88
Bloor Street E., #2908, Toronto, ON M4W
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(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
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LE
NEWSLETTER
February 22, 2007
So much going on right now! There SO much news below but don't miss a
beat - have a scroll as there's some great info!
Please change your records to reflect my new
address as of February 26th:
20 Carlton Street
#1032
Toronto, ON M5B 2H5
I've also been asked to cover the 2007 St. Maarten
Heineken Regatta for which I will leave
on February 28th for one week but there will still be a newsletter out on March
1st. This is an international boating race featuring world class
sailing. As well St. Maarten is known for the best in-shore parties -
this year's closing party features Stephen and Damian
Marley!
OK, enough about me. It's Oscar time! What a great way to watch the
OSCARS with HIV/AIDS fundraiser Oscar Goes to Africa
Fundraising Event for the Stephen Lewis Foundation on February 25, 2007. The organizers
of this event are three Kenyan Canadians who are greatly committed to raising
awareness on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Want to get a free CD when
you order your tickets for the inspiring
sounds of the Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir on February 27-28? Then be sure to purchase your tickets
with the special offer from Langfield Entertainment and The Hummingbird
Centre. Check out the details below!
Have you voted yet for the Smooth Jazz Awards? Check out this opportunity
to vote for DK Ibomeka as Best
Male Vocalist!
I went to see Alvin Ailey at
Hummingbird this past Friday and ohh my goodness. This show was
incredibly moving, physically, musically and theatrically. Unbelievable
movement by unbelievably stunning performers. They have left Toronto now
but were also in Ottawa and they'll be in Montreal tonight and tomorrow.
GO SEE IT if you have the chance. Check out the DANCE NEWS for a great review.
::HOT EVENTS::
Oscar Goes to Africa Fundraising Event - Stephen Lewis
Foundation – February 25, 2007
Source: Rispah M. Adala
**Win a Trip to Kenya, London-Nairobi-London, courtesy of Kenya Airways**
The Oscar Goes to Africa
fundraising event! Your
chance to have an amazing Oscar experience while supporting a unique
fundraising initiative for HIV/AIDS in Africa through the Stephen Lewis
Foundation. Suggested minimum donation to attend is $100 per person, payable by cheque made
out to The Stephen Lewis Foundation, or by credit card through Canadahelps. Tax
receipts will be provided. The organizers of this event are
three Kenyan Canadians who are greatly committed to raising awareness on the
HIV/AIDS epidemic. Sub-Saharan Africa has just over 10 percent of the
world’s population but is home to more than 60 percent of all people living
with HIV---25.8 million. In 2005, an estimated 3.2 million people in the region
became newly infected, while 2.4 million adults and children died of
AIDS. The Stephen Lewis Foundation provides essential assistance to those
suffering from the crippling pandemic of HIV/AIDS in this region, currently
funding more than 150 projects with more than 80 organizations in 14
sub-Saharan African countries.
Africa has been the focus of two critically acclaimed films in the past year; The
Last King of Scotland and Blood Diamond. The brilliant performances
by Forest Whittaker and Leonardo DiCaprio have both been
nominated for Oscar awards in the Male Actor in a Lead Role
category. The Oscar Goes to Africa fundraiser is an opportunity to
watch the 79th Annual Academy Awards live on a big screen in a safari picnic themed environment.
Attendees will experience Africa-inspired music, cuisine and beverages at
the beautiful Manyata Courtyard Café in Yorkville, Toronto.
Entertainment will be provided by Washington Savage, The Afro-Fusion Band of
African Musicians, DJ Kwame’s music - inspired by the soul of Africa and many
more.
All guests will receive a special “Asante Sana” basket at the end of the
evening.
100% of all funds raised will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2007
OSCAR GOES TO AFRICA FUNDRAISING EVENT
Manyata Courtyard Café
55 Hazelton Lanes, Yorkville
Doors open at 6pm; screening commences at 8pm sharp
$100 per person (Tax receipts will be provided)
Tickets: visit www.manyata.ca; or Rispah
Adala at 416.980.4494. Hurry as tickets are limited.
Complimentary Refreshments: Full bar including special
Maasai Martinis courtesy of AMARULA, the tasty WINES OF SOUTH AFRICA and Steam
Whistle Breweries
Greg Couillard’s Samosas and Pakoras courtesy of the Spice Room and Chutney Bar
Safari Burgers and Fries courtesy of Hero Burgers
David Nganga’s Kebabs and Nyama Choma courtesy of Mobilemiser Inc.
About the Stephen Lewis Foundation
The Stephen Lewis Foundation helps to ease the pain of
HIV/AIDS in Africa at the grassroots level. It provides care to women who are
ill and struggling to survive; assists orphans and other AIDS affected
children; supports heroic grandmothers who almost single-handedly care for
their orphan grandchildren; and supports associations of people living with
HIV/AIDS. For more Stephen Lewis Foundation information please go to www.stephenlewisfoundation.org.
Soweto Gospel Choir Makes Its Triumphant Return To Toronto –
Feb. 27-28, 2007
Source: Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts
Langfield Entertainment and The Hummingbird Centre have a
special offer for you. The first 65 people who purchase tickets to Soweto Gospel Choir at The Hummingbird
Centre February 27 & 28 will receive a copy of their new CD, Blessed. Blessed has been
nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional World Music Album
category! For February 27th, follow the link HERE and for February 28th, follow the link HERE and enter in the promo code blessed. Act now - this offer is only available
to the first 65 readers!
Soweto Gospel Choir is an awe-inspiring vocal ensemble,
performing in eight different languages, in an inspirational program of tribal,
traditional and popular African gospel. Returning to The Hummingbird
Centre for the Performing Arts after a standing room only performance in 2005, Soweto
Gospel Choir will perform two shows only, from February 27 – 28,
2007.
Soweto Gospel Choir has achieved major success in
Europe and in South Africa. Drawing on the best musical talents from the
many churches and communities in and around Soweto, the concert will feature a
dynamic four-piece band, traditional dancers and drummers. Earthy
rhythms, rich harmonies, acapella and charismatic performances combine to
uplift the soul and express, through a vocal celebration, South Africa's great
hopes for the future. The most exciting vocal group to emerge from South
Africa since Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Soweto Gospel Choir, will bring
their magnetic energy, joyful spirits and beautiful harmonies to Canadian
audiences. They are much more than simply a musical phenomenon.
Soweto Gospel Choir was created in 2002. David Mulovhedzi and
South African Executive Producer Beverly Bryer held auditions in Soweto to form
an all-star “super-choir.” They were able to create a powerful
aggregation made up of the best singers from his own Holy Jerusalem Choir, as
well as various Soweto churches and from the general public, including a
finalist on the nationally-televised South African equivalent of “Star Search.”
Adorned in traditional and beautifully coloured South African garb, the
choir has been known to win audiences with their exotic blend of South African
spirituals, traditional Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho gospel songs which are
interspersed with popular songs and folk anthems.
"Nothing can really
prepare you for the riot of exuberance and depth of emotion." - The Scotsman
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 AND WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2007
SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR
The Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts
1 Front St. East, Toronto, Ontario
8:00 pm
Ticket prices range from $35 - $75
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 416-872-2262 or by
visiting www.ticketmaster.ca
Or in person at The Hummingbird Centre Box Office, 1 Front Street East,
Toronto
GROUPS of 10 or more call: 416-393-7463 or 1-866-737-0805
::UNIVERSAL SCOOP::
Richie Spice Heads to Africa
Source: Universal Music Canada
Richie Spice’s appealing brand of roots reggae is characterized by smoothly
crooned, impassioned vocals that lovingly caress, as he does on his current
romantic boom shot “Brown Skin”, or just as convincingly, deliver the militancy
of a righteous rebel warrior on “Open the Door”, or the aura of ancestral
mysticism that defines “Motherland Calling”. Guided by the principles of his
Rastafarian way of life, Spice’s lyrics rail against injustices and the plight
of the oppressed, implore assistance for the youth and extend maximum respect
to the ladies. “My responsibility is to use the talent that God gave me as an
instrument to uplift people who are facing the struggle worldwide and let them
feel happy in themselves,” Spice explains. “It is all about righteousness, and
endorsing the love of the people, good over evil and life over death.”
::OPPORTUNITY::
Vote Today For DK Ibomeka - Canadian
Smooth Jazz Awards
You’ve seen him advertised and promoted a few times on my site before
and now we’re asking for your votes. DK
Ibomeka has been nominated as Best Male Vocalist in the Canadian
Smooth Jazz awards. Voting closes on February 28th – so cast
it NOW.
Vote HERE!
DK has just completed his first European Tour in November 2006 and is currently
touring Canada, having opened concerts for Colin James in Ontario and now
headlining a series of club shows in Montreal, Mississauga, Ottawa and Western
Canada.
Check out DK at http://www.myspace.com/dkibomeka!
About DK Ibomeka:
At
six foot seven, DK Ibomeka (pronounced ee-bo-MECK-ah) has a
towering stage presence and a voice to match. Musicians and industry insiders
are calling DK Ibomeka one of the best new voices in years, with a three-octave
range informed by the clarity and vibrancy of Ella Fitzgerald, the soulfulness
of Ray Charles, and the deep, rich bass of Joe Williams.
