Chris Potter's Underground Debuts on Billboard Chart

Saxophonist Chris Potter's Underground debuted on the Billboard jazz chart this week at number 11.

The album, Potter's 14th as a leader, features several originals as well as the Beatles' "Yesterday" and Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom." Personnel includes guitarist Wayne Krantz, organist Craig Taborn, and drummer Nate Smith.

Michael Bublé's year-old It's Time remained at number one, and his Caught in the Act moved up to number two.

Also new to the chart was vocalist Erin Bode's Over and Over, which debuted at number 25.

Herbie Hancock's Possibilities remained at number one on the contemporary-jazz chart. The only new album on the chart was a compilation titled No. 1 Smooth Jazz Hits!, which debuted at number 16.

By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Where music fills the air

Testing out a new Wi-Fi MP3 player

I am meeting MusicGremlin co-founder Robert Khedouri at a Manhattan Starbucks, where Sheryl Crow's new CD is for sale. A compact disc - what a quaint relic. I ask Khedouri if I can simply download the title track -- right here, right now -- to a MusicGremlin.

He hands me his company's new Wi-Fi MP3 player. The device connects instantly to an online song library, and I can download a tune in about 30 seconds. "Let's go somewhere that has free wireless access," I suggest.

We start walking in search of one of the nation's 6,000 gratis hot spots, among them libraries, malls, and eateries. When we finally hit pay dirt, I download my wish list: "Gold Digger" by Kanye West, "After Midnight" by Eric Clapton, and Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child."

Khedouri then suggests we switch our MusicGremlins into community mode. Now my player is connected to his player. Had a Gremlin-toting stranger passed by, his on-screen name would have shown up. In community mode, I'm able to see the title of the song Khedouri is listening to, "Daughters," by John Mayer. He beams it to me, and I can choose whether to buy it. I select "accept" in a dialog box, and my MusicGremlin's song library grows fatter. Had this been for real, my credit card bill that day would have been $5 higher.

Justin Martin, FSB contributor

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Smooth Jazz Top Ten, Week Ending: 2/10/06

LW TW Artist Title (Label)
1 - 1 - Brian Simpson - "It's All Good" (Rendezvous)
3 - 2 - Richard Elliot - "Mystique" (Artizen)
2 - 3 - Rick Braun - "Shining Star" (Artizen)
4 - 4 - Euge Groove - "Get Em Goin'" (Narada Jazz/EMI)
5 - 5 - Walter Beasley - "Coolness" (Heads Up)
7 - 6 - Nils - "Summer Nights" (Baja/TSR)
6 - 7 - Marion Meadows - "Suede" (Heads Up)
8 - 8 - Kim Waters - "Steppin' Out" (Shanachie)
9 - 9 - Najee - "2nd 2 None" (Heads Up International)
10 - 10 - Chris Botti f/Jill Scott - "Good Morning Heartache" (Columbia)

Visit radioandrecords.com to view the latest complete Smooth Jazz ® National Airplay© listings.

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Jazz Grammy Winners

FIELD 10 - JAZZ

Category 45 - Best Contemporary Jazz Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

• Keystone
  Dave Douglas
  [Greenleaf Music]
  
  
• Soulgrass
  Bill Evans
  [BHM Productions]
  
  
• The Way Up
  Pat Metheny Group
  [Nonesuch]
  
  
• The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance Of The Infidel
  Meshell Ndegeocello
  [Shanachie Entertainment Corp.]
  
  
• Momentum
  Joshua Redman Elastic Band
  [Nonesuch]
  
  
  

Category 46 - Best Jazz Vocal Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)

• J'ai Deux Amours
  Dee Dee Bridgewater
  [Sovereign Artists]
  
  
• Blueprint Of A Lady - Sketches Of Billie Holiday
  Nnenna Freelon
  [Concord Jazz]
  
  
• Good Night, And Good Luck.
  Dianne Reeves
  [Concord Jazz]
  
  
• Duos II
  Luciana Souza
  [Sunnyside]
  
  
• I'm With The Band
  Tierney Sutton
  [Telarc Jazz]
  
  
  

Category 47 - Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
(For an instrumental jazz solo performance. Two equal performers on one recording may be eligible as one entry. If the soloist listed appears on a recording billed to another artist, the latter's name is in parenthesis for identification. Singles or Tracks only.)

