(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
LE
NEWSLETTER
December 13, 2007
I'm definitely feeling the festive bug! I love when it
hits - makes you feel generous and there's something about the joy of this
season that makes you overlook the small stuff. But my heart goes out to
those that are feeling loss or stress of wanting this time of year.
Remember all in your prayers. Still lots of time to give a coat or a toy
to a child ...
Get festive and don't forget to bring your canned food for Daily Food Bank to
the showcase of showcases at the Monday Night VIP
Jam reunion at Revival on December 17th! And I can't say this enough
- The Gospel Christmas Project is a must-see show. Why not purchase tickets and give to someone for a gift?
How about celebrating New Years Eve at
Harlem with Chef Anthony Mair? Call for reservations!
::
Monday Night Revival Jam Reunion – Monday, December 17, 2007
Yes, that’s right folks – all the original players – Shamakah
Ali (percussion), Rich Brown (Host and bass), Joel Joseph, (keys) Anthony Wright (sax), Alexis
Baro (trumpet) and Dane Hartsell (Guitar) will be reuniting on Monday, December 17th
at Revival for a festive version of
Did you ever go to the Monday night jams at Revival?
Practically every big visiting artist would stop by and hit the stage with our amazing
No cover but PLEASE be generous during this
needy time of year as we are collecting food for the Daily Bread Food Bank.
Check out the best of R&B, funk, rock and blues this holiday season!
MONDAY NIGHT
Revival
9:00 pm
NO COVER
BRING DONATIONS FOR DAILY BREAD FOOD BANK
Two Shows, One CD - The Gospel Christmas Project – December 21 (
Source: Andrew Craig
You’re invited to the Christmas musical events of 2007: the Gospel Christmas Project, live at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre and Toronto’s Massey
Hall! Audiences are calling this show “fabulous”, “amazing”,
“thrilling beyond expectation”, “music to God's ears” and “a wonderfully joyful
spiritual evening”.
“The Gospel Christmas Project - LIVE!” is two hours of the world’s greatest
Christmas carols, in all-stunning new arrangements made by musician, producer
and broadcaster Andrew Craig. The songs are rendered by some of our country’s greatest voices:
Jackie Richardson, Canada’s
Queen of Jazz and
Blues,
Alana Bridgewater, “Killer
Queen” in the Mirvish production of “We Will Rock You”
Kellylee Evans, 2007 Canadian
Smooth Jazz Female Vocalist of the Year
Chris Lowe, a tremendous new
voice recently-emerged from the Gospel community
and the Juno-award-winning Sharon Riley and
Faith Chorale
“The Gospel Christmas Project” is already a wildly-popular radio
show, a Gemini-nominated TV special, and a brand-new CD, called “The Gospel Christmas Project”, available
in all major retail outlets right now, and on ITunes as of December 4.
“The Gospel Christmas Project” was originally performed in
And the next night (December 22) The Gospel Christmas Project makes its
Visit the website: www.gospelxmasproject.com
Purchase CD at
Celebrate New Year’s Eve at
Harlem
Carl Cassell and Anthony Mair invite you for dinner at Harlem this
New Year's
Eve. Master Chef Anthony
Mair (formerly of Mardis Gras) will be preparing a four
course Soulful Feast for you and your loved ones. Enjoy the
relaxed atmosphere in Harlem's art-filled dining room, then
go upstairs to the Renaissance Room for some bubbly and get your
party on in 2008. It will be a night to remember. Two seatings are available:
6:30pm and 9:00pm.
As an aside, Chef Mair will be featuring new, soulful, tasteful and mind-blowing items
to his Soul Food Menu weekly!
Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Harlem (67 Richmond St.
E. - Church and Richmond) celebrates the joy of Toronto's cultural diversity
and the art of entertaining. It is a rebirth of creativity in Food, Art, Music,
and Cocktails.
To make a reservations please call 416-368-1920.
Monday, December 31
NEW YEARS SOULFUL EVE
Harlem Restaurant
67 Richmond St. E. (Church and Richmond)
Two seatings are available: 6:30pm and 9:00pm
Reservations: 416-368-1920
www.harlemrestaurant.com
::TOP STORIES::
Ike Turner, 76: Rock pioneer, Tina Turner's ex
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - The
Associated Press
(December 12, 2007) SAN DIEGO – Ike
Turner, whose role as one of
rock's critical architects was overshadowed by his ogre-like
image as the man who brutally abused former wife and icon Tina Turner, died
Wednesday at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76.
"He did pass away this morning" at his home in San Marcos, in
northern San Diego County, said Scott M. Hanover of Thrill Entertainment Group,
which managed Turner's musical career.
There was no immediate word on the cause of death, which was first reported by
celebrity website TMZ.com.
Turner managed to rehabilitate his image somewhat in his later years, touring
around the globe with his band the Kings of Rhythm and drawing critical acclaim
for his work. He won a Grammy in 2007 in the traditional blues album category
for Risin' With the Blues.
But his image is forever identified as the drug-addicted, wife-abusing husband
of Tina Turner. He was hauntingly portrayed by Laurence Fishburne in the movie What's
Love Got To Do With It, based on Tina Turner's autobiography.
IOC Holds On To Jones' Olympic Medals
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Stephen Wilson, The Associated Press
(December 10, 2007) LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The IOC
has decided to postpone the reallocation of the five Olympic medals returned by
Marion Jones following her
admission that she began doping before the 2000 Sydney Games.
