12 January 2023 – Blue Note Records has announced the upcoming 2023 line-up for the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. The acclaimed series is produced by the “Tone Poet” Joe Harley and features all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at Rti in Camarillo, California, and packaged in deluxe gatefold tip-on jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and include acknowledged treasures of the Blue Note catalog as well as underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz.
Newly announced titles begin March 3 with the release of two under-recognized albums that are available for pre-order now on the Blue Note Store. Pianist Andrew Hill’s excellent 1968 session Dance With Death featured his singular compositions performed by a versatile quintet with trumpeter Charles Tolliver, saxophonist Joe Farrell,...
Newly announced titles begin March 3 with the release of two under-recognized albums that are available for pre-order now on the Blue Note Store. Pianist Andrew Hill’s excellent 1968 session Dance With Death featured his singular compositions performed by a versatile quintet with trumpeter Charles Tolliver, saxophonist Joe Farrell,...
- 1/12/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
Donald Byrd’s dynamic 1973 live recording Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux got its first-ever official release on December 9th on what would have been the legendary trumpeter’s 90th birthday. In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Montreux, Switzerland to showcase several of the label’s stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Produced by Blue Note President George Butler, live albums all titled Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux followed from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Ronnie Foster, flutist Bobbi Humphrey, and vocalist Marlena Shaw, but one of the performances by Byrd remained unreleased in the Blue Note vaults, until now.
That summer, Byrd was fresh off the release of his hit crossover fusion album Black Byrd, the first of his innovative and incredibly successful studio collaborations with producer Larry Mizell. But in a live setting the band had a rawer, harder edge, as this searing set attests.
That summer, Byrd was fresh off the release of his hit crossover fusion album Black Byrd, the first of his innovative and incredibly successful studio collaborations with producer Larry Mizell. But in a live setting the band had a rawer, harder edge, as this searing set attests.
- 12/11/2022
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
Erykah Badu, executive producer of the forthcoming documentary about late jazz and R&b trumpeter Roy Hargrove, wastes no time in elaborating on the influence her collaborator and high school classmate exerted on her life and career.
“It started with Roy,” says Badu, who first met Hargrove in 1985, when she was a freshman at Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. “Roy was the first person I met in high school: he in the music department and jazz band, me in dance right next door. We danced to that band’s versions of John Coltrane, Miles Davis. That helped me understand what jazz was, and how to interpret it. It was a subtle rebellion. Roy was already a legend as a sophomore — truth is,” she adds, “Roy was actually a legend starting in junior high.”
Hargrove would go on to legendary peaks in both R...
“It started with Roy,” says Badu, who first met Hargrove in 1985, when she was a freshman at Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. “Roy was the first person I met in high school: he in the music department and jazz band, me in dance right next door. We danced to that band’s versions of John Coltrane, Miles Davis. That helped me understand what jazz was, and how to interpret it. It was a subtle rebellion. Roy was already a legend as a sophomore — truth is,” she adds, “Roy was actually a legend starting in junior high.”
Hargrove would go on to legendary peaks in both R...
- 5/27/2022
- by A.D. Amorosi
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Amid a wave of programming to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, MSNBC Films and Peacock have slated the documentary feature Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, which revisits eyewitness accounts of that day that were captured as part of an artist’s project.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, artist Ruth Sergel created a plywood video booth to record personal video testimonies of eyewitnesses from New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pa. The result was 525 uninterrupted or edited personal accounts, drawn largely in 2002. The project uses that footage and revisits those who gave that testimony, as they return to the booth to share their memories and experiences of the past two decades.
The Yard 44 and NBC News Studios production is from filmmakers David Belton and Bjørn Johnson, based in the UK, and will have its TV debut on MSNBC, without commercials, and Peacock at 10 Pm Et on Sept. 8. Re-showings are scheduled for Sept. 11 and...
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, artist Ruth Sergel created a plywood video booth to record personal video testimonies of eyewitnesses from New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pa. The result was 525 uninterrupted or edited personal accounts, drawn largely in 2002. The project uses that footage and revisits those who gave that testimony, as they return to the booth to share their memories and experiences of the past two decades.