The son of Nigerian immigrants to Canada, DK Ibomeka’s musical aspirations,
oddly enough, began when he thought he was heading for medical school. Moving
into a new apartment he discovered that someone had left behind an Ella
Fitzgerald CD. He blew off the dust, slipped the CD into his player and
immediately fell in love. “I had always loved R&B,” says DK, “but when I
heard the exquisite voice of this woman, it called to me in a way that no other
voice has.” He spent the next few months singing in the shower, writing songs
and not confiding to anyone his dream of becoming a performer. Eventually he
broke the news to his parents that he wished to devote his life to music, and
they asked him to audition right there in the kitchen, a capella. Amazed (they
had no idea their son could sing), his parents agreed to support his decision.
DK immediately signed up for studies at the Humber vocal jazz program and on
weekends took advantage of as many open mike stages he could find. On the
strength of his raw talent, he was offered a scholarship to the prestigious
Berkeley School of Music, but unfortunately had to turn down this opportunity
due to financial constraints. Undeterred, DK pressed on singing wherever and to
whomever he could. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that before long he
would be co-writing songs with Haydain Neale, leader of Canada’s jacksoul - or
that Haydain would want to produce his debut album. Nor did he think that not
long after launching his career he would be represented by the Feldman agency,
joining their roster of such notable performers as Diana Krall, Nora Jones and
Michael Buble.
DK Ibomeka’s debut album “Love Stories”, presents a mix of classic jazz sounds
combined with a touch of blues and a distinct flavouring of soul-informed jazz.
“Love Stories” was produced by Haydain Neale (jacksoul), with legendary
engineer and producer George Massenburg on board as mixing consultant, and was
mastered in New York City by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. With each live
performance (including an appearance at the 2005 Montreal Jazz Festival where
he shared the stage with the Neville Brothers, Patti Labelle and Haydain Neale)
DK continues to captivate audiences and critics alike.
Ibomeka recently completed a 20-date European tour, prompting MOJO, one of
Britain's most highly-regarded music magazines, to declare the artist’s song
“Dedicated to You” from Love Stories as one of its top 10 best songs "on
the box, at the movies, on album and on line right now." According to
MOJO, “The cream spills over on this version of a Billy Eckstein-Sarah Vaughn
duet by a Canuck jazz/R&B singer with Nigerian roots.”
DK recently received a Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards nomination for
Male Vocalist of the Year as well as a National Jazz Award
nomination in the Best Male Vocal category.
::TOP STORIES::
VJ Sarah Taylor Has Fractured Skull
By Graham Rockingham, The Hamilton
Spectator
(Feb 20, 2007) MuchMusic VJ Sarah Taylor was admitted to a Las Vegas hospital after fracturing her skull in
an
accidental fall. A statement issued yesterday by CHUM Television said the
25-year-old Hamilton native remained in an induced coma after undergoing
surgery late Thursday to relieve pressure on her brain. "After falling ill
last Wednesday, Sarah was admitted to a local hospital," David Kines, VP
Music & Youth Services, CHUM Television, said. "Tests revealed that she
had a fractured skull. It is not yet clear when the fracture occurred. It
appears that the fracture is the result of an accidental fall. Police have
ruled out any foul play." Doctors in Las Vegas were monitoring Taylor's
condition to determine when to bring her out of the induced coma. "It is
possible that Sarah will return to Toronto as early as this week," the
statement said. Taylor, a graduate of Sherwood Secondary School in Hamilton,
was on assignment in Las Vegas covering the lead-up to the NBA All-Star Game
for the music station when she fell ill.
Austin Clarke: It Always Comes Back To Barbados
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star -
(February 18, 2007) Austin Clarke's house is haunted. The 135-year-old
dwelling on Shuter St. seems pleasant enough at first glance. The author
welcomes you inside to a book-lined room with walls painted a shade of green
that he says reminds him of "some fields I have seen in Barbados, where
all was serene." But as anyone who has read Clarke's work knows, that is
when you should be most afraid, because beneath the apparent tranquility of
tropical sunshine, there are often dangerous impulses waiting to burst through
to the surface. That's the dynamic that drives his most famous book, the
Giller Prize-winning The Polished Hoe, which Obsidian Theatre Company has turned into a play, starting
previews tonight at the Enwave Theatre. It tells the story of Mary-Mathilda, an
elderly woman of the islands who suddenly slashes through decades of oppression
by murdering the manager of the sugar plantation for whom she has laboured so
long. "The past is always there," admits the 72-year-old Clarke.
"The only question is how often you decide to visit it, or allow it to
visit you." Take this house. Clarke admits he bought it for no more
significant a reason than "the way the light struck it was very
magical."
But having completed the purchase, he discovered "a little framed picture
that said it was inhabited in 1873 by three people, and the name of one is Jno,
who was a shoemaker." He pauses and smiles, weaving the web of a born
storyteller. "Some people might say that stands for `Junior,' but I
concluded that it was an African name and he was one of the slaves who escaped
on the Underground Railroad and settled here. I feel protected by his
spirit." But then there's the matter of the other ghost. "On the 29th
of November, one year ago, my mother died," continues Clarke, "and
suddenly, every afternoon at five o'clock, the doorbell would ring, but there
would be nobody there. "I have friends who insist it's somebody on the
street with a remote control for opening their car that triggers the bell,"
says Clarke with a twinkle in his eye. "But I like to believe – being a
superstitious person – that it means much more than that. It is my mother's
ghost coming to compliment me on my achievements, but to reprimand me to keep
on the straight and narrow." As always, with Clarke, it comes back to
Barbados.
He was born there in 1934 and immigrated to Canada 21 years later. But those
formative island years cast an even longer shadow than the late afternoon light
does through the windows of his house. It was back home in the West Indies that
he wrote his first book, while still in school. "I began in the classical
style," he says in a gentle, self-mocking tone. "`Once upon a time
there was a boy...' But then I couldn't think about anything else to write, so I
just drew lots of wavy lines. Then on the last page, I wrote, `I stepped on the
wire and the wire wouldn't bend. And that's the way my story end,' and I signed
it A. C. C. Clarke." And that was his last work of fiction until he came
to Canada in 1955. "On the notice board of Trinity College, I saw there
was a literary competition for the Trinity Review. I entered and I was
shocked when I won it," he chuckles. "The prize was five dollars, a
great sum of money in those days. I used it for my engagement party. I bought a
big bottle of Gordon's Dry Gin, a bigger bottle of Schweppes Tonic Water and a
huge bag of potato chips. I invited three of my best friends and had my
engagement party in my room. "And I said to myself, `Perhaps there is some
point in being a writer.'"
He laboured for a few years in the world of newspaper journalism, but finally
decided that it wasn't for him. "It was 1963. I was married at the time,
with two children. I said, `I'm going to be an artist' and all hell broke
loose. I went on the dole. Twenty-eight dollars on Richmond St. every Friday. I
gave myself one year. McClelland and Stewart accepted a book from me in six
months." And that started an amazing 44-year journey. The prolific Clarke
turned out novels, stories, poems, essays, memoirs – even a book devoted to the
food of his beloved Islands. During the 1970s he also returned to Barbados as
adviser to the prime minister and served briefly as the general manager of the
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (quite a different kind of CBC), before his political
views led to the early termination of his contract. Clarke was such an
outspoken activist during that period, in fact, that the Star once
referred to him as "the angriest black man in Canada." Thirty years
later, he makes no apologies for his behaviour. "I thought my anger was a
legitimate anger because my point of view was being neglected and pushed aside
by what James Baldwin called `the immortality of silence.' People were not
willing to face their racism in those days. I would often be the only person
brave enough or stupid enough to speak his mind." But now, older, wiser
and accepted by the establishment, does the fire continue to burn inside
Clarke?
"I still feel anger," he says. But there's a touch of sadness in his
voice as well. "I'm angry because of what I see as a lack of direction on
the part of young black men and young black women. "I do not approve of
this new whipping boy that the absence of the black father in the nuclear home
causes an upsurge in violence. I grew up being taught that hard work at school,
hard work at home, would offer the possibility of success if you did what you
were told. Today many young black men no longer consider that a viable belief.
That is my sadness, and that is my anger." Ironically, the worldwide acclaim
for The Polished Hoe and the ancillary benefits that have come with it
have presented their own set of difficulties to Clarke. "The problem after
a great success is writing the next book. You put things aside for travel and
celebrity and then you find you have lost touch with words." He has
finally finished his next book (called More) and admits to
"revising it many, many, many times. I'm feeling very insecure, not
because I'm worried about reviews, but because I feel I must remind people that
I am still a writer." Clarke has been to some rehearsals of The
Polished Hoe, but reveals that "I did not want to have too much to do
with their process. "I have done my job by writing the book. They are
adapting it because they like it and they believe it can be adapted." He
does concede that it has been fascinating to "watch them taking a
character apart and putting it back together again. That is a very valuable
thing for a writer to learn." Ask Clarke what he feels today about the
struggle that has occupied his whole life and he pauses a long time before
answering. "I am old enough now and a little wiser to know that the
problem of racism is not like the problem of homelessness. You can't just give
a man a warm place to sleep and think that all the pain he has experienced will
go away. "I want to say that the time has come for all of us, white and
black, not to feel the need to prove our humanity to each other any more. We
have had enough time to reach the Promised Land. We ought to be there by
now." So it looks as though the ghosts in Austin Clarke's house are still
not fully at rest, but perhaps they never will be...