The International Olympic Committee had been expected to rule on the medal
changes – which could affect more than three dozen athletes – during its
three-day executive board meeting that started Monday.
But board member Denis Oswald said the IOC wants
more information from the BALCO steroid investigation before deciding whether
to upgrade doping-tainted Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou to Jones' gold in the
women's 100 metres.
Oswald said the IOC also would afford hearings to Jones' American relay teammates
before deciding whether to strip them of their Sydney medals.
"We don't want to do it piece by piece," he said. "We want to
wait until we have full information."
The IOC executive board is still expected to formally strip Jones of her medals
Wednesday. However, final decisions on how to readjust those medals will
probably take months, Oswald said.
Oswald, a Swiss lawyer, sits on the three-member IOC disciplinary commission
investigating the Jones and BALCO case.
Jones won gold medals in the 100, 200 and 1,600-metre relay in Sydney, and
bronze medals in the long jump and 400-metre relay. After years of denying drug
use, she acknowledged in court in October that she started doping before the
Sydney Olympics. She has returned her medals.
Last month, the International Association of Athletics Federations erased all
of Jones' results dating to September 2000, and recommended that her eight
relay teammates also be disqualified and lose their medals.
"The IAAF decided they would lose their medals and basically we are
supposed to follow what they proposed," Oswald said. "The question is
whether to hear the athletes. They have never been tested positive. They would
just lose the medals because of Jones. We have to be careful to protect their
rights."
The IOC disciplinary panel is seeking all the documents and names linked to the
Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO. Jones and baseball slugger Barry
Bonds are among the athletes caught up in the case.
The IOC wants to find out whether Thanou or any other Olympic athletes were
involved.
"This is why we are requesting through different channels complete
information in the BALCO affair," said IOC vice-president Thomas Bach, a
German lawyer who heads the panel. "We do not know finally who was
involved, who may be involved. We need to be sure we have everyone who was
involved on the screen."
Normally when an Olympic medallist is disqualified, the standings are adjusted
so that the next-place finisher moves up and those below also go up a spot.
However, there is reluctance among some IOC officials to upgrade Thanou because
she was involved in a high-profile scandal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"If we upgrade her we would have to be sure," Oswald said.
One option under consideration is leaving the gold medal spot vacant.
"This is an open question all the time," Oswald said. "We have
to study the legal basis and the flexibility we have."
Thanou and fellow Greek runner Kostas Kenteris failed to show up for drug tests
on the eve of the Games and claimed they were injured in a motorcycle accident.
They were forced to pull out of the Olympics and were later banned for two
years.
Without evidence that Thanou was guilty of any doping violation in Sydney, the
IOC would need other reasons for not awarding her the gold.
In October, lawyers for Thanou, Kenteris and their former coach, Christos
Tzekos, said investigations have found no evidence that the three were involved
in BALCO and that Greek prosecutors had dropped a probe into the case.
The IOC is working with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency to get the full BALCO files.
"It's not easy because the investigation is still ongoing," Oswald
said. "USADA is not free to produce all the documents received from the
Department of Justice."
The IOC operates under an eight-year statute of limitations provision, a rule
enacted by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The Sydney Olympics finished on Oct.
1, 2000, so the IOC will be under pressure to settle the issue before October
2008.
The next IOC board meeting is in Beijing in April.
"A statute of limitations is always open to interpretation," Bach
said. "I'm not worried so much about that."
IOC president Jacques Rogge said last month that medal upgrades would not be
"automatic," and that only athletes deemed to be ``clean" would
be bumped up.
The bronze medallist in the 100 in Sydney was Tanya Lawrence, with fellow
Jamaican Merlene Ottey fourth.
In the 200, Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas took the silver behind Jones
and now stands to move up to gold. Sri Lanka's Susanthika Jayasinghe was third
and Jamaica's Beverly McDonald fourth.
Jamaica took silver behind the United States in the 1,600 relay, with Russia
third and Nigeria fourth. In the 400 relay, France was fourth behind the
Americans.
U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth has said the American relay
athletes should voluntarily return their medals.
Lawyers, however, can point to a ruling in the case of American runner Jerome
Young, who was stripped of his gold medal in the 1,600-metre relay from Sydney
because of a previous doping violation. He ran only in the preliminary.
The IAAF and IOC sought unsuccessfully to strip the entire American team,
including Michael Johnson. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in 2005
that there were no rules in place at the time of the Sydney Games calling for a
whole relay team to be disqualified for an offence by one member.
Bach said the cases were different because Jones admitted being doped at the
time of the Olympics and ran in the relay finals.
"The Young and Jones case is not 1-to-1 comparable," he said.
Jeopardy! Host Trebek Has Minor Heart Attack
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Robert
Jablon, Associated Press Writer
(December 11, 2007) LOS ANGELES – Longtime Jeopardy! host Alex
Trebek was hospitalized today after a minor heart attack, a spokesman
for the game show said.
Trebek, 67, was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center late Monday night and
was expected to remain there about two days for tests and observation, said
show spokesman Jeff Ritter.
"Thankfully it was a minor heart attack," Ritter said. He did not
give other details.
A post on the official Jeopardy! website said Trebek was ``resting
comfortably in a Los Angeles hospital, and he will be back in the studio for
the next scheduled tapings in January." His heart attack was first
reported by Entertainment Tonight.
