Jim Lauderdale Documentary, The King Of Broken Hearts, Premiering At The Country Music Hall of Fame Then GRAMMY Museum
The King of Broken Hearts, a documentary following the career of Jim Lauderdale, will have its world premier at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville on Dec 8, 2012 at 1:30pm. There will be a follow-up screening at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on December 11, 2012 at 7:30pm. Jim will take part in a Q&A session after both screenings, with moderation by Vice President of The GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares, Scott Goldman at the Grammy Museum and by a surprise moderator at the Country Music Hall of Fame. For more info and tickets to the screenings please see the following links:
The King of Broken Hearts' official trailer features interview clips from the full length documentary with legends such as John Oates, Elvis Costello and Buddy Miller. Australian filmmaker, Jeremy Dylan, tells Jim's story starting from his roots in North Carolina to his breakthrough as one of the most respected artists in Bluegrass today. Recent milestones for Jim include six GRAMMY nominations with two wins as well as being chosen to host the Americana Music Awards for the last ten years straight. Jim's current record with Buddy Miller, Buddy and Jim, is shooting up the Americana Airplay Charts (as of this writing, it hit #6 in only two weeks - this prior to the CD even being released) while his own Carolina Moonrise CD continues to rank in the top 40 of Americana Airplay.
Meshell Ndegeocello On NPR's All Things Considered And Bettye LaVette On Tavis Smiley
Bettye LaVette will make a return appearance to PBS's Tavis Smiley November 29, 2012 (check local listings for details). The interview will be posted online for viewing 24 hours after the PBS TV broadcast here. Following extensive press worldwide for her new record, Thankful N' Thoughtful, and her tell-all, unapologetic biography, A Woman Like Me, Bettye is currently scheduled for a European tour December 2012 and continued extensive worldwide touring throughout 2013 .
To Catch Bettye LaVette and Meshell Ndegeocello Live, See Tour Dates >>
Mavis Staples Gets Her Due In Michael Jackson Documentary, Bad 25
In Spike Lee's Bad 25, a documentary about the creation of Michael Jackson's seventh studio album and groundbreaking video, "Bad", Roots drummer Questlove confirms that Jackson's use of the catch phrase "Shamone" was a tribute to Mavis Staples. The film shows a young Mavis Staples using "Shamone" during a 1970s performance of The Staple Singers' song "I'll Take You There". While the origin of the word was clear to Mavis and others in the industry, Lee's efforts to preserve and spread the genius of the late pop icon have also reaffirmed Jackson's respect for Mavis Staples. The documentary, which Spike Lee called his "love letter" to Jackson, made its U.S. Television premier on ABC on Thanksgiving, November 22nd, 2012. It features interviews with superstars Martin Scorsese, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Cee-Lo Green and Chris Brown among others.
Bettye LaVette Nominated For Induction Into The SoulMusic Hall Of Fame
Bettye LaVette has been nominated for the SoulMusic Hall of Fame in the Female Artist category. Also nominated in the same category, which currently includes legends such as Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire and Al Green, are renowned artists Chaka Khan and Chante Moore. Voting has begun and is open to the public here. The voting process will continue through December 21, 2012 with a winner announced January 2, 2013.
Bettye's nomination comes in the wake of the release of both her new Biography, A Woman Like Me and new album Thankful N' Thoughtful. The two works have garnered praise from reviewers worldwide since their recent releases. The BBC described the album as "a marvelous, spine-tingling journey... strung together by LaVette's sensuous singing... possibly the best set of songs she's ever recorded", and Q Magazine stated that "So intense are her readings of numbers as well-known as Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' or Ewan MacColl's 'Dirty Old Town'... that they obliterate the hit versions from your mind." The NY Daily News noted that "the details of her tale prove so crazed, quotable and laugh-out-loud funny, I found myself dog-earing many more pages in her book than I left pristine."
To Catch Bettye LaVette Live, See Tour Dates >>
Trombone Shorty Featured on Rod Stewart's Christmas Special, Rod's and Cee-Lo's New CDs - TV Special Marks Fourth National TV Broadcast In One Week
Trombone Shorty is also featured on Rod Stewart's and Cee-Lo Green's new Christmas albums, Merry Christmas, Baby and Cee Lo's Magic Moment respectively.
Stewart's Christmas special will be Trombone Shorty's fourth television appearance in the last week alone. He was a featured guest with the Southern University Marching Band at the Bayou Classic on November 24 with the renowned group joining him on his own "Hurricane Season". The performance, as part of the annual football classic was broadcast nationwide on NBC from New Orleans' Superdome.