Obsidian Theatre's production of The Polished Hoe starts previews tonight
at the Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay West. The official opening is Thursday
and it runs through March 4. For tickets and information, call 416-973-4000 or
go to www.obsidian-theatre.com
Furtado's 'Say It Right' Bests Beyonce On Hot 100
Excerpt from www.billboard.com -
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
(February 15, 2007) Nelly Furtado's
"Say It Right" ends
the 10-week reign of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" at No. 1 on the Hot
100 with a 2-1 climb. It's Furtado's second No. 1 from her album
"Loose," following "Promiscuous," which reached the top six
months ago. "Irreplaceable" slides to No. 2, ending the longest run
at the top since Kanye West's "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx also
spent 10 weeks there last year. Elsewhere on the Hot 100, Gwen Stefani's
"The Sweet Escape" featuring Akon rises 5-3 for a new peak, while
Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't a Scene, It's An Arms Race" is down 3-4.
Ludacris' "Runaway Love" featuring Mary J. Blige, which the pair
performed on the Grammys last weekend, inches up 6-5, while Daughtry's
"It's Not Over" drops 4-6. Gym Class Heroes' "Cupid's
Chokehold" featuring Patrick Stump zooms 15-7, giving the group its first
top 10 hit. Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around ... Comes Around"
rises 11-8, while Fergie's "Glamorous" featuring Ludacris rockets
31-9 as the chart's top digital gainer. Fergie thus earns her third top 10 solo
hit in six months, equal to her group the Black Eyed Peas' tally over the past
six years.
Akon's "I Wanna Love You" featuring Snoop Dogg rounds out the top 10,
falling 7-10. But he's got another track poised for top 10 success in the form
of "Don't Matter," which climbs 30-11 this week. Meanwhile, rapper
Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot" is the chart's fastest growing track at
radio for a second week in a row and jumps 59-46, while Jordan Pruitt has the
week's top debut with "Outside Looking In" at No. 77. Also new
this week is Sheryl Crow's cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" at
No. 78, Timbaland's "Give It To Me" featuring Furtado and Timberlake
at No. 87, Yung Joc's "1st Time" featuring Marques Houston and Trey
Songz at No. 93, UNK's "2 Step" at No. 94 and Crime Mob's "Rock
Yo Hips" featuring Lil Scrappy at No. 100. On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
Songs, Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U" flip-flops 2-1 with Lloyd's
"You" featuring Lil' Wayne. He joins Alicia Keys and Blige as the
only artists since 2000 to top this chart and the Adult R&B tally with the
same single while also leading the Top R&B Albums chart in the same
week. George Strait earns his 42nd No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs
chart with "It All Comes Natural," ending Rodney Atkins' four-week
reign at the top. Big & Rich's "Lost in This Moment" is the
chart's top debut at No. 41, the best opening of the unconventional duo's
career. Its next album, "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace," is
due June 5. Luis Fonsi climbs 11-1 to overtake the Hot Latin Songs chart,
which had been ruled by Hector El Father's "Sola" for three weeks.
John Mayer earns his first No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with
"Waiting on the World To Change," bumping 10-week chart-topper
"Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield back down to No. 2. There's
no budging atop Billboard's rock charts, as the Red Hot Chili Peppers begin a
fifth week at No. 1 on Modern Rock with "Snow (Hey Oh)" and Three
Days Grace starts a 10th atop Mainstream Rock with "Pain."
Montreal Singer-Songwriter Close To Success
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Brad Wheeler
(Feb. 17, 2007) The world is upside down for the young man who
sings
about falling to the sky. A week ago, Patrick
Watson's Close to Paradise rose to No. 4 on the
Canadian album charts, ascending to the pop-star air of Nelly Furtado, the
Shins and Justin Timberlake. Think of the rise more in terms of a child's
breakaway balloon than a sharp, determined bullet. The album (whimsically
sophisticated pop) has been out since late September, 2006, selling well after
its debut in the top 60. Watson's Montreal-based band, who last summer opened
for the late James Brown in Europe, has toured steadily since the release of Close
to Paradise, a record which critics wrote wonderful things about. The
recent high-charting isn't necessarily a fluke, but it was unexpected. Watson,
who thinks of the development as the “weirdest thing in the world,” has a
simple explanation. “We play music that people respond to,” he says, over the
phone. “I don't think it's anything more complicated than that.” Some of the
sales spurt can be attributed to the band's recent appearance on the popular
Francophone television program Tout le Monde en Parle, which airs
nationally on Radio-Canada. The feet of Watson leave the ground on more
than one of the album's dreamy songs, and yet the singer-pianist is not getting
too carried away with the chart-climbing business. “It's pretty funny to be with
Furtado and Timberlake,” he laughs. “But, you know what, why not?”
Why not, indeed? The album is ambitious for textured, fantastical and fun
sounds – a little Pink Floyd there, some cabaret charm here. There's the
mischief of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour to go along with a
cinematic flair and vocals that are, at turns, feathery or soaring. All that,
and a twinkling girl-group sparkle right out of the Eisenhower era. “In terms
of production, Mr. Sandman was the first song I got turned on to,” says
Watson, 27, referring to the Chordettes 1954 hit. “It's that shimmering sound,
with a modern flare to it.” Raised in Hudson, Que., a small, genteel town west
of Montreal on the Ottawa River, young Watson was singing in local churches by
the age of seven. His father was a professional pilot who toyed with the theory
that music came from the sky, and that a built-up city such as Montreal would
interfere with a musician's ability to receive it. (This notion has never been
dispelled officially). Watson studied classical and jazz piano composition and
performance, eventually joining a high-energy ska group before concentrating on
audio-visual collaborations and the refined musical styles that eventually led
to Just Another Ordinary Day in 2003 and last year's Close to
Paradise. “There's lots of music out there,” says Watson, when asked about
his songwriting influences. “Classical music is a wealth of chord changes and
amazing ideas. I mean, if you're not going back to that, you're missing out.
Bands like Radiohead know that.” A Debussy-lover who plays the occasional game
of pickup hockey, Watson learns from all genres. Listen to The Storm on Close
to Paradise, and you will hear Johnny Cash dragged across the clouds by
sugary choir – the Chordettes, perhaps. The album's closer, Bright Shiny
Lights, is gospel.
Given Watson's reverence for musical predecessors – “It's a natural part of
music to take from older styles” – five concerts in Europe with James Brown
must have been a kick. According to the musician, the gigs were “an amazing
experience,” but not just for the chance to see the then-living legend perform.
“It's was a different era that they were still participating in,” Watson
explains. “They have an amazing respect for the stage. To be put into a time
machine, to see how an older touring band would work – it was fascinating.” As
much as anyone can have an actual conversation with Brown, Watson was able to
chat with the man a couple of times – once to thank him for having him on the
road. “Don't think I didn't hear ya out there,” Brown told Watson. “You sounded
amazin'.” Watson, who recalls the Godfather of Soul as “really sweet,” took
note of the man's tireless charisma. “He was an old showbiz dude, you know? So
he was quite good at it, making you smile.” That was a few months ago now, but
Watson couldn't be faulted for maintaining the grin. A spot at this spring's
South by Southwest Festival is coming up, and Watson and his band were just
nominated for a Juno in the top-new-artist category. Watson is also up for a
Genie Award tonight for Trace-moi, a song he co-wrote for the film La
Belle Bête. And although Close to Paradise has drifted back closer
to earth, another ascent is likely. An upcoming episode of Grey's Anatomy
on CTV and ABC will include The Great Escape, a solo-piano number off
the album. Seems about right, a great escape – up and away he goes. Patrick
Watson plays Hamilton's Casbah on Wednesday, Windsor's Phog Lounge on Thursday
and Toronto's Rivoli on Friday.
::MUSIC NEWS::
Up for Hip-Hop Karaoke
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Raju
Mudhar, Entertainment Reporter
(February 15, 2007) "We don't have any Main Source,"
says
deejay Dalia Cohen. "Yeah we do. I've got `Faking the Funk',"
says Les Seaforth. He shoots back: "What about Souls of Mischief?"
For the past few weeks, Seaforth and Cohen, and compatriots Noel Dix and Luc
Ballon, have been making a hip-hop grocery list. On it are columns of
artists and songs, as the foursome build the final song list for their new
event, Hip-Hop Karaoke, debuting tonight at
The Boat. Throwing parties is nothing new for these folks – Cohen, Seaforth and
Dix are the crew behind the monthly Never Forgive Action, a popular, strictly
old-school hip-hop night that has rotated through many Toronto venues over the
past three years. And what they've come to learn is karaoke is instrumentally
different – and harder to put together. "The logistics of this have
been a little bit more difficult than any of us imagined. It's not as easy as
renting a machine, getting a disc of songs with a bouncing ball that comes on a
screen, and a booklet of songs that is already made, so we had to do all that
from scratch," says Seaforth. He's also a well-known local rapper who goes
by the name More or Les. Of course, they have brought this upon
themselves. All three are huge hip-hop heads, and as their immense record
collections can attest, they are completists.
