Multi-Generational Project Pays Homage to Late Patriarchs Bebo Valdés & "Chico" O'Farrill and Spotlights the Next Generation.

Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico brings together two of the influential families in Afro-Cuban music in a celebration of their late patriarchs: pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader Bebo Valdés and composer, arranger and bandleader "Chico" O´Farrill.
 
It's a multi-generational tribute led by Arturo O´Farrill and Chucho Valdés - their sons, major figures in their own right - but also featuring the next generation, including pianist Leyanis Valdés, drummer Jessie Valdés, trumpeter Adam O´Farrill and drummer Zack O´Farrill.
 
In keeping with the theme of Familia, sitarist Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the great Ravi Shankar, is featured playing "Raja Ram," a piece by executive and artistic producer Kabir Sehgal, inspired by memories of his father.
 
Scheduled for September 15 release on Motéma Music, the 12-tracks presented in two discs, one featuring the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, the other the Third Generation Ensemble, are a mix of classics by Bebo ("Ecuación" and "Con Poco Coco,") and Chico ("Pura Emoción" and "Pianitis") as well as originals by their sons and grandsons. The project was recorded in the studio immediately following sold-out live performances of the material as part of O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Alliance performance series at New York's Symphony Space in January 2017.
"I love that the name of the record is Familiaand that the cover features pictures of everybody, like a family album," said Valdés. "I love it because beyond the musical considerations, this is a very emotional project."
 
While recording this album, "there were at least two instances in which I literally had to hide in the bathroom to cry," recalled Valdés. "The first one was when I heard the orchestra playing my dad's "Ecuación" [originally written for Dizzy Gillespie in 1982 and orchestrated in 2004 for his "Suite Cubana"]; I remember he wrote that suite in pencil and copied all the parts by hand. And when Arturo's orchestra started playing, the sound put me back at the Tropicana, when I was a kid and Bebo used to take me to the rehearsals - and I had to hide and cry because the emotion was overwhelming. I felt my dad in the room." The other especially emotional moment happened when recording "Tema de Bebo," a piece he included as "Bebo" in his 2013 album Border-Free.
 
"The recording session had a pinch-me feeling, watching two maestros make music at the highest level. This collaboration is a watershed moment not just for the music but for education in our country: how different generations can work, learn, and imagine with each other. The workplace is increasingly intergenerational, and this album shows us how to thrive," said Sehgal, who also wrote the liner notes.
 
For O'Farrill, Familia suggests a deeply personal follow up to his latest album, Cuba: The Conversation Continues, which won "Best Instrumental Composition" GRAMMY® for the track "The Afro Latin Jazz Suite," as well as winning a Latin GRAMMY® for "Best Latin Jazz Album." It's a conversation between Chico and Bebo, old friends and colleagues in Cuba, who once shared music and a profound mutual admiration, continued and expanded by other, familiar voices.
 
But Familia is also something else, he noted: It´s a celebration of the creative spirit.
"It's important to me that Familia is not just a nostalgia project," said O'Farrill. "It cannot be. Bebo and Chico were both forward-looking creators so, for us, it was important not just to recreate the music they left us, but to capture the zeal and vision they had for progress. They were innovators. They wrote music that was radical for their times."
 
As a tribute to that spirit, consider O'Farrill's own "Three Revolutions," celebrating change and progress well beyond the mere political, or Zack O'Farrill's adventurous "Gonki Gonki." 
 
Reflecting on the recent political climate as it relates to Familia, O'Farrill says, "It's sad to see progress made by a family-oriented President be dismantled by a business-oriented one. Business teaches that it's okay to lie, divide, manipulate and do whatever it takes to succeed. Familia stands as a challenge to those people who think mounds of glitter are what life is all about. We support the progress the United States has made with Cuba. Our restored diplomatic relations are a sign of recognition that familial obligations are more important than ideological or business obligations, and that the first order of business is to see those families as global."
 
As for the recording sessions, "there were many unbelievable moments for me," he said. "I have a photograph of Bebo and Chico standing together and looking very happy so when we first started the session I taped this photo on a very high boom stand. So Chucho and I had our backs to each other, and high up, between us, we had Bebo and Chico watching over the music."
 
He recalled the recording of "Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters," for which, at one point, "We had everyone in the studio, Leyanis, Jessie, Zack, Adam, a group of young trumpet players from Cuba, the entire band and me and Chucho," said Arturo. "I just took a moment to look at the assembled crowd and I had this overwhelming sense of accomplishment, and thinking of Chico and Bebo."
 
Arturo "Chico" O´Farrill (October 28, 1921 - June 27, 2001) and Dionisio Ramón Emilio "Bebo" Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 - March 22, 2013) first worked together in Cuba at the fabled Tropicana Club. O´Farrill wrote arrangements for the house orchestra and Valdés was the house pianist. From there, their paths diverged widely. O´Farrill moved to New York in the late 40s, lived in Mexico City from 1955 to 1965, when he returned to Manhattan. Valdés left Cuba in self-exile in 1960, first to Mexico and then Europe, settling eventually in Stockholm. Both lived most of their lives as exiles and both unexpectedly found success again, performing and recording, in their winter days, but their paths did not cross again many times.
 
"A beautiful moment I recall with them was while touring in Spain with Chico in 1995," said O'Farrill. "I believe we were in Madrid and Bebo came to see the band. And when they saw each other there were a lot of hugs and tears. It was very emotional, very powerful. There was a lot of love and respect between them. It was a beautiful thing to witness."
 
As for the next generation, O'Farrill has played and recorded with his sons Zack and Adam from an early age, but for Valdés, this was the first time in the studio with Leyanis and Jessie.
 
"They already have recorded their first album, and theirs is a very different music. It has nothing to do with me or Bebo," said Valdés, sounding like a proud dad. Meanwhile O´Farrill, spoke of how moved he was with the way the young guys carried themselves.
 
"Zack, Adam, Leyanis and Jessie are incredible musicians, and I keep thinking of how their music comes from their humanity," he said. "We have pieces like the ones by Zack and Jessie and you can hear how the vision and spirit of our forefathers has been carried on by the generations that followed. I think Chico and Bebo would've been proud."
 
 
Arturo O'Farrill & Chucho Valdés · Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico
Label: Motéma Music · Release Date: September 15, 2017
 
For more information on Arturo O'Farill &
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra & Alliance,
visit afrolatinjazz.org
 
For more information on Chucho Valdés, visit valdeschucho.com
 
For more information on Motéma Music, visit motema.com
 
foto's met toestemming: Jordy Freed

COLDSPELL is finally back! For the fourth time the band from the land of ice and snow up in the north of Sweden is going to bring the world 12 songs that will melt a rocking heart. Titled “A New World Arise” the band has captured emotions of a world going crazy and finding peace in the wilderness. The first single/video “Call of the Wild” will is out now on July 28th.

'Call Of The Wild' music video: https://youtu.be/vFwlwF1O2GU

​The album was recorded at various studios throughout Sweden and once again mixed by Tommy Hansen (Pretty Maids, Helloween, Jorn) and will be released in September 2017.

Coldspell is:
Niclas Svedentorp – Vocals
Michael Larsson – Guitars
Chris Goldsmith – Bass
Per Johansson – Drums

With three albums released so far the wait is over. Coldspell are ready to strike again with the brand new album titled “A New World Arise”. This is stunning recording that features 12 new songs of epic proportions and it’s going to put ColdSpell firmly on the map. This is Scandinavian melodic rock of the highest order and will be a strong contender for the hard rock album of 2017.
www.facebook.com/ColdSpell-164708699316
www.coldspell.se

Los Angeles, CA - Blast off into outer space with the Kooky Captain Of Weird, Gary Wilson, on a trip through the outer reaches of the lo-fi funk galaxy! Wilson is one of music's true pioneers, an artist completely ahead of his time, whose bedroom noise-pop albums in the late '70s introduced the outside art aesthetic influencing scores of artists from Beck to hip hop icon Earl Sweatshirt. His newest effort takes on the themes of sci-fi sex, alien romances, and the cold, cold heartbreak of modern love. Let’s Go To Outer Space will be landing on July 21 from Cleopatra Records.
 
