Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the “First Lady of Song”, “Queen of Jazz”, and “Lady Ella”, was an American jazz vocalist with a vocal range spanning three octaves (D♭3 to D♭6). She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a “horn-like” improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.
Fitzgerald was a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over the course of her 59-year recording career, she sold 40 million copies of her 70-plus albums, won 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.
As Google honors Ella with her own Google Doodle today (pictured left), learn more about her life and music on Wikipedia.org. Also, it is truly worth watching all seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds of the video below as Al Jarreau and Nancy Wilson honor Ella with a spectacular version of one of her biggest hits, “A Tisket, A Tasket” at the 1988 NAACP Image Awards. Then, after 71 year-old Fitzgerald receives her award, she sings a dynamic, swinging, commanding version of “You Are The Sunshine of My Life” that is not to be missed:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AYin310AaI&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Posts published in “Jazz/Blues/Folk”
Richie Havens performs at the ‘Woodstock 40th Anniversary’ Blu-Ray release party at Hard Rock Cafe – Times Square June 4, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (AP) — Richie Havens, who sang and strummed for a sea of people at Woodstock, has died of a heart attack Monday, his family said in a statement. He was 72. Havens, a folk singer and guitarist, was the first performer at the three-day 1969 Woodstock Festival. He returned to the site during the 40th anniversary in 2009.
“Everything in my life, and so many others, is attached to that train,” he said in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. Havens was born in Brooklyn. He was known for his crafty guitar work and cover songs, including his well-received impersonation of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman.”
The singer’s website said he had kidney surgery years ago and that he never recovered enough to perform concerts like he used to. Havens performed at Bill Clinton’s presidential Inauguration in 1993. He has released more than 25 albums. His last album was 2008′s “Nobody Left to Crown.”
“I really sing songs that move me,” he said in an interview with The Denver Post. “I’m not in show business; I’m in the communications business. That’s what it’s about for me.” A public memorial will be planned for a later date.
Below is one of his most popular songs, a cover version of “Here Comes The Sun”:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBbXKsKXyNU&w=420&h=315]
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gofe3zBKhf0&w=560&h=315]
Amber Holcomb, one of the Top 5 left in the “American Idol” competition, and often called a “young Whitney Houston” by the judges, has been in the bottom two several times this season. 
But after weeks of pop-tinged performances, last night she showed off her jazz chops again (the first time was in the Las Vegas sudden death rounds where she sang “My Funny Valentine“) and did an amazing vocal on the Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman standard “What Are You Doing For The Rest of Your Life?” Hopefully her talent will be rewarded and she will be one of the Top 4 after tonight’s elimination episode on FOX.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
From Shadow and Act‘s Tambay A. Obenson via indiewire.com:
Web-wide reactions to this when I first wrote about this film in late 2011 was strong; lots of excited folks curious and anxious to see it, and with good reason, given the subject matter. And some of those same people (specifically those who live in New York City) will be pleased to know that it’s getting a 1-week theatrical run at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, from May 10 – 16, after a lengthy film festival circuit run.
So if you happen to be in or around NYC during those specific dates, and you’re interested in seeing the film, here’s your chance to do so (I suspect there’ll be other similar limited theatrical runs in other parts of the country; but no confirmation of that).
A quick recap:
Director Judy Chaikin’s documentary, The Girls In The Band, highlights the untold stories of women in jazz and big band instrumentalists, from the 1930s to the present day.
I’d say, for the average enthusiast, it’s likely an easier challenge to name women jazz vocalists than instrumentalists. Images like the one above probably aren’t the first to come to mind when most of us think of jazz music. And Chaikin’s doc hopes to influence that, with this poignant narrative, which includes lots of wonderful archival footage, telling the fascinating stories about the lives and careers of these trailblazing women who endured sexism, racism and diminished opportunities for decades, yet continued to persevere, inspire and elevate their talents in a field that seldom welcomed them.
The film also looks at the present-day young women who are following in the footsteps of those who paved the way for them in the male-dominated world of jazz. For more on the upcoming theatrical run, visit the Lincoln Center website HERE.
Watch the trailer below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6XDjh8gRGg&w=560&h=315]
Beauford Delaney
Portrait of Charlie Parker, 1968, Oil on canvas
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York
The Whitney Museum of American Art exhibit, “Blues for Smoke,” features an exciting array of works by a wide range of contemporary black artists. But it offers so much more. A journey back in time, the combination of works, inspired by African-American music, slips you, with a heady mix of anticipation and foreboding, into a dark, back alley jazz club that would be easily at home in the ruins of Potsdam, Berlin, or along the steamy backwater canals of New Orleans. The mood of the show captures the feeling of folks gathered at smatterings of café tables as you enter, where you sit and listen to live jazz vocals in an atmosphere tinged with the bite of a gin cocktail and the halo of cigarette smoke.