The Yard 44 and NBC News Studios production is from filmmakers David Belton and Bjørn Johnson, based in the UK, and will have its TV debut on MSNBC, without commercials, and Peacock at 10 Pm Et on Sept. 8. Re-showings are scheduled for Sept. 11 and...
- 7/21/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
It is remarkable how few people know that the same person produced Bob Dylan’s three defining early albums (as well as “Like a Rolling Stone”), the first two Velvet Underground albums, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s debut “Freak Out” and pivotal music by jazz legends Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor (including tracks with John Coltrane), among many others.
It was Tom Wilson, a visionary music producer who died in 1978 at the age of 47.
He was even the man who in 1965 overdubbed a folk-rock backing onto a song he’d recorded the previous year by an acoustic duo who had already split up and were living on different continents — that would be Simon & Garfunkel — resulting in the smash hit that ignited their career, “Sounds of Silence” (the duo quickly reunited and hastily recorded a new album). He also produced key songs by the Animals (the classic “Don’t Bring Me Down”), Nico,...
It was Tom Wilson, a visionary music producer who died in 1978 at the age of 47.
He was even the man who in 1965 overdubbed a folk-rock backing onto a song he’d recorded the previous year by an acoustic duo who had already split up and were living on different continents — that would be Simon & Garfunkel — resulting in the smash hit that ignited their career, “Sounds of Silence” (the duo quickly reunited and hastily recorded a new album). He also produced key songs by the Animals (the classic “Don’t Bring Me Down”), Nico,...
- 6/10/2021
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
In a key scene from Pixar-Disney’s latest film “Soul,” the protagonist, Joe Gardner, a frustrated middle-school band teacher yearning to be a jazz pianist, describes moments of sublime musical creativity as being “in the zone.” While that state plays a pivotal role in the film, it also describes the rarified atmosphere that pianist Jon Batiste is occupying these days.
Known for his day job as the bandleader on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the 34-year-old New Orleans-born, Juilliard-trained keyboardist contributed the crucial jazz component to “Soul.” He’s up for two Grammy Awards at this year’s (delayed) ceremony and will release another album, “We Are,” on March 19, but his music in “Soul” is generating even more critical kudos these days — and 2021 Oscar buzz.
Co-directors/co-writers Pete Docter and Kemp Powers called on Batiste to score the jazz played by Gardner (who is voiced by Jamie Foxx) and other characters,...
Known for his day job as the bandleader on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the 34-year-old New Orleans-born, Juilliard-trained keyboardist contributed the crucial jazz component to “Soul.” He’s up for two Grammy Awards at this year’s (delayed) ceremony and will release another album, “We Are,” on March 19, but his music in “Soul” is generating even more critical kudos these days — and 2021 Oscar buzz.
Co-directors/co-writers Pete Docter and Kemp Powers called on Batiste to score the jazz played by Gardner (who is voiced by Jamie Foxx) and other characters,...
- 1/28/2021
- by Roy Trakin and Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, one of the country’s top modern dance troupes, premiered the new work, Greenwood, at Manhattan’s City Center on Friday night. The piece, choreographed by Donald Byrd, recalls the slaughter of African Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921. Known as the Tulsa Race Massacre, 36 people were killed and thousands […]
The post ‘Greenwood’ Dance Review: Alvin Ailey Uses Dance To Recall Massacre’s Victims appeared first on uInterview.
The post ‘Greenwood’ Dance Review: Alvin Ailey Uses Dance To Recall Massacre’s Victims appeared first on uInterview.
- 12/18/2019
- by Erik Meers
- Uinterview
Soul, jazz and disco star Patrice Rushen will collect her most memorable recordings from her days on Elektra in a new compilation, Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978 – 1984, out July 19th via Strut Records.
The 15-track project will feature all of Rushen’s chart singles from that era, including R&B and dance hits like “Haven’t You Heard,” “Feels So Real” and “Forget Me Nots” (the latter was her highest Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at Number 23; it later served as the foundation for Will Smith’s “Men in Black...