They're taking the same tack in creating this night. They do have some
help, though. Hip-Hop Karaoke has been bringing down the house in New York for
the past two years. Through mutual acquaintances, Cohen says they got in touch
with Jason Newman, the originator, and asked permission to bring it to Toronto.
It turns out Newman had heard of NFA, and had actually tried to find the party
one time he was in town. "He gave us his blessing to do it
here," says Cohen. "It's really popular there. It's had, like, huge
people just drop by, like Big Daddy Kane and Rhymefest, among others." The
New York affiliation has eased the way somewhat by providing some of the lyric
sheets. Just as in other offshoots, like in Bristol and London, England, Hip-Hop
Karaoke lyrics are read from printed sheets. "I think we have just
under 300 songs, which is a little insane, because there are some songs that
I'd be very surprised that anyone will ever do," says Dix. For a list of
available songs and lyrics, check out myspace.com/hiphopkaraoketoronto. In one
of the promotional postings on local Web board Stillepost.ca, someone snarkily
wonders how this event is different from regular hip hop.
"It's not. That's the thing, that's the point," says Dix. "This
is as close as you can get (to being) onstage at a hip-hop show, doing a song
that's not yours. But you've got the exact same beat as they do, so why can't
you do it? I mean, you're not Nas, but you can try." It's also karaoke
and, as anyone who's had a few too many at Bloor St. W. karaoke bar XO knows,
in the wee hours you are sure to hear someone trying to do Biggie's
"Hypnotize" or Rob Base's "It Takes Two." This night
outdoes that in its breadth of selection alone. And, despite what Dix says, it
is interesting because of how it is subverting some of rap's idioms. Hip-hop is
incredibly self referential, but it has a specific set of rules surrounding it.
For instance, while it's just fine to jack a well-known beat for a performance
or mix tape, dropping any more than a lyric from a famous rapper's song at an
open-mic night will get you labelled a "biter." Originality, in a
freestyle, is key to the performance and demonstrating one's skills. At Hip-Hop
Karaoke, that's turned on its ear, to the point that if a rapper shows up and
wants to perform an extended set of their own original rhymes or freestyles,
the organizers say they'll use the hook. That's not to say they don't
want known MCs to show up – just remember, cover versions only, please.
The other surprising thing is just how anticipated this event is. Hip hop's
image generally doesn't include fun, and that's what this night is all
about. "It's amazing, every one we talk too is just so excited about
the event, like it's an idea that people instantly get and think it will be
really fun," says Cohen.
Chantal Kreviazuk Gives Back
By DAVID SCHMEICHEL -- Sun Media
(February 15, 2007) Singer-songwriter Chantal
Kreviazuk
may have enjoyed a privileged existence while growing up in Winnipeg, but that
doesn't mean she wasn't affected by the struggles of those less
fortunate. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a high school student at
Balmoral Hall in West Broadway and later, while attending the University of
Winnipeg, Kreviazuk frequently found herself coming face-to-face with the
realities of inner-city life. "While Balmoral Hall is itself a
prestigious school, it's right in the core area," says Kreviazuk, 33, from
a tour stop in Vancouver. "So every day, when we'd leave those gates, I'd
just be amazed at what was going on in our own community." Kreviazuk
has, of course, spent the last decade or so giving back to her community and to
the global community as a whole. She's been a tireless champion of children's
rights -- aligning herself with charities like War Child and the Boys and Girls
Clubs of Canada -- so it should come as no surprise that her latest hometown
gig at the Centennial Concert Hall next week is a fundraiser for the U of W's
newly established Opportunity Fund. The new fund exists to make education more
accessible for disadvantaged students, including inner-city youth, aboriginals
and young people from war-affected nations or refugee populations.
"It's not a handout," Kreviazuk says of the fund, which will reward
students' individual achievements with bursary credits they can apply towards
tuition at U of W. "They have to earn it." When it comes to
hard work, Kreviazuk is something of an expert, having found a way to balance a
successful career (her last album Ghost Stories just earned her two more Juno
nominations) with the demands of being a wife and mother. It helps that
her husband, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida, is a successful musician in
his own right. In fact, Kreviazuk's show on Monday will mark the first time the
two have shared a stage with each other in Winnipeg, should you be looking for
further incentive to buy a ticket. And Kreviazuk herself suspects further
incentive might be in order, noting with some irony that Winnipeg has always
been one of her weakest markets, not to mention the only stop on the current
tour that isn't presently sold out. "I'm just a hometown girl, not
this big glamorous chick, so there's never been much mystery to me," she
says, after explaining she hopes to be able to continue in the same
humanitarian vein as local activist-rockers like The Weakerthans. "It's
not that I'm disappointed but I'm really counting on Winnipeggers to step up,
because it's for an amazing cause. And I don't want to be playing to a
half-empty theatre in my own hometown!"
Your Chance To Swing The (Jazz) Vote
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Geoff
Chapman, Jazz Columnist
(February 15, 2007) Gentlemen and ladies who love jazz,
boot up your computer engines. Today's the day you can start voting online for
your favourite Canadian jazz idol, and give him or her a shot at winning a 2007 National Jazz Award.
Voting at www.nationaljazzawards.com runs from today to March 25, with the
winners in 27 categories announced at an awards night gala April 10 at the
recently refurbished, newly plush Palais Royale. The stellar line-up of
Canadian musicians who will entertain there is so accomplished that the
sixth-annual awards wingding could well qualify as concert of the year. There's
plenty of choice for voters. As well as 21 categories for performing musicians,
bands, producers, arrangers and composers, there are slots for best album,
broadcaster, festival, journalist, jazz label and photographer. There's just
one non-Canuck category – international musician, but it does include Nanaimo's
own diva, Diana Krall.
Leading the nominations are noted members of the nation's jazz elite. As in
2006, pianist-composer-bandleader Hilario Duran is currently on top, with eight
nominations in the keyboardist, instrumentalist, arranger, composer, big band,
album, musician and Latin jazz artist categories. Last year he mustered six
nominations but claimed only the Latin jazz award. Next up are David Braid with
seven and Mike Murley with six – but nitpickers know that Murley plays in two
nominated bands, Metalwood and Braid's sextet, so he could perhaps be allotted
eight. The fattest category is international musician, with nine nominations,
followed by arrangers with eight, plus a host of others at seven. There's a
total of 162 nominations from which to choose. Bill King, artistic director of
the Beaches festival, as well as pianist, bandleader, publisher, journalist,
photographer, vocalist, producer, and mentor to the careers of young vocalists,
has four nominations. The NJA Awards, successor to the annual awards made by
his Jazz Report Magazine, will be broadcast on JazzFM91 at a later date.
Says King, who has played a key role in all NJA events: "The line-up of
entertainment at the awards is amazing. It represents different cities and all
the regions of Canada. The venue will feel very different from when it hosted
the 2004 gala. More than $3 million has been spent on the (Palais Royale)
makeover."
He admitted that Toronto-based artists dominate the nominations, but noted that
this city has the most active jazz scene. "Moreover, our representatives
in Vancouver and Montreal didn't do enough to ensure that jurors' ballots were
acted on and returned by deadline." Hosting the event are Juno-nominated
vocalist Dione Taylor and veteran David Clayton-Thomas. Performances include:
saxophonists P.J. Perry, John Nugent, Jim Galloway and Murley; vocalists Holly
Cole, Sophie Berkal-Sarbit and Taylor; pianist Oliver Jones; vibraphonist Peter
Appleyard; trumpeter Guido Basso; and a house band led by Hugh Fraser.
Jewish Legend In His Own Time
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Ben
Rayner, Pop Music Critic
(February 15, 2007) The late, great Tangiers was renowned
as one of Toronto's most tightly wound guitar bands during its too-brief run to
the upper echelons of the Canadian indie scene. But the restrictions of its
herky-jerky format must have seriously gnawed away at co-frontman Josh Reichmann. That's the sense one gets,
anyway, from the torrent of manic energies unleashed on Telepathy Now!, his recent solo stepping-out under the alias Jewish Legend. A giddy rush of high
concepts, personal catharses and loopy musical experiments, it's the sound of
Reichmann – who began writing the record during a self-imposed stint in rehab a
year ago, shortly after Tangiers co-founder James Sayce abandoned the band and
rock 'n' roll in general for law school – letting off a lot of creative and
psychological steam. But, fortunately, not losing complete sight of his
previous band's well-honed pop smarts during the wild ride.
"I'm still trying to write pop songs in some way," says Reichmann
over coffee with Legend bandmates Joseph Shabason and Jeremy Finkelstein.