Earlier in the week, he and Maceo Parker were also featured as guests with Prince protégé, Andy Allo, on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, November 20th. And on Sunday November 25, Trombone Shorty was featured in the season finale of Treme jamming with Wendell Pierce, Big Sam and more.
Carrie Rodriguez will release Give Me All You Got, her fifth full-length solo album, on January 22, 2013 via Ninth Street Opus. Produced by Lee Townsend (Bill Frisell, Loudon Wainwright III, Kelly Joe Phelps), the record marries Rodriguez's Texas background with a decade spent in Brooklyn. The album is filled with original songs that Carrie says "run the gamut of intense emotions." She goes on to note "for the first time, I feel that the passionate spirit of my live show has truly been captured in a studio album." The record also features Chip Taylor with whom Carrie has collaborated on five albums and an EP.
Give Me All You Got follows Love and Circumstance, which No Depression hailed as "an album you do not want to miss." The Washington Post described Carrie "a superb interpretive singer, not only milking melodies for all their pleasure but also revealing new implications in the lyrics." Rodriguez is slated to tape a performance on NPR's Mountain Stage on November 18. The recording of the performance will air nationally in advance of the album's release. See mountainstage.org for details.
The Stone Foxes Unveil Brand New Single From Their Upcoming Record, Small Fires, February 12, 2013
The Stone Foxes have made "Everybody Knows" available for free download on thestonefoxes.com. The brand new track is the single from their upcoming record, Small Fires, set for release on February 12, 2013 via INgrooves Fontana. Recorded earlier this year with Doug Boehm (Girls, The Vines, Dr. Dog) taking the helm as producer, engineer and mixer, Small Fires is the third release from the San Francisco Bay Area-based band. The new project marks the band's coming into their own with drummer Shannon Koehler stating that "we finally made the record we set out to make. The sound feels like us. We said what was on our minds..." Small Fires follows the band's sophomore album, Bears & Bulls, which USA Today described as "a ripping jam...irresistible" and prompted Relix Magainzine to name the band a "#1 Artist On the Verge".
The Stone Foxes recent headlining debut at the historic Great American Music Hall in San Francisco was an advance sellout and bodes very well for their upcoming national tour this winter.
Trombone Shorty Tops DownBeat Magazine Readers Poll For Best Trombone Player
Trombone Shorty topped the Trombone category in the 77th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll (December 2012 Issue). Named "the most comprehensive Readers Poll in our history," the new issue also features Trombone Shorty in an in-depth story that discusses Shorty's career growth and future plans.
In addition to winning his namesake category, something that DownBeat noted as "an honor usually reserved for players twice his age," Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue's For True was ranked in the Top Ten Jazz Albums of the Year. The band was also ranked among the top artists in the Jazz Group, as well as in the Beyond Artist or Group category. Trombone Shorty's Readers Poll win follows in the wake of high rankings in seven categories in the 2012 DownBeat Critics Poll earlier this year.
Rosebud Artists Score High In DownBeat Readers Poll
A number of Rosebud artists made impressive showings in the 2012 DownBeat Readers Poll. In addition to Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews' win in the Trombone category and his record, For True, ranking in the Top Ten Jazz Albums of the Year, other Rosebud artists scored high in the poll.
Bill Frisell came in second as Best Guitarist (he won the category overall in the recent Downbeat critics poll - for the fourth consecutive year and 11th time in the past 15 years!) and ranked high in Best Jazz Artist of the Year and Composer categories, while his CD All We Are Saying... scored among the top dozen Jazz Albums of The Year. Allen Toussaint ranked in the top five in the Arranger category, while Bettye LaVette was listed among the top artists in the Blues Artist or Group category. Meshell Ndegeocello ranked high in the Beyond Artist or Group category, and her recent release Weather was ranked among the top choices in the Beyond Album category. Roger Lewis of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band also ranked among the best in the Baritone Saxophone category.
Muddy Waters, a Rosebud artist until his passing, was ranked among the top readers choices for the DownBeat Hall of Fame.
Congratulations to all the artists. To Catch These Artists Perform Live On Stage, See Tour Dates >>
Trombone Shorty Featured On Rod Stewart's Christmas CD, Merry Christmas, Baby, And On Stewart's PBS Christmas Concert Special
Trombone Shorty is featured on Rod Stewart's new CD, Merry Christmas, Baby. The album, out now, sees Trombone Shorty perform on two tracks, along with his Orleans Avenue band members Dan Oestreicher on Baritone Sax and Tim McFatter on Tenor Sax on the title track and "Red-Suited Super Man". The latter, co-written by Rod Stewart, David Foster and Amy Foster, is brand new and the only original track on the CD. Also appearing on Stewart's holiday release are such superstar names as Mary J. Blige, Cee-Lo Green, Michael Bublé, Dave Koz, Chris Botti and posthumously, Ella Fitzgerald.