Trebek escaped a car crash unhurt in 2004 when he fell asleep at the wheel,
sideswiped a string of mailboxes and wound up in a ditch, according to the
California Highway Patrol. The Jan 30, 2004, accident happened in the town of
Templeton, not far from Trebek's thoroughbred horse ranch.
Jeopardy! has been one of television's top-rated syndicated programs for
more than 20 years. The Canadian-born Trebek has been its host since 1984.
He has been nominated numerous times for daytime Emmy Awards for game show
host, winning twice.
Trebek, who holds a philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa, was a TV
and radio reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Company before moving to the
United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 1998.
He launched his U.S. game show career in 1983 as host of a show called The
Wizard of Odds. Other shows he's hosted include Pitfall, Battlestars,
The $128,000 Question, Double Dare, High Rollers, Strategy and Reach for
the Top. He also hosts the annual National Geography Bee in the U.S. and
Canada.
Trebek and his wife, Jean, have two children.
Barbadian Livvi Franc Signed To International Recording Company
Jive Records!
Source: Circuit Magazine
Livvi Franc, the 19-year old
singer/songwriter who is
perhaps best known (in Barbados) as the featured voice on J-Co's hit
track Pon Fire, is now preparing to launch an international singing and
songwriting career. The deal, which is the first label direct deal signed
by a Barbadian artist in recent times, is the culmination of 3 years of artist
development, which all took place in Barbados.
The Livvi/Jive deal was officially inked on October 25,
2007 in New York, after months of negotiations with Jive. The deal
effectively makes Livvi labelmates with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney
Spears, Pink, Chris Brown and Usher. The deal provides Livvi with access
not only to a number of globally recognised artistes for potential collabs, but
also further access to a slew of international industry insiders.
Livvi's ‘worked with' list is an impressive one, despite her still being in the
embryonic stage of development of her career. In an exclusive interview
with CiRCUIT magazine, her manager of three years, Kerrie Thomas-Armstrong,
revealed that to date, Livvi has worked with Toby Gad who co-wrote Big Girls
Don't Cry for Fergie, and with songwriter Angela Hunte who was one of the
songwriters behind Showstoppers, the first Danity Kane single. She
has also worked with SRP's Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, who are credited with
discovering Bajan superstar Rihanna. In a statement released by SRP to CiRCUIT
magazine, Rogers stated: 'Livvi is a brilliant writer with an amazing voice -
totally unique and distinctive. Her appeal will cross many boundaries. She also
has all the star quality you could ask for - the whole package, which is rare.
We (SRP) are excited to be part of the project!'
Strong Barbadian Links Remain
Armstrong also revealed that access to international industry insiders does not
necessarily imply that Livvi's future project will exclude Barbadian industry
professionals. It was, after all, the strength of her local management
and local production team which heavily influenced Jive's interest in the Livvi
project. Armstrong will continue to manage Livvi in a co-management deal
with Armstrong's longtime friend, Allison Hunte, who is also Kevin Lyttle's
manager and a Barbadian. The co-management deal allows Livvi to continue
her work with Armstrong, who has guided the singer/songwriter's budding career,
while being further supported by a management link already familiar with the
complexities of managing a Caribbean artist in a global music environment.
Livvi's other local ties include songwriting/production collaborations with
Tony ‘Rebel' Bailey, Chris Allman, De Red Boyz and Eyan. She is likely to
continue working with other Barbadians within the coming months.
Just who is Livvi Franc?
Livvi's Jive deal may come as a surprise to the vast majority of Barbadians, as
not many Bajans are familiar with the name Livvi Franc. Livvi's
management team seems to have employed a strategy of lying relatively low on
public appearances while focussing on songwriting, voice training and studio
recording. And so far, the strategy seems to have paid off. Livvi
has now managed to add her name to a relatively short list of Barbadians who
have secured deals with international record labels. Now that the news
that another local artist has broken into the international arena, the obvious
question remains: just who is Livvi Franc?
Born Olivia Charlotte Waithe to a Barbadian father and English mother, Livvi
Franc's multicultural, multiethnic background is reflected in her music
style. Livvi herself notes that from an early age, her parents exposed
her to a wide cross-section of music - ‘everything from Bob Marley to the Beatles.'
She also developed a love for artists such as Etta James, Nelly Furtado,
Krosfyah, The Cranberries, Alanis Morrisette and Lauryn Hill. Livvi
has spent years crafting her own personal style which has turned out to be an
interesting blend of pop, R&B, folk and country.
Livvi's fans are well aware of her musical stylings via her myspace page www.myspace.com/livvifranc. Free,
Bliss, Shiver and Tap Tap, all produced by Barbados-born
producers Classic Soul Productions, have struck a chord with Livvi's
growing online fan base and are sure to shine a spotlight on Classic Soul as a
production unit.
During the CiRCUIT magazine interview, Armstrong repeatedly stressed the
importance which her team placed on holistic artist development, noting that
the signing didn't just come out of the blue. Livvi's camp had laid out a
developmental plan for the artist which involved rigorous physical fitness
sessions-compliments of Ray Armstrong (former lead vocalist of Krosfyah and
Second Ave) and years of songwriting, studio sessions and vocal
training-compliments of local jazz vocalist, Marissa Lindsey.