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer and musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres.
Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a television variety show, The Nat King Cole Show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death from lung cancer in February 1965, based on his classic renditions of “Unforgettable,” “Mona Lisa,” “Laura,” and “The Christmas Song.” Learn more about his life and music here, and watch his uncomparable version of “Nature Boy” below:
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Music producer and Ahmet Ertegun Award recipient Quincy Jones attends the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees announcement at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on December 11, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Legendary producer and musician Quincy Jones was born 80 years ago today. Jones, known as “The Dude” or sometimes simply as “Q,” is an American music impresario. He brought black music to the forefront of popular culture through his long career as a conductor, producer, arranger, composer and performer.
Jones’ career began in 1956, when he toured as a trumpeter for the Dizzy Gillespie Band. For years, he dedicated his energies to performing jazz. His work as a film composer began in 1964, when he scored his first of 33 motion pictures. He would go on to compose scores for films like The Color Purple, The Wiz and In the Heat of the Night.
His work has spanned media platforms as the composer of TV themes like Sanford and Son, producer of shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the founder of VIBE magazine. Jones has won an astonishing 27 Grammy Awards in his career and shows no signs of slowing down.
article by Donovan X. Ramsey via thegrio.com
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Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), born in Tyron, North Carolina and better known by her stage name Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone studied at the Julliard School of Music in New York and worked in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. Among Simone’s most popular recordings were “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, “I Put A Spell On You”, “I Loves You, Porgy” “Feeling Good” and the civil rights protest song “Mississippi Goddam.” Learn more about this amazing musician’s life and music here and watch her live performance of “Ain’t Got No… I Got Life” below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcXI2BIUOQ&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Prince will play three headline shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival this July, for what will be the famous fest’s first edition since its founder Claude Nobs passed away. The master musician will perform over the three nights of July 13, 14 and 15, organizers of the Swiss music event have announced. Montreux is familiar turf for Prince. He first played at the fest in 2007 and returned in 2009, when he delivered two shows in the same evening.
Prince recently returned to the spotlight with the new track “Screwdriver,” and he was on hand at the Grammy Awards to present Gotye and Kimbra with the Record of the Year trophy. On May 19, Prince will receive the Icon Award and perform at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.
Prince Returns with ‘Screwdriver’ Song: Listen
The Montreux Jazz Festival is entering a new era without its founder and former GM Claude Nobs, who died in January after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve. Just months earlier, he’d stepped away from the event he created back in 1967. The 47th Montreux Jazz Festival runs from July 5-20. The full line-up will be unveiled April 18.
article by Lars Brandle via billboard.com
Prince Returns with ‘Screwdriver’ Song: Listen
The Montreux Jazz Festival is entering a new era without its founder and former GM Claude Nobs, who died in January after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve. Just months earlier, he’d stepped away from the event he created back in 1967. The 47th Montreux Jazz Festival runs from July 5-20. The full line-up will be unveiled April 18.
article by Lars Brandle via billboard.com
All eyes are on Baltimore this week as the Ravens took the Super Bowl title and Beyoncé cranked out perhaps the most electrifying halftime performance in history. It’s a great time to recognize that “Charm City” – a nickname created by then Mayor William Donald Schaefer and a bunch of ad agencies to boost the city’s national profile – is once again on the map as a vacation destination.
In honor of Black History Month, here’s a list of Baltimore’s events and exhibitions that pay tribute to the African-American men and women who helped shape the nation. Baltimore is a city shaped by the contributions of African-American visionaries including the likes of world famous jazz singer Billie Holiday; great orator Frederick Douglass, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and female abolitionist and “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman.
“Girl with Flag,” Bryan Collier
“The Mountaintop” and Beyond
“The Mountaintop”
CENTERSTAGE
Through Feb. 24
The Lorraine Hotel. April 1968. In room 306, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. unwinds and prepares. A visit from a hotel maid offers welcome diversion and a challenging new perspective – but also raises profound and surprising questions.
Already a worldwide sensation and recently hailed in a star-studded Broadway production, Katori Hall’s new play receives its Baltimore premiere.