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George Wein, Newport Jazz Festival Co-Founder, Dies at 95
Wein led the festival for more than 50 years and performers would include virtually every major jazz star, from Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk to Charles Mingus and Wynton Marsalis. Just in 1965, the bill featured Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ellington, Gillespie, Davis and Monk. “As a young pianist and club owner, he understood quality, worshipped the giants of the music, and created a revolutionary Festival format that offered the widest possible range of jazz to much larger outdoor audiences,” Marsalis said in a statement. “He loved telling stories about Bird, Duke and all of the greats, engaging in spirited debates on a variety of subjects, and was an optimistic supporter of young talent.” The success of Newport inspired a wave of jazz festivals in the U.S. and Wein repl...
Ruth Olay, Acclaimed Jazz Singer, Dies at 97
In 1951, Olay was separated from her first husband and raising their young daughter by herself when she left her job as secretary to Oscar-winning filmmaker Preston Sturges at Paramount Pictures to sing in San Diego with Black bandleader Benny Carter. It was her first professional engagement. Although she was of Hungarian ancestry, Olay used the pseudonym Rachel Davis to avoid controversy — with her dark complexion and short curly hair, it was assumed that she was Black. Later, while working as a singing waitress at the Cabaret Concert Theatre on Sunset Boulevard, Olay was approached by arranger Bill Hitchcock about making an album, and It’s About Time — released in 1956 on Zephyr Records‚ a new label financed by meatpacking heir Geordie Hormel — garnered her attention. In November that ye...
Manic Street Preachers on Course for Second U.K. No. 1 With ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’
It’s not the first time these two acts have gone head-to-head on the chart. Back in September 1998, the Manics’ This Is My Truth Now Tell Me Yours beat Steps’ Step One for the crown by a margin of 95,000 sales. What The Future Holds Pt. 2, Steps’ seventh studio album, is the week’s most-downloaded LP, and is on track to become their third consecutive No. 2, following Tears On The Dancefloor (from 2017) and What The Future Holds (2020). Also new to the Official Chart Update is Dark Matters (Coursegood), the first album in nine years from punk rock veterans The Stranglers. It’s at No. 3, and could give the band their highest-charting effort in 43 years, since 1978’s Black & White. The Vaccines are chasing a fifth straight Top 5 album with Back In Love City (Super Easy), new at No. 4, whi...
Arlo Parks’ ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ Is Energized After Mercury Prize Win
Based on midweek data, the album vaults to No. 26. The soulful British singer is enjoying a bright start to her career. In 2020, she won the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch, was longlisted for the BBC Sound Of… 2020 and won BBC Introducing Artist of the Year. Collapsed In Sunbeams opened at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart in February, and, in May, she was declared the breakthrough artist winner at the 2021 Brit Awards, on a night when she delivered an inspiring performance of her song “Hope.” Accepting the Mercury Prize, Parks said “it took a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get here and there were moments where I wasn’t sure whether I would make it through — but I am here today so thank you very much.” The award was established as the Mercury Music Prize in 199...
Lana Wachowski Reveals Why She Brought Back Neo and Trinity in ‘The Matrix Resurrections’
Speaking as part of a panel on screenwriting at the International Literature Festival Berlin, director Lana Wachowski revealed why she brought back Neo and Trinity, played by Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, in The Matrix Resurrections. To the delight of fans, the iconic couple will be returning in the fourth installment of The Matrix, living in the rebooted Matrix with faint memories of their previous lives. Much speculation has been made about how exactly the two characters have returned despite both dying at the end of The Matrix Revolutions with no clear answers being revealed in the official first trailer for The Matrix Resurrections that was released recently. Lana Wachowski noted that she was inspired to bring back Neo and Trinity following the death of her parents and a clo...
Larry David Goes Viral for Plugging His Ears at NYFW Show
Comedy legend Larry David recently attended STAUD‘s Spring/Summer 2022 show at New York Fashion Week. David was seated front row at the event next to Jared Leto and appeared to be enjoying the show at the beginning. Versha Sharma, Editor in Chief at Teen Vogue, first spotted the iconic comedian at the show and posted the video to her Instagram. The sighting caught many by surprise but it seemed to show David enjoying the show prior to the music becoming too loud. In another video posted by Emilia Petrarca, David can be seen looking down and paying no attention to the models strutting down the runway in their designated attire. While it is unclear if he enjoyed the show at all, it is quite evident that the music might have been too loud for the comedian. In the most Larry David way, he plug...