Watch premiere of Gary Wilson's new video for “She’s The Girl From Mars” on ExclusiveMagazine.com: 
http://annecarlini.com/ex_monthly_picks.php?id=39
​

​Buy the CD: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/gary-wilson-lets-go-to-outer-space-cd/
Buy the digital: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lets-go-to-outer-space/id1251089402
​
Permission to reprint the photo's by Glass Onyon Promo agent USA.

“All I want to do is play music,” says singer/guitarist, Casey James. “Stripping it back to just me making a record of music that I love was a huge stepping stone in my life.” Released June 9, Strip It Down, his new album produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge and featuring a guest duet with the legendary Delbert McClinton, does just that.
 
It’s titled Strip It Down because it’s exactly what Casey James did – shed off the layers of stylized artistic clothing that he’d been given in those other public ventures to find the real artist underneath, a guy with a convincing, smokey vocal quality and a burning, lyrical skill with a guitar.
 
Recorded at Sound Stage Studio and The Switchyard in Nashville, Strip It Down is a glorious return to the blues and roots music Casey James grew up on in his native Texas, and was a major influence in both his singing and guitar playing. “This music has been a lifetime in the making for me,” Casey says. “If you listen close enough, you can hear my heartbeat; the thing that keeps me alive. It’s all here. This album has been a healing process for me. To truly share my heart and passion with the world in an honest way is the best feeling I’ve ever felt.”
 
It’s not often that the blues gets summarized with a happy platitude, but when Casey James inserted the phrase, “Every sunrise on another day is another chance to smile,” into the song “Hard Times, Heartaches & Scars” on his new album, it was a hard-won truth. James is familiar to many as a finalist on season 9 of “American Idol,” and familiar to still more as a country artist who notched a Top 15 single with “Crying on a Suitcase.”
 
But in Strip It Down, James comes into his own by following a simple plan: being himself. Instead of following the expectations of TV producers or the game plan of a well-oiled record company, James collected 13 songs he’d written or co-written (plus a soulful take on Little Willie’s John’s “Need Your Love So Bad”), holed up in a Nashville studio with a trim, crackerjack band and hammered out the bulk of the album in a scant four days.
 
“There are no tricks here; no auto-tune, no grid, no Midi adjustments,” he proclaims proudly. 
 
The music Casey loves is the blues. Between his shrewd playing and exuberant singing, the influences of guitar players Tab Benoit, Doyle Bramhall II and Freddie King are highly apparent in Strip It Down, which folds-in a variety of styles, all connected directly to that blues base. Casey announces his roots entry with the dramatic blues/rock of the opening track, “All I Need.” Then, Grammy-winner Delbert McClinton joins him on a raucous bit of Texas roadhouse swagger titled “Bulletproof.” From there, the album courses through the light country swing of “Stupid Crazy” (joined by Bonnie Bishop on vocals), the spacious old-school R&B of “Different Kind of Love,” and the gutbucket closer “Fight You for the Blues.”
 
Growing up in Cool, Texas, a dusty town 45 miles west of Fort Worth, his destiny was laid out for James at the age of 13, when he got his first guitar. It became a constant companion, a channel for his emotions, as the six strings lay easy in his hands.
 
“I got pretty proficient fairly quickly, but mostly because I couldn’t put it down,” James remembers. “I don’t ever remember a time where practice felt like practice.”
 
It was that natural. James formed a band and hit the Texas club circuit, a collection of venues just big enough that it can keep a musician going for years. The band was in such high demand that one year he played a staggering 364 days. Clearly, he was talented – and more than ready to work. He mixed a few originals in with cover songs, played a mean guitar and sang with conviction. But he was persuaded by a family member that a run on “American Idol” might put him on better financial ground.
 
“I was at the best place in my life,” he recalls. “I was gigging every day. But I was struggling to try and make enough money to make a real record. Had I not done ‘Idol,’ I probably would be still struggling, so I consider it a blessing.”
 
It also became a bit confusing. The contract required him to stop playing clubs from the time he auditioned until the season concluded roughly nine months later. The schedule frequently involved 20-hour work days secluded from the world he knew, and he bent a lot of directions stylistically to fit into the show’s format. The work paid off – he placed third that season (2010) and landed the record deal. It was a country contract, not entirely in alignment with his influences, but it overlapped enough that he took the deal.
 
The next four years were a whirlwind, as James threw himself into promotion, meeting radio programmers, writing with some of Nashville’s best composers and opening for the likes of Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson and Sugarland. He experienced surreal stardom, but that came with music that merely hinted at the real Casey James. When he got off the ride, he found himself in a different place than he’d started.
 
“You go from zero to hero overnight, and so people see you differently,” James says. “So the person I was died. That person no longer existed.”
 
If it was going to be possible to resurrect that person, he knew only one way to do it. So he wrote. He launched into that phase with no real plan, just a passion for self-expression.
 
“It started as, ‘Man, I just need to write. I need to be able to do this for my own sake,’” he says. “I needed to just write music for me, for the sake of writing something that I enjoy singing and playing.”
 
The soulful “Supernatural,” the breezy ballad “Stupid Crazy” and the honking “I Got to Go” all came early in the process. He wrote them on his own, and he realized the time he’d invested in Music City had brought him to another level in his craft. James subsequently booked a series of writing appointments with some of Nashville’s finest, including one with Brice Long and Terry McBride, co-writers of James’ first single, “Let’s Don’t Call It a Night.” At the end of their session, they recommended he do some writing with another friend who had a strong affinity for the blues, somebody named “Tom.”
 
James got an appointment with him, and was astounded to discover that “Tom” was Tom Hambridge, a drummer, songwriter, and producer whose work he’d long admired. Hambridge had a hand in albums by Buddy Guy, Foghat, Keb’ Mo,’ and Susan Tedeschi, and his grounding in the blues and roots music was spot-on for where James was headed.
 
In their first co-writing session, James and Hambridge penned a bristling acknowledgement of sufficiency, “All I Need.” Two weeks later, they reconvened and authored “Killin’ Myself,” a snarling rocker that loosely encapsulates the roughest emotions from James’ experience with the music business.
 
The two were so in sync that before that second writing appointment was over, Hambridge was already plotting out how best to produce James’ album. And he did. Hambridge enlisted guitarists Pat Buchanan and Rob McNelley to back James up on guitar, bass player Tommy McDonald, and keyboard player Kevin McKendree, and they captured Strip It All Down mostly live in the studio, James singing and playing with the band and nailing most of the songs in three takes or less.
 
James funded it all through a one-month Kickstarter campaign, asking his fans to invest in the next step on his musical journey. They came through in a big way, delivering more than double his original goal. It served as a reminder that even when his path had taken down difficult roads, he’d made a strong connection with an audience that understood his creative ambitions.
 
Strip It Down sounds distinctly different from the work he did in his previous recording deal. And it’s much more forceful than the artist America first saw on “Idol.” As foggy as those periods in his life became, they were important steps in Casey James defining himself – recognizing the music that brought him joy and accepting the talents that make him able to deliver it.
 
“I always thought of myself as a guitar player that can sing, but I realize now that that’s not the case – I feel as confident and comfortable with my vocals these days as I do with my playing,” he says. “My perception of who I am has changed.”
 
Strip It Down threatens to change America’s perception of him, too. The blues is all about struggle, and James endured a major one as he lost a piece of himself in the spotlight. The album helped him renew his original intentions – in essence, to find himself again. And he delivers it with a passion and experience that are required to play the blues with authority.
 
“For the longest time, I always played with my eyes closed because music is so personal to me that I felt like I was naked – I'm putting all of everything that I am in every note,” James reflects. “I don’t close my eyes so much anymore because I’ve become more comfortable with being naked, so to speak, in front of people. I became OK with opening my eyes and engaging with people and really experiencing that moment with them.”
 
It’s why Strip It Down is such an apt title. All the outer layers had to come off for James to rediscover what he has to offer; to rekindle his reason for being - and to use it as a means of connecting.
 
“If you were to give me two options – one to have a shot at being famous, but it might mean I never play music again, or the other, to play every single night at bars, I would immediately choose option B,” he says. “Because I want to play music.”
 

 www.caseyjamesoffical.com
Twitter: @caseyjames
Facebook: CaseyJamesOfficial/
Instagram: caseyjamesofficial
​
Permission to reprint the photograph's by Promo agent Mark Pucci Atlanta USA

It’s been a full quarter-century since a young saxophonist and composer released his debut recording as a leader, Trust. Now, on September 1, 2017, Boney James will release his 16th album, this one titled Honestly. If you sense a direct line between those titles, you’ve already come a long way toward understanding what motivates the four-time GRAMMY nominee and multi-platinum-selling musician.
 
