Michael Cuscuna, the three-time Grammy winner, Mosaic Records co-founder, historian and archivist who produced hundreds of jazz reissues and studio sessions during his career, has died. He was 75.
Cuscuna died Saturday of cancer at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, Grammy-winning recording artist Billy Vera, a longtime friend, announced.
Cuscuna produced the 1970 album Buddy & the Juniors, featuring Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Junior Mance, for Vanguard Records, and 1972’s Give It Up, Bonnie Raitt’s lone gold album during her time at Warner Bros.
He produced reissues and studio sessions for Impulse, Atlantic, Arista, Muse, Elektra, Freedom, Novus and virtually the entire Blue Note catalog.
“Plainly stated, Blue Note Records would not exist as it does today without the passion & dedication of Michael Cuscuna,” execs from the label wrote on Instagram.
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Readers of Blues & Rhythm magazine know his work in the blues field,...
Cuscuna died Saturday of cancer at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, Grammy-winning recording artist Billy Vera, a longtime friend, announced.
Cuscuna produced the 1970 album Buddy & the Juniors, featuring Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Junior Mance, for Vanguard Records, and 1972’s Give It Up, Bonnie Raitt’s lone gold album during her time at Warner Bros.
He produced reissues and studio sessions for Impulse, Atlantic, Arista, Muse, Elektra, Freedom, Novus and virtually the entire Blue Note catalog.
“Plainly stated, Blue Note Records would not exist as it does today without the passion & dedication of Michael Cuscuna,” execs from the label wrote on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Blue Note Records (@bluenoterecords)
Readers of Blues & Rhythm magazine know his work in the blues field,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The ever-articulate and principled Peter Weller has told us a lot about ourselves in his roles as an actor and director. Learning more about this gifted storyteller and true Renaissance man can tell us even more. But Weller hasn’t been seen in a major motion picture since 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, which ended a long silver screen hiatus. Is the man’s relative absence from the silver screen a product of demand, or might it be more down to his preference? Should his career be brought back into the mainstream spotlight like he was Murphy returning from the afterlife? Or is he busy doing different, more interesting things than being a badass in front of a camera? Let’s find out as we ask ourselves, Wtf happened to Peter Weller?
But first, let’s get a better feel for why the man has been so missed by starting at the beginning.
But first, let’s get a better feel for why the man has been so missed by starting at the beginning.
- 2/17/2024
- by Derek Mitchell
- JoBlo.com
Sean Ono Lennon may have initially rejected the astrology his family embraced growing up, but when it came to his new album, it felt like the very stars were against him. “I just felt like there was too much cosmic interference,” he tells Rolling Stone of Asterisms, a genreless wash of instrumental music that flirts with jazz, rock, and electronic. In the end, though, the planets aligned, and the record dropped Friday on John Zorn’s Tzadik label.
But back in the days when Covid was rampant, the fate of...
But back in the days when Covid was rampant, the fate of...
- 2/16/2024
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
When Freddy Wexler was a kid growing up in New York City in the Nineties, there was no artist he loved more than Billy Joel. The 37-year-old singer-producer — who has has written songs for everyone from Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande to Kanye West and Celine Dion — used to sit in his bedroom, put on The Stranger, Turnstiles, or River of Dreams, and dream. “I would imagine it was me performing,” Wexler tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from his house in L.A. “I wanted to be Billy Joel.”
But...
But...
- 2/6/2024
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
“I’ve been staying open, you don’t wanna grow,” Brittany Howard sings on the title track from her second solo record. The song is a hard-funk failing-relationship jeremiad that might leave the “you” in question reduced to a puddle on the floor by the time it’s done. But whoever she’s singing to should’ve known better. Staying relentlessly open has been Howard’s guiding principle going all the way back to her breakout moment fronting Athens, Alabama garage-rockers Alabama Shakes in the early 2010s.
She’s a...
She’s a...
- 2/6/2024
- by Jon Dolan
- Rollingstone.com
Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D scored a resounding victory Friday at the copyright infringement trial over the Miles Davis tattoo she inked on a friend free of charge seven years ago.
Jurors took less than three hours to unanimously decide her tattoo — as well as her planning sketch and four related social media posts — were not “substantially similar” to the copyrighted 1989 portrait of jazz legend Miles Davis at the center of the trial. The eight jurors also found that three other social media posts made to Von D’s...
Jurors took less than three hours to unanimously decide her tattoo — as well as her planning sketch and four related social media posts — were not “substantially similar” to the copyrighted 1989 portrait of jazz legend Miles Davis at the center of the trial. The eight jurors also found that three other social media posts made to Von D’s...
- 1/26/2024
- by Nancy Dillon
- Rollingstone.com
Natasha Lyonne has shared a creepy story about James Woods hitting on her during the filming of Scary Movie 2 as part of a darkly comedic riff on the history of sexual assault in Hollywood that left even Conan O’Brien uncomfortable.
The actor told the story during her recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast after revisiting her earlier experience with Marlon Brando holding her boob as part of the script for Scary Movie 2 before he dropped out due to illness.
Woods replaced Brando as Father McFeely in the scene, a spoof of The Exorcist in which Lyonne plays Megan Voorhees, a parody of Linda Blair’s possessed character from the original movie. Speaking on the podcast, Lyonne remembered Woods “hitting on me as a teenager in full monster makeup,” adding, “It’s a crazy move, dude.” Watch the segment below.
Lyonne went on to...
The actor told the story during her recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast after revisiting her earlier experience with Marlon Brando holding her boob as part of the script for Scary Movie 2 before he dropped out due to illness.
Woods replaced Brando as Father McFeely in the scene, a spoof of The Exorcist in which Lyonne plays Megan Voorhees, a parody of Linda Blair’s possessed character from the original movie. Speaking on the podcast, Lyonne remembered Woods “hitting on me as a teenager in full monster makeup,” adding, “It’s a crazy move, dude.” Watch the segment below.
Lyonne went on to...
- 1/25/2024
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Kat Von D took the witness stand at her copyright infringement trial in California on Wednesday and told jurors she’s inked thousands of tattoos based off photographs and never once sought a licensing agreement because she considers the practice “fan art.”
The artist who shot to fame on the reality shows Miami Ink and LA Ink is being sued for copyright infringement by a photographer who claims she unlawfully reproduced his “iconic” 1989 photo of jazz legend Miles Davis in both a design that she inked on her friend’s...