The Next Step
Livvi's camp has been relatively tight-lipped on the details of the Jive
deal. No info has been released regarding how many albums Livvi's deal
entails or how much money was involved in the deal. According to
Armstrong, what is important for their team is continuing the foundation which
has been set for an enduring musical career. What is known, however, is
that her team is moving forward with plans for Livvi's international debut,
even though no timelines for Livvi's first album have been released to the
public. According to Armstrong, her team's first priority is producing and
delivering to Jive a 'solid album.' Similarly, the former Queen's
College student, Franc states, 'getting the deal now appears to be the easiest
part of this process. Packaging my sound and brand into a form that will be
embraced by my label and my market, is the focus. I work hard and sacrifice
with my team to realise this goal. Over the last three years I've learned that
you've got to love what you do and surround yourself with a team of supporters
who are equally committed to the journey, because in this business you can
spend a considerable amount of time on the journey before you actually reach
the destination. Yes I am ELATED to have signed a record deal, but I am well
aware that my journey continues. So just as I did before my deal, I continue my
songwriting, meeting potential new producers for possible collaborations and
recording. And when I have a spare moment, you'll find me cooking in the
kitchen. I love to cook! It de-stresses me and makes me almost as happy as
music!'
www.myspace.com/livvifranc
Will Smith Is Set In Stone
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(December 12, 2007) *Will Smith took his place among Hollywood 
legends Monday with imprints of his hands and feet planted in the
cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. "I'm humble,
I'm honoured, my heart is just beating right now," said an emotional
Smith, 39.
"I don't really understand it -- I'm not used to feeling like that ...
There's something in the concrete about being etched into the fibre of
Hollywood." Among the friends and family on hand for the occasion were
Smith's two youngest children, Willow and Jaden, and friend Tom Cruise. After
the ceremony, the two-time best actor Oscar nominee told KCAL9 television that
he's looking forward to Friday's release of his new film, "I Am
Legend." 
"This one is special," he said. "We made a really aggressive
attempt at a different type of movie, so I'm anxious to see how people respond
to it."
::MUSIC NEWS::
Jazz Singer Milman Pleasant But
Predictable
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Ashante Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic
(December 10, 2007) With few marquee jazz artists
passing through Toronto this fall – John McLaughlin, Preservation Hall Jazz
Band – it was great to see a couple of locals play to a near-capacity crowd at
Massey Hall Saturday night.
In an exciting, communicative trio, equally adept at ragtime, pop and blues,
pianist-singer Michael Kaeshammer kicked things off with songs and stories
mostly related to his current disc, Days Like These.
But this was Sophie
Milman's shining moment.
Since her 2004 self-titled debut, which has sold more than 100,000 copies, the
24-year-old University of Toronto commerce student has toured internationally
and topped iTunes jazz charts with her sophomore follow-up, Make Someone
Happy.
But nothing says success like her quick ascent from clubland and the festival
circuit to the legendary 2,800-seat Victoria St. venue.
"Oh, my God! It's Massey Hall, you guys," said the songstress shortly
after taking the stage. She described as "magical" the feeling of
performing at same venue where she'd witnessed greats such as Oscar Peterson
and Annie Lennox.
Outfitted in an asymmetrical blond bob and equally trendy sack dress, the
petite singer stuck to a fairly predictable formula for her mix of standards,
originals and pop covers: sing a few verses, back off for a musician's solo
while doing a two-step, take it from the top.
Only occasionally – on the percussion-driven "Something In The Air Between
Us," for instance – did the arrangements deviate, allowing her to showcase
some versatility.
Consequently, though Milman has definitely refined her stage presence and
husky, sensual pipes over the last few years, and she was surrounded by
exceptional players (guest trumpeter Guido Basso played his glasses right off
his face during "Matchmaker, Matchmaker") the overall effect was
ho-hum pleasant, garnering applause that was gracious but never euphoric.
The highlight was the Russian-born and Israeli-raised Milman's cover of the
Guess Who's Undun near the end of the night.
"This country has given so much to my family I wanted to put a Canadian
song on my album," she explained before executing the tune with a panache
that resonated through the hall and carried the remainder of the 90-minute set.
Milman may have a devoted following, but she's still a work in progress.
Together, Solo Stars Make Beautiful Music
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - John
Terauds, Classical Music Critic
(December 07, 2007) The best concerts aren't always behind the
biggest marquees.
A case in point is a program by two young Canadian stars yesterday afternoon at
University of Toronto's Walter Hall under the auspices of the 110-year-old
Women's Musical Club of Toronto.
This was one of the best Toronto recitals of 2007.
Manitoba native and violinist James Ehnes, 31, who yesterday received his first Grammy nomination, teamed
up with Toronto boy Stewart Goodyear, 29, on the
piano, in a program that mixed old masterworks with something new.
Last month, both musicians impressed Toronto Symphony audiences at Roy Thomson
Hall. Yesterday it was time to experience a more intimate magic.
The highlights were the "Chaconne" from J.S. Bach's Partita No. 2 for
solo violin and Richard Strauss's Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18, for
violin and piano.
No one has managed to match the architectural creativity of Bach's compositions
for solo violin and cello in the three centuries since. In making the player
drag the bow over two strings at once (double-stopping), Bach builds a virtual
harmonic and contrapuntal universe.
He also builds in difficulty that Ehnes brushed off with incredible poise. He
was mesmerizing as his bow skipped from string to string.
The collaboration on Strauss's extravagantly expressive 1887 Sonata was
equally spellbinding. Ehnes is not a physically demonstrative performer.