The 15-track project will feature all of Rushen’s chart singles from that era, including R&B and dance hits like “Haven’t You Heard,” “Feels So Real” and “Forget Me Nots” (the latter was her highest Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at Number 23; it later served as the foundation for Will Smith’s “Men in Black...
- 6/7/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
J.D. Souther John David Souther Black Rose Home by Dawn (Omnivore) J.D. Souther's songs are better known as sung by other people, which is good for his bank account but puzzling if you've heard his fine LPs. I wouldn't be surprised if more people nowadays know of him from his acting on the TV series Nashville than from his career in music. If there's any justice, these three reissues will redress that imbalance.
After this Texan moved to L.A., he teamed with Glenn Frey in the band Longbranch/Pennywhistle (they kept co-writing songs after Frey founded the Eagles, notably "New Kid in Town"), lived upstairs from Jackson Browne, and dated Linda Ronstadt.
Browne told him to audition for David Geffen, who'd just started the Asylum label, and that led directly to 1972's John David Souther. Its original ten-song program, which kicks off with "The Fast One," one of...
After this Texan moved to L.A., he teamed with Glenn Frey in the band Longbranch/Pennywhistle (they kept co-writing songs after Frey founded the Eagles, notably "New Kid in Town"), lived upstairs from Jackson Browne, and dated Linda Ronstadt.
Browne told him to audition for David Geffen, who'd just started the Asylum label, and that led directly to 1972's John David Souther. Its original ten-song program, which kicks off with "The Fast One," one of...
- 2/12/2016
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, The 5th Avenue Theatre presents a fresh and exciting new take on the tempestuous romance, Rodgers amp Hammerstein's Carousel. In its fourth major collaboration with Spectrum Dance Theater, The 5th is thrilled to welcome Tony Award-nominated choreographer Donald Byrd to the creative table, and a host of Seattle's theatrical royalty to its stage.
- 2/5/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Though he’s not really known for his music video work, Spike Lee has directed over a dozen music vids (they are listed on Wikipedia, fyi). Perhaps his most notable are the dual version of Michael Jackson’s “They Don't Care About Us” and Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" (in which he has a cameo at the end), but he has also directed videos by Prince (who scored all of "Girl 6"), Arrested Development, Bruce Horsnby, Branford Marsalis, Guru featuring Donald Byrd, Curtis Mayfield, Naughty by Nature and Fishbone, among others (the clip he did for the Crooklyn Dodgers uses his trademark dollyshot too). He also directed a clip for Mau Maus, the fake gangster rap band from “Bamboozled” that featured Mos Def. One thing Lee has shied away from in his career is lensing music videos for “booty and bitches” rap videos or aggro ganster rap with anti-conscious messages...
- 4/7/2014
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Yusef Lateef, who died on Monday after a bout with prostate cancer, was a devout Muslim who did not like his music to be called jazz because of the supposed indecent origins and connotations of the word (although those origins are still debated). He preferred the self-coined phrase "autophysiopsychic music." Furthermore, his music encompassed an impressively broad range of styles, and the only Grammy he won was in the New Age category -- for a recording of a symphony. Think about those things amid the flood of Lateef obituaries with "jazz" in the headline.
That said, certainly Lateef's own musical origins indisputably revolved around jazz. Growing up in Detroit, a highly fertile musical environment in the 1930s and beyond, Lateef got his first instrument, an $80 Martin alto sax, at age 18. Within a year he was on the road with the 13 Spirits of Swing (arrangements by Milt Buckner).
A Detroit friend,...
That said, certainly Lateef's own musical origins indisputably revolved around jazz. Growing up in Detroit, a highly fertile musical environment in the 1930s and beyond, Lateef got his first instrument, an $80 Martin alto sax, at age 18. Within a year he was on the road with the 13 Spirits of Swing (arrangements by Milt Buckner).
A Detroit friend,...
