Another one bites the dust as Milwaukee's longtime jazz station, WYMS-FM (88.9) is switching formats to become 88Nine RadioMilwaukee. The station began its transformation to its new format on Friday, February 23, by doing what the radio industry calls "stunting" to alert listeners to a change. WYMS began airing snippets of music that presumably will be part of the new programming set to officially launch on February 26. The first song fragment that aired at 7 a.m. Friday was Where Its At by Beck. The station is expected to play a mix of musical styles, including rock and hip-hop, that appeal to young adults ages 21 to 35. On-air announcers will debut on March 5.
Acoustic Alchemy have completed a new album called This Way, which follows the band’s American/English project from 2005. Once again, the group led by the British guitar duo of Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale recorded most of the album at the legendary Hansa Haus studios in Germany, but also utilized two studios in London and one in York, England.
Guitarist Chuck Loeb will be conducting guitar string training instructions at the Berks Jazz Fest Guitar Clinic on March 24 at the Sheraton Reading Hotel in Wyomissing, PA. Fellow instructors include guitarists Pat Martino and Bob Sabellico. For more information click to www.berksjazzfest.com.
Guitar legend George Benson and smooth jazz vocalist extraordinaire Al Jarreau have joined the lineup for this year's Umbria Jazz Festival, to be held in and around the medieval Italian town come this summer.
Steely Dan and B.B. King have signed on to perform at the Seneca Niagra Casino & Hotel in Niagra Falls, New York. The 2200-seat Seneca Events Center and the intimate 496-seat Bear’s Den Showroom at the Hotel & Casino have quickly become a popular destination for superstar performers. B.B. King is booked for May 12 and Steely Dan are scheduled for June 2. For more information click to www.senecaniagracasino.com.
This year’s First Energy Berks Jazz Festival will feature a vast array of jazz talent as the 10-day event (scheduled for March 16-25) approaches. Appearing will will An Evening With The Six Pack featuring Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, and Steve Cole on March 24 at the Sheraton Reading Hotel Ballroom; Chuck Loeb featuring The Berks Jazz Fest Horns plus the WJJZ All-Stars with Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, Steve Cole, and Gerald Veasley on March 25 at the Sheraton Reading Hotel Ballroom; and An Evening With Guitars & Saxes featuring Gerald Albright, Tim Bowman, Jeff Golub, and Kirk Whalum on March 25 at the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
Toto, Jamie Cullum, Acoustic Alchemy, Freddy Cole and Dee Dee Bridgewater will headline the 5th Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival 2007. The three-day event will be held March 8-10 at Dubai Media City. For more information click to www.dubaijazzfest.com.
Paul Brown’s new release – White Sand – includes covers of 60’s and 70’s soul & jazz classics, features a number of guests on the CD including Al Jarreau, Boney James, David Benoit, Bobby Caldwell, Euge Groove and Rick Braun.
Columbia/Legacy re-releases a remastered version of Boz Scaggs’ landmark 1976 album Silk Degrees. This edition includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded in 1976.
Other releases due this week include: Andy Narell - Tatoom: Music For Steel Orchestra (with guests Mike Stern, David Sanchez & Luis Conte); Kenny Loggins – How About Now (includes a new version of A Love Song from Loggins & Messina); David Bromberg – Try Me One More Time; Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown & Milt Jackson – What’s Up? The Very Tall Band (recorded live at the Blue Note on Nov. 24-26, 1998, with seven bonus tracks); Johnny Mathis – Johnny Mathis Live: Wonderful! Wonderful! A Gold 50h Anniversary; Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland – The Definitive Collection; Joe Zawinul – Brown Street (2-CDs of orchestrated renditions of Weather Report classics such as Black Market, Night Passage, and A Remark You Made); and Carlos Santana & Wayne Shorter – Live At The 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival (DVD).
2006 was an amazing year for Mindi Abair as her CD Life Less Ordinary debuted at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts, her song True Blue hit #1 on the Radio and Records chart, and it ended up being the 3rd most played song of the year at smooth jazz radio. She also toured the country with her band, performed on the Dave Koz Jazz Cruise, and hit the road for the Christmas season with Peter White and Rick Braun for their annual tour. 2007 has started off with a bang for her as she joined Wayman Tisdale’s Jazz Cruise. And even bigger, Abair’s newest single Bloom just hit #1 on the Radio and Records chart, landing Abair her 2nd #1 song in a row from her latest CD Life Less Ordinary.
Columbia/Legacy is releasing a Marvin Gaye 2-CD called Midnight Love And The Sexual Healing Sessions. This album is expected to be issued on April 24.
The upcoming Joss Stone album, Introducing Joss Stone, will be delayed from March 20 to the new date of April 3.
The Jakarta Java Jazz Festival 2007 is kicking off on March 2 with healiners Sergio Mendes, Sadao Watanabe and Jamie Cullum, among others. Java Jazz will be held in Jakarta Convention Center from Friday, March 2 to Sunday, March 4.
Smooth Jazz saxophonist Steve Cole's latest album, True, features all original compositions by the Chicago-based artist. While many of his contemporaries in the smooth jazz genre favor re-makes of old favorites, Cole remains true to the ideal of creating brand-new sounds. True features guest appearances by saxophonist David Mann, guitarist Jeff Golub, keyboardist Ricky Peterson, and percussionist Lenny Castro. His leadoff single is the up-tempo groove Metro.
This year's annual Seabreeze Jazz Festival, to be held April 13th to 15th in Destin, Florida, promises a huge lineup of stars including Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Golub, Tim Bowman, Richard Elliot, Rick Braun, Peter White, Nils, Brian Simpson, Jonathan Butler and Jeff Kashiwa. For more information click to www.seabreezejazzfestival.com
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