"I don't think I'd ever stray so far from pop songs that I'd just become
really abstracted. I don't really like abstracted music that's hyper-indulgent
so much – I still like the format of pop songwriting. "But I knew I wanted
to make something about how raw I felt with life changes and this renewed sense
of purpose." Jewish Legend opens tonight for No Dynamics and Demon Claws
at the Silver Dollar on Spadina, then Sunday they join the Wavelength line-up
at Sneaky Dee's. And by Reichmann's own admission, his solo debut on Telepathy
Now! is a bit of a jumble. The songs began as "overly
earnest" cris de coeur, written while he'd checked into an institution
early last year. But a growing fascination with such topics as Jewish
mysticism, magic, "the language of modern shamanism" and his own
family heritage soon took over. Upon release, Reichmann and pal Ian McGettigan
(Thrush Hermit) set up in "a little practice-space cubicle" and tried
to make sense of this brewing maelstrom of ideas whilst hammering Reichmann's
rough song structures into shape, overdub by overdub. Reichmann wound up
playing most of the instruments heard on the disc, with McGettigan and Nassau
frontman Jon McCann contributing a smattering of bass and drums, respectively.
The results often recall the work of Marc Bolan or David Bowie in their most
starry-eyed early years, but there's a lunatic unpredictability – blasts of
brass, Middle Eastern flavours, lurching tempo changes, more than a hint of
music-hall camp – running through all of Telepathy Now! that befits the
jabbering conceptual tumult Reichmann is trying to articulate. "I
tried to be a little cryptic," he admits. "There's a different idea
than just therapeutic purging. There's this idea of history and redemption and
lying, all using a coded spiritual language. "I just feel like there's all
these stories in my family of coincidence and confluence of events, mixed with
grandmothers having these hard-to-explain telepathic experiences that have kind
of been lore in my family. I've had my own experiences with that stuff, too, so
I was sceptically interested in this stuff – without getting overly into the
silliness and New Age junk that comes along with the paranormal. "I'm just
interested in the precipice we might be on where humans will eventually tap
into reserves of powers we haven't realized yet. "That's where the title Telepathy
Now! comes from. But it's also about connection with self and others. It's
more realist than it is total, quack-y garbage." Reichmann is pleased
these days to have found in Shabason and Finkelstein (of No Dynamics renown)
enthusiastic accomplices for all this weirdness. Indeed, the one-man-band thing
seems to have been retired, as the firm guitar/saxophone/drums line-up is
already collaborating on a second Jewish Legend album. "It'll be more
of a live record, more about the interplay and more detailed writing," he
says. "I played everything on the last record. Now I don't have to do
anything but talk ... "I like this band. I think the only other thing we
want is a girl who's covered in tambourines to do interpretive dancing, but we
haven't found the right girl yet."
Remy Ma Ready For Close-Up
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(February 15, 2007) *Brace yourself – a reality show
about
the life of rapper Remy Ma could be headed to a major cable network before the end of the
year – should the artist get her wish. According to Billboard, the Bronx rhymer
is already discussing a deal with an undisclosed network. "Being that we
going through contracts, we can't really talk about it, but it's gonna be real
fun," she tells Billboard.com. "They follow me around, and there are
things that happen to me along the way. But nothing too extra; I still wanted
to have some piece of privacy so people don't know everything." As
previously reported, Remy is also involved in a new group with fellow female
rappers Shawnna and Jacki-O. The trio has finally settled on the name 3Some to
represent the group. "We was like, 'We in the studio anyway -- n*ggas is
throwing us crazy beats,'" she tells Billboard. "We're being received
so well: three females from three different backgrounds, three different ages,
different everything coming together." Plans are in the works to open up
the project to female rappers Trina, Lil Mo and Young B (of “Chicken Noodle
Soup” fame) as well. Remy is hoping to also lure the ladies out on a tour under
the tentative title N.E.W., as in Never Enough Women.
"I'm on another game plan," she says. "I see how Diddy and Jay
[-Z] and 50 [Cent] do it: they got they own alliance. But girls, that one
doesn't hang with this one, and if you look at it, no one really has a
legitimate reason. If [Lil'] Kim and Foxy [Brown] would have done that 'Thelma
and Louise' album when they was poppin', it would've been the craziest sh*t
ever! I feel like its time for a change; lets start a new wave of upcoming
females and artists." Remy, who is no longer affiliated with Fat
Joe’s Terror Squad,” is also recording her second solo album,
"PunishHer," a title she chose in honour of her mentor and friend,
the late Big Pun. "What's so crazy is that this month it made seven
years since Pun died," she says. "I released my album last year on
the 7th, and wanted to release my album this year on the 7th but because of
contracts we couldn't. I been through so much this year, and I feel that the
name fits my mood, the way I feel. That should be a good way to start
fresh."
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Ryan Malcolm: An Idol's Next Move
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Guy Dixon
(February 14, 2007) There are two kinds of Canadian Idol
contestants: The no-hopers who elicit sympathy and those who do well, but
have to spend the rest of their lives crawling out from under the Idol stigma.
They elicit more sympathy. (Not the American Idols, mind you, who fare
better.) Then there's Ryan Malcolm, now 27, the guinea pig, a.k.a. winner of the first Canadian
Idol in 2003, probably more recognized for his dark-rimmed glasses and
toothy grin than his unfaltering voice. But the glasses are now gone in
publicity shots, and the hair is multi-directional: The Kingston-raised,
Toronto-based singer is preparing to break back into the business without the Idol
brand behind him. His new band is the cautiously named Low Level Flight,
with its first album, Urgency, arrives next month. But distributors are
being coy. Initially, they only sent a short clip of the first single without
biographical info about Malcolm. And on the band's website, Malcolm (who admits
to growing up listening to the unlikely combination of NOFX, Rancid and Billy
Joel) drives home the point that he had no control over the Idol music
he is remembered for.
He is not trying to hide the past. But he shrugs off the blender-whirl that was
Idol, his sixth place in World Idol, the five-times platinum
post-Idol single and the more than 100,000 copies sold of his first
album, Home. The truth is, his post-Idol contract with Sony BMG
ran out, and he probably couldn't get another decent contract. The crucial
difference this time is that the music is now his own, and more emo than Idol.
Malcolm shrugs again: "The great thing is that the ownership of this album
is on me. There's definitely much more of a sense of accomplishment," and
well over a year's worth of writing, recording and starting his own record
label. By comparison, the 15 songs on Home were picked from 125 tunes
written by committee. Malcolm was given four hours to write a song in a room
with a team of songwriters before going to another room for another four-hour
session, and so on, working with 30 or 40 writers in the end. But that
experience sank in. His new music is still radio-friendly, and Malcolm doesn't
mind performing the occasional solo concert or and even musical theatre,
trading off his old fame. He also now has enough connections to develop a
cable-TV show about exotic musical cities around the world. And his singing
career supports his regimen of playing video games for a couple of hours in the
middle of a weekday. No, save the sympathy for others.
Sean Paul To Send New Message
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(February 15, 2007) It's not everyday that a musical
artist
decides to take a stand for something that he believes in, but dancehall favourite,
Sean Paul has decided to use his music
to bring on change. In a recent article, dancehall star Sean Paul
addresses his concerns regarding youth violence is his homeland of
Jamaica. Sean Paul admits that his next album will be unlike what
people are used to. In an interview conducted by MTV News, the artist said that
"the content is just a little different than what people expect from me.
[On] one or two of the songs ... it's not about partying, it's not about
ladies; it's about the kids with the guns in the streets. It's more
reality." The report says Sean Paul's up and coming LP will
place emphasis on the issues that hit home to him. Since he started his
recording last September, two people very close to him have passed; a founding
member of his Dutty Rock crew, and a younger friend that attended a party with
Sean Paul the night before he was killed.
"The next day he goes back to his community and gets shot to death,
It's upsetting to see these kids’ lives wasted," Sean Paul said when asked
about the incident. "I saw potential in these two kids and many others. It
really hit home. And I'm thinking of a voice, I need to say something to
people." "I'm trying to keep the party people partying
and keep them happy; that music is a release, to chill the hell out and wild
out and your thing. But also it's reached a point where I know I have this
voice that people listen to, so I have to make people think a little more than
they may be used to." Don't get it twisted though, Sean Paul
still like to mak'em dance. The reggae rocker is currently working on a remix
to Akon's "I Wanna Love You" which should be hitting radio sometime
in the near future, according to the MTV article. Even with this recent
collabo completed and the lighter material he is working on for his next album,
Sean Paul told the music channel that heavy items/songs would be
prominent for him. "I feel like I have things to say," Sean
Paul said, "And that's what I'm looking forward to."
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k-os To Sign Shawn Hewitt
By KAREN BLISS
-- For JAM! Music
(January 29, 2007 ) Toronto singer/rapper k-os is setting up
his own label called Crown Loyalist Recordings through EMI Music Canada and
plans to make Scarborough, ON avant-soul pacesetter Shawn
Hewitt his first signing. "k-os has an imprint that we'll
facilitate, but it's a little bit more complicated," acknowledges EMI
Music Canada's director of A&R, Fraser Hill. Details have yet to be
worked out, but k-os, whose real name is Kevin Brereton, says, "All we
know is that I'm talking to EMI about having my own label and Shawn is the
first -- I don't even want to call it 'experiment;' I don't even want to call
it 'project' -- it was just the most natural progression. "He'd been
touring with me for like maybe a year, maybe two years, so by the time that was
finished and he was starting to get into making a new record, EMI had been
blown away by him, so it's really more between EMI and Shawn. They loved him
off of his own beauty, but I think, like me, he's really sceptical about this
whole music industry, so I'm just kind of a friend who can explain things to
him. "Also, because I've been on this label since '99, it just all
works out. So more than a label deal, it's just a scenario where it ends up
that all these labels liked him, but he felt more comfortable coming to EMI
because I was there."
