INTERVIEW/PROFILE: Jazz Musician of the Day: Steve Wilson 9 Feb 2010, 5:10 am

All About Jazz is celebrating Steve Wilson's birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Steve WilsonThese are some of the qualities that have earned STEVE WILSON a prominent position on the bandstand and in the studio with the greatest names in jazz, as well as critical acclaim as a bandleader in his own right. A musician\'s musician... more...

CD/DOWNLOAD/ALBUM: Postal Service Offers "Love Letters from Ella" 8 Feb 2010, 10:42 pm

Serenade that special someone in your life this Valentine's Day with classic love songs featuring acclaimed music artist Ella Fitzgerald. On sale for a limited time at select Post Offices nationwide, Love Letters from Ella is a collection of the jazz singer's most cherished love songs, recorded with some of her favorite collaborators - including Count Basie and his orchestra, Joe Pass and Andre Previn. This special edition, first released in 2007, also boasts a full reproduction of Fitzgerald's commemorative postage stamp...

PERFORMANCE/TOUR: 5th Annual "Jazz in the Gardens" 8 Feb 2010, 10:39 pm

Jazz legends David Sanborn, Cassandra Wilson and Joe Sample are set to take the stage during the 5th Annual "Jazz in the Gardens" hosted by #1 rated, nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner, Saturday, March 20th and Sunday, March 21st at Sun Life Stadium (formerly Dolphin Stadium), 2269 Dan Marino Blvd, Miami Gardens, Florida 33056. Internationally-known and well-respected, these jazz musicians are at the top of the genre, oftentimes pulling in audiences of over 6, 000 on their own bill...

RADIO/PODCAST: New Podcast for Ken Navarro's Upcoming CD "Dreaming of Trains" Now Available 8 Feb 2010, 9:11 pm

A new podcast for Ken Navarro's upcoming CD Dreaming of Trains has just been published. Navarro takes the listener on a journey behind the scenes and discuss the composing, recording and mixing of his upcoming CD. The official CD retail release date for Dreaming of Trains is March 16, 2010. However, the CD and download are now available exclusively at kennavarro.com...

TV/FILM: How David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey Pulled off Their Secret Super Bowl Promo 8 Feb 2010, 6:01 pm

To pull off the surprise Super Bowl spot he did with rival David Letterman, Jay Leno flew secretly to New York on the NBC jet last Tuesday and managed to sneak into the Ed Sullivan Theater undetected wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and a fake mustache. Rob Burnett, executive producer of the Late Show, said keeping Lenos participation under wraps was the key to preserving the effect of the 15-second promo, which featured the two late-night comedians uncomfortably watching the Super Bowl together, with Oprah Winfrey trying to keep the peace...

MUSIC INDUSTRY: Jackson Doctor Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter 8 Feb 2010, 5:37 pm

Michael Jackson's doctor faces four years in prison if convicted on involuntary manslaughter charge; pop star's family arrives in court Prosecutors on Monday charged Michael Jacksons personal physician with involuntary manslaughter in connection with administering a combination of surgical anesthetic and sedatives blamed in the music legends death last summer...

PERFORMANCE/TOUR: Zak's Who Dat the Who Had Keep the Beat Superbowl Halftime 8 Feb 2010, 4:47 pm

The Who at the Super Bowl: Roger Daltry, Pete Townshend, and drummer Zak Starkey still rockin' Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, the band's two surviving original members, tore through a medley of their hits at the Super Bowl. For non-fans who noticed the drummer looked younger than Daltry and Townshend, he's actually Zak Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr. British rockers The Who played a medley of their greatest hits at the Super Bowl halftime show in Miami on Sunday and reviews of their performance were mixed...

PERFORMANCE/TOUR: Kevin Frenette/Forbes Graham Duo @ 119 Gallery on 2/13 8 Feb 2010, 2:49 pm

Saturday, February 13, 2010 119 Gallery 119 Chelmsford Street Lowell, MA 01851 8PM Kevin Frenette / Forbes Graham Duo Kevin Frenette (guitar) Forbes Graham (trumpet) + Dr T - video mix Boston area guitarist Kevin Frenette has performed throughout the Northeast USA making music that is inspired by both avant-garde jazz and contemporary improvisation. He studied guitar, composition, and music theory at UMASS-Dartmouth where he received a BA in Theory/Composition. He has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Tatsuya Nakatani, Jack Wright, Joe Giardullo, Pandelis Karayorgis, Daniel Levin, Luther Gray and Harvey Sorgen. In 2007, Fuller Street Music released Kevin's first date as a leader: CONNECTIONS. That album featured Frenette with Tatsuya Nakatani on percussion, Andy McWain on piano and Todd Keating on bass...

EVENT: An Evening with Pat Martino at 4th Annual Jazz Bridge Benefit on Sunday April 25th 8 Feb 2010, 11:11 am

Internationally acclaimed guitarist Pat Martino and his band will be appearing in concert for the 4th Annual Jazz Bridge Benefit on Sunday April 25th from 5-9 p.m. at the Collingswood Community Center, 30 W. Collings Ave, Collingswood NJ. Prior to the concert, there will be a screening of the critically received documentary Martino Unstrung and a Q&A with the guitarist, who will talk about his many musical connections to the Philadelphia area...

EDUCATION: The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Summer Program in Italy 8 Feb 2010, 10:04 am

THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA SUMMER INTENSIVE WORKSHOP/PERFORMANCE PROGRAM IN ASSISI, ITALY FOR STUDENTS, MUSICIANS AND EDUCATORS The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will be setting up residence in the hills of Assisi this summer from July 10 through July 15 The orchestras summer home will be open to students, musicians and educators from all over the world and will feature a comprehensive schedule of workshops seminars and performances...