- 12/25/2013
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Donald Byrd, a renowned jazz trumpeter known for his innovative style, died February 4, at 80-years-old, the Associated Press reports. He got his start at Detroit's Cass Technical High School, before playing in military bands in the Air Force.
Byrd signed to Blue Note Records in 1958, teaming with saxophonist Pepper Adams to release their label debut, "Off to the Races," in 1959. He was also a noted jazz educator, receiving a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and being the first person to teach jazz at Rutgers University.
When Byrd released "Black Byrd," a mix of jazz, R&B and funk, critics panned him for not going the traditional jazz route that had been followed in the past. "I'm creative; I'm not re-creative," he said, "I don't follow what everybody else does."
In 1982, Byrd moved from performing to teaching, creating a curriculum called Math + Music (equals) Art. It allowed him...
Byrd signed to Blue Note Records in 1958, teaming with saxophonist Pepper Adams to release their label debut, "Off to the Races," in 1959. He was also a noted jazz educator, receiving a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and being the first person to teach jazz at Rutgers University.
When Byrd released "Black Byrd," a mix of jazz, R&B and funk, critics panned him for not going the traditional jazz route that had been followed in the past. "I'm creative; I'm not re-creative," he said, "I don't follow what everybody else does."
In 1982, Byrd moved from performing to teaching, creating a curriculum called Math + Music (equals) Art. It allowed him...
- 2/12/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Donald Byrd, one of the most well-known jazz trumpeters of the 1950s, died Feb. 4 at a hospital in Delaware, The Washington Post reports. He was 80.
A spokeswoman for Haley Funeral Directors in Southfield, Mich., confirmed the death, but no cause was given. Reports of Byrd's death had been circulating on the Internet for the last week. Alex Bugnon, a...
Read More >...
A spokeswoman for Haley Funeral Directors in Southfield, Mich., confirmed the death, but no cause was given. Reports of Byrd's death had been circulating on the Internet for the last week. Alex Bugnon, a...
Read More >...
- 2/12/2013
- by Kate Stanhope
- TVGuide - Breaking News
Dover, Del. (AP) — Jazz musician Donald Byrd, a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s who collaborated on dozens of albums with top artists of his time and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as "Black Byrd," has died. He was 80. He died Feb. 4 in Delaware, according to Haley Funeral Directors in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich., which is handling arrangements. It didn't have details on his death. Byrd, who was also a pioneer in jazz education, attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, played in military bands in the Air Force and moved...
- 2/11/2013
- by Randall Chase (AP)
- Hitfix
Legendary jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd died earlier this week at the age of 80, but news of his death was only just confirmed.
Amoeba reports that Byrd's nephew, Alex Bugnon, confirmed via Facebook that his uncle died on Feb. 4, adding that for an unexplained reason other family members were trying to keep the news of his death private.
"I have no more patience for this unnecessary shroud of secrecy placed over his death by certain members of his immediate family," wrote Bugnon.
Byrd was born in Detroit in 1932, and was already an accomplished trumpeter by the time he finished high school. He later went on to play in a military band during his term in the United States Air Force, and then obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music.
His career began when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers,...
Amoeba reports that Byrd's nephew, Alex Bugnon, confirmed via Facebook that his uncle died on Feb. 4, adding that for an unexplained reason other family members were trying to keep the news of his death private.
"I have no more patience for this unnecessary shroud of secrecy placed over his death by certain members of his immediate family," wrote Bugnon.
Byrd was born in Detroit in 1932, and was already an accomplished trumpeter by the time he finished high school. He later went on to play in a military band during his term in the United States Air Force, and then obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music.
His career began when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers,...
- 2/7/2013
- by Stephanie Marcus
- Huffington Post
Nominations for the Tony Awards are determined by a dedicated group of theater professionals who attend every Broadway opening during the season. Then, they meet as a group and winnow their favorites down to the final contenders for theater's most prestigious prize. The nominating committe has expanded in recent years and now numbers 42 members who serve revolving three-year terms. The 16 newest bold-faced names to join are: Arin Arbus – Associate Artistic Dir., Theatre for a New Audience Susan Birkenhead - Lyricist Mark Brokaw – Director/Artistic Director, Yale Institute for Music Theatre Donald Byrd – Choreographer Ben Cameron – Program Dir. for the Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, NY Mary Schmidt Campbell – Dean, Tisch School of the Arts John Darnton – Author/Former Cultural Editor, The New York Times Jacqueline Z. Davis – Executive Dir., The NY Public Library for t...
