TODAY'S NEWS

JESSICA KNOX 2005 TOUR
Urban soul and smooth jazz artist, Jessica Knox, is set to launch her 2005 tour in Santa Cruz, CA at the Crow's Nest on March 23, followed by The Moss Landing in Moss Landing, CA on April 7, and then off to Britannia Arms in Aptos, CA on April 16.

JOHN LEGEND - GET LIFTED
John Legend will be performing on Oxygen's Custom Concert Series. The concert will be filmed in New York City on Tuesday, March 22, and it will air exclusively on Oxygen on Sunday, March, 27 at 7pm/6C. His album Get Lifted is available on Sony Records.

BAD PLUS - BLUNT OBJECT: LIVE IN TOKYO
Bad Plus is set to release its latest album Blunt Object: Live In Tokyo and it includes a cover of Queen's We Are The Champions ,as well as Blondie's Heart Of Glass and the standard My Funny Valentine. Although you won't find the album in stores, you will find it on Bad Plus' website at www.thebadplus.com, on May 3. The album was recorded at the Blue Note in Tokyo in May 2004.

SERGIO MENDES, KEIKO MATSUI, HALL & OATES IN LAS VEGAS
Vegas Action...The legendary Sergio Mendes is appearing atthe Suncoast Hotel March 18-20; Keiko Matsui is at the Boulder Station Hotel on March 25-26, and at the Railhead Showroom on April 2. Hall & Oates will be at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel on April 8. Check out their latest CD Our Kind Of Soul as it is filled with covers of a bunch of classic '70's songs, such as the Spinners' I'll Be Around; Barry White's Can't Get Enough Of Your Love ; and the Five Stairsteps' Oooh Child.

PRAFUL - PYRAMID IN YOUR BACKGROUND
Praful has completed work on his latest album Pyramid In Your Background. It features 12 new songs and was produced by Praful's labelmates on Rendezvous, the duo of Adani & Wolf. It's set for release on May 17 and is described as jazz meets electronica, and features guest vocalists, Sandhya Sanjana from India and Katia Moraes from Brazil.

DAVE KOZ AND FRIENDS SUMMER NIGHTS TOUR
Dave Koz is scheduling his annual summer tour and has confirmed that Dutch saxman Praful, guitarist Marc Antoine and vocalist Jeffrey Osborne will join him on the next outing of the Dave Koz & Friends Summer Nights Tour.The tour schedule is being planned and is expected to hit at least 25 cities this year.

CHRIS BOTTI FUND RAISER
Chris Botti has signed on to perform at a $1,000-a-platefund-raiser dinner for Hilary Clinton. It will take place at the Hudson Theatre in Manhattan, New York on March 21.

URBAN KNIGHTS - URBAN KNIGHTS VI
The latest incarnation of the super group Urban Knights features guitarist Bobby Broom, keyboardist Kevin Randolph,bassist Maurice Fitzgerald, saxophonist Nick Bisesi and drummer Quinjuan Anderson. Album highlights includea guest turn by the legendary Ramsey Lewis on Close YourEyes To Remember, as well as a smooth cover of Usher and Alicia Keys' My Boo. The latest album Urban Knights VI is available on Narada Jazz.