Instead, he channels everything into his right arm, carrying us off with him in
full late-Romantic flight. (It's no surprise he was nominated yesterday for a
Grammy for his album of Barber, Walton and Korngold violin concertos.)
Goodyear's playing verged on too discreet but otherwise was a model of clarity
and careful phrasing. Putting two solo stars together in a chamber-music
collaboration doesn't always work, but Ehnes and Goodyear performed together as
if they have been doing this for years.
The pair started with a Mozart Sonata (No. 35, in A Major, K. 526),
neatly articulated, but emphasizing movement over warmth. Goodyear also took a
solo turn onstage, in the public debut of Dogged By Hell Hounds, a
tribute to bluesman Robert Johnson commissioned by the Women's Musical Club.
The 10-minute piece has plenty of fire – and keyboard fireworks – in its belly,
sounding a bit like the Mississippi Delta via Keith Jarrett.
The music sounded as if it should be improvised, but Goodyear had written out
every note. He followed the score closely, lending a doggedness to the playing.
Hopefully he'll keep playing this piece and make it truly his, and bring Hell
Hounds to more vivid life in the future.
Hip Hop Artist Doug E. Fresh Is Still On The Beat
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Ashante
Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic
(December 07, 2007) He hasn't released a record under his own
name since 1995, but Doug E. Fresh is still hip hop's go-to-guy.
This year alone, the originator of the human beat box performed on the American
Idol finale, hosted David and Victoria Beckham's "Welcome to
L.A." party and Usher's wedding reception. He's now working on a VH1
reality show.
The Star chatted by phone with the 41-year-old Harlem, N.Y., native, who
still lives just five blocks from where he grew up, in advance of his show at
Kool Haus tonight.
Q Have you ever had any musical training?
A I played trumpet and percussion in elementary school. Percussion gave me
the ability to use my hands and with trumpet I learned how to position my lips.
I love the trumpet, because it creates the announcement. A lot of records that
I've done start off with trumpets. My music teacher had a jazz background,
(but) hip hop was the dominant force and it drew me in. Hip hop leaned more on
the drums and I was so good at memorizing percussion sounds that I would
duplicate them in my mind and just let it out with my own little twist with it.
Q Is there any challenge to what you do? How do you keep your chops in
shape?
A You've got to know how to use a microphone, where to position it to get
the right sound. You learn about circular breathing, which is making the air
circulate without stopping the music. It takes a lot of wind. If you catch a
cold it's hard to get the kind of wind that you need to make people feel exactly
what you're doing. I keep my chops up by performing a lot, but even then I
still sit around and play with it to increase my level of control.
Q I take it you're a non-smoker?
A My smoking days is never. You have to be in good shape to do the things
that I do. I walk, run, do callisthenics. I haven't eaten meat for more than 20
years. I don't drink, really, occasionally a little champagne.
Q Two of your teenage sons have started their own rap group (Square Off).
Did you try to discourage them?
A I've been doing hip hop since I was 13 and I feel like my contribution
has made a major difference in the world of hip hop. So I just think that my
sons should have the same right to do that. If I tell them "No, you have
to go to college or else," I would have been a hypocrite because that's
not what I did.
Q Their song "Dear Pops" is full of drama. Is it an accurate
reflection of their relationship with you?
A I think it was an accurate reflection of how they felt when they wrote
the song. And I think it's going to be an accurate reflection when I write the
answer to it.
I'm a very real kind of father. I got six sons (ages 2 to 20); there's not too
much femininity around here. It's straight-up, hardcore, real talk. And as
young men will in life, sometimes they make good choices, sometimes they make
mistakes, so it's real.
Feist Up For Grammys
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Associated Press
(December 6, 2007) LOS ANGELES – Kanye West, Amy
Winehouse and the Foo Fighters were among the leading Grammy contenders announced Thursday, with
several Canadians also up for key awards.
West received a leading eight nominations. Winehouse received six, including
for best new artist, record and song of the year for her hit "Rehab,"
and album of the year for Back to Black.
Record of year candidates included Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," the Foo
Fighters' "The Pretender," Rihanna's "Umbrella," "What
Goes Around Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake and Winehouse's
``Rehab."
The album of the year category also featured the Foo Fighters, for Echoes,
Silence, Patience & Grace, as well as Winehouse's album. Vince Gill's
four-disc set These Days was also cited, along with Herbie Hancock's
tribute to Joni Mitchell, River: The Joni Letters, DECand West's Graduation.
Toronto-based artist Feist scored three nominations. She'll compete against
Winehouse in the best new artist category and also got a nod for pop vocal
performance for her song "1,2,3,4" and best female pop vocal for her
album The Reminder.
Other best new artist nominees are Paramore, Taylor Swift and Ledesi.
Victoria-raised Nelly Furtado was nominated in the categories of best female
pop vocal and best pop collaboration with vocals.
Vancouver crooner Michael Buble scored a nod for best male pop
vocal/traditional pop vocal.
Legendary power trio Rush is nominated for best rock instrumental and
Montreal's Arcade Fire for best alternative music album.
Perennial Grammy favourite Walter Ostanek of St. Catharines, was nominated for
best polka album, his 21st nod.
U.S. Musician Creates A Fresh Jazzy
Sound By Mixing Old And New Styles With Multimedia
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Ashante Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic
(December 6, 2007) Marc Cary's jazz credentials are
impeccable, but his music cuts a wider swath.