K-os first heard of Hewitt in May 2003 when Toronto journalist Benjamin Boles
wrote about the newcomer for a Now magazine cover story. The piece began,
"Don't feel too bad if you haven't heard of Shawn Hewitt yet. He's only
been playing under his own name for a year. He doesn't have an album out. His
new band's only played two shows with him (just one in Toronto) and he has no
big-name connections. You'll be hearing about him soon. Why? Because he doesn't
sound like anybody else. He takes risks and he makes music that's
intellectually stimulating and possesses that elusive element known as
soul." "I was looking at the cover of Now and I was like, 'Who
is this guy?'" k-os recalls. "It's funny because Bob Marley had this
statement that 'a musician should look like a musician' and I always remember
that. You see people sometimes on a plane or an airport and you go, 'Who is
that person?' So it started from that." He then called his publisher
at the time, Linda Bush, who had brought k-os to Universal Music Publishing
Canada. "I'm like, 'Have you heard of this?' because Linda Bush hears
of everything,' and she was like, 'Yeah, I have his demo. Remember that guy I
told you who sent me his demo, that's him.' So I was like, 'Really? Let me hear
this sh*t.' So she gave it to me and it blew my mind." Hewitt had
come up with the term "Afro-Kraut" to describe his boundary-blurring,
sometimes epic getaways of soul, jazz and rock, and specifically referenced
Donny Hathaway and Can. K-os says that's what drew him to Hewitt's music.
"At its core, I just thought of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. Those
are people who I grew up trying to emulate and also loving their music, so I
had no choice but to submit to that," k-os explains. "But the broken
mathematics part is he's into bands like Can, but he's also into hip hop
obviously. All those elements are converging in his music and that broken
mathematics is what I love, but I also love the fact that it's just soul
music." Since then, Hewitt became the recipient of 2004's
NXNE/Universal Music Canada Fan Choice Award at the North By Northeast music festival.
He and his band, The National Strike, used the prize money to record a six-song
EP, "The Soft Society," with rock musician/producer Ian Blurton
(Weakerthans, C'mon), which Universal Music Canada distributed in 2005.
k-os says he plans to produce at least three tracks for Hewitt's new album,
"Spare Hearts." Hewitt, who sings and plays guitar and keyboards,
will also produce much of it himself and plans to work with Dave Newfeld
(Broken Social Scene). "I think that guy is just a really genuine
person," k-os says of Hewitt. "Sometimes, you forget that other
artists get interested in other artists. They see them coming because it's a
reminder of just how innocent and humble and eyes wide open, ready to see
what's going on they are. You've been there 'cause you've gone through it and
you see that in someone and you recognize it right away. "To tell
you the truth., the big issue right now is what's my play gonna be in it,"
k-os admits. "I've got until 2008 to really get what I'm doing off the
ground." K-os's album, "Atlantis: Hymns For Disco," comes out in
the U.S. through Virgin on Feb. 20 and he will be touring the U.S. from Feb. 17
to April 6 (including an appearance on Letterman on release day).
Hewitt's album expected to be released on Crown Loyalist/EMI Music Canada in
late summer/early fall.
Shirley Murdock Is Back!
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
(February 14, 2007) Shirley
Murdock is cooking up
nourishment for the heart and soul with her sophomore gospel recording, Soul
Food, a multi-format CD. Upon her buoyant return, the acclaimed singer
redresses a subject that is closely associated with her name: relationship with
oneself and God. The first serving from her upcoming sophomore
album is "I Love Me Better than That," a self-esteem boosting groove
seasoned deliciously with positive attitude and a guttural garnish of ad libs
at the end that make you want a second helping. Her second album is intended to
inspire all Shirley Murdock fans to look to the main man in her life (God) to
fortify their relationships and live balanced lives. "I sing at
conferences and prisons. I wanted the CD to reflect total ministry because
we're body, soul and spirit. A lot of times, in the body of Christ, we aren't
balanced. We know how to do church but do we know how to be a wife or a husband
and develop relationships?" As she and her husband, Dale Anthony DeGroat
(an associate minister at 2nd Baptist Church in Springfield, OH) began to write
and produce Soul Food themselves, they were looking for songs that talked about
consequences and solutions to consequences.
The Toledo, Ohio born singer describes the first singles that embodies
the vision: ". . .'I Love Me Better Than That' -- dealing with the fact
that God made you on purpose with purpose. But there are some things that
are blocking you that may be separating you from being all that you ought to be
But you got to look into the mirror of your own life. Your battle might be
different from my battle, but whatsoever it is, God's love is better than that,
so take back whatever was stolen because the enemy cometh to kill, steal and
destroy, but Jesus said I cometh that you might have life more
abundantly." Although she still has droves of fans Murdock has waded
through the waters of misunderstanding from people who still associate her with
her R&B past. Over twenty years ago Murdock foretold the coming of Internet
dating singing "Computer Love" in tandem with her mentor, the late
Roger Troutman. Debuting as a soloist in 1986 with her self-titled release, the
sultry voice of the former Zapp member wrapped around the lyrics of several
relationship ballads such as the classic urban adagio about an adulterous
affair, "As We Lay" and purred "Husband," which deals with
a woman who resists the desire to cheat with a married man. Her full-bodied
churchy voice quickly gave rise to a successful R&B career. Then
after years of unexplained hibernation she re-emerged with her signature
buttery riffs and runs as a featured artist on T.D. Jakes' Sacred Love Songs
singing the hit love songs for married couples, "You Are My Ministry,"
and the "The Lady, Her Lover, Her Lord." Her widely embraced
first gospel album "Home" would soon follow. "A lot
of people want to hold me hostage because of `As We Lay' but they fail to
understand that the song never glorified infidelity," she protests.
"It dealt with a real life situation. The fact that it was infidelity got
your attention but the meat of the song was about consequences and hind sight
being 20/20. Baby, you got to count up the cost because you may not be able to
afford that thing."
As Murdock grew up dreaming of becoming a professional gospel singer, secular
music was never in her plans. As the story goes, her cousin took a
recording of Shirley singing gospel to Troutman who did not have any ties to
the gospel industry. Being amazed by Murdock's voice, Roger offered her a
deal that she initially refused. "I said, 'Lord is this you?' . . . I
wasn't going to leave church and just be out there in the world doing drugs and
drinking." She held on to her roots transporting listeners to the front pew
no matter what she sang about. Attempting to satisfy her tendency toward
gospel she sang a set of gospel songs in her concerts, but needed more:
"My life would not be full if I did not have an opportunity to sing
gospel." Her break into the gospel industry came through Bishop T.D.
Jakes with total support from Troutman. "I was signed to Warner Brothers
to do another R&B album when Bishop Jakes came into my life and offered to
have me sing on some of his projects. I went to Roger Troutman and told him what
I wanted to do. The first thing he did was release me from my production deal
with him because he knew this meant a lot to me and he respected that. The
second thing he did was that he got Warner Brothers to release me." Now
she is well on her way to ministering encouragement to those who love her as
the voice behind "As We Lay" or the woman who sang on Bishop T.D.
Jakes' Sacred Love Songs. To sum up the flavour of Soul Food she says,
"It's all that good stuff you need to build up your inner man to get
through this thing called life. We did songs of encouragement, praise and
worship because His presence is all we need. We [sic] just giving you
good medicine--Something to hold on to!" Take a look at the latest music
video from Shirley Murdock, "I Love Me Better Than That" and hear the
live version on the new CD along with a full spread of other spirit-lifting
offerings (including a collaboration with former Zapp members.) http://www.taseis.com/videos/SMurdock/SM-ILoveMeBetter-veryHIband.wmv
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Frank
Jr. Fears For The Future Of Music
Excerpt from The Toronto Star -
(February 17, 2007) Sometimes two letters can be the heaviest burden in the
world, if those letters are "Jr." Frank
Sinatra Jr. appears tonight at Casino Rama, a
63-year-old singer who has spent most of his life simultaneously basking in the
glow of his superstar father's radiance and trying to escape from his
considerable shadow. "I gave up weighing those two sides years ago,"
says Sinatra in a phone conversation from Florida a few days before arriving in
Canada. "I never went in for making studies of what I've gained and
what I've lost. My job is to do the music, that's it, pal. That's demanding
enough on its own." There's a tough-guy growl to his voice not unlike that
of his father, who died in 1998, which makes perfect sense, both from the point
of view of genetics and also from hearing that
fist-of-iron-wrapped-in-velvet-sound for so many years of his life. Nature or
nurture? Make it one for my baby and one more for the road. Nowadays, Sinatra
performs two distinct types of material, although they're complementary rather
than contrasting. "I sing a lot of my father's songs because people expect
that of me and I owe it to them to deliver what they expect. It's very tough to
sound like that, but after 45 years of hard work, I flatter myself that I've
become a singer enough to do it."
Did he ever discuss the art of making music with his father? An emphatic
"No." "He never talked about the stuff. He just sang it.