- 6/18/2012
- Gold Derby
New York -- The blue neon light and hot rhythms have beckoned music lovers from around the world to West Third Street for decades. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the world-famous Blue Note, the jazz club is presenting the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival throughout the rest of June, featuring performances by artists like Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner and Nancy Wilson who have been integral to the club's history.
Jazz is more about attitude than a musical genre so the performers span all types of styles from hip-hop to salsa in nearly 100 shows across the city, from the Highline Ballroom and Town Hall to B.B. King's and the eponymous club.
Critically-acclaimed rapper Talib Kweli, who brings his supergroup Idle Warship to B.B. King's on Friday night (June 10) in a show produced by Jill Newman Productions, says that he identifies with jazz's vitality and spirit. "Jazz is hip-hop,...
Jazz is more about attitude than a musical genre so the performers span all types of styles from hip-hop to salsa in nearly 100 shows across the city, from the Highline Ballroom and Town Hall to B.B. King's and the eponymous club.
Critically-acclaimed rapper Talib Kweli, who brings his supergroup Idle Warship to B.B. King's on Friday night (June 10) in a show produced by Jill Newman Productions, says that he identifies with jazz's vitality and spirit. "Jazz is hip-hop,...
- 6/10/2011
- by Marcus Baram
- Huffington Post
Jukebox The Ghost Philly-based D.C.-bred trio Jukebox The Ghost is Ben Thornewill (vocals, piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals, guitar), and Jesse Kristin (drums). Founded in the aughts, the group has opened for Ben Folds Five, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Adam Green/The Moldy Peaches. With a sophomore release coming in the fall, prepare with the very satisfying title "My Heart's the Same," from their 2008 debut Let Live & Let Ghosts. Buy: Amazon.com Genre: Alternative Artist: Jukebox The Ghost Song: My Heart's the Same Album: Let Live & Let Ghosts Donald Byrd Hard-bop trumpeter extraordinaire and R&B scholar Donald Byrd was born in Detroit in December 1932. He left Wayne State University for the military, where he served in the Air Force band. Whilst earning his master's at New York's Manhattan School of Music, he recorded for the Prestige, Riverside and Blue Note labels (and later the...
- 6/18/2010
- by Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin
- Huffington Post
By Jacki O, 4Sight Media
We received news this morning that the legendary Guru has joined the trailblazers who inspired him. Although we are not currently representing him, 4Sight Media was selected as the publicity firm to handle the publicity for his last three projects in the Jazzmatazz series.
While 7Grand and Solar are handling their publicity internally with several messages that have been released (including Guru's last statement), we wanted to offer our own deepest sympathy to the fans of Guru who support the Jazzmatazz legacy around the world. We honor Guru for leaving us with music that reaches into higher places, for coloring outside the lines of hip-hop and recognizing the musical masters who inspired him. Through Guru's eyes, there was no division between hip-hop and jazz, hip-hop and neo-soul or hip-hop and history.
Guru's Jazzmatazz and endeavors with Premier enabled him to collaborate with a who's who...
We received news this morning that the legendary Guru has joined the trailblazers who inspired him. Although we are not currently representing him, 4Sight Media was selected as the publicity firm to handle the publicity for his last three projects in the Jazzmatazz series.
While 7Grand and Solar are handling their publicity internally with several messages that have been released (including Guru's last statement), we wanted to offer our own deepest sympathy to the fans of Guru who support the Jazzmatazz legacy around the world. We honor Guru for leaving us with music that reaches into higher places, for coloring outside the lines of hip-hop and recognizing the musical masters who inspired him. Through Guru's eyes, there was no division between hip-hop and jazz, hip-hop and neo-soul or hip-hop and history.