The gifted composer and improviser, who apprenticed with some of the genre's
legends – vocalists Abbey Lincoln and Betty Carter, drummer Art Taylor – and
collaborated with its young lions – trumpeter Roy Hargrove and vibist Stefon
Harris – will showcase his boundary-pushing mélange of old and new during a
two-night stint at Trane Studio this weekend.
Tomorrow, he and New York vocalist Samita Sinha present a scaled-down version
of their multimedia project, Anatomy, which usually includes a videographer,
puppeteer and percussionist.
Cary will utilize a grand piano and laptop for the concoction he describes as
"the marriage of Hindustani vocals and rhythms aligned with jazz and
pre-fused through (Washington D.C.'s indigenous) go-go rhythm."
"I chose to put a lot of energy in the area of jazz all my life, but that
does not define me," says the affable 40-year-old by phone from his
Harlem, N.Y., home.
"I'm more of a musician of the music of my time. I'm not even coming from
a viewpoint of hip-hop; I'm coming from live music. (Popular in the early '80s)
go-go was live music. It has improvisation and all the other elements of jazz.
"As a matter of fact, go-go in its purest form – I'm not talking about
covers and songs that have been made – that's the only rhythm to me that swings
as hard as jazz."
But Cary hasn't abandoned tradition. On Saturday night, he'll play solo piano
in dedication to Oscar Peterson.
"It's all a tribute to Oscar," said the tunesmith of his first
Toronto appearances in about six years, "(but) I'm not going to play a
bunch of Oscar Peterson tunes. I'm going to show how he affected me. The depth
of his sound is amazing."
There's also a personal connection: Peterson was acquainted with Cary's
grandfather Otis Gamble, who played trumpet in Cootie Williams's orchestra in
the '40s.
"I inherited his collection, which had just a wealth of Oscar Peterson
music; that was my introduction," Cary says.
Between his vocalist/cellist mother, percussionist father and concert pianist
great grandmother who played for silent movies, Cary's career seems fated.
"I can remember having a trumpet in my mouth right after I got
teeth," he recalled with a laugh. "I always had instruments around
me. I got serious when I was around 12 and formed a go-go band in my (D.C.)
neighbourhood. We used to practice at my house. I remember trying to organize
people to rehearse and learn songs that the other bands were playing and try to
play our version. We won battle of the bands at the school – I still have the
plaque!"
Cary, who cut his first disc as a leader in 1994, is attached to several bands,
including his own acoustic Focus Trio and Stefon Harris's Blackout.
Additionally, he's co-founder of a non-profit organization called The Langston
Hughes House, which maintains a studio, offices and performance space in the
celebrated poet's renovated Harlem brownstone.
"I don't consider myself only a musician or a piano player," said
Cary of the impetuous to create a facility dedicated to youth- focused artist
development.
"I'm active in the preservation of this music and the preservation of
history.
"When I started playing music, my goal was to make history and (I) did
that back in the `90s, by playing with Betty Carter and recording with her and
Abbey Lincoln and Arthur Taylor.
"This is a continuation of that initial goal. It's just getting broader
now."
Just the facts
WHO: Marc Cary
WHEN: Friday, Saturday @ 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Trane Studio, 964 Bathurst St., 416-913-8197
COVER: $20
Hallelujah, The Messiah Is Back
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- John Terauds, Classical Music Critic
(December 6, 2007) History has the last laugh. Just take Georg Frideric Handel
and his immortal oratorio Messiah as examples.
Handel (1685-1759) is revered as England's greatest Baroque-era composer. Yet
he was born German. Messiah is the favourite large-scale classical music
composition performed at Christmas in the English-speaking world. Yet it was
meant for Easter.
It's a sacred work, yet it had its 1742 debut in a music hall – in Dublin,
Ireland. Handel only wrote it because his company producing Italian operas was
failing, and he desperately needed to raise some cash. Yet it was so successful
that the composer nearly abandoned opera-writing thereafter.
To many, a Christmas without Messiah is unthinkable. So we asked
conductors of four upcoming productions (among many others) to set the stage:
***********************
Stephanie Martin, Pax Christi Chorale
Do you remember when you heard Messiah the first time?
The most influential recording I heard was as a student in the early ’80s — a
bootlegged tape of a Tafelmusik performance. It was a revelation that Messiah
was not a collection of disjunct pieces, but that the whole drama could unfold
like an opera.
When and with whom did you perform Messiah for the first time?
It was in the early ’70s and my dad and his friends were starting up an
ambitious new venture called “Mennonite Massed Choir,” which would bring
together about 230 singers to perform with a college orchestra from the States.
At age 11, I was the youngest person in the choir. At the sold-out performance,
while we sang the last “Amen” chorus, I could hardly see my Dad conducting,
since there were tears in my eyes.
How many times do you think you have heard or performed Messiah in your
life?
Averaging twice a year for about 25 years — around 50 times. I’ve sung both
alto and soprano in the chorus, played harpsichord and organ continuo in the
various orchestral performances.
Which is your favourite Messiah recording?
Probably Christopher Hogwood’s, because I heard this just as I was becoming
crazy about Baroque performance practice, and who could resist (soprano) Emma
Kirkby in the ’80s?
Messiah alternatives?
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, Britten’s Saint Nicolas, Mendelssohn’s oratorio
Christus has a wonderful Christmas section and Canada’s own Healey Willan wrote
the charming Mystery of Bethlehem.