“I’m fighting the good fight to be my own artist and not be pigeonholed,” says the genre-blurring James. “With a record’s title I always try to find something that will communicate the feeling I get when I listen to it. The feeling I get with this music is a sense of sincerity and intimacy. The word ‘honestly’ really reflects how I aspire to live my life and create my music. One of the great things about music is how powerful it is. It can totally transport people. These are interesting times we are living in and the one thing I can do with the skills that I have is to make music that evokes a feeling and takes people somewhere… to do what I can to try and make the world a more pleasant place.”
 
Honestly follows futuresoul, James’ 2015 release which spent eleven weeks at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. The New York Times raved, “Boney James performs with panache...His arc as a soloist is emotional...he can paint a scene.”
 
Honestly, says James, is quite different sounding than the previous record. “It’s more exposed,” he says of the 10-track collection. “Some of the arrangements are not as dense. A number of the songs have a more buoyant, cheerful, happy quality to them.” James produced the record and co-wrote all but one track, his interpretation of the Johnny Mercer-Hoagy Carmichael classic ‘Skylark.’
 
James recruited collaborators and musicians whose work he admires, including chart-topping vocalists/co-writers Avery*Sunshine (on the title track) and Eric Roberson (on ‘If I Can’t Hold You’).
 
Each track on Honestly reflects a different side of James’ musical personality. “Songs like ‘Kicks’ or ‘Up All Night’ are much more boisterous sounding than the last couple of records,” he says. “Then there’s ‘Skylark,’ a song that I have always loved…a standard which I’ve never recorded before. The track Honestly (and first Urban Adult single) featuring Avery*Sunshine is straight up R&B.” Regarding Avery, James says, “I heard her at a festival we were both playing and then I heard her #1 single ‘Call My Name’ on the radio. I was instantly a fan and just waiting for the right song for us to collaborate.”
 
First instrumental single ‘Tick Tock,’ one of four songs co-written and co-produced with Jairus Mozee (Anthony Hamilton, Robin Thicke) is one of several on the album featuring a horn arrangement by Jerry Hey, who worked on Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, amongst others. “It’s a very funky track with an insistent groove and the arrangement goes places you don’t expect it to go,” says James.
 
Although each track on the album has its own definitive feel, James points directly toward some of his greatest influences as having provided inspiration. “I think about Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire,” he says, also mentioning such iconic R&B and contemporary jazz artists as the Brothers Johnson, Tower of Power and Grover Washington Jr. as having impacted him. “These are the bands that I grew up loving and the thing that they had was this method of arranging so the music is a character itself. That’s something I aspire to create on my records. The bass line can be a hook, or a horn line or keyboard riff that you sing in your head—that’s what I’m trying to create on the record. A tapestry of sounds that puts you in another world.”
 
James plays all of the tenor and soprano saxophone parts on Honestly and contributes keyboards and drum programming to several of the tracks. But his career might have turned out a lot differently had a music store in his native New Rochelle, New York, had his first choice in stock the day he walked inside. “I wanted to play trumpet but when we went to the store to rent a trumpet all they had were clarinets, so I went home with a clarinet. Two years later I guess I was the best clarinet player in a band full of clarinets and the teacher wanted a sax player so he leaned on me to pick up the saxophone. I didn’t want to do it because it was a much heavier case I’d have to carry. But as soon as I switched I loved it and it pretty quickly became my favorite thing to do. It still is!”
 
By the time he entered his teens, James was gigging with bands, and he turned pro at 19. He apprenticed as a sideman for artists like Morris Day and the Isley Brothers, picking up pointers on how to present himself onstage and off, and didn’t cut his first album under his own name until he was 30. The independently released Trust led immediately to a major label deal and a string of increasingly successful recordings and live dates.
 
His skill as a performer as well as a recording artist garnered this notice from the Boston Globe, “James swaggered across the stage like a blacktop hero draining treys on an overmatched opponent. He even weaved his way through the audience, never missing a beat and all but daring the crowd not to have a good time."
 
Over the years, James has racked up sales of more than three million records, four RIAA gold albums, four GRAMMY nominations, a Soul Train Award, nominations for two NAACP Image Awards and 10 CDs atop Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. In 2009, Billboard named him one of the Top 3 Contemporary Jazz Artists Of The Decade along with Kenny G and Norah Jones.
 
 With Honestly, as with futuresoul and the GRAMMY-nominated The Beat before it, Boney James is making some of the most stellar, wholly realized music of his career. “I’ve just grown up, personally and musically,” he says. “I’m a lot calmer now when I approach making music and have more confidence. I’m a “give-110 percent” kind of person and I’m enjoying the process more now. I think that comes out in the music. Maybe that’s why this new record is so much fun to listen to. There are parts on the record that still make me smile.”
 
James lives in Los Angeles with his wife of 32 years, Actress/Director Lily Mariye and has written scores for her film projects.

New Venture Will Be The World’s First Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) Platform Dedicated To Jazz And Jazz-Inspired Music Forms

LOS ANGELES, July 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Multi-Grammy winning producer, composer and arranger Quincy Jones, in collaboration with jazz impresario and television producer Reza Ackbaraly, has announced the formation of Qwest TV, the world’s first subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform dedicated to jazz and jazz-inspired music forms.
Debuting fall 2017, subscribers to Qwest TV will choose when and where to watch a personalized, hand-picked selection of exclusive, original content including concerts, documentaries, interviews and archival footage on their mobile devices and computers in HD or 4K for a monthly fee starting at $7.49.
Pre-launch subscriptions to Qwest TV will be available starting September 6 via Kickstarter. The first 1,500 “co-founding subscribers” will have the privilege of helping develop Qwest TV before the roll out of the service in the fall. Co-founding subscribers will receive a full year of Qwest TV Premium, VIP access to the Qwest TV team for sharing feedback and feature requests, and other special benefits available only during the pre-launch campaign on Kickstarter, including collectible t-shirts, posters, headphones, concert tickets, and gold, platinum and vinyl records signed by Quincy Jones himself.
Commented Jones, “The dream of Qwest TV is to let jazz and music lovers everywhere experience these incredibly rich and diverse musical traditions in a whole new way. At my core, I am a bebopper, and over the course of my seventy-year career in music I have witnessed firsthand the power of jazz – and all of its off-spring from the blues and R&B to pop, rock and hip-hop, to tear down walls and bring the world together. I believe that a hundred years from now, when people look back at the 20th century, they will view Bird, Miles and Dizzy, as our Mozarts, Bachs, Chopins and Tchaikovskys, and it is my hope that Qwest TV will serve to carry forth and build on the great legacy that is jazz for many generations to come.”
Commented Qwest TV co-founder Reza Ackbaraly, “By bringing Qwest TV to the general public and to universities everywhere, we seek to promote the values inherent to jazz: hard work, diversity, openness towards others, mutual respect and consideration, cooperation, and improvisation. Jazz touches people across all national, social and cultural boundaries. Qwest TV is of course about extending that reach, but it is also about bringing exciting music from around the world back to jazz and music lovers who have yet to discover it. Quincy and I plan to build a community where the love goes both ways.”
Qwest TV aligns the booming subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market with the increasing popularity of jazz, highlighting its influence on other types of music from hip-hop to electro, and bringing to light its major role in the evolution of society. Supported by its international network of artists, producers, and venues, Qwest TV has already secured international rights to over 400 titles and plans to acquire an additional 600 titles within its first three years.
From Billie Holiday to Esperanza Spalding, Sun Ra to Kamasi Washington, Bill Evans to Flying Lotus, and Ravi Shankar’s soaring sitar solos to the traditions of Cuban Santería; Qwest TV will reflect a live music video collection never before available on one platform. Qwest TV will serve not only as a treasure trove of the jazz tradition but also as a trailblazing springboard for new talent. Furthermore, Qwest TV will share its extensive catalog with a worldwide network of universities and other premier educational institutions.
Learn more about Qwest TV and pre-launch subscriptions on the Kickstarter campaign page.
​
More information: www.qwest.tv

In support of their their critically acclaimed studio album “Prog Noir” and forthcoming digital only live album “Roppongi - Live in Tokyo 2017, Featuring Mel Collins,” Stick Men, featuring Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson and Markus Reuter, will tour North America starting in August.
 