Guru's Jazzmatazz and endeavors with Premier enabled him to collaborate with a who's who...
- 4/20/2010
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
Chrysalis
Guru, the Mc for the ’90s hip-hop duo Gang Starr and a solo artist who blended rap and jazz on a series of records, has died of cancer-related causes. He was 43. Born Keith Elam near Boston, the rapper took the name Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) and teamed up with DJ Premier to release the first Gang Starr album in 1989. The group’s second release, “Step Into the Arena,” was later named by The Source as one of the 100 Best Rap Albums.
While many hip-hop acts sampled R&B or even rock records, Gang Starr was known for its use of jazz samples. Guru later explored the fusion of jazz and rap on his solo “Jazzmatazz” series, teaming with musicians like Donald Byrd, Ramsey Lewis and singer N’Dea Davenport. The last of those albums, “Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future,” came out in...
Guru, the Mc for the ’90s hip-hop duo Gang Starr and a solo artist who blended rap and jazz on a series of records, has died of cancer-related causes. He was 43. Born Keith Elam near Boston, the rapper took the name Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) and teamed up with DJ Premier to release the first Gang Starr album in 1989. The group’s second release, “Step Into the Arena,” was later named by The Source as one of the 100 Best Rap Albums.
While many hip-hop acts sampled R&B or even rock records, Gang Starr was known for its use of jazz samples. Guru later explored the fusion of jazz and rap on his solo “Jazzmatazz” series, teaming with musicians like Donald Byrd, Ramsey Lewis and singer N’Dea Davenport. The last of those albums, “Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future,” came out in...
- 4/20/2010
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Legendary rapper succumbed to cancer on Monday after suffering a heart attack last month.
By Gil Kaufman
Just over a month since undergoing surgery following a heart attack, Gang Starr Mc Guru (born Keith Elam) has died at age 43. According to a statement, Guru died of cancer-related causes on Monday after a long fight with the disease.
Guru's longtime collaborator and partner Solar mourns his loss in the statement and explains that Guru had written a letter to his fans that was to be released upon his death.
"The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time — my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru," Solar said. "Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle! This is a matter that Guru wanted private until he could beat it,...
By Gil Kaufman
Just over a month since undergoing surgery following a heart attack, Gang Starr Mc Guru (born Keith Elam) has died at age 43. According to a statement, Guru died of cancer-related causes on Monday after a long fight with the disease.
Guru's longtime collaborator and partner Solar mourns his loss in the statement and explains that Guru had written a letter to his fans that was to be released upon his death.
"The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time — my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru," Solar said. "Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle! This is a matter that Guru wanted private until he could beat it,...
- 4/20/2010
- MTV Music News
MTV News' hip-hop team shares their faves, plus five of Guru's Jazzmatazz greats.
By Sway Calloway, Rahman Dukes, Shaheem Reid, Steven Roberts and Jayson Rodriguez
Gang Starr
Photo: Capitol
No one questioned Guru's claim that he was "one of the best yet." The Boston native had one of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop history. You didn't even need a whole bar to know that Gifted Universal Rhymes Unlimited was on the mic. Backed by beats from the almighty DJ Premier, Guru supplied glorious vocals on battle raps, intricate life stories and candid street commentary. The 43-year-old Mc died on Monday due to complications from cancer. And despite the fact that the Gang Starr duo were estranged for the last several years, their legacy is concrete — one of the richest in hip-hop history. Here at MTV News, the hip-hop team listed our choices for 10 essential Gang Starr songs.
1. "Dwyck,...
By Sway Calloway, Rahman Dukes, Shaheem Reid, Steven Roberts and Jayson Rodriguez
Gang Starr
Photo: Capitol
No one questioned Guru's claim that he was "one of the best yet." The Boston native had one of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop history. You didn't even need a whole bar to know that Gifted Universal Rhymes Unlimited was on the mic. Backed by beats from the almighty DJ Premier, Guru supplied glorious vocals on battle raps, intricate life stories and candid street commentary. The 43-year-old Mc died on Monday due to complications from cancer. And despite the fact that the Gang Starr duo were estranged for the last several years, their legacy is concrete — one of the richest in hip-hop history. Here at MTV News, the hip-hop team listed our choices for 10 essential Gang Starr songs.