When: Tomorrow to Sunday
Where: Grace Church-on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd.
Tickets and info: 416-491-8542 or www.paxchristichorale.org
***********************
Lydia Adams, Elmer Isler Singers
Do you remember when you heard Messiah the first time?
The first number of times I heard Messiah was as a young child in Cape Breton.
..... I already knew the score well when I was very young as my mother had
placed some oratorios, Messiah included, on my piano from the time I was 7 or
8. Nothing was more fun for me than to read through the whole score — choruses
and solos alike — accompanying myself at top voice.
When and with whom did you perform Messiah for the first time?
My first actual performance of Messiah happened in England where I was taking
post-graduate studies at the Royal College of Music. I sang with the Bach Choir
under Sir David Willcocks.
How many times do you think you have heard or performed Messiah in your
life?
I have probably been involved in at least 60 and have heard many more than
that.
Which is your favourite Messiah recording?
I normally like a full-throated, dramatic version of Messiah and so a favourite
is the Andrew Davis Toronto Symphony recording with the Toronto Mendelssohn
Choir prepared by Elmer Iseler. I really love what Trevor Pinnock does with the
piece as well.
Messiah alternatives?
The Christmas Oratorio of J.S. Bach.
When: Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Where: Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. E.
Tickets and info: 416-217-0537 or www.elmeriselersingers.com
***********************
Nicholas Kraemer, Toronto Symphony
Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir
Do you remember when you heard Messiah the first time?
My mother used to play with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union. She would get up
at 8 a.m. on Jan 1 and go to rehearse. I went with her one year and remember
being overwhelmed by the “Hallelujah Chorus.” I must have been about 8 or 9.
When and with whom did you perform Messiah for the first time?
I played in many performances as continuo player before I conducted it for the
first time. The first I ever conducted was over 20 years ago in the Barbican
concert hall with the English Chamber Orchestra. On two occasions since, I went
back to Edinburgh to conduct Messiah with that very same choral society. That
was a really extraordinary moment.
How many times do you think you have heard or performed Messiah in your
life?
About 40 times.
Which is your favourite Messiah recording?
I don’t think I have ever listened to a Messiah recording other than one I
played on — Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields,
which is not the way I perform it.
Messiah alternatives?
J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is much more suitable for Christmas. Or
Berlioz’s Childhood of Christ. Messiah is about so much more than Christmas, it
doesn’t seem particularly appropriate to perform it then.
When: Dec. 15, 16, 18, 19 & 21
Where: Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.
Tickets & info: 416-593-4828 or www.tso.ca
***********************
Ivars Taurins, Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra and Chamber Choir
Do you remember when you heard Messiah the first time?
Recording: Sir Malcolm Sargent and the Royal Philharmonic, followed soon after
by a live concert in Massey Hall circa.1971 with the Toronto Symphony &
Mendelssohn Choir, with Lois Marshall, Theodore Gentry, Albert Greer and Gary
Relyea, directed by Elmer Iseler.
When and with whom did you perform Messiah for the first time?
Tafelmusik, 1981
How many times do you think you have heard or performed Messiah in your
life?
Performed: around 150 times. Heard: countless
Which is your favourite Messiah recording?
It would have to be a compilation of many, many different recordings, each
having its special moments: I still remember hearing Elly Ameling’s moving
rendition of “Thy rebuke hath broken his heart,” or the fleet-footed choral
work on Neville Mariner’s ground-breaking recording when it first came out.
Messiah alternatives?
Christmas without Messiah is like a Christmas without family, or a Christmas
tree. I can’t imagine it.
When: Dec. 19-22. Sing-Along Messiah Dec. 23
Where: Trinity-St. Paul’s Church, 427 Bloor St. W. (Sing-Along at Massey
Hall)
Tickets & Info: 416-964-6337 or www.tafelmusik.org
A Lot Like Vegas, But No Supper
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
– J.D. Constantine
PAUL ANKA
At Massey Hall in Toronto on Tuesday
(December 06, 2007) Paul Anka's last couple of albums
may have created some confusion about just what the fifties teen heartthrob is
up to these days.
Some listeners have assumed that his big-band interpretation of various
nineties' rock classics - first on 2005's Rock Swings, and then on the
current Classic Songs My Way - is meant to show his contemporary side
without, um, actually sounding contemporary. Others have taken it as a sort of
hipster joke, an unlikely but straight-faced fusion of Frank Sinatra cool and
Kurt Cobain angst.
Nope - it's just part of the longest-running supper-club act in history.
Anka's 50th Anniversary Tour, which arrived in Toronto two nights after a
performance in his hometown of Ottawa, may have looked like a standard pop
concert - Massey Hall had no waiters delivering Manhattans and prime rib, just
the usual assortment of ushers with flashlights - but the feel made it easy to
understand how, in 1960, Anka came to be the youngest performer ever to play
New York's legendary Copacabana.
It wasn't just the brass-heavy, 17-piece backing band, or the way he evoked the
lean, suave confidence and effortlessly powerful voice of the Kennedy-era
Sinatra. Anka's approach (figuratively) tore down the proscenium arch and
obliterated the distance between stage and seats, until he seemed to be
performing mere feet from his dazzled fans.
Often, in fact, he was just inches away. For his opener, a brash,
string-synthesizer-soaked rendition of his 1958 hit You Are My Destiny,
Anka entered from the rear of the theatre and sang most of his songs from the
aisles - an impressive feat, given how many hands he shook and cheeks he
bussed.