• 'Round Midnight
  Alan Broadbent, soloist
  Track from: 'Round Midnight
  [Artistry Music]
  
  
• Away
  Ravi Coltrane, soloist
  Track from: In Flux
  [Savoy Jazz]
  
  
• The Source
  Herbie Hancock, soloist
  Track from: Flow (Terence Blanchard)
  [Blue Note Records]
  
  
• A Love Supreme - Acknowledgement
  Branford Marsalis, soloist
  Track from: Coltrane's A Love Supreme Live In Amsterdam
  [Marsalis Music]
  
  
• Why Was I Born?
  Sonny Rollins, soloist
  Track from: Without A Song - The 9/11 Concert
  [Milestone]
  
  
  

Category 48 - Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

• Flow
  Terence Blanchard
  [Blue Note Records]
  
  
• Lyric
  Billy Childs Ensemble
  [Lunacy Music/Artistshare]
  
  
• Live At The House Of Tribes
  Wynton Marsalis
  [Blue Note Records]
  
  
• Beyond The Sound Barrier
  Wayne Shorter Quartet
  [Verve]
  
  
• What Now?
  Kenny Wheeler With Dave Holland, Chris Potter John Taylor
  [CAM Jazz]
  
  
  

Category 48 - Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
(For large jazz ensembles, including big band sounds. Albums must contain 51% or more INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)

• Overtime
  Dave Holland Big Band
  [Sunnyside/Dare2]
  
  
• A Blessing
  John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble
  [OmniTone]
  
  
• Live
  The Bill Holman Band
  [Jazzed Media]
  
  
• I Am Three
  Mingus Big Band, Orchestra Dynasty
  [Sunnyside/Sue Mingus Music]
  
  
• Home Of My Heart
  The Chris Walden Big Band
  [Origin]
  
  
  

Category 50 - Best Latin Jazz Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

• Time Was - Time Is
  Ray Barretto
  [O Plus Music]
  
  
• Here And Now - Live In Concert
  Caribbean Jazz Project Featuring Dave Samuels
  [Concord Picante]
  
  
• ...And Sammy Walked In
  Sammy Figueroa And His Latin Jazz Explosion
  [Savant Records]
  
  
• Listen Here!
  Eddie Palmieri
  [Concord Picante]
  
  
• Mulatos
  Omar Sosa
  [Otá Records]
  
  

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Morgan Freeman to Play Duke Ellington in Upcoming Film

Actor Morgan Freeman will play bandleader Duke Ellington in the upcoming film The Jazz Ambassadors, according to Variety.

The movie, which has a script by Jeremy Donner, tells the story of the Ellington band's 1963 State Department-sponsored tour of Iraq, which coincided with a coup by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party.

The CIA, which allegedly backed the coup, is said to have had spies within Ellington's entourage, according to Variety.

The Jazz Ambassadors will be directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). It was recently acquired by New Line Cinema.

By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Highlights in Jazz: Bill Charlap Trio + Living Jazz Legends

Jack Kleinsinger's “Highlights in Jazz, ” New York's longest running jazz series, announced their 33rd Anniversary concert featuring the Bill Charlap Trio and the Living Jazz Legends: Slide Hampton, and Jimmy Heath. The combination of the Bill Charlap Trio along with the Living Jazz Legend promises to be a true jazz happening.

Since his emergence in the late '80s pianist Bill Charlap has firmly established himself as one of the premier performers on the jazz scene today. Born into a musical family in New York City (his father, Moose Charlap, was a Broadway composer and songwriter and his mother, Sandy Stewart, a popular song singer who performed with Benny Goodman) Mr. Charlap who began playing the piano at a very young age was fully thrust into the jazz world in the late '80s. He joined baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's quintet in 1994 was enlisted by alto saxophonist Phil Woods for his band. Mr. Charlap was the musical director of the hit film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In 1996 he began playing with his trio of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. The group has recorded four CDs for the Criss Cross and Blue Note labels for which his 2004 Blue Note release Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein received a Grammy nomination. He received the Pianist of the Year Jazz Award in 2003 from the Jazz Journalists Association and was named outstanding jazz soloist by Manhattan's Night Life Awards in 2003 and 2004.