1. "Dwyck,...
- 4/20/2010
- MTV Music News
Point Park University's Conservatory Dance Company presents Pittsburgh Connections Nov. 13 - 15 and 20-22 at the George Rowland White Performance Studio on the downtown campus. The program features the work of Marissa Balzer, Jeffrey Bullock, Patrick Frantz and Kristofer Storey; all four are seasoned artists with Pittsburgh roots.
Things Behind the Sun was choreographed by Marissa Balzer. Balzer, a Point Park alumna, is founder and artistic director of rEvolve Dance Theater, a contemporary company that debuted in the winter of 2006. Previously in 2002, she was named an "Outstanding Choreographer" by the American College Dance Festival for her work Beautiful... Still. She is also an instructor for Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and Abbey Lee Dance Company.
Trio for Four, a neoclassical ballet piece, is choreographed by Jeffrey Bullock, a former dancer for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He has also performed with the North Carolina Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Bullock's...
Things Behind the Sun was choreographed by Marissa Balzer. Balzer, a Point Park alumna, is founder and artistic director of rEvolve Dance Theater, a contemporary company that debuted in the winter of 2006. Previously in 2002, she was named an "Outstanding Choreographer" by the American College Dance Festival for her work Beautiful... Still. She is also an instructor for Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and Abbey Lee Dance Company.
Trio for Four, a neoclassical ballet piece, is choreographed by Jeffrey Bullock, a former dancer for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He has also performed with the North Carolina Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Bullock's...
- 11/22/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Seattle Theatre Group (Stg) presents Beautiful Me by internationally renown South African choreographer and dancer Gregory Maqoma/Vuyani Dance Theatre on Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 8:00pm at Falls Theatre at Act.
In Beautiful Me, Gregory Maqoma, one of South Africa's leading choreographers, attempts to define, redefine and profess his own identity in relationship to history, humanity and nature. Maqoma begins with movement, text and music contributed by three master choreographers who have had great influence on him: Akram Khan's Contemporary Kathak; Faustin Linyekula's visual dance-theater; and Vincent Mantsoe's Afro-fusion. Through layering these distinct and diverse styles with his own unique lightness and humor, Beautiful Me becomes a living self portrait and a provocative exploration of kinetic African identity.
Accompanied on stage by four exceptional South African musicians Poorvi Bhana (sitar), Bongani Kunene (cello), Isaac Molelekoa (violin), and Mandienkosi Nhlapo (percussion) with a simple lighting and set design,...
In Beautiful Me, Gregory Maqoma, one of South Africa's leading choreographers, attempts to define, redefine and profess his own identity in relationship to history, humanity and nature. Maqoma begins with movement, text and music contributed by three master choreographers who have had great influence on him: Akram Khan's Contemporary Kathak; Faustin Linyekula's visual dance-theater; and Vincent Mantsoe's Afro-fusion. Through layering these distinct and diverse styles with his own unique lightness and humor, Beautiful Me becomes a living self portrait and a provocative exploration of kinetic African identity.
Accompanied on stage by four exceptional South African musicians Poorvi Bhana (sitar), Bongani Kunene (cello), Isaac Molelekoa (violin), and Mandienkosi Nhlapo (percussion) with a simple lighting and set design,...
- 11/13/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Acclaimed Musical To Launch 2009-2010
Broadway Across America-miami Subscription Series
For A Limited One-week Run, October 27- November 1,
Presented At The Sanford And Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House By Florida Theatrical Association And The Adrienne Arsht Center For The Performing Arts Of Miami- Dade County
(Photo By Paul Kolnik)
Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit The Color Purple, The Musical about Love, are proud to announce that Mia mi will host the first North American touring production of The Color Purple from Tuesday, October 27-Sunday, November 1 at the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. The show will launch the 2009-2010 Broadway Across America subscription series presented by Florida Theatrical Association and the Adrienne Arsht. Tickets are on sale now!