`Nice and easy does it every time' wasn't just his song. It was his motto. How
did I figure out how to sound like him? I listened. I listened and I
learned." But when he's allowed to sing his own choice of material – like
on his recent CD, That Face! – his songwriting choices still combine
paternal faves like Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen with different tunesmiths
like Barry Manilow and Rupert Holmes. Interestingly enough, when you ask
Sinatra how he approaches these songs of his own choosing, his modus operandi
doesn't seem much different from his old man's. "I tell the story. That's
all I do. I tell the story." And while he's happy about the fidelity of
his father's fans ("His audience will forever be his audience"), he
worries about how long there will continue to be people who like that kind of music.
The recent Grammy Awards seem to have fanned his ire and now he explodes in a
burst of street-guy anger worthy of his father. "I have no hope for the
future of music. Not when the Grammys are full of rap and hip-hop and all of
this crap is being glamorized as though it had some kind of social
significance," Sinatra says.
"It's the same hackneyed stuff over and over again and they just keep
giving out awards for it. And the people who are making the better music don't
even get to accept their prizes with all this garbage." Sinatra is
obviously sharing Michael Buble's recent ire at seeing his vocal category
shoved outside of the primetime live broadcast. "Why does the music
industry keep supporting this kind of stuff? My friend, it's because it can be bought
short and sold long." Using a stock market metaphor drives home the fact
that to Sinatra, it's increasingly a business he doesn't feel at home in.
"I can't play their games," he insists. "I am not equipped to do
the emotionally sterile, empty, contemporary junk that's around today.
"I'm only equipped to do the music that I know, the music that I spent my
whole life learning how to sing." In other words, he'll do it his way.
Frank Sinatra Jr. appears at Casino Rama tonight at 9 p.m. For tickets, phone
1-800-832-7529 or go to www.ticketmaster.ca
Barenaked Ladies: Familiar TUnes but
Passion's Still There
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Pop
Music Critic
(February 17, 2007) Could it be that
overexposure, not their collective
tendency to "zaniness," has been the great dividing point with the Barenaked Ladies all along? Like most Canadians with a
feeling about such things, I've always regarded Toronto's beloved
geeks-made-good with a certain amount of fond respect for their unlikely
success abroad, their heightened songwriting and busking-battered musicianship,
and their dry sense of humour. Like many Canadians, however, I wince
instantly when "One Week" or "If I Had $1,000,000" – pretty
much anything off Gordon, actually – drifts into earshot. Not because
they're not tidy little pop tunes, but because I've heard them so many bloody
times my mind and body have simply been bled dry of their ability to react
positively. Whatever part of me once that allowed me to feel something about
those tunes has long been hardened with scar tissue. Heading into the Ladies'
homecoming show before 13,000 doting fans at the Air Canada Centre last night,
though, it was tough to tell what to expect. Independent again after a long,
fruitful relationship with Warner Music, the Barenaked Ladies have issued two
albums' worth of new material – Barenaked Ladies Are Me and Barenaked
Ladies Are Men, both released through the quintet's own Desperation
Records – since September notable for not yielding a truly inescapable hit or
much in the way of broad public excitement. They didn't even get a Juno
nomination this year.
Left with no massive hits to flog and no one to please last night but a horde
of friends, family and longtime Toronto converts, then, the Ladies seemed more
focused than ever on simply letting their strong and discreetly varied
catalogue, rather than foolish theatrics, speak for itself. There was an
amusing burst of choreography to close the new "Angry People," a
brief game bongo-themed Name That Tune with drummer Tyler Stewart and the
usual, droll banter (the best bits discussed the curling-stone market in
London, Ont., and pegged Harold Ballard as "the father of bluegrass")
and kinda-lame freestyle raps between co-frontmen Steven Page and Ed
Robertson. But once "One Week" was cleared away at the outset,
the set list in general found the guys exploring the more bittersweet reaches
of their songbook: the wistful punch of "The Old Apartment," the soft
existential malaise of "Pinch Me" and "It's All Been Done,"
Stunt's mildly perverse "In the Car," sadness-tinged oldies
like "Enid" and the crowd-conquering "Brian Wilson." The
arrangements have changed over time to fit the band's evolving musicianship –
the surprisingly muscular Neil Young/Rheostatics jangle of the new "Wind
It Up" suits the 2007 Ladies particularly well – and the continued effort
put into keeping a Ladies performance fresh speaks to the band's admirable
talents as singers and players (multi-instrumentalist Jim Creeggan, in
particular, is a treat to watch). Nevertheless, it was the simple pleasure of
hearing these familiar songs played with continued passion in a bit of a media
vacuum that made the night. That and seeing David Suzuki, invited to
speak on the environment before the show, chucking T-shirts into a rock `n'
roll audience after a standing ovation, anyway. That beats everything.
Providers In Canada Say Real
Competition Is iPods And The Like
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Staff
Reporter
(February 21, 2007) If you ask Sirius Canada president and CEO Mark Redmond about his company's biggest
competition, he won't point to
what is typically perceived to be its biggest competitor: XM Canada. Instead, he says the
chief competition is coming from popular technologies: the iPod, MP3s and
Internet radio. It almost echoes the situation in the U.S., where Sirius
Satellite Radio and former competitor XM Satellite decided to merge this week
in a bid to overcome competition from iPods and the like. The U.S. rivals said
Monday they had agreed to a merger, pending U.S. federal regulatory approval.
Neither Sirius Canada or XM Canada have made an announcement about a
similar merger here. "Over the long haul, our business is not going
to be successful trying to get subscribers away from XM," Redmond said.
"Our business will be successful if we get customers from
terrestrial radio, iPod users, Internet radio listeners, from people who are
getting audio content in other means. That will be the gauge of success for us,
not getting it from our direct competitor."
While satellite radio providers in the U.S. have been suffering from
significant losses and intense competition from other technologies, leading
them to merge, Redmond stresses the provider in Canada is at a different stage,
having only launched about a year ago here. What about the fears of monopoly
that a marriage would bring if the situation was repeated in Canada? "I
don't think a combined company, if it got to that point, is a monopoly by any
stretch," Redmond said. A monopoly means greater potential of
increased prices, said Kaan Yigit, president of Solutions Research Group.
"But you know what, the market dictates the prices and their competition
is not really with each other, their competition is iPod, Internet as
examples." The world satellite radio providers are confronting is vastly
different from the one they encountered when they first entered the market 10
years ago, experts say. "The landscape has changed quite substantially,"
Yigit said. "Ten years ago, if you wanted music, your option was to
turn on your radio or put a CD into your CD player. Today it's entirely changed
... you can stream music from all sorts of places." Adding to digital
providers' troubles, in some cases, is local programming, Yigit says.
"They have tried to do local, but it's not the same as local
local, which is what you get from your local radio station or your local
paper," Yigit says. But Yigit says he believes satellite radio will
endure because it fulfils a niche, especially for those living in parts of
Canada where there aren't many radio stations or those who want to be
introduced to new music. Currently, Sirius Canada has approximately
300,000 subscribers whereas XM Canada has 140,000.
Documenting
The Death Of A Musical Institution
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star -
(February 18, 2007) There
was a time when a singles chart based upon sales was relied upon as a barometer
of pop-music tastes. But these days, SoundScan
Canada's weekly chart of singles sales is a baffling, anachronistic place
that pays little heed to whatever's thrilling the kids. It's a place
where U2, two years on from its last new album, can this week claim two spots
in the Top 10 – the No. 1 spot with the "Window in the Skies" EP and
No. 8 with its charity duet with Green Day, "The Saints are Coming,"
released in November. It's a place where Mindless Self Indulgence's
"Another Mindless Rip Off" and Nine Inch Nails' "Everyday is
Exactly the Same" are Top 10 hits too, rubbing shoulders with Eva Avila,
Ashley Tisdale and Taylor Hicks. Even Iron Maiden recently mustered a Top 20
hit with "Different World." At Christmas time, Bing Crosby routinely
rises from the grave to reign supreme. The likes of Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake
and Nelly Furtado simultaneously dominate the upper reaches of the Canadian and
American album charts, as well as Billboard magazine's trusty Hot 100
singles chart. But they're nowhere on our singles chart, because it only counts
those physical singles, vinyl or otherwise, bought in record stores. Remember
when we used to do that? The result is that the average chart-topper on
SoundScan Canada's singles-sales chart moves around 100 units in a week,
according to the company, while the singles taking up the lower echelons of the
chart are generally scraping barely more than 10 units a week in sales. The
chart itself varies in length from week to week – three weeks ago it was a Top
20, this week it's a Top 12 – because SoundScan doesn't bother registering
singles that scan less than 10 units a week in sales.
The Hot 100, by way of comparison, is compiled based upon a formula that takes
into account "brick and mortar" sales, radio spins and, since
February of 2005, paid digital downloads of individual songs. The latter –
which, in the company's defence, is also tracked by SoundScan – is where the
singles market has been reborn, as Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy"
demonstrated last spring as the first-ever song to top the U.K. singles chart
on downloads alone. Emo-punk pretty boys Fall Out Boy are the latest
benefactors, having landed a No. 2 debut on the Hot 100 last month for
"This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" thanks to a whopping 162,000
first-week downloads south of the border. The singles market, in other words,
is perfectly healthy; our chart is just looking for it in the wrong place.