Each season Highlights in Jazz presents Living Jazz Legends who have graced the Highlights in Jazz stage many times and have been honorees at past Highlights in Jazz concerts.

Slide Hampton is a masterly arranger, composer and gifted (left- handed) trombone player. His career is among the most distinguished in jazz having appeared on numerous recordings and in the bands of Lloyd Price, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and his own World of Trombones.

Jimmy Heath has long been recognized as a brilliant instrumentalist and a magnificent composer and arranger. During his career, he has performed on more than 100 recordings including seven with The Heath Brothers and twelve as a leader and has written more than 125 compositions, many of which have become jazz standards and have been recorded by Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, James Moody, Milt Jackson, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, J.J Johnson and Dexter Gordon.

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Upcoming Jazz Releases - 2/7/06

Albert Ayler - Complete ESP-Disk' Recordings (ESP-Disk') - Reissue - 2+ CDs
Andrew Hill - Smokestack (Blue Note) - Reissue
Art Blakey - Live! At Slugs, N.Y.C. (E2)
Bill Carrothers - Shine Ball (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Birele Lagrene and Gypsy Project - Live in Paris (Koch) - DVD-Video
Buddy Rich - Best of Buddy Rich (LRC) - Reissue
Butch Cage & Willie Thomas - Old Time Southern String Band Music (Arhoolie) - Reissue
Charlie Hunter Trio - Copperopolis (Ropeadope)
Chick Corea - The Ultimate Adventure (Stretch)
Dave Douglas - Keystone (Koch Entertainment)
Denzel Sinclair - My One & Only Love (Verve)
Don Fagerquist - Portrait of a Great Jazz Artist (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Together (Blue Moon) - Reissue
Ernie Wilkins Orchestra - Big New Band of the 60s (Fresh Sound) - Reissue
Erroll Garner - Jazz Biography (United Multi Design) - Reissue
Firehouse Five Plus Two - Firehouse Five Plus Two Vol. 1 - Settin' the World on Fire-Whole Story (Jasmine)
Hank Mobley - Workout (Blue Note`) - Reissue
Horace Silver - Horace-Scope (Blue Note) - Reissue
Ismael Dusnas - Mirage (Rock Bottom)
Jack DeJohnette - Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers (Koch)
Jason Miles - What's Going On? Tribute to Marvin Gaye (Narada)
John Belcher - Sound According to John (Innova)
Jordi Matas - Racons (Rock Bottom)
June Christy - Cool School/ Do Re Mi (EMI) - Reissue
Keith Oxman - Dues in Progress (Capri)
Kenny G - Best/Live in Hong Gold Edition (Arista) - Reissue
Lee Morgan - Gigolo (Blue Note) - Reissue
Left Alone - Eric Dolphy/ Herbie Hancock (Fruit Tree) - Reissue
Louis Armstrong - Duets with Louis Armstrong & Friends (Blue Moon) - Reissue
Mark Murphy - Playing the Field / Hit Parade (DRG) - Reissue
Mary Lou Williams Collective - Zodia Suite: Revisited (Mary Records)
Nancy Wilson - From Broadway with Love/Tender Loving Care (EMI) Reissue
No Jazz - Have Fun (WEA)
Nostalgia 77 Octet - Seven & Eights (Tru Thoughts)
Ornette Coleman - Rock the Clock (Fruit Tree) - Reissue
Pat Metheny Group - Still Life (Talking) (Nonesuch) - Reissue
Pat Metheny Group - Letter from Home (Nonesuch) - Reissue
Pat Metheny Group - The Road to You (Nonesuch) - Reissue
Rabih Abou-Khalil - Journey to the Centre of an Egg (Enja/Justin Time)
Randy Crawford - Raw Silk (Warner Music) - Reissue
Rosalia De Souza - Brazil Precisa Balancar (Schema)
Roy Ayers - Virgin Ubiquity: Remixed (Rapster)
Samo Salamon Quartet - Two Hours (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Sherri Roberts - The Sky Could Send You (Pacific Coast Jazz)
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - An Introduction to Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (Varese Sarabande) - Reissue
Southwest Jazz Band - 1961 (GHB)
Stanley Turrentine - Joyride (Blue Note) - Reissue
Stu Williamson - Trumpet Artistry of Stu Williamson (Fresh Sound) - Reissue
Xavier Callas - Yesterday's Sun (Blue Moon)
Yonder Mountain String Band - Mountain Tracks: Volume 4 (Frog Pad)