INTERVIEW/PROFILE: Jazz Musician of the Day: Lonnie Johnson 8 Feb 2010, 5:10 am

All About Jazz is celebrating Lonnie Johnson's birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Lonnie JohnsonLonnie Johnson - guitar, multi instrumentalist, vocalist (1899 - 1970) Lonnie Johnson was the a€oegovernora€ of blues guitar in the 1920a€(TM)s. His playing combined incredibly fast melodic runs with evocative blues licks... more...

PERFORMANCE/TOUR: 13 Things I Learned at the Chris Botti Show 8 Feb 2010, 2:01 am

I saw Chris Botti for the first time tonight at The Paramount Theater in Seattle. Thanks to my Twitter buddy Tim Lefebvre, who plays bass is Chris band (among others), I had KILLER 4th row center seats. Thanks Tim! The show was an eye-opening experience in many ways. I have heard all the talk about Chris, both positive and negative. Without getting into all that, here's 10 things I learned tonight...

RADIO/PODCAST: The Jazz Session #141: Lee Shaw 8 Feb 2010, 2:00 am

Pianist Lee Shaw is living a fascinating life. From her childhood in Oklahoma in the 1920s to her early exposure to jazz in Chicago to her decades-long career as a jazz pianist, Shaw has been everywhere and played with just about everyone. In this interview, recorded at the Rotary Club of Albany, NY...

WEB/TECH: The Willis Conover Facebook Page 8 Feb 2010, 2:00 am

What three administrations in the White House have refused to do, the people have done. They have recognized Willis Conover, the Voice of America broadcaster who may have been America's greatest cultural diplomat of the Cold War. He now has his own Facebook page, The Willis Conover Club. Will that lead to his getting a long overdue posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom? Possibly not, but his page, up only a day or two, is rapidly accumulating fans. One of them typifies the many musicians who huddled around their shortwave radios behind the Iron Curtain and were inspired by the jazz that Conover sent around the world during some of the most perilous decades of the 20th century. This is his message on the Conover Facebook page...

CONTEST/GIVEAWAY: Announcing the Winners of the "Motema - 4 CD" Giveaway! 7 Feb 2010, 3:22 pm

Zack Beyer, Linda Pinto, John Millheim, Albert Thompson and Hrayr Attarian, Congratulations! You're the lucky winners of the Motema Music 4 CD giveaway. All About Jazz will contact you about claiming your prize. We'd like to thank everyone who participated in the contest and please visit Motema Music for more releases...

INTERVIEW/PROFILE: Guitarist/Bandleader Chris Jentsch Interviewed at AAJ 7 Feb 2010, 2:16 pm

John Coltrane once said, "Let the music speak for itself." The guitarist/composer and band leader Christopher Jentsch adds an interesting twist on that subject by opting to describe himself when asked about the broader subject of how to capture his music in his own words. "I think of myself as a composer/guitarist working with contemporary improvisational forms on the fringe of jazz, but jazz that is inclusive of rock/pop, world music and classical genres. I also strive generally for a balance between lyricism and dissonance and a deliberate combination of complexity and simplicity--with a smattering of the avant-garde," he says. "We play tunes, for sure, but a certain amount of free improvisation is also important to the mix. Since I have used so many different things in my development as a source material, sometimes I use the term 'hopelessly eclectic' to suggest a confrontation with categorization...

INTERVIEW/PROFILE: British Post-Jazzers Polar Bear Interviewed at AAJ 7 Feb 2010, 2:09 pm

During the six or seven years since its formation, British quintet Polar Bear has garnered extensive praise from critics, fans and fellow musicians. Most famously, perhaps, the band was described by music critic Paul Morley as "dream jazz"--high praise, indeed. The band's second album, Held On The Tips Of Fingers (Babel, 2005), was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. The band has a great reputation as a live act, attracting audience members from the jazz world and beyond. On the eve of the release of its fourth album, Peepers (Leaf Records, 2010), Polar Bear's leader and percussionist, Seb Rochford, and its bassist, Tom Herbert, met at Herbert's house to take part in a telephone interview about the band's development, the creation of Peepers and their plans for the future...

OBITUARY: Saxophonist Sir John Dankworth Dies 7 Feb 2010, 12:24 pm

Sir John Dankworth, a totemic figure of the British jazz scene who worked as a musical director for artists including Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, has died at the age of 82. The saxophonist, whose career spanned more than half a century, died yesterday in King Edward VII hospital, London. He had been ill for several months...

INTERVIEW/PROFILE: Jazz Musician of the Day: Eubie Blake 7 Feb 2010, 5:10 am

All About Jazz is celebrating Eubie Blake's birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Eubie BlakeEubie Blake - pianist (1883 - 1983) Ragtime music, with its syncopated, polyrhythmic style, was born, in the 1890s in the black saloons and brothels of southern and mid-western cities like Baltimore and St. Louis... more...

PERFORMANCE/TOUR: Performance of Marc Hoffman's "Homeland" Announced 7 Feb 2010, 3:57 am

Marc Hoffman's work, "Homeland" will be performed by the Lake Norman Orchestra, Eduardo Cedeno, Music Director on the LNOs March 13, 2010 concert. The concert will take place at 7:30 PM in the Mack Gray Auditorium in Statesville, NC. Marc Hoffman's music, whether symphonic, jazz, popular or commercial, is known for its eclecticism. Though at times reminiscent of the "Americana" concert works of the mid- 20th century, his orchestral writing can be quite dissonant as well. Marc's film composition has its roots in the classics of Hollywood while his jazz works range from traditional to contemporary, both instrumental and vocal...