Trombone Shorty was also invited to perform on Rod Stewart's PBS Special, Rod Stewart: Merry Christmas, Baby which will air in December. Trombone Shorty plays on the CD's title track in the telecast, a song originally made famous by Rosebud client, the late Charles Brown, who sang the original hit version as a member of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. The TV special also features duets with Michael Bublé and Mary J. Blige, as well as a 'virtual' duet with Ella Fitzgerald on the song "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" that also features Chris Botti. Stewart, the Grammy Award®-winning artist and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, said on reflection of the PBS show, "I've always wanted to do a Christmas special. And this was truly worth the wait because what we were able to accomplish is just beyond my wildest dreams."
Visit Great Performances Online at pbs.org/gperf for additional information and the program's air date, once it is announced. To keep up to date with Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue's scheduled live performances, see Tour Dates >>
JJ Cale Garners More Raves From Neil Young In His New Memoir
JJ Cale was praised by Neil Young once again in his new autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream. Young cites JJ Cale's "Crazy Mama" as one of the five songs that shaped his songwriting. Young describes "Crazy Mama" as "a record I love. The song is true, simple, and direct, and the delivery is very natural. JJ's guitar playing is a huge influence on me. His touch is unspeakable."
This praise follows Young's previous acknowledgement of Cale's artistry in Jimmy McDonough's 2003 biography of Neil Young, Shakey. In the New York Times bestselling biography, Young is quoted as saying:
"Most of the songs and the riffs - the way he plays the fucking guitar is so… great. And he doesn't play very loud, either - I really like that about him. He's so sensitive. Of all the players I ever heard, it's gotta be Hendrix and JJ Cale who are the best electric guitar players."
While there is clearly a great deal of mutual respect between them, the only time these two legends have appeared on record together is on the late Ben Keith's (Young's steel guitarist of almost forty years) Seven Gates: A Christmas Album by Ben Keith and Friends (1994).
Marcia Ball and Ruthie Foster Featured in Austin Live Video
Rosebud artists and Austin, Texas mainstays Marcia Ball and Ruthie Foster are featured in Austin Live: Tick Tock, a brand new video short promoting the City of Austin. In the video, Marcia and Ruthie are featured among many of the city's best musicians from a variety of music genres promoting Austin's thriving music scene. Introduced by Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, the video features Ruthie and Marcia singing segments of Blues legend Jimmie Vaughan's song, "Tick Tock". This unique collaboration, was filmed on the streets of Austin and, in addition to all the artists involved, also features shots of some of Austin's best known venues as well as a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan who had performed the song on the record, Family Style, with Jimmie.
Johnny A. Nominated In 2012 Boston Music Awards For Blues Artist Of The Year And Ranked Among Top 12 Guitar Players You Must See Live
Johnny A. has been nominated as Blues Artist of the Year in the 2012 Boston Music Awards. Johnny A. won this category in 2010 and was nominated for the same award in 2011. Voting is currently open to the public at bostonmusicawards25.com, at this writing until November 19, 2012 at 11:59 P.M. The Boston Music Awards is celebrating twenty-five years of bringing together the music community of New England. Their goals are to honor the region's best performers, raise money for music charities and to help guarantee that New England's stages and studios are filled with talent for years to come. The awards ceremony will be held at The Liberty Hotel in Boston on December 2, 2012, and its performance lineup, featuring some of the region's most impressive established and emerging talent across various genres, will be announced at Redstar Union on November 7, 2012.
Johnny A. was also recently ranked #3 on Hardrock Haven's Top 12 Guitar Players You Must See Live which described him as "one of the finest, most musical guitar players you'll ever have the pleasure of experiencing ...a true bonafide tone-monster with compositions that drip with emotion." Hardrock Haven, a premier online magazine for fans of Hard Rock, Classic Rock and Metal since 2002, ranked Johnny among legendary performers including Eric Clapton, Zakk Wylde, Slash and Jeff Beck. To see the complete list check out hardrockhaven.net.
Trombone Shorty Tops DownBeat Magazine Readers Poll For Best Trombone Player
Johnny A.
Johnny A. was also recently ranked #3 on