But perhaps no one was more shocked than Herbie Hancock.

Herbie Hancock is seen with the award for best contemporary Jazz album backstage at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008, in Los Angeles. Photo: Mark J. Terrill

"It's immeasurable how surprised I am," Hancock said Sunday night after the show.

"I didn't even hear my name at first," he continued. "Then I heard the word 'River' and I said, 'Is this true? Is this happening?'"

It was the 11th Grammy for the 67-year-old, who doesn't expect any flak from his chief competitor.

"Kanye and I are cool," Hancock said.

Please continue to Full Story

The tropical March wind blowing off the ocean in Santo Domingo feels much like a late summer breeze in Boston. Temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit and above are typical year-round for the coastal capital of the Dominican Republic, and the air is always heavy with humidity. This is where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492, the site of the first contact between the people of the old and new worlds. Five hundred-plus years later, the specter of centuries of political and economic struggle still haunts the island. Many Dominicans have to really hustle to earn their daily bread. Entrepreneurial vendors are everywhere hawking fruit, vegetables, soft drinks, paintings, clothing, and everything else from sidewalk displays, bicycle baskets, or the beds of pickup trucks. It seems that two things are close to the hearts of a majority of Dominicans: baseball and merengue music. The former fuels the dreams of kids playing in sandlots, hoping to become the next Sammy Sosa or Pedro Martinez. Merengue offers a different form of release for a culture that loves to dance. Merengue típico was formerly the music of the peasantry in the Cibao valley region and was played on stringed instruments. Later, tambora, güira, accordion, and sometimes marimba joined the band. The form was adapted for the ballroom and became a national dance played by merengue orquestras during the reign of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). In the decades following Trujillo's demise, merengue remained a symbol of Dominican national identity. But when Juan Luis Guerra breathed new energy into the form in 1984, merengue connected in a big way with young and old audiences both inside and outside the Dominican Republic.

Drawing on influences ranging from the Beatles, American rock, folk, r&b, jazz, and traditional Dominican music, Guerra features his rich tenor voice and agile guitar work with sophisticated backing vocals for a new take on merengue. Guerra's merengues are characterized by breakneck tempos, lightening-fast horn lines and jabs, and highly polished productions. While Guerra's music is great for dancing, those listening closely to the words will be rewarded for the effort with his poetic imagery and thoughtful commentary on a range of contemporary subjects.

Please continue to Full Story

Rising soprano Kelebogile Boikanyo says that for black people and youngsters to buy into opera, directors need to “lighten up a little bit” and “bring opera to the audience”.

And she knows what she’s talking about — at the tender age of 20, Boikanyo is part of the new generation of talented South African singers who is set to inject fresh life into opera as we know it.

She is still studying vocal arts at the Tshwane University of Technology, but has landed a role in Opera Africa’s current production of Verdi’s Aida and will be making her international solo debut next year. True to her English name, Pearl, she is poised to become one of the country’s operatic gems.

While in high school, the North West teen was twice voted the national soloist champion in the Tirisano Schools Choral Eisteddfod. Despite that, she initially didn’t consider singing as a career.

“In between the national choir competitions, I would say ‘to hell with singing’ until next year’s competition,” says Boikanyo, laughing.

“It was never a full-time thing for me. But singing always made me happy, and I was more comfortable singing than studying.”

But when, as one of her prizes for acing the competition, she won a full scholarship to study singing, she realised it was a chance of a lifetime. “I got lucky,” she admits. “Most kids would kill for this opportunity.”

Fresh out of school, she went on to perform the title role in Pro Musica’s Gräfin Mariza and sang in Norway in Princess Magogo.

Last year, Opera Africa invited her to join its development programme, where Boikanyo came under the wing of Laurence Dale who, for 20 years, was among the top five tenors in the world.

Please continue to Full Story which includes a video story

From his days as a dancer to his emergence on the music scene as a hiplife artiste, Slim Busterr, has remained the darling boy of most music lovers because of the romanticism he adopts to embellish his music.