Nor did he make any effort to keep his distance as the show progressed.
Noticing a bit of photo flash from the audience, Anka reached down to grab a
fan's camera - then shot a few snaps of himself before handing it back, telling
the crowd to take as many pictures as they liked.
"And use flash, it's okay," he assured them.
Later, while reprising a string of oldies - Puppy Love, Lonely Boy, My Home
Town - he roamed relentlessly, dancing with fans, posing for photos, even
grabbing someone's cellphone to improvise a couple of verses to whoever was
listening on the other end.
Anka didn't just sing oldies, of course; he also did four selections from Rock
Swings, including a dark, brassy treatment of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen
Spirit that doubtless left some in the crowd wondering why he was
bellowing, "A mosquito/My libido."
But given the tour's anniversary theme, there was naturally a lot of looking
back. He introduced (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings by joking, "I
recorded this song a long time ago. In fact, it was so long ago, the Dead Sea
was just sick."
His performance of Times of Your Life was a retrospective in itself,
illustrated by film clips culled from Anka's career.
There was also a strong undercurrent of Rat Pack nostalgia, which seemed
fitting, given the Vegas floor-show finish Anka's act has taken. Using the
video screen, he delivered a duet with the late Sammy Davis Jr. on I'm Not
Anyone, and piped in a bit of Sinatra's voice for a triumphant,
crowd-pleasing run through My Way.
Was it a bit hokey? Maybe. But Paul Anka's stage show made it clear that what
works in Vegas doesn't have to stay in Vegas.
Paul Anka performs in Belleville, Ont., tomorrow, St. John's on Dec. 9 and
Halifax on Dec. 11.
***
The goods
HITS
Not counting the extra, encore version of Diana (and a brief Viagra-ad
parody), Anka did eight of his 11 Top-10 tunes, as well as several hits he
wrote for others, including It Doesn't Matter Any More (which Buddy
Holly cut), My Way (a smash for Frank Sinatra), and She's a Lady
(a big one for Tom Jones).
MISSES
Despite encouragement from the stage, almost nobody jumped for Jump, his
jazz take on the Van Halen hit, and Smells Like Teen Spirit was
definitely too hip for the room.
CROWD
Many couples, and most old enough to have bought the original 45 of Diana.
IN A WORD
Try the veal!
Keeping Jazz's Traditions Alive
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Ashante
Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic
(December 07, 2007) Since it first hit the road in 1963, New Orleans'
Preservation Hall Jazz Band has evolved from three
different touring ensembles to a single septet drawn from a roster of 10 musicians.
But the magnitude of the group, whose members range in age from their 20s to
early 80s, has increased in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"We're now the cultural ambassadors for the whole city," said
creative director Ben Jaffe on the phone from New Orleans. Jaffe is the son of
Alan and Sandra Jaffe, founders of the venerable French Quarter music venue
from which the band is derived.
"It's an amazing time to be living here, but it's also emotionally
challenging and draining."
But the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which brings A Creole Christmas – New
Orleans jazz standards and unique arrangements of traditional holiday songs –
to Roy Thomson Hall tonight, marches on.
"To see our band overcome all of these adversities ... five of the
musicians who will be in Toronto lost their homes, their photographs, record
collections, instruments."
The group may have recovered personally and professionally (their current disc
is Made in New Orleans: The Hurricane Sessions), but its ability to
replenish band members is questionable in jazz's devastated birthplace.
"We can only put forth our best effort to ensure that our cultural
traditions are perpetuated for other generations to experience and to learn
from," said Jaffe, co-founder of the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund,
which organizes housing, health care and performance opportunities for the
city's players.
"By allowing certain cultural traditions like funeral parades, or what we
call second line parades, that happen here every Sunday, or helping a church to
reopen where there's music, or helping a school band get instruments, we're
allowing students and youth to experience firsthand the cultural traditions
that many of us were so fortunate to grow up with."
Recently, however, there have been reports of New Orleans authorities halting
funeral parades.
"One would expect our police and our government to support things like
parades or outdoor music," said Jaffe of the conflict, which has been
brewing since a mid-'90s crime wave that saw a hike in funerals for African
American youth.
"The style of music that was being performed at the parades began to
evolve and become more youthful and reflect more of the hip-hop
generation." But the arts vanguard is undaunted, Jaffe said.
"When I recognized that it was up to us, the people of New Orleans, to
ensure our cultural future, that's when I said I'm going to dig my roots even
deeper in New Orleans, become an even bigger part of the community here. That's
why an institution like Preservation Hall has a much more important role now
than it did two years ago."
Wyclef Jean's Traveling 'Carnival'
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(December 6, 2007) *Rapper/producer Wyclef Jean will
mount a club tour in January to support his new studio album, "Carnival
Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant," which arrived in stores on Tuesday. The
outing is scheduled to begin Jan. 14 in Providence, RI, and will run through
the middle of February, with stops along the way in about 20 cities.
"Carnival Vol. II" is Clef's sixth studio album since launching a
solo career. The former member of hip hop trio The Fugees features guest
artists Mary J. Blige, Paul Simon, Chamillionaire, Shakira and System of a Down
frontman Serj Tankian. Jean produced the disc with help from singer Akon,
will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas, and longtime producer/collaborator Jerry "Wonder"
Duplessis, who is also the performer's cousin. Here are Wyclef Jean's tour
dates:
