THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER Blues Legend Tom Lavin Becomes UCW's 11th Honorary Degree Recipient

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Blues Legend Tom Lavin Becomes UCW's 11th Honorary Degree Recipient Posted: 02 Aug 2016 12:00 AM PDT If you were to think of University Canada West's (UCW) newest honorary degree recipient as a book, his true depth would likely escape you, unless you knew him as a book with many covers. Tom Lavin, UCW's 2016 honorary degree recipient, and the university's 11th to date, is primarily known as an accomplished musician and record producer who was a founding member of Canada's legendary Powder Blues Band in 1978. On July 15 in a convocation ceremony that begins at 11 a.m. at Vancouver's Italian Cultural Centre, Lavin will formally be awarded his UCW degree before the university's 28 graduands of 2016 are granted theirs. UCW President Arthur Coren will preside over the one hour and 15 minute ceremony, which concludes with a reception at 1 p.m. Media and the public are invited. Despite major record labels' initially cool reception of the Power Blues' debut album, Uncut, the now world-famous band has gone on to sell more than one million records worldwide and has toured continuously for the last 38+ years.

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER DHAFER YOUSEF - BIRDS REQUIEM

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1. DHAFER YOUSEF - BIRDS REQUIEM
2. IRMA THOMAS - FULL TIME WOMAN (THE LOST COTILLION ALBUM)
3. DR. JOHN, THE NIGHT TRIPPER: GRIS-GRIS
4. 4 CLASSIC DAVID RUFFIN ALBUMS REISSUED ON 2 CDS
5. CHRIS READ FEATURING MYLES SANKO AND THE SO MUCH SOUL PLAYERS - THE MAGIC IS GONE
6. CAVA MENZIES / NICK PHILLPS - MOMENT TO MOMENT
7. PAULINHO GARCIA'S BEAUTIFUL LOVE INFUSES AMERICAN SONGBOOK STANDARDS WITH BOSSA NOVA SOUL
8. STING TO HEADLINE THE DUKE ELLINGTON SCHOOL OF ARTS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE SERIES
9. 2 LIVE SETS FROM FRANK MCCOMB; NEW CONTEMPORARY SMOOTH JAZZ FROM LEVEL 10
10. NEW RELEASES - TIMO LASSY - LIVE WITH TIMO; ALGEBRA BLESSETT - RECOVERY; GEORGE CALBLES - ICONS & INFLUENCES
11. NEW RELEASES - UDI LEVY - A SUDDEN TRANSITION; KIDD JORDAN / ALVIN FIELDER / PETER KOWALD - TRIO AND DUO IN NEW ORLEANS'; JEREMY PELT - FACE FOWARD JEREMY
12. PLEASE HELP JAZZ MUSICIAN DAVE VALENTIN!

DHAFER YOUSEF - BIRDS REQUIEM Posted: 21 Jan 2014 01:57 PM PST The oud-the 11-string, fretless, acoustic relative of the lute so central to the culture of the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean-is inextricably tied to tradition, more than 5,000 years of it. But in the hands of Dhafer Youssef, one of the most highly respected and influential virtuosi of the instrument in the world, the oud takes a giant leap into the future. For more than two decades, Youssef has paid his respects to the ancient legacy of the oud while integrating its melodious, robust and resonant-but simultaneously delicate tones-with modern sounds and sensibilities, transcending genre and defying the expected. On his new album Birds Requiem (available now on OKeh Records) Youssef has created his most breathtakingly powerful work to date, a suite of 11 interconnected compositions that, he says, were "constructed as music for an imagined movie."  Recorded primarily in Gothenburg, Sweden, with additional recording in Istanbul, Birds Requiem features Youssef on oud and vocals, clarinetist Hüsnü Senlendirici, trumpeter Nils-Petter Molvaer, Aytaç Dogan on the zither-like kanun, Eivind Aarset handling electric guitar parts and electronics, pianist Kristjan Randalu, double bassist Phil Donkin and drummer Chander Sardjoe.

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER ELLA FITZGERALD - THE VOICE OF JAZZ 10-CD BOX SET

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1. ELLA FITZGERALD - THE VOICE OF JAZZ 10-CD BOX SET
2. STING: THE LAST SHIP, AIRS ON PBS GREAT PERFORMANCES, FEB, 21, 2014
3. TRUE TO THE BLUES: THE JOHNNY WINTER STORY, AVAILABLE FEB. 25, 2014

ELLA FITZGERALD - THE VOICE OF JAZZ 10-CD BOX SET Posted: 11 Dec 2013 08:47 AM PST Ella Fitzgerald's vocal style was as incredible and diverse as the material that she sang. She started out a swing singer, moved to bebop, sang perfect scat, was an extraordinary jazz vocalist and had no fear of modern material as the 60s and 70s came along. From the blues to bossa nova, and calypsos to carols, Fitzgerald imbued all with her unique voice, sounding forever young. On December 10, 2013, Verve Records/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) will release the 10-disc box set Ella Fitzgerald: The Voice of Jazz, the first career-spanning retrospective of the most popular jazz singer and arguably one of the greatest singers of all time, Ella Fitzgerald. Featuring over 200 newly remastered studio and live tracks, including a previously unreleased concert from the 1960s, The Voice of Jazz is elegantly packaged in a linen-covered box and includes a 96-page, hardbound book that charts Fitzgerald's career through her recordings plus photos and a complete discographical notation along with color and black and white illustrations. From her days as Chick Webb's girl singer, including her first ever release with Chick Webb's Orchestra in 1935, through her rise as Decca Records' singing star in the 1940s and early 1950s, to her decade-long career with Verve Records where she defined the long-playing record with her albums dedicated to the writers of the Great American Songbook. Ella Fitzgerald: The Voice of Jazz encapsulates the recording legacy of one of the most loved, admired and revered vocalists of the 20th century.

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER STING & PAUL SIMON TEAM UP FOR TOUR DATES

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STING & PAUL SIMON TEAM UP FOR TOUR DATES Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:41 AM PST Live Nation Global Touring has announced that Paul Simon & Sting, two of music's most renowned and enduring artists, will embark on a concert tour throughout North America in February and March 2014. Both of these artists have explored world rhythms and pushed the boundaries of popular music, and through their music, continue to speak to generations of fans. Now, Paul Simon & Sting will perform a series of concerts On Stage Together. Tickets (itinerary below) will go on sale beginning Tuesday, Nov. 12. As friends for many years, their collaboration on a tour is a natural fit. At each performance, audiences will be treated to the unique pleasure of experiencing these two innovative musicians On Stage Together, in addition to solo performances with their respective bands, in what will surely be one of the most highly-anticipated concert events of 2014.

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER THE BRECKER BROTHERS BAND REUNION WITH RANDY BRECKER, DAVID SANBORN, MIKE STERN, WILL LEE, DAVE WECKL AND OTHERS…

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1. THE BRECKER BROTHERS BAND REUNION WITH RANDY BRECKER, DAVID SANBORN, MIKE STERN, WILL LEE, DAVE WECKL AND OTHERS…
2. NEW RELEASES - STING, LOU PRIDE, LAURA NYRO
3. NEW RELEASES - IVAN LINS, URSULA RICKS, ERIC REED
4. NEW RELEASES - SPYRO GYRA, JOE COCKER, HAROLD LOPEZ-NUSSA
5. NEW RELEASES - THE CLARKE DUKE PROJECT, THE ANTHONY SMITH VIBRAPHONE QUARTET, DAVID SANBORN
6. THE NEW JERSEY BLUES & JAZZ FESTIVAL FEATURING HERBIE HANCOCK, BELA FLECK, B.B. KING, BOB JAMES AND DAVID SANBORN

THE BRECKER BROTHERS BAND REUNION WITH RANDY BRECKER, DAVID SANBORN, MIKE STERN, WILL LEE, DAVE WECKL AND OTHERS… Posted: 13 Sep 2013 01:39 PM PDT Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, trumpeter Randy Brecker and his younger, sax-playing brother Michael helped define a sub-genre by blending sophisticated jazz harmonies and searing solos with slamming funk grooves and a visceral energy that grabbed rock ears. The Philly-born Brecker Brothers set the tone for a generation of aspiring musicians who followed. "When the band started back in the day, the original intent was to do a Randy Brecker record," Randy explains. "We were rehearsing tunes every week with Michael, Don Grolnick, David Sanborn, Steve Khan, Chris Parker and Will Lee. Somehow, producer Steve Backer had gotten wind of the rehearsals. He knew of us - Michael and I had played together in Dreams, Billy Cobhamʼs band and Horace Silverʼs quintet. He rang me and said, ʻIf you call this band The Brecker Brothers, Iʼll sign you tomorrow to Clive Davisʼ new label, Arista Records.ʼ" Randy recalls his first inclination was to say no, because "I wanted to do my own record," but he ultimately relented. "And thatʼs how this whole thing started."