Additionally, he has displayed, in no uncertain terms, that he reigns supreme among his contemporaries and he continues to make giant strides on the musical landscape. Currently, his latest album, Marsherita has caught on well with the fans and it has also strengthened the bond he has established with his ever-increasing admirers.

Slim Busterr, born to a Krobo father from Odumase-Krobo and a Fante mum from Elmina, was named Ebenezar Asare, but his showbiz name has swallowed his real name. According to him, when he nurtured the idea of pursuing dancing as a career, his mother, a pastor, kicked against it because she did not see the wisdom in her son going into dancing which could lead him into alcoholism, drug addiction and womanising.

Slim Busterr actually started dancing at Salem Secondary School at Osu in Accra when he was in Form One. He continued when he left for Ebenezer Secondary School. He thrilled his school mates with his artistic skills, to the extent that each time there was an entertainment event in the school, he was called upon to perform the floor show.

Slim Busterr - Home

Please continue to Full Story

Turner's daughter Mia said she was shocked by the report.

The singer had waged an "ongoing struggle" with drugs, she said, but the coroner was "overstating the situation".

"Daddy at that point was not doing drugs to the level it leads to believe," she told the North County Times in a telephone interview.

The former husband of Tina Turner died at his home near San Diego on 12 December.

Paul Parker, chief investigator at the medical examiner's office, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema were also "significant and contributing factors" in Turner's death.

Rising to fame in the 1960s, the musician is best remembered for his musical partnership with Tina.

Their stormy marriage, in which she said he abused her, overshadowed his considerable achievements in popular music.

In his autobiography, he estimated he had spent $11m to support his cocaine habit in the 1970s and 1980s.

Source link

For nearly 60 years in the world of jazz and pop music, the name Peterson was synonymous with a keyboard technique that was so prodigious it was nearly overwhelming: He played more notes than any other pianist, more intense chords, and faster rhythms, yet without ever descending into a quagmire of pure skill and speed. He also played with a supreme melodic logic: every one of the eighty-zillion notes he played in every song was saturated with both feeling and swing.

As he said in a 2001 interview with radio host Michael Anthony of WHPC Long Island, "Swing is the root of jazz. If you can't swing then you're not playing jazz. That is the impetus that drives the whole medium and has driven it throughout all these years. Swing is the infectious part of [jazz], the emotional end of it. … If you don't have the swing element, than you're not operating in the jazz medium."

In 1961, Hill moved to New York to be Dinah Washington's accompanist, and by 1962, he'd landed a gig playing with Rashaan Roland Kirk in Los Angeles. The following year marked the beginning of Hill's association with Blue Note Records, which released many of his significant albums. During his Blue Note period, Hill released several records featuring other influential jazz artists, including Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson and Elvin Jones. These now-classic recordings showcase Hill's remarkably original style, and show that he wasn't afraid to go against the grain of 1960s post-bop and avant-garde.

Listen below to Andew Hill on NPR Originally recorded Feb. 24, 2005. Originally broadcast Dec. 6, 2005.

The singer insists he's far from a guy's guy and probably wouldn't know what to do in the company of macho men, because women have been running his life forever. Connick Jr., who is married to model Jill Goodacre and has three daughters, says, "I have so many women in my life, I wouldn't know what to do with a guy. 

In fact I'm probably gay and I don't even know it! "My life is chick power. My manager is a woman, who has been with me since I'm 18, and my wife is a strong and intelligent woman. I have three daughters. My dogs are all females. "Even my sister Suzanna... she just got a double medical degree; she's now a psychiatrist and an internal medicine doctor and she speaks about 10 languages. She's so impressive.

Source link

Skin care specialist Ole Henriksen in an interview with a gay Swedish magazine Salonk said that the Livin La Vida Loca hitmaker has become quite open with his sexual preference.

“He (Martin) is a bit more open about it (his homosexuality) these days than he used to be… I don’t know if he has a boyfriend, Contactmusic quoted Henriksen, as telling the magazine.

And when asked who he’d choose to spend a romantic holiday with, Henriksen said that his companion would be Martin.

“I’d go for Stig Tofting (ex Danish soccer player), but since he’s straight, I’d say my client Ricky Martin, he said. (ANI)