Nominated for eleven Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, The Color Purple...
Broadway Across America-miami Subscription Series
For A Limited One-week Run, October 27- November 1,
Presented At The Sanford And Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House By Florida Theatrical Association And The Adrienne Arsht Center For The Performing Arts Of Miami- Dade County
(Photo By Paul Kolnik)
Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit The Color Purple, The Musical about Love, are proud to announce that Mia mi will host the first North American touring production of The Color Purple from Tuesday, October 27-Sunday, November 1 at the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. The show will launch the 2009-2010 Broadway Across America subscription series presented by Florida Theatrical Association and the Adrienne Arsht. Tickets are on sale now!
Nominated for eleven Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, The Color Purple...
- 11/2/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Long Wharf Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Ray Cullom, will present the beloved musical The Fantasticks, directed by Amanda Dehnert, from October 7 through November 1, 2009, on the Mainstage.
Press night is Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. Curtain times are Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3p.m. and 8p.m., and Sundays at 2p.m. and 7p.m. Tickets are $30-$70.
"I have loved The Fantasticks since I was a little kid," said Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein. "This will be so much fun for the entire family."
This hit musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, the longest running Off-Broadway musical in history, tells the story of Luisa and Matt, a pair entering the bloom of their youth. Their fathers, scheming to encourage their budding love, hire...
Press night is Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. Curtain times are Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3p.m. and 8p.m., and Sundays at 2p.m. and 7p.m. Tickets are $30-$70.
"I have loved The Fantasticks since I was a little kid," said Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein. "This will be so much fun for the entire family."
This hit musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, the longest running Off-Broadway musical in history, tells the story of Luisa and Matt, a pair entering the bloom of their youth. Their fathers, scheming to encourage their budding love, hire...
- 11/1/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle Theatre Group's resident dance company, since 2006, presents Icono-Clan, a Mainstage production at The Moore Theatre on April 25th at 8:00pm and April 26th at 5:00pm. This evening-length production will celebrate three outstanding powerhouses of the American dance scene: Merce Cunningham, arguably the country's greatest living choreographer; Gus Solomons Jr., a seminal figure in postmodern and experimental dance; and Donald Byrd, the most unconventional provocateur and dance maker/thinker of our times.
- 2/20/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Bristol Riverside Theatre presents the World Premiere of What You Will, a Brt original interpretation of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night from February 10 through March 1, 2009. A daring and bold take on the classic comedy that combines the language of Shakespeare with contemporary rhythms and movement, What You Will is conceived and co-directed by Brt Artistic Director Keith Baker and Donald Byrd, acclaimed choreographer of Broadway's The Color Purple and Artistic Director of Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater. Music direction and original music by hip hop producer Justin Ellington completes the marriage of text, high-energy movement and heart-pounding music. What You Will begins previews February 10, opens February 12, and closes March 1, 2009. Tickets are $29 - $37, with $10 student tickets, and are available by calling the Box Office at (215) 785-0100 or visiting the theatre at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, with information online at www.brtstage.org. [A full performance schedule follows on page 4.] In this new interpretation, Shakespeare's original text is heard with a...
- 1/21/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Award winning choreographer Lula Washington brings her riveting mix of athletic choreography, imaginative costumes and captivating theatricality to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is part of the 2008-09 planet Ordway Target World Dance Season. In this single Ordway presentation, Lula Washington Dance Theatre promises to take the audience on an emotional journey that explores the human condition through a mix of propulsive movement, honest expression and humor. Founded in 1980 with a $25 loan and a dream, the ensemble has risen to become one of the largest and most admired African-American dance companies in the West. Lula Washington is the main choreographer and the artistic "voice" of the company. She augments her own work with choreography by famous artists such as Donald Byrd and Donald McKayle, and with the work of talented young choreographers, including Bernard Gaddis and soon, Christopher Huggins...
- 1/16/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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