By John Stevenson You could call it a case of Shakespeare’s bout with the blues. That’s one way of describing Duke Ellington’s 1957 masterpiece, “Such Sweet Thunder”, written in response to a commission from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. According to noted jazz commentator A. B. Spelman, the …
TORONTO, June 6, 2011 /CNW/ – Re:Sound Music Licensing Company announced today it has filed tariff proposals with the Copyright Board of Canada that would extend the term of several of its current tariffs and increase the potential income for music creators in Canada. Re:Sound’s proposed tariff rates largely reflect …
Hot on the heels of recent announcements that Adele eclipsed Madonna’s record for the longest spell at the top of the album chart, selling millions of records in the process, that Take That sold out a record eight consecutive shows at Wembley Stadium in minutes, and that The O2 Arena …
Interview by John Stevenson The word maverick is bandied about quite liberally when describing the talents of the young London-based, Cameroon-born singer-guitarist-composer, Muntu Valdo. This spring, he released “The One & The Many” on the Warner Jazz label to critical acclaim – a truly inventive CD that combines his ethnic …
Bill King: From musician to managing a club. How has your world changed? Jeff Healey: It’s a learning experience and will continue to be. I could sit here for a couple hours and go over things I’ve learned in the last eight months. It certainly has made me appreciate a …
Interview by John Stevenson Not only is pianist Fred Hersch a composer of the first order, he is also an impressive interpreter of fine songs stretching all the way back from Tin Pan Alley to Brazilian Bossa Nova, and the Bebop and post-Bop era. Standard fare for most jazz pianists …
Interview by John Stevenson Finding a CD featuring jazzy interpretations of King Crimson’s ‘Matte Kudasai’, Joe Jackson’s “Stepping Out”, and Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady”, among others, should not, on the face of it, be too much to ask for. However, with the recording industry obsessed with labelling and pigeon-holes, demographics …
Quebec City, April 27, 2011 – For the 44th consecutive year, the capital will be grooving to the beat of the Festival d’été de Québec this July. The two Festival weekends already promise to be hot, and the news that Elton John and Metallica are playing the Festival is making …
Bill King Editor. I can honesty admit to an adrenaline rush when the lens sharp focuses, backgrounds flesh out in brilliant color, action on the bandstand reaches a climatic crescendo and I’m watching all of this from a half inch rectangle – my private world away from the surrounding crowd. …
It’s truly sad when a person whose music has played as background to your life passes. Ray Bryant was there for many of us looking to hear jazz with a blues flair and catchy themes. Bryant spent several years hanging around Toronto during the late nineteen eighties. I got to …