Says Tony, “Stick Men are happy to continue their 'Prog Noir' tour with U.S. and Canada dates in August and September. And the band has a new release, “Rapongi - Live in Tokyo 2017,” accompanied by the great King Crimson sax & flutist Mel Collins. The unique sounding band is at the peak of their abilities, helping define progressive rock.” Pat adds, “Here we come! It's the back in the van tour as our Stick Men power trio heads up the East Coast all the way into Canada and then back to touch the northern Midwest.”
 
To purchase Stick Men's new live “double” download album “Roppongi - Live in Tokyo 2017, Featuring Mel Collins”: 
http://www.iapetus-media.com/stick-men-roppongi (European store)
https://stickmen-moonjune.bandcamp.com/music (USA store)
 
Stick Men is a progressive rock band created by musicians with extensive experience playing together. Pat Mastelotto and Tony Levin are the rhythm section of the legendary band King Crimson. Mastelotto is in demand all over the world as the premier drummer for progressive rock. Levin plays in Crimson, with Peter Gabriel, and has recorded with John Lennon, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and others. Markus Reuter is a renowned composer and guitarist who designed and plays his own unique touch style guitar.
 
Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto, the powerhouse bass and drums of the group King Crimson for more than 2 decades, bring that tradition to all their playing. Levin plays the Chapman Stick, from which the band takes it's name. Having bass and guitar strings, the Chapman Stick functions at times like two instruments. Markus Reuter plays his 8-string touch guitar – again covering much more ground than a guitar or a bass. And Mastelotto's drumming encompasses not just the acoustic kit, but a unique electronic setup too, allowing him to add loops, samples, percussion, and more.
 
The result; audiences are fascinated by watching just three musicians onstage perform their unique compositions as well as wild improvisations and some cover versions of songs by King Crimson, Mike Oldfield, etc.
 
Before  “Roppongi - Live in Tokyo 2017, Featuring Mel Collins,” Stick Men have released 5 studio CDs (Soup, Absalom, DEEP, Open, Prog Noir) as well as two live albums.
 
Stick Men “Prog Noir” Chapter 4 North American Tour Dates:
Sat, Aug 12 - Schenectady, NY (The Van Dyke)
Sun, Aug 13 - Asbury Park, NJ (The Saint)
Tue, Aug 15 - New Hope, PA (Havana)
Wed, Aug 16 - Newton, NJ (Newton Theater)
Thu, Aug 17 - New York, NY (The Iridium)
Fri, Aug 18 - Pawling, NY (Daryl's House)
Sat, Aug 19 - Natick, MA (Natick Center For Arts) 
Sun, Aug 20 - Portland, ME (One Longfellow Square) 
Tue, Aug 22 - Northampton, MA (The Iron Horse) 
Wed, Aug 23 - Burlington, VT (Higher Ground)
Thu, Aug 24 - Montreal QC, Canada (Cafe Campus)
Fri, Aug 25 - Quebec City, QC, Canada (Auditorium du Cégep Garneau)
Sat, Aug 26 - Ottawa, ON, Canada (The Rainbow)
Sun, Aug 27 - Toronto, ON, Canada (The Garrison) 
Tue, Aug 29 - Buffalo, NY (The Waiting Room)
Wed, Aug 30 - Cleveland, OH (The Beachland Ballroom) 
Thu, Aug 31 -  Indianapolis, IN (Irving Theater)
Fri, Sep 1 - Chicago, IL (Reggie's)
Sat, Sep 2 - Milwaukee, WI (Shank Hall)
Sun, Sep 3 - Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI (Callahan's)
 
The Stick Men are releasing a free digital download companion album to the limited edition promotional CD “KOLLEKTED” (Blue), which is currently available exclusively at King Crimson concerts. For this download version we've assembled some other favorites under the name “KONNEKTED” (Red), and included are also some rather odd tracks from the catalogue. Enter “0” (zero) to download for free. 
Direct links for this album are:
https://stickmen.bandcamp.com/album/konnekted-free-download (European store)
https://stickmen-moonjune.bandcamp.com/album/konnekted-free-download (USA store)
 
To purchase Stick Men's “Prog Noir”:
https://stickmen.bandcamp.com/album/prog-noir (European store)
https://stickmen-moonjune.bandcamp.com/album/prog-noir (USA store)
 
Official website:
http://www.stick-men.net
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/stickmenofficial
​
​Permission to reprint photo's by Glass Onyon Promo Agent USA

De erfgenamen van Michael Jackson moeten 9,4 miljoen dollar (8 miljoen euro) betalen aan Quincy Jones, de oud-producer van de zanger. Dat heeft een rechtbank in Los Angeles beslist. Jones claimde dat hij in de jaren na de dood van Jackson royalty's was misgelopen.

De 84-jarige producer stapte naar de rechtbank omdat in de documentaire "This is it", het bijbehorende album, en in twee shows van Cirque du Soleil ongevraagd door hem geproduceerde nummers zijn gebruikt. Het gaat dan om muziek van enorm succesvolle albums als "Bad" en Thriller", toen hij als producer samenwerkte met Jackson.

Volgens Jones is hij in totaal zo'n 30 miljoen dollar misgelopen aan royalty's. De jury heeft de producer in het gelijk gesteld, maar het bedrag dat hij krijgt is wel een pak lager dan waar hij om gevraagd had. "Hoewel dit niet het volledige bedrag is dat ik zocht, ben ik dankbaar dat de jury in mijn voordeel heeft geoordeeld. Ik zie dit niet alleen als een overwinning voor mij persoonlijk, maar voor de rechten van artiesten in het algemeen", reageerde hij.

"Deze rechtszaak ging niet over Michael, het ging over het beschermen van de integriteit van het werk dat we in de opnamestudio hebben gedaan en de nalatenschap van wat we gecreëerd hebben."
​
De advocaten van de Jackson-familie reageren ontgoocheld op de uitspraak. "Elk bedrag dat meer is dan wat bepaald is in de contracten is te veel en oneerlijk voor de erfgenamen van Michael. Hoewel Mr. Jones dit voorstelt als een overwinning voor de rechten van artiesten, is de echte artiest hier Michael Jackson en het is zijn geld waar Mr. Jones op uit is."

 Met 24 jaar trouwe dienst op de teller, maakt Fun Lovin’ Criminals deel uit van het selecte groepje bands die na al die jaren overeind weten te blijven en wereldwijd optredens blijven verzorgen met dezelfde overgave en energie als in hun beginjaren. Hugh ‘Huey’ Morgan, Brian ‘Fast’ Leiser en Frank Benbini maken op 12 mei hun opwachting in Brussel voor een concert waarbij geen enkele rechtgeaarde rockfan mag ontbreken.
 
Fun Lovin’ Criminals werd opgericht in 1993 en dankt zijn succes aan een unieke cocktail van alternatieve rock, hiphop, jazz, reggae, blues, soul en funk. Een explosieve mix die helemaal openbloeit met hun reeks van zes opmerkelijke platen, uitgebracht tussen 1996 (‘Come Find Yourself’) en 2010. Het trio doet zich opmerken met hun debuutplaat en de single “Scooby Snacks”, waarin ze gebruik maken van dialoogsamples uit Pulp Fiction en Reservoir Dogs van Quentin Tarantino. U2 neemt hen daarop mee als voorprogramma tijdens de ‘PopMart’-tournee. FLC stapelt de successen op in de nasleep van hun single “Korean Bodega” uit hun magnifieke tweede album ‘100% Colombian’ uit 1998. Ook in de 21ste eeuw gooien ze hoge ogen met ‘Loco’ (2001) en de gelijknamige single die de hitlijsten bestormt. Daarop volgen nog ‘Welcome To Poppy’s’ (2003), ‘Livin’ in the City’ (2005) en hun recentste langspeler ‘Classic Fantastic’ (2010).
Vandaag is er sprake van een nieuw album, maar het is vooral live dat we uitkijken naar de terugkomst van FLC! Na de aankondiging van een Engelse concertreeks zetten de Fun Lovin’ Criminals de festiviteiten ook verder op het Europese vasteland! Mis hun passage op zaterdag 12 mei 2018 in de Ancienne Belgique niet! De ticketverkoop start op vrijdag 28 juli om 10u.