The artist who shot to fame on the reality shows Miami Ink and LA Ink is being sued for copyright infringement by a photographer who claims she unlawfully reproduced his “iconic” 1989 photo of jazz legend Miles Davis in both a design that she inked on her friend’s...
- 1/25/2024
- by Nancy Dillon
- Rollingstone.com
Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D appeared in a Los Angeles federal courtroom Tuesday to fight claims she violated the copyright of an “iconic” portrait of jazz legend Miles Davis when she tattooed a version of the image on a friend without proper credit or compensation.
The former star of reality shows Miami Ink and LA Ink sat before a jury as her lawyer said in his opening statement that Von D only used the famous photo for “inspiration” as she created a “completely different” work on her friend’s...
The former star of reality shows Miami Ink and LA Ink sat before a jury as her lawyer said in his opening statement that Von D only used the famous photo for “inspiration” as she created a “completely different” work on her friend’s...
- 1/24/2024
- by Nancy Dillon
- Rollingstone.com
Even if you're a huge fan of "Mean Girls," you'll probably begrudgingly acknowledge that it's slightly odd that this high school comedy was adapted into a musical, and then that musical was subsequently adapted back into a movie. The same thing happened recently with "The Color Purple," but that was inspired by a film that came out in 1985, so there are ostensibly multiple generations now that are not familiar with the Steven Spielberg film. In contrast, the first "Mean Girls" only came out 20 years ago. I certainly have nothing against "Mean Girls" -- I dug the original film, and I'm looking forward to seeing the new musical version (even if Paramount seems to be trying to hide the very fact that it's a musical from audiences). But the idea that it received the musical treatment at all just seems a little ... random. Of all the American films that came out in 2004, this was the one?...
- 1/12/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Soulful jazz great Les McCann, whose work was sampled by hundreds of hip-hop artists including Notorious B.I.G. and Dr. Dre, died Friday in the Los Angeles area. He was 88.
The musician, who released more than 60 albums over the course of his career, had been admitted to a hospital from the nursing care facility he’d lived in for the past four years and was diagnosed with pneumonia, his manager Alan Abrahams told The Hollywood Reporter.
In a prolific career, he was arguably best known for his 1969 Montreaux Jazz Festival performance of the protest song “Compared to What.”
McCann joined forces with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey. The three hadn’t played together before, and there wasn’t time for rehearsal, according to The New York Times.
The outlet cites the liner notes for a reissue of the concert album, the Grammy-nominated Swiss Movement, in which McCann writes: “Just before we went onstage,...
The musician, who released more than 60 albums over the course of his career, had been admitted to a hospital from the nursing care facility he’d lived in for the past four years and was diagnosed with pneumonia, his manager Alan Abrahams told The Hollywood Reporter.
In a prolific career, he was arguably best known for his 1969 Montreaux Jazz Festival performance of the protest song “Compared to What.”
McCann joined forces with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey. The three hadn’t played together before, and there wasn’t time for rehearsal, according to The New York Times.
The outlet cites the liner notes for a reissue of the concert album, the Grammy-nominated Swiss Movement, in which McCann writes: “Just before we went onstage,...
- 1/1/2024
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Norby Walters, a music agent who worked with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Kool & the Gang and Public Enemy before gaining renown in Hollywood for his annual “Night of 100 Stars” Oscar party and weekly poker game, has died. He was 91.
Walters died Dec. 10 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Burbank, his son, producer Gary Michael Walters (Whiplash), told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walters hosted his first Oscar night gala in 1990 and the last in 2017, most often inside the Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom. Among those who attended were Shirley Jones, Robert Forster, Charles Bronson, Patricia Neal, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, Louis Gossett Jr., J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Jon Voight and Allison Janney.
Walters for years also presided over a weekly poker game at his West Hollywood high-rise condo. The low-stakes $2 game was, his son said, “designed to be a place where actors could kibbutz,...
Walters died Dec. 10 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Burbank, his son, producer Gary Michael Walters (Whiplash), told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walters hosted his first Oscar night gala in 1990 and the last in 2017, most often inside the Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom. Among those who attended were Shirley Jones, Robert Forster, Charles Bronson, Patricia Neal, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, Louis Gossett Jr., J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Jon Voight and Allison Janney.
Walters for years also presided over a weekly poker game at his West Hollywood high-rise condo. The low-stakes $2 game was, his son said, “designed to be a place where actors could kibbutz,...
- 12/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Torben Ulrich, Danish tennis pro, jazz writer and father of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, has died at the age of 95.
Lars shared news of his father’s death in a social media post Wednesday. “Torben Ulrich: 1928-2023 95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing….and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude,” he wrote. “Thank you endlessly! I love you dad.” The caption was accompanied by a series of photos of his father including a black and white portrait, a magazine...
Lars shared news of his father’s death in a social media post Wednesday. “Torben Ulrich: 1928-2023 95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing….and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude,” he wrote. “Thank you endlessly! I love you dad.” The caption was accompanied by a series of photos of his father including a black and white portrait, a magazine...
- 12/21/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
In 1987 in Hamburg, Germany, the first ever “art amusement park” opened to the public, featuring works by legendary artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and even Salvador Dali. For three short months, families came together to experience the artistic oddities of the park — before the whimsical creations were soon forgotten. Locked away in 44 shipping containers for 36 years, the rides and pieces created for the original Luna Luna were seemingly forgotten.
Now, thanks to curation and restoration provided by Drake, fans and art aficionados are once again able to experience these one-of-a-kind works, up close and personal, at Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy in Los Angeles.
Tucked away among industrial warehouses in downtown L.A., the park features 19 rare and pristinely restored works by many of the world’s most well-known modern artists. It is divided into two main rooms for viewing.
On the first side, there’s a painted chair ride designed by Kenny Scharf.
Now, thanks to curation and restoration provided by Drake, fans and art aficionados are once again able to experience these one-of-a-kind works, up close and personal, at Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy in Los Angeles.
Tucked away among industrial warehouses in downtown L.A., the park features 19 rare and pristinely restored works by many of the world’s most well-known modern artists. It is divided into two main rooms for viewing.
On the first side, there’s a painted chair ride designed by Kenny Scharf.
- 12/18/2023
- by Ryan Fish
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Laura Karpman was drip-fed jazz notes when she was a baby. Her mother’s turn-table featured a playlist that included Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Wes Montgomery and Thelonious Monk, the virtuoso pianist, whose music informs and underpins her own jazz-infused score for Cord Jefferson’s scorching American Fiction.
