & "Manifesting the best life ever."
It's going to be amazing!!!

http://www.facebook.com/l/9AQEfjvgk/sicilyinbeverlyhills-efbevent.eventbrite.com/
Sicilian Night in Beverly Hills
www.eventbrite.com

Russ Kassoff Big Band with Catherine Dupuis returns to Gillespie Auditorium, this Friday

The Russ Kassoff Big Band, led by renowned jazz pianist, composer and arranger Russ Kassoff -- voted "Acoustic Pianist of the Year" in the Jazz Station poll "Best of Jazz in 2011" -- will perform in concert at the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium, NYC Baha'i Center in New York City, located at 53 East 11th Street (between Broadway and University), on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - sets at 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm. The band will once again feature guest vocalist Catherine Dupuis. Information (212) 222-5159, www.jazzbeat.com www.russkassoff.com. Tickets are $15 at the door; $10 for students (w/ID) and WBGO members. Copies of Mr. Kassoff's critically acclaimed CD "Bird Fly By" and most recent CD "Somewhere" will be available at the concert. Both are also available at www.cdbaby.com/artist/russkassoff

The Russ Kassoff Big Band was formed in 2003 after a successful run of concerts featuring Russ as featured composer, arranger, orchestrator, and piano soloist. The virtuosity of the magnificent musicians in the band contributes to the new fresh sound of these hard-swinging original charts. Russ's repertoire is eclectic and diverse, including many new and innovative arrangements of his original compositions in addition to such classics as Ellington's Perdido, Horace Silver'sThe Preacher, Fats Waller's The Joint Is Jumpin', and Tori Amos' Winter.

The roster of players who have regularly performed in the band over the years includes: Ted Nash, Lawrence Feldman, Kurt Bacher, Andy Fusco, Matt Hong, Rick Kriska, Kristy Norter, Dan Block, Gary Keller, Ken Hitchcock, Gerry Niewood, Dave Noland, Carl Maraghi, Ed Xiques, Bob Millikan, Tony Kadleck, Mike Ponella, Glenn Drewes, Brian Pareschi, Shawn Edmonds, Kenny Rampton, Colin Brigstocke, Bud Burridge, John Chudoba, Greg Gisbert, Dave Trigg, Clint Sharman, Charley Gordon, Bruce Bonvissutto (contractor), George Flynn, Nathan Mayland, Pete McGuinness, Dale Kirkland, Bob Suttman, Dave Bargeron, Johannes Pfannkuch, Jennifer Wharton, Tim Sessions, Jack Schatz, Jay Anderson, Jay Leonhart, Gary Mazzaroppi, Ray Kilday, Dick Sarpola, Mike Hall, Maryanne McSweeney, John Arbo, Chip Jackson, John Miller, Joe Cohn, Gene Bertoncini, James Cirillo, Dennis Mackrel, Ray Marchica, Warren Odze, Ronnie Zito, Rich Derosa and vocalists Catherine Dupuis, Martha Lorin and Tony winner Debbie Gravitte (Big Band Broadway!) just to name a few. Most likely the band performing will be from this tremendous roster!

Russ toured extensively with legends Frank Sinatra by request ('80-'91) and Liza Minnelli ('82-'01). As a writer, Russ counts among his major influences Rob McConnell, Thad Jones, Nelson Riddle, Don Costa and Don Sebesky naming just a few.

As a pianist his influences include Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett. All members of the Russ Kassoff Big Band are among a small group of the best free lance musicians in the world. Together they form a vast bio of many worlds of performing experience. Russ - with Sinatra, Minnelli, Rita Moreno, Mimi Hines, Susannah McCorkle, Carol Sloan, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Chris Connor, Bucky Pizzarelli, and countless others - is joined by his band members who also bring their experience - with Count Basie, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Sting, Natalie Cole - just about everyone in the traditions of American jazz and show business - not to mention the Broadway shows currently being played by these marvelous players.

The 17 piece band has performed regularly at the Bahai Center in NYC as part of the wonderful Tuesday night jazz series in the Dizzy Gillespie auditorium produced by jazz great Mike Longo, and has backed Tony Award Winner Debbie Gravitte in a show/concert created by Russ and Debbie called "BIG BAND BROADWAY" at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ct., and at BIRDLAND in NYC, has been the featured performer at the 2nd annual Milford, PA Music Festival under the coordination of Martha Lorin, and has been heard on the 1010 WINS Radio Jingle promoting LIVE MUSIC in the NY Metropolitan area sponsored by LOCAL 802 AFM, NY's musicians union! The RKBB also has appeared annually in the sanctuary at St. Peter's Lutheran Church at the Citicorp Center most recently honoring in tribute to Gerry Niewood, a founding member and world class saxophonist who perished in the Buffalo plane crash of February 12, 2009.

Kassoff was a guest (May '07) on NPR with Marion McPartland's Piano Jazz celebrating his critically acclaimed solo/trio CD, Somewhere. Russ also appears regularly on Lise Avery's Anything Goes Radio - www.anythinggoesradio.com as they can be heard exchanging many stories, fun and banter as well as promoting many of Russ's local gigs in the NY area.Vocalist Catherine Dupuis has been the featured vocalist with the RKBB since its inception. Her style is soulful, innovative, and fresh and she is a consummate artist. With the RKBB she performs a repertoire of original RK arrangements that she and Russ have worked on as musical partners for several years. Dupuis' three CDs recorded for Bearheart Records have received rave reviews. About Rules of the Road (2005) arranged and conducted by Russ Kassoff, featuring the Russ KassoffTrio, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ted Nash, Marvin Stamm and Joe Cohn, Scott Yanow (All Music Guide) writes: "Although not overly famous, Catherine Dupuis shows on this CD that she is one of the most interesting jazz singers of the early 21st century. Her song selection is particularly strong, with a few standards performed in fresh ways and joined by vintage obscurities and newer material. "I've Never Been in Love Before" and "Lonesome Road" are reinvented. The Rules of the Road is highly recommended and a perfect introduction to the singing of Catherine Dupuis." Catherine is also the chairman of the JazzPA board - an annual jazz festival she produces that this year will feature Russ, Jay Anderson, Dennis Mackrel and special guest Ted Nash.

Visit www.catherinedupuis.com

Admission is 15.00, $10.00 for students.
Tickets will be sold at the door, or call 212-222-5159 for reservations and information.

Jazz Tuesdays
in the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium
The New York Baha'i Center
53 East 11th Street (between University Place & Broadway)
Two shows: 8:00 and 9:30 p.m