"Individual tracks are clearly driving the business," was the Entertainment
Marketing Letter's assessment of the music industry's health at the end of
2006. "Album sales were down by 4.9% in both digital and physical formats
to 588 million from 619 million in 2005, while 22 tracks were downloaded more
than 1 million times each versus two the previous year. One single, `Bad Day'
by Daniel Powter, sold more than 2 million digital copies. Only 11 albums
crossed the 100,000-download mark last year." So where does that leave the
old singles sales chart? It took its first truly fatal steps towards
obsolescence during the late 1990s, when North American major labels stopped
bothering to issue such massive hits as Aqua's "Barbie Girl" and
Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" as anything more than "focus"
tracks for radio stations and music-video clips. Now, it's basically a running
tally of how many consumers put the effort into tracking down the scant
physical singles still out there. Those numbers are so small in Canada that
when Billboard's U.S. bosses track Canadian sales, they run a tally of
the most popular digitally downloaded songs from sources like iTunes and
PureTracks.
"We weren't getting sufficient volume or even selection of material to
justify that being the chart," says Billboard's longtime chart
overseer, Geoff Mayfield, quick to add that the U.S. situation is no different.
The reason? Major labels became so lax and unpredictable with what they would
release during the CD-single era that many record shops stopped carrying them.
Mayfield isn't alone in commenting that the industry's decision to force
consumers into shelling out for entire CDs instead of singles helped engender
the rise of Napster and, later, other unauthorized downloading sites. "In
the States, the only meaningful numbers you'd expect to see on a single anymore
would be maybe something from American Idol. It's at the point where even
(when) a single was being made available in the U.S. – I think it happened to
Nickelback – stores stopped carrying them because there wasn't enough selection
to justify making them available in the store, so even when we ended up with a
hit single available at retail, it wouldn't sell like it used to ...
"There weren't places to sell it and the consumer got out of the habit of
looking for it." According the Billboard digital chart, by the way, the
No. 1 single in Canada is "The Sweet Escape," by Gwen Stefani and
Akon. No sign of Bing.
Whatcha Thinkin' There, Sonny?
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
J.D. Considine
(February 19, 2007) “Alot of people ask me, 'What do you
think about when you improvise?' " says saxophonist Sonny Rollins, over the phone from his home
in upstate New York. "Well, I came up with a good answer recently, which
is that you can't think and play at the same time." With that, he laughs
merrily, partly because he's gotten off a good joke, but also because he's
found a convenient way to disarm a vexing question. By any reckoning, Rollins
is one of the greatest improvisers jazz has produced, something the Royal
Swedish Academy of Music recognized in awarding him the Polar Music Prize last
month. As their citation put it, Rollins has been "one of the most
powerful and personal voices in jazz for more than 50 years." His concerts
are famous for their brilliance and unpredictability, and his recorded
catalogue includes such classics as Saxophone Colossus, Tenor Madness, The
Bridge and the soundtrack to Alfie. A solo artist since the mid-fifties, he has
collaborated with such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins,
Max Roach, and Thelonious Monk, and even made a cameo appearance on the Rolling
Stones album Tattoo You. At 76, he remains a surprisingly modest, hard-working
musician, the kind of guy who, should you compliment the rhythm section on his
newly released album, Sonny, Please, will reply, "I was very fortunate in
having a very good rhythm section," then add with a chuckle, "I
shouldn't say that myself, but since you agree, I can say that." Still,
it's a bit much to imagine that he turns off his brain when performing -- that
there's no method to his Tenor Madness. There's a tremendous musical
intelligence at work in his improvisations. For instance, his solo in the title
track from Sonny, Please is remarkably thorough as it works through the
harmonic possibilities implicit in the tune, offering frenzied arpeggios,
daring dissonance, plangent sustained phrases, even a quote from Oh! Susanna.
It all unfolds so naturally, with a casual yet inexorable logic, that it's hard
to believe Rollins is merely playing, not thinking. But don't be fooled -- a
tremendous amount of work goes into playing like that. "But you know, I
try to practise a lot, which I do," he says. "And the elements I need
-- the song we're playing, the chord structure, the harmony and melody -- I try
to internalize that. And after doing that, then I try to let the music take
over -- because the music is happening too fast any way -- until you can't play
and think at the same time." What Rollins means by thinking is the kind of
pattern-matching, lick-planning improvisation practised by musicians who prefer
to plot out their solos ahead of time. "If you're doing that, you're
playing a more calculated style of music, which I'm not capable of doing,"
he says, being careful not to denigrate those who do. "I'm not a good
enough musician to calculate. That's not my style of playing. "So I can't
really think of anything. When I go on the stand and I'm playing at my best --
well, any time I play -- the music is just happening. If it comes out good,
really good, that's great. But either way, I have to let it go and let the
music sort of play me. And as I said, it happens so fast that you can't
contemplate it. It's gone by." Rollins's view of music as instantaneous
and "in the moment" may explain his eagerness to keep music modern
and evolving. Unlike many of his peers, who have stuck with the all-acoustic
format of jazz combos of the fifties, Rollins has added percussion and embraced
electric instruments in his group. But it's not because he's trying to keep up
with musical fashion -- he just likes some of the newer sounds better than the
old. Take his long-time bass player, Bob Cranshaw. "He shifted to electric
[bass] because he had sustained a back injury some time ago," Rollins
explains. "Of course, Bob gets a very acoustic-style sound on the electric
bass, which is one of the good things about the switch that he made. It wasn't
such a radical change."
Indeed, over time Rollins discovered that the longer sustain of the electric
bass had its advantages. "When Bob had been playing the electric bass with
me for a while, we did a concert where he played upright bass," he says.
"We had been playing with Jim Hall, and somebody wanted us to recreate
something that we'd done way back in the sixties." Cranshaw got out his
acoustic for the gig, and, Rollins says, "I didn't like it as much as I
did the electric bass." Why? "The decay time is different. I think I
prefer the sustained attack." Tellingly, Rollins also wasn't particularly
happy with the attempt to recapture the magic of that 1961 band with Hall and
Cranshaw, which was most famous for The Bridge. "We were trying to capture
something that I think we weren't able to capture," he says. "We had
a special thing going with The Bridge period, and we only just did a concert,
you know, a rehearsal and then a concert, but we weren't able to capture those
unique things that we had going with The Bridge." Of course, it would be
hard to imagine how anyone could recreate the circumstances that led to that
recording. At the time, Rollins had just come off a three-year sabbatical,
during which he spent countless hours practising on the Williamsburg Bridge
between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was a singular moment, both in his
career and in jazz itself; it would probably take a time machine to get there
again. Even so, some things do stay the same. "I went on the bridge to do
what I'm doing now, which is still practising and still searching for
something," he says. "I'm trying to improve my technique, my skills,
but also trying to get a better way to express myself. So I'm still really
engaged in the same endeavour: I'm still trying to really get myself together
as a musician. "A lot of people say, 'Well gee, you've been playing so
long, blah blah blah, and you're this . . .' But it has nothing to do with
that. I have a certain goal in mind, and whatever it is, I realize I haven't
gotten there yet. So I'm engaged in the same thing now that I was when I went
on the bridge. I'm trying to really improve my skills so that when I get out
there to improvise with the band, I'm able to call on everything I might need
to really express myself, and get myself over. "And this is an endless
thing," he adds. "If you're a musician yourself, you know that music
has so many facets to it. You can't get it all."
Sonny Rollins performs at Massey Hall in Toronto on May 5 (416-872-4255) and
at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on June 22 (604-872-5200).
Brian McKnight’s Ten Brings Back Soul Music
Source: Amina Elshahawi, ThinkTank Marketing, E: amina@thinktankmktg.com,
http://www.thinktankmktg.com
(February 19, 2007) Embracing an effortless eloquence and
cocoa butter smooth persona, the music of Brian
McKnight has defined the true meaning of American soul man since
1991. Like his spiritual Motown godfathers, this upstate New York native
has a velvety voice and silky style that captures the vibe of vintage soul
without being old fashion. On his latest disc Ten, that blend can be clearly
heard. "It's always been my goal to try and bring back real R&B
music," Brian says. "When I was growing-up it was all about the
seventies soul men. From the first time I ever stepped into a studio, my
daydream was to pick-up where Marvin Gaye left off." While Brian's
aspirations might have seemed like a lofty ambition, the longevity of his
career is a testament to the purity of his vision. In an industry that
has a fast turnaround of acts vying to be the next "quiet storm" king
or crooner on Soul Train, it's unbelievable that Brian McKnight is still creating
beautiful music fifteen years after releasing his self-titled debut. Like the
late Luther Vandross before him, the secret of Brian McKnight's rhythmic
endurance comes down to his ability to create eternal music. With the
release of Ten, McKnight's first disc for his new label Warner Bros Records,
the Grammy-nominated singer could not be more pleased with the outcome.
"I wasn't very happy with the situation at my former label and perhaps
that attitude was reflected in the material," Brian confesses. Having
penned and completed about thirty-three new songs before signing on the dotted
line, McKnight was more than ready. "Right now, I am optimistic of
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