“So I remember in her painting studio, my mother had a record player and she would play everything,” Karpman recalls, and for good measure her mother would spin Beethoven’s violin concerto and a piece by Stravinsky.
Karpman lapped it all up, just as her mother had planned, because Mrs.Karpman had preordained “that I would be a composer when she was pregnant,” she tells me.
Her mother was a painter and sculptor “and she always, I think probably inappropriately, thought that music was the highest art. And so she wanted me to be an artist and she wanted me to be a musician.
“So I remember in her painting studio, my mother had a record player and she would play everything,” Karpman recalls, and for good measure her mother would spin Beethoven’s violin concerto and a piece by Stravinsky.
Karpman lapped it all up, just as her mother had planned, because Mrs.Karpman had preordained “that I would be a composer when she was pregnant,” she tells me.
Her mother was a painter and sculptor “and she always, I think probably inappropriately, thought that music was the highest art. And so she wanted me to be an artist and she wanted me to be a musician.
- 12/18/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
After Lenny Kravitz watched an early cut of “Rustin,” it wasn’t difficult for him to determine whether or not he’s accept the challenge of writing and performing an original song for the new Netflix film. After watching the movie — which features a tour de force performance from Colman Domingo as the forgotten Black queer icon of the Civil Rights Movement, who was chief in organizing the historic March on Washington in 1963 — Kravitz told IndieWire, “The first thing I felt was, ‘My mother would want me to do this.’”
Speaking to IndieWire over Zoom, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter admitted he had not heard of the film’s namesake, “which immediately showed me that there was a problem, because I grew up in a family that was very active in the Civil Rights Movement. My mother and her friends and all of those folks in the ’60s, they were in all that.
Speaking to IndieWire over Zoom, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter admitted he had not heard of the film’s namesake, “which immediately showed me that there was a problem, because I grew up in a family that was very active in the Civil Rights Movement. My mother and her friends and all of those folks in the ’60s, they were in all that.
- 12/15/2023
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Erick the Architect has moved 2,790 miles from New York City and landed in Los Angeles. As one third of legendary hip hop group Flatbush Zombies, Erick changed the soundscape of the genre as the trio’s rapper-producer — pushing the Zombies into bold new sounds and narratives that both confounded and inspired fans and cementing themselves as one of the most respected crews in hip hop.
While the tight-knit act has often been labeled as “psychedelic hip hop,” their music went beyond that narrative, and at times, explored the darkness of death and depression.
While the tight-knit act has often been labeled as “psychedelic hip hop,” their music went beyond that narrative, and at times, explored the darkness of death and depression.
- 11/29/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Since exploding into popular consciousness with XXX, a 2011 masterwork detailing his crazed life of sex, pills, and weed, Danny Brown has served as a lodestone for modern rap’s perilous embrace of hard drugs. The Detroit rapper utilized a manic, strangely hyper cadence seemingly fueled by too much Molly. More importantly, he created music with fearlessness, seemingly unconcerned with how the oft-conservative rap world perceived him. When Edm soared in popularity, he penned Old, a wildly exuberant 2013 valentine to getting wasted as an elderly thirtysomething Mc while collaborating with alt-pop...
- 11/15/2023
- by Mosi Reeves
- Rollingstone.com
Margaret Glaspy was 17 miles into the race when she entered the pain cave.
It was always a question of when, not if, she would experience it. Her body was already jetlagged when she started, thanks to an international flight two days before. Tropical Storm Ophelia had been pummeling her with wind and rain throughout the entire race. (The message on the race’s website seems almost sadistic in hindsight: “Hopefully we are going to have a nice fall day!”) The course, which blended technical single-track trails, rolling hills, and double-wide gravel roads,...
It was always a question of when, not if, she would experience it. Her body was already jetlagged when she started, thanks to an international flight two days before. Tropical Storm Ophelia had been pummeling her with wind and rain throughout the entire race. (The message on the race’s website seems almost sadistic in hindsight: “Hopefully we are going to have a nice fall day!”) The course, which blended technical single-track trails, rolling hills, and double-wide gravel roads,...
- 11/11/2023
- by Jason Newman
- Rollingstone.com
When designer Todd Snyder was thinking about the campaign for his winter collection — called American Classics — he mused to himself, “What would someone like Miles Davis or Philip Johnson wear if they were arriving in New York today?”
The campaign, which features statement pieces such as an alpaca Balmacaan topcoat ($1,998) and a charcoal flannel Sutton Suit featuring Gurkha-style trousers ($298-$996), is inspired by “the mid-century creatives responsible for Abstract Expressionism, the Method, Bebop and Modernism,” adds Snyder.
“Naturally, I thought of my friend Matt Bomer, who has a very sophisticated style that’s rooted in the classics,” continues the designer. “You can picture him as a mid-century modern architect.”
Shop The Look
Todd Snyder Ribbed Donegal V-Neck Sweater
$258 at todd snyder
Styled by GQ creative director at large Jim Moore and photographed by Kenny Thomas, the ads were shot at The Glass House, the famed modernist Connecticut residence built by Johnson in the late 1940s.
The campaign, which features statement pieces such as an alpaca Balmacaan topcoat ($1,998) and a charcoal flannel Sutton Suit featuring Gurkha-style trousers ($298-$996), is inspired by “the mid-century creatives responsible for Abstract Expressionism, the Method, Bebop and Modernism,” adds Snyder.
“Naturally, I thought of my friend Matt Bomer, who has a very sophisticated style that’s rooted in the classics,” continues the designer. “You can picture him as a mid-century modern architect.”
Shop The Look
Todd Snyder Ribbed Donegal V-Neck Sweater
$258 at todd snyder
Styled by GQ creative director at large Jim Moore and photographed by Kenny Thomas, the ads were shot at The Glass House, the famed modernist Connecticut residence built by Johnson in the late 1940s.
- 11/2/2023
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A version of this response appeared on the Black Rock Coalition’s website.
When Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner made offensive comments in The New York Times about women and Black artists, the Black Rock Coalition, which has battled stereotypes and musical categorizations about what rock is “supposed to be” since 1985, felt obligated to speak out and condemn his misogynistic and racist statements. While we were among many organizations and individuals to call out Wenner, he also had a number of supporters, citing his contributions to popular culture and to the world of music journalism.
When Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner made offensive comments in The New York Times about women and Black artists, the Black Rock Coalition, which has battled stereotypes and musical categorizations about what rock is “supposed to be” since 1985, felt obligated to speak out and condemn his misogynistic and racist statements. While we were among many organizations and individuals to call out Wenner, he also had a number of supporters, citing his contributions to popular culture and to the world of music journalism.
- 10/23/2023
- by LaRonda Davis, Earl Douglas and Darrell M. McNeill
- Rollingstone.com
Cross Creek Pictures has acquired “The Sessions,” a new screenplay from writer and former Paramount Pictures executive Tom 8. Hayes.
The screenplay is based on true events, telling a story set amidst the New York City jazz scene of the mid-1950s. It focuses on the relationship between musical genius Miles Davis and the retiring Jewish optometrist-turned-sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder, the pioneering creator of new recording methods. According to the official description, “in one of the most remarkable feats in music history, the pair overcame the record label, the New York City mob and the siren call of booze, drugs and women, to produce four breakthrough albums in just three recording sessions – an unprecedented accomplishment that changed the music industry forever. “
Cross Creek Pictures partner David Hosler spearheaded the deal and will produce the picture. The team is currently in the process of meeting potential directors and plans to...
The screenplay is based on true events, telling a story set amidst the New York City jazz scene of the mid-1950s. It focuses on the relationship between musical genius Miles Davis and the retiring Jewish optometrist-turned-sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder, the pioneering creator of new recording methods. According to the official description, “in one of the most remarkable feats in music history, the pair overcame the record label, the New York City mob and the siren call of booze, drugs and women, to produce four breakthrough albums in just three recording sessions – an unprecedented accomplishment that changed the music industry forever. “
Cross Creek Pictures partner David Hosler spearheaded the deal and will produce the picture. The team is currently in the process of meeting potential directors and plans to...
- 10/13/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Ysl Beauty rang in Paris Fashion Week with a party at the heart of the French capital celebrating their newest fragrance Myslf and its campaign starring acclaimed actor Austin Butler. Stars from the movie, music, and fashion worlds descended on an old fire station turned outdoor venue and basement nightclub to snap pictures, regale with peers, and usher in the L’Oréal...
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Ysl Beauty rang in Paris Fashion Week with a party at the heart of the French capital celebrating their newest fragrance Myslf and its campaign starring acclaimed actor Austin Butler. Stars from the movie, music, and fashion worlds descended on an old fire station turned outdoor venue and basement nightclub to snap pictures, regale with peers, and usher in the L’Oréal...
- 9/29/2023
- by Waiss Aramesh
- Rollingstone.com
In a simple twist of fate, when Warren Haynes was toying around with what to call the new Gov’t Mule album, the singer, guitarist, and former member of the Allman Brothers found himself in a conversation about Paul Simon with Evan Bakke, chief engineer at the recording studio Power Station New England.
“He asked me, ‘What’s your favorite Paul Simon song?’ I said, ‘The Sound of Silence’ because that’s the first one that ever moved me when I was seven years old,” Haynes tells Rolling Stone. “He...
“He asked me, ‘What’s your favorite Paul Simon song?’ I said, ‘The Sound of Silence’ because that’s the first one that ever moved me when I was seven years old,” Haynes tells Rolling Stone. “He...
- 9/10/2023
- by Garret K. Woodward
- Rollingstone.com
Lady Gaga’s Las Vegas residency promises only two things: Jazz & Piano. But judging from the photos she posted of Thursday’s opening night performance and video that’s surfaced online, it contains so much more.
On Instagram, she posted a photo of herself holding a Broadway-style Playbill with anticipation in her eyes and a photo of Miles Davis (who plays jazz but not piano) blowing his trumpet over her shoulder. When the show was done, she shared another in which she was wearing a shiny tux (bowtie included) and her hairstylist,...
On Instagram, she posted a photo of herself holding a Broadway-style Playbill with anticipation in her eyes and a photo of Miles Davis (who plays jazz but not piano) blowing his trumpet over her shoulder. When the show was done, she shared another in which she was wearing a shiny tux (bowtie included) and her hairstylist,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
When I started watching Wayne Shorter’s documentary with the motive to review it, I was a bit apprehensive. Not that I was completely lost regarding the content, as I had not only heard the name of Wayne Shorter, but I had been blessed with the experience of his music as well. But still, analyzing a documentary series that covers the whole life of a man of his stature is something I consider a tough challenge. And considering how dense the Amazon Prime documentary series titled Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity is, my initial apprehension does make sense.
Is it humanly possible to describe jazz music? I’m not sure about you all, but I personally don’t think so. The genre is possibly as vast as the galaxy, as deep as the ocean, and as mystifying and fascinating as the center of the universe. Those who make jazz music are...
Is it humanly possible to describe jazz music? I’m not sure about you all, but I personally don’t think so. The genre is possibly as vast as the galaxy, as deep as the ocean, and as mystifying and fascinating as the center of the universe. Those who make jazz music are...
- 8/26/2023
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
Awards, sure — over his 60-odd-year career, Wayne Shorter amassed his share of prizes and honors. But none of that conveys what a singular and visionary talent he was more powerfully than this simple fact: Miles Davis and Art Blakey, two of the greatest bandleaders in the history of jazz, fought over him.
In Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity, director Dorsay Alavi tells his story over three roughly hourlong episodes called “portals,” a fitting nod to the Buddhism that Shorter embraced and the sci-fi and fantasy he adored. The Prime Video docuseries — which takes its streaming bow Aug. 25, on what would have been Shorter’s 90th birthday — traces the chronology of the New Jersey native’s biography, but, much more than that, it’s a chronicle of emotion, creativity and faith, tuned in to the magnitude of Shorter’s musicianship and, no less, to his playfulness and searching nonconformity.
Alavi, who first...
In Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity, director Dorsay Alavi tells his story over three roughly hourlong episodes called “portals,” a fitting nod to the Buddhism that Shorter embraced and the sci-fi and fantasy he adored. The Prime Video docuseries — which takes its streaming bow Aug. 25, on what would have been Shorter’s 90th birthday — traces the chronology of the New Jersey native’s biography, but, much more than that, it’s a chronicle of emotion, creativity and faith, tuned in to the magnitude of Shorter’s musicianship and, no less, to his playfulness and searching nonconformity.
Alavi, who first...
- 8/22/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The ’80s was a decade of movies that you can hear at a roar even on mute. A screenshot of Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay aboard the train in “Risky Business” has a sound to it. The same goes for a still image of Kaneda riding towards Neo-Tokyo in “Akira,” or Jack Nicholson’s car snaking its way up the mountains towards the Overlook Hotel during the opening titles of “The Shining.”
It was a decade of synths and sad jazz; a decade of legends reaching the height of their powers (e.g. John Williams and Ennio Morricone), and of newcomers from other disciplines becoming cinematic virtuosos in their own right (e.g. Ryuichi Sakamoto and Philip Glass). The movies had never sounded that way before, but the best film scores of the ’80s — our picks are listed below — continue to echo in our minds as if they’ve always been there.
It was a decade of synths and sad jazz; a decade of legends reaching the height of their powers (e.g. John Williams and Ennio Morricone), and of newcomers from other disciplines becoming cinematic virtuosos in their own right (e.g. Ryuichi Sakamoto and Philip Glass). The movies had never sounded that way before, but the best film scores of the ’80s — our picks are listed below — continue to echo in our minds as if they’ve always been there.
- 8/15/2023
- by David Ehrlich and Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Capitol, and other record labels filed a copyright lawsuit on Friday against Internet Archive, founder Brewster Kahle, and others over the organization’s “Great 78 Project,” accusing them of behaving as an “illegal record store.” The suit lists 2,749 pre-1972 musical works available via Internet Archive by late artists, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and Bing Crosby, among others.
The suit, which was filed in federal court and reviewed by Rolling Stone, claims the Internet Archive’s “Great 78 Project” — launched...
The suit, which was filed in federal court and reviewed by Rolling Stone, claims the Internet Archive’s “Great 78 Project” — launched...
- 8/12/2023
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and other record labels are suing the nonprofit Internet Archive over its streaming collection of digitized music from vintage records.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, claimed the Archive’s “Great 78 Project” functions as an “illegal record store.” The trove includes music by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday among 2,749 sound recordings.
Damages as high as $412 million could result from the alleged infringement, the labels claimed.
Representatives for the Internet Archive did not immediately respond.
The San Francisco-based Internet Archive compares itself to a library and says its mission is to “provide universal access to all knowledge.” It already faces a suit from major book publishers over its digital book lending program. That case is on appeal after a judge ruled for the publishers in March.
The labels’ lawsuit said the project includes Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Chuck Berry...
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, claimed the Archive’s “Great 78 Project” functions as an “illegal record store.” The trove includes music by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday among 2,749 sound recordings.
Damages as high as $412 million could result from the alleged infringement, the labels claimed.
Representatives for the Internet Archive did not immediately respond.
The San Francisco-based Internet Archive compares itself to a library and says its mission is to “provide universal access to all knowledge.” It already faces a suit from major book publishers over its digital book lending program. That case is on appeal after a judge ruled for the publishers in March.
The labels’ lawsuit said the project includes Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Chuck Berry...
- 8/12/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
It's hard to get too excited about Justified: City Primeval Season 1 Episode 5 when it feels like a lot of wheel spinning.
Sure, Raylan and Carolyn get complicated, and Clement and Sweetie start their extortion endeavor together, but the governor's not the only one wondering why the judge's murder investigation isn't progressing.
I appreciate that Carolyn's not impressed by Raylan and Jamal's cockfight posturing. Still, if the purpose of piling the pain on her is to push her to use the judge's notebook to secure her judge appointment, I'm not feeling it.
I'll allow that trying to put Jamal in her rearview is a challenging process.
It took over a year to clear out his office in their law firm. He's still collecting alimony. They have A Lot of history together.
So it's understandable if Carolyn's conflicted about how surgical she can be cutting him out of her life.
Jamal: Marriage.
Sure, Raylan and Carolyn get complicated, and Clement and Sweetie start their extortion endeavor together, but the governor's not the only one wondering why the judge's murder investigation isn't progressing.
I appreciate that Carolyn's not impressed by Raylan and Jamal's cockfight posturing. Still, if the purpose of piling the pain on her is to push her to use the judge's notebook to secure her judge appointment, I'm not feeling it.
I'll allow that trying to put Jamal in her rearview is a challenging process.
It took over a year to clear out his office in their law firm. He's still collecting alimony. They have A Lot of history together.
So it's understandable if Carolyn's conflicted about how surgical she can be cutting him out of her life.
Jamal: Marriage.
- 8/9/2023
- by Diana Keng
- TVfanatic
[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Justified: City Primeval” Episode 5, “You Good?”]
Heading into “City Primeval’s” second half, two Episode 5 conversations — neither, ostensibly, about the case at hand — provide a little something extra to chew on. The first savory chat takes place as Sweety (Vondie Curtis Hall) and Clement (Boyd Holbrook) wait for Bulldozer Burt’s (David Cross) lawncare workers to punch out for the day, so they can blackmail their first mark from the late Judge Guy’s little black book. As they sit idle, without music blasting (for once), Sweety remembers a time many years ago when he was roused from a sound slumber for the right reasons. His friend wanted him to come jam with Miles Davis! Sweety hustled over and did just that, slapping da bass until 6 a.m. “No chit chat, mother fucker just played,” Sweety says about Miles. But the jazz legend did share a few choice words with the future bartender.
Heading into “City Primeval’s” second half, two Episode 5 conversations — neither, ostensibly, about the case at hand — provide a little something extra to chew on. The first savory chat takes place as Sweety (Vondie Curtis Hall) and Clement (Boyd Holbrook) wait for Bulldozer Burt’s (David Cross) lawncare workers to punch out for the day, so they can blackmail their first mark from the late Judge Guy’s little black book. As they sit idle, without music blasting (for once), Sweety remembers a time many years ago when he was roused from a sound slumber for the right reasons. His friend wanted him to come jam with Miles Davis! Sweety hustled over and did just that, slapping da bass until 6 a.m. “No chit chat, mother fucker just played,” Sweety says about Miles. But the jazz legend did share a few choice words with the future bartender.
- 8/9/2023
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. To kick off the campaign, we’re re-posting a few of our most popular blogs.
Regardless of its importance to the storytelling process, film music is too often an afterthought. There are a variety of theories that composers have as to why, and they’re mostly related to a lack of education. So I’ve decided to take an active stance in educating filmmakers about the role of music in film and the process of how a film score comes into being.
My hope is that by the end of this piece you’ll be more familiar with: A) the history of film music in general, and B) the key composers who have contributed to the...
Regardless of its importance to the storytelling process, film music is too often an afterthought. There are a variety of theories that composers have as to why, and they’re mostly related to a lack of education. So I’ve decided to take an active stance in educating filmmakers about the role of music in film and the process of how a film score comes into being.
My hope is that by the end of this piece you’ll be more familiar with: A) the history of film music in general, and B) the key composers who have contributed to the...
- 7/28/2023
- by Olajide Paris
- Film Independent News & More
Florian Zeller, the Oscar-winning director and playwright of “The Father” and “The Son,” received the Medal of Honor, France’s highest decoration, at an intimate ceremony in Paris on Wednesday.
The event, hosted in the gardens of the French authors and composers guild (Sacd), gathered a flurry of talent and luminaries from the worlds of film, TV, theater and literature — reflecting the breadth of Zeller’s body of work. Zeller was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor by France President Emmanuel Macron.
Guests included Isabelle Huppert, Pierre Arditi, Catherine Frot and Elodie Navarre who have starred in Zeller’s plays; Christopher Hampton, with whom he shares a best adapted screenplay Oscar for “The Father;” “Simone” actor Elsa Zylberstein; Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton, with whom he launched the L.A.-based company Blue Morning Pictures; Victoria Bedos (“La famille Belier”); Orange Studio’s Kristina Zimmermann and Sebastien Cauchon, who distributed...
The event, hosted in the gardens of the French authors and composers guild (Sacd), gathered a flurry of talent and luminaries from the worlds of film, TV, theater and literature — reflecting the breadth of Zeller’s body of work. Zeller was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor by France President Emmanuel Macron.
Guests included Isabelle Huppert, Pierre Arditi, Catherine Frot and Elodie Navarre who have starred in Zeller’s plays; Christopher Hampton, with whom he shares a best adapted screenplay Oscar for “The Father;” “Simone” actor Elsa Zylberstein; Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton, with whom he launched the L.A.-based company Blue Morning Pictures; Victoria Bedos (“La famille Belier”); Orange Studio’s Kristina Zimmermann and Sebastien Cauchon, who distributed...
- 7/6/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Spike Lee has revealed the piece of advice he received from Michael Jackson that influenced his long and incredibly diverse career.
Lee was on stage Friday at Cannes Lions Festival, where he will tonight receive the inaugural Creative Maker of the Year award. He was reflecting on his long career, in which he has seemingly effortlessly balanced making independent feature films with mainstream commercial success, helming ad campaigns including the first Air Jordan spots for Nike, and a hit jeans campaign for Levi’s.
“It’s a combination of the commercials, the feature films, the documentaries, not music videos but short films.” The latter is how Lee chooses to describe his work with artists including Jackson, Prince, Miles Davis and Public Enemy, following a tip he received from Jackson.
And the celebrated auteur added that it was Jackson who first suggested he use the right language to describe his portfolio. Lee...
Lee was on stage Friday at Cannes Lions Festival, where he will tonight receive the inaugural Creative Maker of the Year award. He was reflecting on his long career, in which he has seemingly effortlessly balanced making independent feature films with mainstream commercial success, helming ad campaigns including the first Air Jordan spots for Nike, and a hit jeans campaign for Levi’s.
“It’s a combination of the commercials, the feature films, the documentaries, not music videos but short films.” The latter is how Lee chooses to describe his work with artists including Jackson, Prince, Miles Davis and Public Enemy, following a tip he received from Jackson.
And the celebrated auteur added that it was Jackson who first suggested he use the right language to describe his portfolio. Lee...
- 6/23/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Before funk queen Betty Davis died in 2022, she had begun working with reissue label Light in the Attic to see her music make its way into the 21st century. The label will rerelease four essential Davis albums on August 25th, in honor of the 50th anniversary of her self-titled debut.
Alongside the 1973 album, the reissue collection will include 1974’s They Say I’m Different and 2009’s Is It Love or Desire?, which was originally recorded in 1976. To round out the collection is Crashin’ From Passion, an album that curates Davis...
Alongside the 1973 album, the reissue collection will include 1974’s They Say I’m Different and 2009’s Is It Love or Desire?, which was originally recorded in 1976. To round out the collection is Crashin’ From Passion, an album that curates Davis...
- 6/22/2023
- by Brittany Spanos
- Rollingstone.com
Charlie Puth found inspiration in the most intimate of places.
The 31-year-old Grammy-nominated musician recently revealed to Interview magazine where he found the creative juices for his track “Marks on Your Neck” from his 2022 album Charlie.
Read More: Charlie Puth And Brooke Sansone Debut Relationship On Pre-Grammys Red Carpet
“I wrote the song in the middle of the act, maybe I should have focused on the act a little bit more, but the melody just kind of popped into my head and I actually had stopped and recorded a little quick voice note and then had to get back into the act,” Puth recounted to the publication.
“But that’s where that melody came from. I was getting over somebody and what better way [to do that] than meet new people? It probably wasn’t going to work out with this person and that was what I was energetically picking up, which is okay.
The 31-year-old Grammy-nominated musician recently revealed to Interview magazine where he found the creative juices for his track “Marks on Your Neck” from his 2022 album Charlie.
Read More: Charlie Puth And Brooke Sansone Debut Relationship On Pre-Grammys Red Carpet
“I wrote the song in the middle of the act, maybe I should have focused on the act a little bit more, but the melody just kind of popped into my head and I actually had stopped and recorded a little quick voice note and then had to get back into the act,” Puth recounted to the publication.
“But that’s where that melody came from. I was getting over somebody and what better way [to do that] than meet new people? It probably wasn’t going to work out with this person and that was what I was energetically picking up, which is okay.
- 6/15/2023
- by Emerson Pearson
- ET Canada
Dead & Company have announced the concert dates of their final tour. The U.S. shows will take place this summer.
The band played their first live shows in 2015. The lineup for their final tour includes former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart (drums) and Bob Weir (guitar and vocals) as well as John Mayer (guitar and vocals), Allman Brothers‘ Oteil Burbidge and Fare Thee Well’s Jeff Chimenti (keyboard).
Dead & Company Concert Setlist
Former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann is not participating in the tour. After “many long discussions,” the band said, “Bill wants you to know that he is in good spirits, good health and he is not retiring.”
>Get Dead & Company Concert Tickets Now!
Setlist
The below setlist comes from the band’s June 3, 2023 performance in Bristow, Virginia.
Here Comes Sunshine
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Mr. Charlie
He’s Gone
Brown-Eyed Women
Dear Prudence (The Beatles cover)
Turn On...
The band played their first live shows in 2015. The lineup for their final tour includes former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart (drums) and Bob Weir (guitar and vocals) as well as John Mayer (guitar and vocals), Allman Brothers‘ Oteil Burbidge and Fare Thee Well’s Jeff Chimenti (keyboard).
Dead & Company Concert Setlist
Former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann is not participating in the tour. After “many long discussions,” the band said, “Bill wants you to know that he is in good spirits, good health and he is not retiring.”
>Get Dead & Company Concert Tickets Now!
Setlist
The below setlist comes from the band’s June 3, 2023 performance in Bristow, Virginia.
Here Comes Sunshine
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Mr. Charlie
He’s Gone
Brown-Eyed Women
Dear Prudence (The Beatles cover)
Turn On...
- 6/7/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
Richard Pryor did more than reinvent comedy, he changed culture, and not only in America. The five-time Grammy Award-winner, actor, writer, director, and standup icon underwent a series of self-discoveries which he revealed to audiences from the inside out long before co-writing Blazing Saddles, and conquering every aspect of showbiz. He did it without compromise. Listeners can study the growing genius of his most transformative years, 1968 through 1973, on newly remastered vinyl reissues of Pryor’s early live albums released through Stand Up! Records along with Omnivore Records and Pryor’s production company Indigo. Richard Pryor (1968), ‘Craps’ (After Hours) (1971), and the vinyl debut of Live At The Comedy Store, 1973, along with the bonus material, shows the artist’s evolution into a revolutionary force.
As the recordings will attest, Richard Pryor is his own theater troupe. Even without the visuals, we can visualize him inhabiting each and every character. He plays them with love,...
As the recordings will attest, Richard Pryor is his own theater troupe. Even without the visuals, we can visualize him inhabiting each and every character. He plays them with love,...
- 6/7/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
The poster for Sanctuary features a blonde Margaret Qualley whispering to a mysterious Christopher Abbott. Its imagery — a seeming femme fatale, an unknowing male prey and all the imagined chaos in between — evokes the height of the cinematic erotic thriller era. But the strength, elegance and wit of Micah Bloomberg’s (TV series Homecoming) script and Zachary Wigon’s (The Heart Machine) direction is their interest in subverting your (and the characters’s) expectations at every step. In Sanctuary, Abbott plays Hal, a hotel mogul’s son and heir. He has ordered a fancy meal to a decadently opulent hotel suite where […]
The post “Music Will be a Prism That You Can See the Whole Movie Through”: Director Zachary Wigon on Story Beats, Miles Davis and His Bdsm-Themed Thriller Sanctuary first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Music Will be a Prism That You Can See the Whole Movie Through”: Director Zachary Wigon on Story Beats, Miles Davis and His Bdsm-Themed Thriller Sanctuary first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/31/2023
- by Meredith Alloway
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The poster for Sanctuary features a blonde Margaret Qualley whispering to a mysterious Christopher Abbott. Its imagery — a seeming femme fatale, an unknowing male prey and all the imagined chaos in between — evokes the height of the cinematic erotic thriller era. But the strength, elegance and wit of Micah Bloomberg’s (TV series Homecoming) script and Zachary Wigon’s (The Heart Machine) direction is their interest in subverting your (and the characters’s) expectations at every step. In Sanctuary, Abbott plays Hal, a hotel mogul’s son and heir. He has ordered a fancy meal to a decadently opulent hotel suite where […]
The post “Music Will be a Prism That You Can See the Whole Movie Through”: Director Zachary Wigon on Story Beats, Miles Davis and His Bdsm-Themed Thriller Sanctuary first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Music Will be a Prism That You Can See the Whole Movie Through”: Director Zachary Wigon on Story Beats, Miles Davis and His Bdsm-Themed Thriller Sanctuary first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/31/2023
- by Meredith Alloway
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
You could fill a book with all the shady characters you meet in Steely Dan songs. Quantum Criminals is that book. Journalist Alex Pappademas and artist Joan LeMay take a deep dive into the genius of Steely Dan, and the strange world that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker built together. LeMay illustrates her favorite Dan characters, from Rikki to Kid Charlemagne, from Dr. Wu to Peg, all the way to the El Supremo in the room at the top of the stairs. Pappademas gives a mind-bending guided tour of the Steely Dan universe,...
- 5/14/2023
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
Jimi Hendrix packed a lot of living into his short life. Although he was only 27 years old when he died, he helped shape the entire classic rock genre. Hendrix was also quite the character when he was offstage. In fact, some of his past comments are still making people laugh to this day.
Jimi Hendrix’s impressive career
Hendrix, who learned to play the guitar as a teenager, delighted audiences worldwide in the 1960s with his innovative electric guitar playing, as Biography reports. His first single, “Hey Joe,” was instantly popular in Britain, and his 1967 tour to promote his first album, “Are you Experienced?,” won over huge crowds.
One of the highlights of Hendrix’s career happened at the infamous Woodstock festival in 1969, when he performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” One journalist once wrote that Hendrix “could get more out of an electric guitar than anyone else,” calling him “the ultimate guitar player.
Jimi Hendrix’s impressive career
Hendrix, who learned to play the guitar as a teenager, delighted audiences worldwide in the 1960s with his innovative electric guitar playing, as Biography reports. His first single, “Hey Joe,” was instantly popular in Britain, and his 1967 tour to promote his first album, “Are you Experienced?,” won over huge crowds.
One of the highlights of Hendrix’s career happened at the infamous Woodstock festival in 1969, when he performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” One journalist once wrote that Hendrix “could get more out of an electric guitar than anyone else,” calling him “the ultimate guitar player.
- 5/3/2023
- by Jessica Wick
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Never mind the Blues-, here are the Techno Brothers, and they are ready to conquer Japan. The music band in the film pronounced as a trio of geniuses on a par with Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, The Beatles, Miles Davis and Bob Dylan by their agent Himuro (Asuna Yanagi), consists of real life Watanabe brothers (Hirobumi and Yuji) and Kurosaki Takanori, dressed up as if they came out of the Kraftwerk impersonators' competition. In case anyone wonders, yes – they are dressed in the signature red shirts and black ties, and they perform long electronic numbers in the most unlikely of places such as a recreation park and a green house to a very small, mostly unwilling audience.
“Techno Brothers” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
There are evident film influences from the 1990s in the “Techno Brothers”, from Jim Jarmusch's “Stranger Than Paradise”, the above indicated Jon Landis musical hit,...
“Techno Brothers” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
There are evident film influences from the 1990s in the “Techno Brothers”, from Jim Jarmusch's “Stranger Than Paradise”, the above indicated Jon Landis musical hit,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
On Tuesday, the world lost an icon in the legendary performer, civil rights activist, and humanitarian Harry Belafonte. The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner passed away at the age of 96. After starting his career in his native New York City as a jazz singer in the late 1940s and early ’50s, often backed by the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Max Roach, he released his first hit song “Matilda” in 1953. Then, a year later, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.” His first album “Calypso” was released in 1956 and brought unquestionably the most enduring song of his career, “Day-o (The Banana Boat Song).”
Belafonte went on to regularly perform with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas throughout the years while also transitioning to the screen. During the 1950s, he starred in such films as “Carmen Jones,” “Island in the Sun,...
Belafonte went on to regularly perform with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas throughout the years while also transitioning to the screen. During the 1950s, he starred in such films as “Carmen Jones,” “Island in the Sun,...
- 4/25/2023
- by Matt Tamanini
- The Streamable
Harry Belafonte, the legendary singer, actor, and civil rights activist, died Tuesday, April 25, Rolling Stone has confirmed. He was 96.
Belafonte died at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine adding the cause was congestive heart failure.
Related Harry Belafonte: Five Essential Songs Songwriter Keith Gattis, Whose Songs Were Cut by Kenny Chesney and George Strait, Dead at 52 Len Goodman, Longtime 'Dancing With the Stars' Judge, Dead at 78
Belafonte rose to prominence in the Fifties when his interpretation of calypso music popularized the sounds...
Belafonte died at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine adding the cause was congestive heart failure.
Related Harry Belafonte: Five Essential Songs Songwriter Keith Gattis, Whose Songs Were Cut by Kenny Chesney and George Strait, Dead at 52 Len Goodman, Longtime 'Dancing With the Stars' Judge, Dead at 78
Belafonte rose to prominence in the Fifties when his interpretation of calypso music popularized the sounds...
- 4/25/2023
- by Jason Heller
- Rollingstone.com
Ahmad Jamal, the pianist and band leader who helped pioneer the influential style that would come to be called cool jazz, died Sunday of prostate cancer at his home in Ashley Falls, Mass. He was 92.
His death was announced by his daughter Sumayah Jamal.
“All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal,” trumpeter Miles Davis once famously said, just one of many musical icons and jazz devotees who credit Jamal with impacting the direction of the form away from the speed and busyness of bebop toward a more spare approach.
Jamal often described his playing style by saying he honored the spaces between the notes, a less-is-more approach that in the 1950s was initially dismissed by critics as superficial cocktail lounge music.
The record-buying public disagreed, and Jamal’s 1958 album At the Pershing: But Not for Me spent an unprecedented two years on Billboard’s album chart. The freeform, relaxed but...
His death was announced by his daughter Sumayah Jamal.
“All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal,” trumpeter Miles Davis once famously said, just one of many musical icons and jazz devotees who credit Jamal with impacting the direction of the form away from the speed and busyness of bebop toward a more spare approach.
Jamal often described his playing style by saying he honored the spaces between the notes, a less-is-more approach that in the 1950s was initially dismissed by critics as superficial cocktail lounge music.
The record-buying public disagreed, and Jamal’s 1958 album At the Pershing: But Not for Me spent an unprecedented two years on Billboard’s album chart. The freeform, relaxed but...
- 4/17/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Groundbreaking jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal died this weekend, as per reports in the New York Times and other outlets. He was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2017. He was also nominated for two Grammys, one for his 2013 album “Blue Moon,” and also for his funky 1980s cover of Bobby Womack’s “You’re Welcome, Stop on By,” which was later sampled by multiple hip-hop artists. He was also the recipient of an Nea Jazz Masters Award, and Kennedy Center Legend Award, and was named to the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2007. He was 92 years old.
The Pittsburgh-born pianist, who trained in Western classical music, was a noted prodigy in his youth, and began his professional career in his teens. On the road, the young man born Frederick Jones was welcomed by the Muslim community in the Detroit area,...
The Pittsburgh-born pianist, who trained in Western classical music, was a noted prodigy in his youth, and began his professional career in his teens. On the road, the young man born Frederick Jones was welcomed by the Muslim community in the Detroit area,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Ahmad Jamal, the influential jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, has died at the age of 92 following complications from prostate cancer.
Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and began playing piano at the age of three. As a teenager, he attended the prestigious Westinghouse High School, where he honed his skills as a pianist and composer. In 1949, Jamal moved to Chicago, where he linked up with musicians like Von Freeman and Claude McLin. It was during this time that he converted to Islam and changed his name from Frederick Russell Jones to Ahmad Jamal. He began performing as a solo pianist at clubs in Chicago and eventually formed his own trio in 1951, featuring guitarist Ray Crawford and bassist Eddie Calhoun.
The Ahmad Jamal Trio — which later featured drummer Vernel Fournier and bassist Israel Crosby — gained notoriety following the release of their 1958 live album, At the Pershing: But Not for Me. Recorded...
Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and began playing piano at the age of three. As a teenager, he attended the prestigious Westinghouse High School, where he honed his skills as a pianist and composer. In 1949, Jamal moved to Chicago, where he linked up with musicians like Von Freeman and Claude McLin. It was during this time that he converted to Islam and changed his name from Frederick Russell Jones to Ahmad Jamal. He began performing as a solo pianist at clubs in Chicago and eventually formed his own trio in 1951, featuring guitarist Ray Crawford and bassist Eddie Calhoun.
The Ahmad Jamal Trio — which later featured drummer Vernel Fournier and bassist Israel Crosby — gained notoriety following the release of their 1958 live album, At the Pershing: But Not for Me. Recorded...
- 4/17/2023
- by Consequence Staff
- Consequence - Music
Ahmad Jamal, the influential jazz pianist whose style influenced generations of musicians for seven decades, died on Sunday, The Washington Post reports. He was 92. His wife, Laura Hess-Hey, confirmed the news to the newspaper. No further details were disclosed.
Jamal began his professional career while still in high school in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and continued to create and influence multiple music genres through his seven-decade career. Originally performing under the name Fritz Jones, he was among the first African American artists who publicly adopted the Muslim faith and...
Jamal began his professional career while still in high school in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and continued to create and influence multiple music genres through his seven-decade career. Originally performing under the name Fritz Jones, he was among the first African American artists who publicly adopted the Muslim faith and...
- 4/17/2023
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
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