Disney Sets Official Release Date for Live-Action ‘The Little Mermaid’
More than two years after its original announcement, Disney has finally announced the official release date for the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. According to numerous reports, the studio is now planning to release the remake on May 26, 2023, almost four years after the project was initially revealed. Halle Bailey will take the lead as Ariel, with renowned actor Javier Bardem and Snowpiercer veteran Daveed Diggs taking on the roles of King Triton and Sebastien respectively. Shang-Chi‘s Awkwafina will return to Disney as Scuttle, and comedic actress Melissa McCarthy portraying Ursula. Jacob Tremblay and Jonah Hauer-King round out the cast as Flounder and Prince Eric. Adding to a long line of live-action remakes from Disney, The Little Mermaid will be...
Denis Villeneuve Initially Planned to Film Both ‘Dune’ Films at the Same Time
Dune director Denis Villeneuve has recently revealed new details surrounding his initial plans for part one and part two of the films. The filmmaker originally wanted to film both films at the same time, despite the fact that the second film has not yet been given the green light. In a new interview with Variety, he discusses why he pitched the studio to do a two-part adaptation, “I wanted at the beginning to do the two parts simultaneously. For several reasons, it didn’t happen, and I agreed to the challenge of making part one and then wait to see if the movie rings enough enthusiasm. As I was doing the first part, I really put all my passion into it, in case it would be the only one. But I’m optimistic.” He continues to discuss what he thinks the second film will be like when filming doe...
AEROSMITH’s JOE PERRY Lists Massachusetts Home For $4.5 Million
According to The Patriot Ledger, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry has put his home in Duxbury, Massachussets on the market for $4.5 million. The 14-room, 7-acre country gated estate includes a heated pool in the shape of a Gibson guitar body, rooftop garden, three-stall barn, high-tech media room, exposed beams, three fireplaces, a gym and a billiards room. The house, which Perry has owned for 33 years, including his basement studio, where AEROSMITH recorded some of the 2001 album “Just Push Play” as well as 2004’s “Honkin’ On Bobo”. Perry also used the facility to record three of his solo albums. In recent years, Perry has been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles as well as his beach-front condo in Sarasota, Florida. See photos of the property at The Pat...
Watch ROBERT TRUJILLO’s 17-Year-Old Son Perform With SUICIDAL TENDENCIES At BLUE RIDGE ROCK FESTIVAL
Tye Trujillo, the 17-year-old son of METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo, played bass with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES this past Saturday (September 11) at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Danville, Virginia. He was filling in for regular SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bassist Roberto “Ra” Díaz, who was unable to make the gig because he is currently playing bass for KORN on the Jonathan Davis-fronted band’s U.S. tour. Tye previously played bass for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in October 2019 at the SoCal Hoedown in San Pedro, California. When the younger Trujillo first performed with Mike Muir and his bandmates two years ago, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES praised the musician for “showing what a badass he already is on bass. His youthful enthusiasm was contagious, his bass skills undeniable,” the gr...
Former JOURNEY Singer STEVE PERRY Is Auctioning Off His ‘Favorite Car’ For Charity
Former JOURNEY singer Steve Perry is doing his bit for charity by putting up a classic car from his own collection. A 1979 Mercedes 450 SL, which is said to have been Perry‘s “favorite car”, is being auctioned off via Capital City Auto Auction. According to the Capital City web site, Steve would drive the vehicle “to and from all the JOURNEY writing, recording, and rehearsal sessions back in the day. Many songs were written by Steve while driving this car. Steve called it ‘Windshield Song Writing.'” Included in this package: * 1979 Mercedes 450 SL convertible * Custom Made Tuxedo Tails Jacket worn by Steve Perry during many past concert performances * “The Season”, Steve Perry‘s new 2021 holiday album, autographed by Steve Proxy bidding...
JOEY JORDISON Was ‘S**tting Bricks’ While Playing With METALLICA At 2004 DOWNLOAD Festival
SLIPKNOT‘s Joey Jordison and SLAYER‘s Dave Lombardo filled in for METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich when he was unable to appear at the Download festival in England in June 2004. Ulrich later blamed his non-appearance on exhaustion, caused by an unrelenting tour schedule and the break-up of his seven-year marriage to Skylar Satenstein. SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor reflected on Jordison‘s performance with METALLICA during a conversation with Knotfest.com‘s Ryan J. Downey. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We were back there with [Joey], watching it… It was so surreal to watch Joey playing with [METALLICA], because we all grew up listening to them. And Joey was shitting bricks. I mean, he [had] his mask on, but every time he’d come back and he wou...