 
START TICKETVERKOOP
VRIJDAG 28 JULI, 10U

TICKETS VIA
PROXIMUSGOFORMUSIC.BE

TICKETPRIJS
29 EURO
(INCL. SERVICEKOSTEN)

Barbara Sinatra, de weduwe van de legendarische crooner Frank Sinatra, is overleden. Ze was 90 jaar oud. Sinatra stierf thuis in Rancho Mirage, in Californië, omringd door vrienden en familie.
​Barbara Sinatra had een carrière als model en showgirl in Las Vegas achter de rug toen ze Frank Sinatra ontmoette. Het koppel trouwde in 1976, in de nadagen van de carrière van de crooner. Ze was de vierde (en laatste) echtgenote van Sinatra. Hun huwelijk duurde 22 jaar, tot Frank Sinatra overleed in 1998.
Ze hield zich onder meer bezig met liefdadigheid. In 1986 startte ze samen met haar man het Barbara Sinatra Children's Center op in Californië, naast het bekende Betty Ford Center. Het centrum verleent hulp en opvang aan verwaarloosde en mishandelde kinderen. Barbara Sinatra bleef altijd nauw betrokken bij de instelling.
Frank Sinatra was eerder getrouwd met Nancy Barbato en de actrices Ava Gardner en Mia Farrow. Toen hij Barbara voor het eerst ontmoette was hij nog getrouwd met Gardner. Voor Barbara was het haar derde huwelijk. Zij was eerder getrouwd met Zeppo Marx, een van de beroemde Marx-broers.

De Britse rockband Rolling Stones werkt aan een nieuw album. Dat heeft gitarist Keith Richards aangekondigd via YouTube.
​De groep zal "zeer, zeer binnenkort" weer de studio intrekken, zo zegt Richards (73) in een filmpje dat op zijn YouTube-kanaal verschenen is.
Wat er precies zal te horen zijn, wilde Richards nog niet zeggen. Maar mogelijk zullen de Stones voortborduren op hun vorige album "Blue and lonesome", dat covers bevatte van blueslegenden als Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon en Eddie Taylor. Het succes van het eind vorig jaar uitgebrachte album, het eerste sinds "A bigger bang" uit 2005, heeft de groep verrast, zegt Richards.
Sinds het ontstaan van de groep in 1962 hebben de Stones al meer dan twee dozijn studioalbums uitgebracht. In september en oktober toeren ze door Europa.

Finalisten Nekka-wedstrijd gekend
Op het Luisterplein in Gent vonden de vorige drie dagen de halve finales plaats van de Nekka-wedstrijd , in een samenwerking met Muziekmozaïek en Uitbureau.
Negen kandidaten uit de oorspronkelijke 130 inschrijvingen speelden elk een voor een plaats in de finale.
De vakjury koos voor In een Discotheek, Neander en The Grassroots Movement.
 
De finale van de 10de editie van de Nekka-wedstrijd wordt gehouden op zondagmiddag 27 augustus tijdens de Cultuurmarkt in Antwerpen.
Plaats van het gebeuren : KBC-auditorium, "Boerentoren" , Eiermarkt.
de eerste groep speelt om 15.00u , de laatste om 17.00u
In samenwerking met Prospekta en de Provincie Antwerpen .

 
In een Discotheek
Het gaat hard voor In een Discotheek, de vijfkoppige indieelektroband rond songwriter Maya Mertens. Haar rauwe Nederlandstalige teksten schommelen voortdurend tussen weemoed en een energieke ode aan de imperfectie. Hoe melancholischer en onzekerder de tekst, hoe bruter de deunen.

 
Neander
Neander is onderweg, gaat op reis en stopt soms de tijd. Zingen over gewone dingen die dan toch soms bijzonder blijken. Neander is bestemd voor mensen die houden van het leven en de liefde. Toch gaan Marino Dendooven en Nikolaas Debusschere verdriet en pijn niet uit de weg. Kwetsbaar, eerlijk en in het Nederlands. Anders dus.

 
The Grassroots Movement
De wortels van The Grassroots Movement ontsproten in 2014. Enkele goede vrienden met een gemeenschappelijke liefde voor Hip Hop bundelden de krachten en gingen op zoek naar muzikanten die net als hen inspiratie halen bij alles wat soulfull, funky of gewoon lekker klinkt.

 
Verplicht werk "Nu nog niet" , Liefde voor Lyriek 2017
De drie finalisten moeten aan de slag met de winnende tekst van Liefde voor Lyriek 2017 , georganiseerd door Creatief Schrijven vzw.
De vakjury Mira, Jonas Winterland en Robin Aerts (Het Zesde Metaal) kozen voor de tekst van Zazou , 'Nu nog niet' .

Elke finalist zal deze tekst op hun manier op muziek zetten tijdens de finale van de Nekka-wedstrijd .

U kan deze tekst bewonderen op www.creatiefschrijven.be

The sub title of the book is “The Second Wave of Free Improvisation in England, 1973-9.” It is the author’s second self-published book about English Free Improvisation, and follows his “Beyond Jazz, The Golden Age of Free Music in London, 1966-72,” an account of the genre's formative years. “Beyond Jazz” was well received and gained many favourable reviews in the press. In particular, it seemed that the book both shone a light on, and provided a much-needed account of, a music that had previously been next to ignored in the media. It was, in fact, the first such book of its kind, surprising given the lionization of most other genres from the 60s and 70s.
 
The author is a retired mental health nurse, having lived and practiced in London for 30 years. Wanting to use his increased spare time to do something useful, and having loved free improvisation for a similar amount of years, he identified a considerable gap in the market, and decided to translate his enthusiasm into the written word. The subject is a complex one which rewards both the historian and fan in Barre, and he has begun the research for another book, which will be a history of the London Musicians Collective. He lives in north London, is married and has three grown children.
 
If “Beyond Jazz” suggests a Golden Age, then “Convergences” can be said to cover a 7-year Silver Age, when free improv developed and changed, whilst remaining challenging and provocative, England's very own avant-garde, which paralleled and interacted with more popular strains like punk and post-punk. A fair amount of recorded evidence exists and is discussed in the book, and we are lucky that it is complemented by the contemporary magazine Musics, which is also studied in some detail as the house organ of the 'movement.' The emergence of a 'second generation' is studied, and the continuing work of the first, and the formation of several musical collectives/cooperatives across the country gets the attention is finally deserves. The figures of Steve Beresford, Lol Coxhill and Terry Day are identified as key mischief-making talents that represent the serious fun that the music provided, and get their own dedicated sections in the book.
 
It is intended that the book is written in a non-technical way, inviting newcomers to free improvisation to read about what can initially appear a very opaque scene, as well as wanting to appeal to those older fans who like a good story. It is written to attract, not to repel. It would appear that free improv is in a reasonably healthy state at present, and attracts a younger audience, as well as greybeards – the book is very much written with this audience in mind, who would like a readable, straightforward account of those years. It deserves to have its story old alongside the other creative environments that flourished in that decade. The author also has a website and a regularly-updated blog. One encouraging sign is the interest developed abroad, where the music is more generously funded and has a reasonably secure fan base.
 
For more information: www.improvmusic.co.uk
​

45 jaar nadat Pink Floyds David Gilmour ‘Live at Pompeii’ filmde in het oudste Romeinse amfitheater, keerde hij tijdens zijn ‘Rattle That Lock’-tour terug naar die legendarische locatie voor twee nieuwe, spectaculaire concerten. Naast nummers uit zijn solocarrière kwamen er natuurlijk klassiekers uit de Pink Floyd periode voorbij. De optredens waren trouwens de eerste rockconcerten voor publiek ooit binnen  het Romeinse amfitheater in Pompeii. Lees er alles over in onderstaand persbericht:
 
Official trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-jeXcC0xNw
 
“In 2015 David Gilmour set out to play a series of concerts in historic venues across the world. The following year he became the first performer to play the amphitheatre in Pompeii in front of a live audience since the gladiators in 79AD. It was a return to Pompeii for David, having first performed there in 1971 for Adrian Maben’s legendary concert film, Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii. In Roman times the Pompeii amphitheatre was known as a “Spectaculum” and David worked with longtime collaborator and maestro of colour and light Marc Brickman to bring the spectacle back to the Spectaculum” – Polly Samson, 2017
On July 7th & 8th 2016, David Gilmour performed two spectacular shows at the legendary Pompeii Amphitheatre in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, 45 years after he first played there for Adrian Maben’s classic film, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii.
 