Information provided by allaboutjazz.com

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Way out of tune

To see how the Grammys historically award commercialism over artistic achievement, ponder these examples:

• Country icon Hank Williams won only one Grammy, for a ghastly posthumous, pieced- together single with son Hank Williams Jr. in 1989. In contrast, country-pop pin-up Shania Twain has won five.

• Jazz saxophone innovator John Coltrane also won only a single Grammy, again posthumously. Contemporary "smooth jazz" sax stylist David Sanborn has won six.

• The Rolling Stones didn't win their two Grammys until 1994. Hard-rock kingpin Metallica has chalked up seven.

• Blues-rock innovator John Mayall, the artist who introduced the world to Eric Clapton, has yet to win a Grammy. Clapton's accumulated Grammy total: 16.

• This year, three veteran acts will receive lifetime achievement Grammys for careers that have been essentially ignored by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Among them: David Bowie (one Grammy), Merle Haggard (two Grammys) and Cream (another Clapton affiliate that hasn't won any).

• Among other major artists shunned by the Academy: Chuck Berry, Neil Young, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell, The Police, Grateful Dead, ZZ Top, The Pretenders, Jefferson Airplane, Wilson Pickett, Bo Diddley, The Four Tops and Jelly Roll Morton. The number of lesser-known but equally valued names is almost incalculable.

kentucky.com

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Paul Motian and Hiromi Albums Debut on Billboard Jazz Chart

New albums from drummer Paul Motian and pianist Hiromi debuted on the Billboard jazz chart this week at numbers 14 and 15.

The Paul Motian Band's Garden of Eden features tunes by Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker, as well as several originals; the unorthodox lineup includes two saxophones, three guitars, bass, and drums.

Spiral is the third album from the young Japanese pianist Hiromi. It includes eight original compositions for jazz trio, including the four-part suite Music for Three-Piece Orchestra.

Michael Bublé's It's Time topped the chart for the 40th time, with Chris Botti's To Love Again: The Duets at number two and Bublé's live Caught in the Act at number three.

Four albums debuted on the contemporary-jazz chart: Incognito's Eleven at number two, The Essential Kenny G at number three, flutist Alexander Zonjic'sSeldom Blues at number seven, and Streetwize's Streetwize Does Dre, an instrumental tribute to the hip-hop producer Dr. Dre, at number 12.

Herbie Hancock's Possibilities remained at number one.

By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

$2.8 Million Grants for Musicians Affected by Hurricane Katrina

Jazz at Lincoln Center announced today that its Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Fund, administered through the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, has awarded 214 grants totaling $2.8 million for musicians and music industry-related enterprises from the Greater New Orleans area that were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

21 grants of up to $100,000 were awarded to the following nonprofit organizations: Acadiana Arts Council , Arts Council of New Orleans, Contemporary Arts Center, CubaNOLA Collective, Efforts of Grace, Inc., Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, Jazz Foundation of America, National Performance Network, New Orleans Arts and Cultural Host, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans Jazz Education Foundation, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Inc., New Orleans Music Hall of Fame Inc., New Orleans Musicians Clinic, Norman Dixon Sr. Annual Second Line, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, Tipitina's Foundation, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club Inc., Katrina's Piano Fund Inc.

Grants of up to $15,000 to 193 individuals were also awarded, with priority given to professional jazz musicians who were displaced by the hurricane. Applications for these grants were subject to deadlines. Applications were reviewed by a group of pre-screeners made up of individuals closely involved with the jazz community in New Orleans and by a national panel of jazz experts.

The Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Fund was established following Hurricane Katrina. Funds were raised from ticket sales to a benefit concert produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center that included a live national telethon on PBS/Live From Lincoln Center on September 17. The event included performances by an array of musicians and entertainers and, combined with an online eBay auction, other independent fundraising efforts by individuals and organizations all over the world, raised nearly $3 million for the fund. In addition, proceeds from the Blue Note Records' Higher Ground Concert CD are being directed to the fund.

The Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Fund has received donations from thousands of individuals and organizations from around the world. Some of the broad range of donors include: Jazz All-Stars at New Jersey State Prison; Umbria Jazz Festival, Italy; Guadalajara Jazz Festival, Mexico; festivals throughout Canada; American and Canadian Universities, High Schools, and Elementary Schools; Japanese Embassy; Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Rhode Island Hurricane Relief Festival; Turkish Government; Monterey Jazz Festival, California; Twins Jazz Club, Washington, DC; Early Childhood Puppet Theatre, Ltd.

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Cassandra Wilson's New CD

Cassandra Wilson never fails to surprise and inspire. Sexy, honey-velvet vocals wrapped around her own jazzy blue compositions or inventive interpretations of others' material led TIME magazine to name her “America's Best Singer” in recent years. On her new CD thunderbird, which Blue Note Records will release on April 4, 2006, she has collaborated with red hot producer T Bone Burnett to surprise, yet again.

“Working with T Bone took the songs into a whole other place, ” explained Wilson. “He guided me into the deepest recesses of the material, and that attention to detail and nuance allowed me to delve into my own innermost emotions.” What's emerged is a post modern and, at times, primal take on roots music that begins with the title itself.

The legend of the thunderbird is an ancient myth that survives today in some Native American cultures. In the eyes of the ancients, it was a divine and magical animal sent by the gods to protect them from the powers of evil. The thunderbird brought calm and growth to the region. For Cassandra, the spiritual and magical aspects to this creature perfectly described the environment from which these 10 songs grew.

Deftly combining her own compositions--the irresistible “Go To Mexico, ” the sultry “It Would Be So Easy, ” the lovely “Poet” and the spiritual and celebratory “Tarot”--with carefully chosen songs that spoke to her like “Closer To You” by Jakob Dylan, “Easy Rider” by Blind Lemon Jefferson, the traditional song “Red River Valley” and Willie Dixon's “I Want To Be Loved, ” Wilson has woven her plaintive, delicious voice in and out of these tales of betrayal, intimacy and wonder. T Bone contributed two songs to the album in “Lost” and “Strike a Match.”

“With 'Easy Rider, ' I had always heard the 'C.C. Rider' version of this song covered, but never heard anyone do the Blind Lemon version, which resonated with me, ” Wilson says. “Jakob's song 'Closer to You' was, to me, the epitome of intimacy and I just had to do it, couldn't help myself!” she teases.

The instrumentation chosen for the songs was also a different experience for Cassandra. The groundbreaking sound that Cassandra crafted with producer Craig Street in the mid-1990's on such classic Blue Note recordings as Blue Light 'Til Dawn and the Grammy-winning New Moon Daughter, was defined by it's sparse acoustic guitars. However, keyboards play a much larger role in many of the songs on thunderbird, courtesy of keyboardist (and sometimes electric bassist) Keefus Ciancia, who is also the co-producer of the album.

“I hadn't worked with keyboards for a long time, ” says Cassandra, referring to her co-producer as “an alchemist. Keefus is amazing. He's a texture person, very organic and between T Bone, Keefus and I came a lot of the nuances.” Also on the album are uber musicians Marc Ribot and Colin Linden on guitar, Mike Elizondo on electric bass, Reginald Veal on acoustic bass and Jim Keltner, Bill Maxwell and Jay Bellerose on drums. Gregoire Maret also plays harmonica on “Tarot.”

Ultimately, T Bone was the glue that kept it all together and it was his “secret ingredients, ” as Cassandra describes them, that added that aural special something you just couldn't put your finger on. So what were T Bone's “special ingredients?” “I can't talk about those, ” she says. “Otherwise, he'd have to kill me.”

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Avishai Cohen to Perform at William Paterson

Bassist and composer Avishai Cohen, one of the first Israeli-born jazz musicians to make a big splash in the United States, will perform at William Paterson University in Wayne on Sunday, February 19 at the opening of the spring 2006 Jazz Room Series.

Renowned for a strong and unique style, Cohen often combines Middle Eastern and Israeli music with both electric and acoustic jazz. Until late 2003, he was a member of the Chick Corea New Trio, and accompanist to other jazz noteworthies, including Bobby McFerrin, Roy Hargrove, Herbie Hancock, and Paquito D'Rivera. In recent years, he has been on a world tour with his trio and quartet, featuring two recent William Paterson graduates, pianist Sam Barsh and drummer Mark Guiliana. Cohen's most recent CD, At Home (Razdaz Recordz 2005) is a follow up to his critically acclaimed Lyla (2003), and features 11 new compositions.

Now in its 28th year of exciting performances, The Jazz Room is one of the largest and most prestigious college-sponsored jazz events in the country. Performers include renowned professionals who encompass the complete spectrum of jazz, from practitioners of traditional jazz to avant-garde to bebop to swing to Afro-Latin jazz as well as William Paterson's own student ensembles. The series has won numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for its innovative programming.

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Smooth Jazz Top Ten: Week Ending 2/3/06

LW TW Artist Title (Label)
1 - 1 - Brian Simpson - "It's All Good" (Rendezvous)
2 - 2 - Rick Braun - "Shining Star" (Artizen)
4 - 3 - Richard Elliot - "Mystique" (Artizen)
3 - 4 - Euge Groove - "Get Em Goin'" (Narada Jazz/EMI)
5 - 5 - Walter Beasley - "Coolness" (Heads Up)
6 - 6 - Marion Meadows - "Suede" (Heads Up)
7 - 7 - Nils - "Summer Nights" (Baja/TSR)
9 - 8 - Kim Waters - "Steppin' Out" (Shanachie)
12 - 9 - Najee - "2nd 2 None" (Heads Up International)
11 - 10 - Chris Botti f/Jill Scott - "Good Morning Heartache" (Columbia)

Visit radioandrecords.com to view the latest complete Smooth Jazz ® National Airplay© listings.

Technorati Tags: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Music

Percussionist Ray Barretto Faces Second Heart Surgery

Jazz percussionist Ray Barretto underwent open-heart surgery last week and may need additional surgery, Newsday reports.

According to the paper, doctors believe that the 76-year-old may have internal bleeding resulting from the original surgery. He has been feeling chest pain.

Barretto's wife Annette said that the second surgery would be a "minor setback"

"Recovery is expected, prayers are appreciated," she said.

Barretto, a master of the conga drum, performed both with mambo groups and with bebop jazz groups in the 1950s. He recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Burrell, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Wes Montgomery, other leading players, and is often credited with introducing the conga to mainstream jazz. In 1962, he scored a crossover hit with the song El Watusi.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, he directed the Fania All-Stars, an all-star salsa group. Since 1992, he has led New World Spirit, a jazz group. In September 2005, he was won the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award, the nation's highest honor for jazz musicians.

By Ben Mattison - playbillarts.com

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New Orleans' Jazz Fest won't be deterred by Katrina

The 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will go on as usual in post-Katrina New Orleans this spring, buoyed by a deal with a first-ever presenting sponsor, the Shell oil company, producer Quint Davis said Tuesday.

New Orleans native Fats Domino, whose home in the Lower Ninth Ward was flooded by Hurricane Katrina, will be among the featured acts.

Davis said the festival will take place at its usual location — the historic Fair Grounds horse racing track — on the last weekend of April and the first weekend in May, its traditional dates.

"In light of the great financial challenges of presenting the 2006 festival on the grand scale everyone is accustomed to, we simply could not have produced Jazz Fest without unprecedented corporate support from Shell...," Davis said in a statement. Ten other corporate sponsors also are supporting the event.

Along with Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest is one of New Orleans' major tourist attractions. Average annual attendance, including locals and tourists, is roughly 500,000. The festival features a variety of musical acts playing simultaneously on numerous stages on the Fair Grounds infield, along with food booths featuring Louisiana cuisine and numerous arts and crafts venues.

Among the challenges facing this year's organizers: attracting big-name acts, as well as rounding up local musicians who have scattered around the nation after their homes, and their local performance venues, were damaged by Katrina. (AP)

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