The concerts were the first-ever rock performances played to an audience in the ancient Roman amphitheatre, which was built in 90 BC and entombed in ash when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.  David Gilmour is the only performer to play to an audience in the arena since the time of the gladiators, almost 2,000 years ago.
 
 
Speaking about the Pompeii shows David Gilmour commented “It's a magical place and coming back and seeing the stage and the arena was quite overwhelming. It's a place of ghosts...”
 
The concert performance film, David Gilmour Live at Pompeii, was shot in 4k by director Gavin Elder and includes highlights from both shows. The concert is a spectacular audio-visual experience, featuring the famous huge circular cyclorama screen as well as lasers, pyrotechnics and stellar performances from an all-star band.
 
The film includes songs from throughout David's career including the title tracks of his two most recent No. 1 solo albums: Rattle That Lock and On An Island. Also included are other solo and Pink Floyd classics such as “Wish You Were Here,” “Comfortably Numb” and “One Of These Days,” the only song that was also performed by the band in 1971. Both concerts also saw extraordinary performances of “The Great Gig In The Sky” from “The Dark Side Of The Moon,” which David rarely plays as a solo artist.
 
David Gilmour – Live At Pompeii will be released world-wide in various formats (listed below) on September 29, 2017. Fans can pre-order David Gilmour – Live At Pompeii starting Friday, July 21st here: http://smarturl.it/DGPompeii.
 
For one night only on September 13th over 2000 cinemas worldwide will be showing David Gilmour - Live At Pompeii.
 
The concert performance film, David Gilmour Live at Pompeii, will be distributed to cinemas worldwide by Trafalgar Releasing on September 13, 2017 and will be presented in Dolby Atmos sound.  
 
*For more information about the screenings in Belgium, check:
https://kinepolis.be/nl/events/concert-david-gilmour-live-pompeii

www.davidgilmour.com
www.facebook.com/davidgilmour
https://twitter.com/_davidgilmour
​

TRACKLISTING
 
CD1 – Original album: 2017 master
 1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’
7. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’
8. ‘Vicar In A Tutu’
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’
10. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’
 
CD2 – Additional recordings
 
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (full version)
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’ (demo)
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’ (demo)
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (demo)
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (demo)
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ (demo)
7. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ (demo)
8. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (demo mix)
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (take 1)
10. ‘Rubber Ring’ (b-side)
11. ‘Asleep’ (b-side)
12. ‘Money Changes Everything’ (b-side)
13. ‘Unloveable’ (b-side)
 
Tracks 1-7 and 9 are previously unreleased.
Track 8 was released on 7” for Record Store Day.
Tracks 10 and 11 are 2017 masters of b-sides from ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’.
Tracks 12 and 13 are 2017 masters of b-sides from ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.
 
CD3 – ‘Live in Boston’ – previously unreleased
 
1. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ (5.25)
2. ‘Hand In Glove’ (2.58)
3. ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’ (3.24)
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (3.29)
5. ‘Stretch Out And Wait’ (3.09)
6. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (3.34)
7. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (3.01)
8. ‘Rubber Ring/What She Said/Rubber Ring’ (4.17)
9. ‘Is It Really So Strange?’ (3.23)
10. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (4.09)
11. ‘That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore’ (4.51)
12. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (5.08)
13. ‘I Know It's Over’ (7.39)
 
Recorded at the Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts on 5th August 1986.
 
DVD
 
‘The Queen Is Dead’ on 96kHz / 24-bit PCM stereo
‘The Queen is Dead – A Film by Derek Jarman’

Beste muziekvrienden,
 
Op zaterdag 30 september 2017, geeft Terry Oldfield, samen met zijn vrouw Soraya een exclusief concert in onze studio. 
Tijdens het 2-uur durende concert brengen ze niet enkel songs uit hun bekende repertoire, maar ook uit hun nieuw verschenen albums "Temple Moon" en "Pure Flute".
Het concert begint om 7:30 met een voorprogramma gebracht door Kerani en Pia Brand.
Ticket: €25,- p.p.
 
"Sounds of Inner Stillness", Workshop met Soraya Saraswati 
zondag 1 oktober 2017 van 12:00 tot 16:00
“Naast het dagelijkse lawaai en de veeleisendheid van onze drukke samenleving is er een stille roep van een wereld daarbuiten… de roep om in jezelf te keren, naar de tempel van het hart, waar de stilte je een diepere liefde leert te ervaren en waar je de ware bestemming van je ziel kan ontdekken” - Soraya
Soraya en Terry Oldfield nodigen je uit om samen met hen verbinding te leggen met je ware “ik”. Ontdek je eigen unieke resonantie en beleef een diepe healing.
Tijdens deze 4 uur durende workshop wordt aandacht besteed aan resonantie, inspiratie en meditatie onder de zachte muzikale begeleiding van Terry Oldfield.

Join Soraya Saraswati, author (of Shining Through: from Grief to Gratitude) and teacher together with Terry Oldfield her musical partner in life and come home to the heart. This is a day of returning to 'being' with your own unique resonance in a place that is deeply healing and beyond the known. 
A vibrational balancing day of inspiration, meditation, Magical flute journeys with Terry and heart awakening processes. With 70 years experience between them together this couple travel the world guiding us to listen and follow our heart strings calling us home. 
"Beyond the noise of society and the dictates and demands of the outer world there is a sweet and intimate calling to come home. Home to the temple of the heart where silence beckons us to melt into a deeper love and a more authentic expression of our souls calling”…Soraya
 
De workshop wordt ter plekke naar het Nederlands vertaald.
Prijs p.p.: € 50,-
Locatie: Kerani Music Studio
 
Info, reservatie en tickets - concert en workshop:
- [email protected]
- tel. +31 648 271 568
IEDEREEN VAN HARTE WELKOM!
Kerani Music Studio
Wilhelminaplein 11
6171 EN Stein
T. 0648 271 568
T. 0653 531 388

​Bobby Taylor, the veteran singer and producer who brought the Jackson 5 to Motown in the late Sixties, died Saturday morning at a hospital in Hong Kong, where he'd been living for the last several years. He was 83 and had been undergoing treatment for leukemia and tumors in his spine. "Bobby was a producer, creator and mentor to all of the greats in the early Motown days," says Suzy Michelson, a longtime family friend and fellow producer who confirmed Taylor's death to Rolling Stone.
Thanks to a new crop of talented singers and an embrace of Southern rap, the venerable label has once again become one worth watching
"Bobby had a range that exceeded even Patti LaBelle," recalls Tommy Chong, who played guitar in Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, a Motown band famous for 1968's Number Five R&B hit "Does Your Mama Know About Me." 
"He used to do 'Danny Boy' and make everybody cry in the audience. He would hit notes that were unbelievably high and he could sound like anybody he wanted to sound like—Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey [Robinson]. I've been with a lot of singers, but nothing like Bobby."
Although Motown and the Jacksons gave credit for years to superstar singer Diana Ross for discovering the family band that made "I Want You Back" and "ABC," it was Taylor who spotted them at Chicago's Regal Theatre in 1968. The still-unknown Jackson 5 had been opening for Taylor's Vancouvers.
"I saw this little kid spinning and stuff and said, 'Dang, send him upstairs. When he finishes, I want to talk to this kid,'" Taylor said in a 2011 interview.
Taylor, who acted as a sort of Motown scout by the late Sixties, wound up producing the Jackson 5's earliest recordings for the label, including a version of the Smokey Robinson-penned "Who's Lovin' You," with the Funk Brothers house band in Detroit. Taylor once said he had to pull a gun on the Jacksons' controlling father, Joe, to prevent interference.
"I'd say [to Michael], 'You want to check the key out?' He'd say, 'No, that's OK, what key is it in now?' I'd tell him and he'd say, 'Yeeeeah!'" Taylor told Rolling Stone recently in an unpublished phone interview from Hong Kong, just before he became ill. "And he'd go in and do it. Everything I gave him to sing, he could sing it right back."
But Gordy, who felt the Jackson 5's early Motown songs were "too old-fashioned," replaced Taylor with The Corporation, a production group of Deke Richards, Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren and Gordy himself, for the band's biggest hits. "I'm not an ass-kisser. I'll tell you what I think. I was running things my way and didn't want any interference," Taylor said in an interview for the 1995 Jackson 5 box Soulsation! "I was turning the Jackson 5 into a classic soul act... BG didn't like that. He had ideas of his own. He wanted Michael doing more bubblegum material. He sent me packing."
Born in Washington, D.C., to parents of Puerto Rican and Native American heritage, Taylor lived in the same neighborhood as the late singer Marvin Gaye when they were both kids. He told friends his mother sang with Marian Anderson, the great opera singer, and her best friend had been Billie Holiday, so Taylor met Miles Davis, Nat King Cole and other stars when he was growing up. He served as a cook in the military for the Korean War, as he told the South China Morning Post.
He'd been in several bands, including Little Daddie and the Bachelors and one he provocatively called "Four Niggers & A Chink"— its guitarist was Tommy Chong, who would go on to partner with fellow stoner-comic "Cheech" Marin.
Taylor was an outspoken character given to bright-purple suits. He once called Chong from the road and asked him to transfer his pet lion from his apartment to a wild-life shelter. "When Bobby Taylor walked into Motown, the switchboard would alert everybody and they would lock their [office] doors," Chong says. "There was no filter on Bobby's mouth. He would tell Berry Gordy: 'Nappy-headed little n-----, what's happening?' He would talk to Berry like he would talk to me."
Taylor had a habit of "Donald Trumpifying everything," Chong says, so he exaggerated biographical details like the time Jimi Hendrix played with the Vancouvers but was fired for over-soloing. The truth is Hendrix had heard about the band, showed up for a gig in the U.K. and played bass for a lengthy set while Taylor sang and Chong played guitar.
"[Taylor's] greatest talent was teaching people how to sing: 'Come on, motherfucker, you can hit that note. Come on! Just hit it!'" Chong recalls, in a phone interview from Tacoma, Washington, a tour stop with Cheech and Chong. "That's the way he was."
Eventually Motown eased Taylor into a solo career, and he scored minor hits such as "I Am Your Man" and "Malinda" before encountering the Jackson 5. After the group moved on from Taylor, he put out "Taylor Made Soul" on Motown in 1969, but it sold little and the company didn't release the follow-up. He overcame throat cancer in the Seventies, then worked with various musicians, including Ian Levine on "Cloudy Day."
He moved to Beijing for a job roughly 15 years ago, then relocated to Hong Kong, where he sang at friends' nightclubs. His last known recording was the unreleased "Humanity," a tribute to the late rock guitarist Dick Wagner. 
As Taylor told the South China Morning Post: "I have 12 kids, met three presidents and, in general, I wouldn't change a thing." Adds Chong: "St. Peter's going, 'Bobby Taylor's in heaven now, notify everybody!'"

05.11.2017
Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette 
Verkoop vanaf vrijdag 21 juli om 10u via ticketmaster.be
 
De Duitse boysband Tokio Hotel werd in 2005 in één klap wereldberoemd met de release van hun debuutalbum "Schrei". Monsterhits als 'Durch Den Monsun','Schrei' en 'Der Letzte Tag' maakten van Tokio Hotel de populairste poprockband van Duitsland. Met meer dan 110 Duitse én internationale awards, meer dan 7 miljoen verkochte albums en concerten over heel de wereld werden ze ook aan de andere kant van de oceaan erg populair. De flamboyante verschijning van zanger en frontman Bill Kaulitz doet menig tienerhart kloppen.
Met het album 'Kings Of Suburbia' liet Tokio Hotel in 2014 een volwassen sound horen, waarop duidelijk te horen is dat de band door de jaren heen beïnvloed is door elektronische muziek. In de jaren die volgden verruilde de band zijn rock-geluid en bijbehorende looks voor elektronische invloeden.
In 2017 bracht Tokio Hotel zijn vijfde studioalbum 'Dream Machine’ uit. Met 'Dream Machine' laten ze definitief de alternatieve rock roots achter zich. De tien tracks tellende plaat kenmerkt zich door ijzersterke zanglijnen van Bill Kaulitz, goed opgebouwde nummers maar vooral ook elektropop en dance.
Op 5 november zullen de leden van Tokio Hotel hun nieuw album 'Dream Machine' voorstellen, maar ook alle grote hits van de afgelopen twaalf jaar zullen aan bod komen. De ticketverkoop start op vrijdag 21 juli om 10u via greenhousetalent.be.

De grootste hits van de Queen of Soul op Atlantic Records heruitgebracht met nieuwe arrangementen van het Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Beschikbaar op CD, LP en alle digitale platformen vanaf 10 november 2017
 
In januari 1967 tekende Aretha Franklin, toen pas 24 jaar, bij het label Atlantic en begon ze te timmeren aan haar weg om één van de grootste legendes in de geschiedenis van de muziek te worden. In datzelfde jaar bracht ze maar liefst vijf hitsingles uit in de Verenigde Staten. Het Rhino label viert dit jaar de vijftigste verjaardag van deze historische souldiva en stopte de originele masters voor de gelegenheid in een eigentijds jasje: Aretha Franklin zoals je haar nooit eerder hoorde.

A BRAND NEW ME: ARETHA FRANKLIN WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA combineert de originele stem van de grootste hits van de Queen of Soul met nieuwe arrangementen opgenomen door het Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in de Abbey Road Studios en nieuwe backing vocals door Patti Austin . Het album komt uit onder het Rhino label op 10 november 2017 en zal beschikbaar zijn op CD en LP, alsook op alle digitale- en streamingplatformen.

Het resultaat van deze herwerking is een tijdloos album dat de soul-, groove- en gospeltalenten van Aretha Franklin perfect weergeeft. Op het album zullen de grootste hits terug te vinden zijn, zoals “Respect,” “Think,” “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” en “Angel.” Het album werd geproducet door Nick Patrick en Don Reedman , beiden geprezen voor het wereldwijde succes van het album ‘If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’, waarvan ruim anderhalf miljoen exemplaren verkocht werden.

Nick Patrick over het album: “There is a reason that Aretha Franklin is called the ‘Queen of Soul.’ There is nothing more exciting than that incredible voice taking you on an emotional roller coaster ride through her amazing repertoire of songs. To have the opportunity to work with that voice on this project has been the greatest honor and to hear a symphony orchestra wrapped around those performances is breathtaking.”

Don Reedman: “I was 15 years old when a song came on the radio called ‘Rock A Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody.’ It blew me away; the power, the soul. The feeling that went through me got me hooked on Aretha and I have been ever since. To be able to make this album and be able to select songs from hits like ‘Respect’ to ‘Think’ then blend them with classic songs like ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Border Song’ and create an album which is versatile and fresh is truly an honor."
​
James Williams, Directeur van het Royal Philharmonic : “The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is thrilled to perform on this new recording, combining Aretha Franklin’s iconic voice with lush new arrangements of her greatest hit songs for full orchestra, bringing a whole new generation to the music of this legendary performer.”

TRACKLISTING
 
1. “Think”
2. “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”
3. “I Say A Little Prayer”
4. “Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)”
5. “A Brand New Me”
6. “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)”
7. “Angel”
8. “Border Song (Holy Moses)”
9. “Let It Be”
10. “People Get Ready”
11. “Oh Me Oh My (I’m A Fool For You Baby)”
12. “You’re All I Need To Get By”
13. “Son Of A Preacher Man”
14. “Respect”

Dennis Johnson hi-res photo by Lisa And Camera LLC.
 
SACRAMENTO, CA – San Francisco Bay Area-based slide guitar master Dennis Johnson announces a September 15 release date for Rhythmland, his latest CD on the Root Tone Records label. Johnson plans to release his first single off the new disc, “Timbale” to iTunes on August 1, and will celebrate the new album with a special CD release party show on September 15 at the Guild Theater in Sacramento. Listen to “Timbale” here: http://www.dennisjohnsonslide.com/timbale.
 
Rhythmland was produced by Dennis Johnson and Craig Long and recorded at Paradise Studios in Sacramento. On the CD, Dennis Johnson (guitar, vocals) is backed by his band, dubbed The Mississippi Ramblers: Tim Metz – drums; Jonathan Stoyanoff – bass; and Craig Long - keyboards, background vocals. Johnson also wrote nine of the album’s ten songs and spins a unique take on the classic, “Walkin’ Blues.”
 
Rhythmland explores Americana, roots, blues, Latin, rock and folk rhythms with standout improvisational sections. “I wanted to make a diverse album with great rhythms, lyrics and improvisation,” says Dennis. “The rhythms on the record really pull the listener in. That’s one reason we called the record Rhythmland.” 
                                               
Inspiring lyrics and vocals are spotlighted on songs like “Faith” and “That Way No More.” Adds Dennis: “I am really happy with the lyrics on this record. The lyrics are based on life experiences and delve into important guiding principles to help you get through the ups and downs of life. These are lessons I have lived. The songs on the album tell some great stories.” 
 
Rhythmland also features several innovative slide guitar techniques. “I came up with techniques like halftime rhythmic slides and artificial harmonic slides that you hear on the Latin cascara song, ‘Timbale,’” he explains. “I have learned to think rhythm first, and it takes slide guitar to a whole new level. It’s not about how many notes you play, but what you do with the notes you choose. I want to support the rhythms of the song.” 
 
In the studio, Johnson worked with co-producer Craig Long to find unique guitar tones that fit with the songs and other instruments. “There are some great guitar tones on the record,” he proclaims. The 12-string dobro just sings on the band's version of “Walkin’ Blues;” Dennis' 1961 Martin New Yorker demonstrates a beautiful acoustic resonance on the jazz-flavored “My Love Is Here for You” and just rips on the barrelhouse “High Heel Shoes.” 
“He well deserves the name of master slide guitarist.” – RootsTime Magazine
               
San Francisco native Dennis Johnson is one of the hardest working musicians with a deep passion for preserving and innovating roots music. He is one of roots music's best kept secrets.
Johnson realized at a young age that music was his calling. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, he heard the music of Chuck Berry and it struck a chord with him. As a teenager, he taught himself the guitar and discovered his passion for slide guitar. He discovered the music of Robert Johnson, (Bay Area favorites) Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo and was hooked. Dennis recalled “seeing Roy play the first time really blew me away; he’s a huge influence on my music.”
The iconic Robert Johnson's approach to guitar was the blueprint for Dennis’ evolution as a guitarist. “Robert‘s guitar playing sounded like two guitars,” Dennis explains. “It’s a blend of rhythm and slide phrases that sound like two guitarists are playing when it’s really one. I approach guitar in much the same way.”
The road to becoming a professional musician was paved when Dennis met Delta blues legend David “Honeyboy” Edwards. “I was at a personal crossroads in deciding whether to be a musician. Honeyboy told me, ‘If you like to play the blues, play the blues!’ The eloquence of that statement was in its simplicity. When I shook Honeyboy's hand I felt an energy there. This was a profound moment in my life. It was fate.”
Honeyboy's advice turned out to be a risk that paid off. In 2010, Dennis Johnson released his first album, Slide Show, to critical acclaim. Slide Show rose to the Top 50 blues CDs worldwide and No. 21 on the California Roots Radio Charts.
In Slide Avenue, Johnson pushed the boundaries of slide guitar with amazing instrumental conversations between slide guitar and saxophone, fiddle, piano, B3 organ, Wurlitzer and more. The album seamlessly blended swing, blues, New Orleans, rock, roots and folk music. The radio charts, reviews and audience response proved the results were stellar. Slide Avenue rose to the top of the Roots Music Report radio charts.
“Rhythmland happened because I spent a lot of time exploring rhythms. Once the grooves were found, the lyrics came easily. I was fortunate to collaborate with two accomplished musicians, drummer Tim Metz and bassist Jonathan Stoyanoff, on arranging some of the tunes.  The result is an album I feel is our best material to date.”
 
www.dennisjohnsonslide.com
 
Dennis Johnson Tour Dates
 
7/22                 Sierra Valley Farms Food, Blues & Views Concert Series     Beckwourth, CA
8/22                 Burlingame on the Avenue Festival – 1 PM                           Burlingame, CA
9/9-9/10           Coors Light Crawfish Festival                                                Woodland, CA
9/15                 Guild Theater - Rhythmland CD Release Party                     Sacramento, CA
10/7                 Emerald of Siam                                                                     Richland, WA
10/10               McMenamin’s White Eagle                                                    Portland, OR
10/11               McMenamin’s Old Church                                                     Wilsonville, OR
10/20               Live from the Divide                                                              Billings, MT
 
Additional dates forthcoming …

NEW SINGLE — “LIFE’S ABOUT TO GET GOOD” — AVAILABLE NOW
 
International superstar Shania Twain is set to release her brand new album NOW on Sept. 29. Three decades into her storied career as the “top-selling female country artist of all-time,” Shania confidently embraces the moment on her triumphant fifth full-length album on Mercury Nashville and her first album since 2002. Assuming the role of sole songwriter for the first time and overseeing production as a co-producer, this is the woman the world knows and loves at her brightest, boldest and best. NOW, offered as both a 12-track standardand a 16-track deluxe, is available for preorder now and includes an instant download of the album’s lead single “Life’s About to Get Good.” The joyful new tune premiered on country radio platforms around the globe on June 15th.  
 
Shania rocked New York City last month as part of NBC’s TODAY Show Summer Concert Series. Fans heard new music including her latest single along with a few of her most-popular hits. While fans got a taste of the highly-anticipated new song in an exciting NBC Winter Olympics ad, the TODAY Show appearance was only the second time Shania performed “Life’s About to Get Good” for a live audience. The first came when she performed to a high-spirited crowd of over 75,000 fans as one of the three headliners of this year’s Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif.
 
In addition to the upcoming new album, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn. opened its Shania exhibit on June 27th as part of the museum’s 50th anniversary celebration. Scheduled to run through mid-2018, the exhibit will feature some of Shania’s iconic outfits from the "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" music video (including her top hat, top coat, corset, shirt, necktie, gloves, and skirt), as well as her memorable 2003 Super Bowl halftime performance outfit — the Marc Bouwer-designed black pleather-duster coat and velvet skirt with rhinestone embellishments and many more.
 
Shania is a five-time GRAMMY Award-winner and the reigning Queen of Country Pop. With more than 75 million albums sold worldwide and U.S. sales topping 34.5 million, Shania remains the top-selling female country artist of all time. Shania’s albums include her Platinum-selling 1993 debut, Shania Twain; the GRAMMY Award-winning, Double Diamond-selling 1995 release, The Woman in Me; Come On Over, the best-selling studio album in Soundscan history by a female artist in any genre and the best-selling country album of all time with over 40 million units sold worldwide; and UP!, Shania’s third consecutive Diamond-selling album release.
 
Recognizing her indelible impact and achievements in music, Shania is the first and only female artist to receive CMT’s Artist of a Lifetime Award. She was also honored with the Icon Award at Billboard’s Women in Music ceremony. Shania’s hits include “Any Man of Mine,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “You’re Still the One,” and “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”.
 
NOW album preorder packages are available now at Shania’s official store. Fans can find exclusive items only available through preorder including a sequin leopard print bomber jacket and a vinyl record with a personalized voice greeting from Shania. Fans can also hear Shania’s NOW playlist HERE.
TRACKLISTING ‘NOW’ 12 - STANDARD
 
1. Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed 
2. Home Now
3. Light of My Life
4. Poor Me
5. Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl
6. More Fun
7. I’m Alright
8. Roll Me On the River
9. We Got Something They Don’t
10. You Can’t Buy Love
11. Life’s About To Get Good
12. Soldier
 
TRACKLISTING ‘NOW’ 16 - DELUXE
 
1. Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed 
2. Home Now
3. Light of My Life
4. Poor Me
5. Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl
6. More Fun
7. I’m Alright
8. Let’s Kiss and Make Up
9. Where Do You Think You’re Going
10. Roll Me On the River
11. We Got Something They Don’t
12. Because of You
13. You Can’t Buy Love
14. Life’s About To Get Good
15. Soldier
16. All In All
 
SHANIA TWAIN ONLINE
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE