In 2007, noted critic and jazz historian Richard Niles wrote, produced, and hosted a three-part series for the BBC that focused in-depth on the career of Grammy Award-winning guitarist Pat Metheny. Now for the first time ever in print, Hal Leonard presents those interviews in full along with many others that reveal the inner workings of the musician’s relentless drive and dedication.
The 161-page The Pat Metheny Interviews: The Inner Workings of His Creativity Revealed is available now. The book also features some rare photos, such as a performance when Metheny was a teenager.
“Pat Metheny answers questions in a manner so articulate that people who don’t know him well often look around to see if he’s using autocue,” writes Niles, who has known Metheny since the mid-1970s. “The book is much like spending a couple of hours in conversation with the guitarist, exactly as it should be,” adds Joe Klopus in the Kansas City Star. “And there are some gems along the way, such as this one: ‘I just try to play for the listener inside me.’ Or: ‘My feeling is, you have to have an incredibly accurate compass that lives inside of you, telling you what you should be doing. … That’s the key right there, to follow that compass.’ ”
Metheny has recorded more than 30 albums, picking up 17 Grammy Awards along the way. He records solo and with his renowned Pat Metheny Group. Along the way, Metheny has recorded such popular smooth jazz songs as “James,” “Last Train Home,” “Follow Me,” “Chris,” “Facing West” and “Here to Stay.”
Metheny’s next CD will be The Orchestrion Project, and he will begin a North American tour to support it in April.
There’s a new singer on the scene called Micaela Haley, who has an electronic/chill music CD titled Syren. The singer’s actual name is Michelle Culbertson, and she is none other than the wife of smooth jazz keyboardist Brian Culbertson, a weekday morning host on the Smooth Jazz Network. He co-produced and performed on the CD, but you won’t find his name on the credits since he goes by the stage named Lord Byron.
Michelle Culbertson is an accomplished classical and opera singer who has already released an operatic CD. Syren features such classic compositions as “La Vie En Rose,” “Ave Maria” and selections from Verdi’s La Traviata, Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. There is also one original song, “Come Away.”
Brian is currently on his fouth annual Soulful Christmas tour with special guest saxophonist Michael Lington. The next show is Thursday (December 3) in Norfolk, Conn.
Good friends Chris Botti and Sting will be reunited next week, December 8 and December 9, during two special shows in New York. Botti will join Sting at St. John the Divine Cathedral as the singer performs selections from his new CD, If On a Winter’s Night. Sting’s latest CD, on which Botti appears, is inspired by his favorite time of year and featues two original compositions as well as traditional songs, carols and lullabies from the British Isles.
It was in 1999 that Botti joined Sting on his Brand New Day tour as a featured soloist, which lasted two-and-a-half years. Botti would once again join Sting on the Sacred Love tour, but now as the opening act.
Since that time, Botti and Sting have occasionally appeared on stage together and in the studio. Sting guest-starred on Botti’s 2004 CD When I Fall in Love, as well as this year’s Live in Boston.
Botti has a full schedule this month, and he has several shows in advance of his annual, multi-night gig at the famed Blue Note jazz club in New York beginning December 15.
Michael Buble, whose latest CD Crazy Love debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, will be performing for the Queen of England on December 7 at the annual Royal Variety Show in Blackpool, England. The popular show, hosted by comedian Peter Kay, has been a staple in the U.K. since debuting in 1912. All proceeds from the show are donated to the Entertainment Artists’ Benevolent Fund.
Among those joining Buble on stage will be Chaka Khan, Lady Gaga, Whoopi Goldberg, Miley Cyrus, Bette Midler and many others from both the U.S. and the U.K.
Meanwhile, Buble will be a co-host this morning (December 2) on Live With Regis and Kelly. He is one of numerous celebrities hosting with Kelly Ripa while Regis Philbin recovers from recent hip-replacement surgery.
And later tonight, Buble will be performing at the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza in New York. Other performers include Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Shakira and the Radio City Rockettes. The event will air on NBC.
A special CD/DVD edition of The Very Best of Enya, just released, features a number of Enya’s music videos that have never been released on DVD in the U.S. They include “Orinico Flow,” “Caribbean Blue,” “Only Time,” “Only If” and “Amarantine.” There is also documentary footage.
This new compilation, also available as an 18-song CD, spans Enya’s entire 20-year career. It include titles from all her Warner albums since 1988, including The Celts, which was re-issued by Warners in 1992 after it had been released by Atlantic in 1987. Also notable is the inclusion of “May It Be” and a previously unreleased version of “Aníron (I Desire),” both of which originally appeared on the soundtrack for the first chapter of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
The songs were personally chosen by Enya and her two main collaborators, Nicky and Roma Ryan. The Very Best of Enya is the first official compilation of her songs in 12 years. Since then she has released four albums: A Day Without Rain, Amarantine, Sounds of the Season With Enya and And Winter Came.
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Alicia Keys is launching a contest through her charity, the Keep a Child Alive foundation, that will give five people an opportunity to visit the continent with her. She says her first trip to Africa was emotional and inspiring, and she wants to share the experience again, but this time with fans.
“I was able to see the great separation between have and have not,” Keys told the Associated Press. Her foundation provides life-saving treatment, care and support to families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. “I was able to see the incredible spirit of people. I was able to learn firsthand about the AIDS pandemic of Africa.”
Keys will announce the contest today (December 1), which is World AIDS Day, when she performs at the Nokia Theatre in New York. The concert will air live on YouTube at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT. She will be performing songs from her upcoming CD, The Element of Freedom, which is due December 15 and features the Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit single “Doesn’t Mean Anything.”
Fans will be able to enter the contest online at the foundation’s Web site, or by sending a text. The fee for the text is $5, but it will be donated to Keep a Child Alive. Keys said the winners, who will travel throughout Africa for five days sometime next year, will visit the people and places that were most influential to her.
To learn more about Alicia’s foundation or the contest, go to keepachildalive.org.
Today (December 1st), guitarist Chris Standring is marking his 49th birthday and looking forward to the release of a brand-new smooth jazz CD. Standring was born on a farm in the English countryside. Fortunately for his fans, Standring eventually gave up the tractor for a guitar. In 2004, he purchased his first home, in the Southern California city of Van Nuys, after many years of living in a Los Angeles-area apartment.
Standring made his solo debut in 1998 with Velvet, following that with the CDs Hip Sway and Groovalicious. In 2005, Standring delivered his fourth solo album with the release of Soul Express, which featured the Paul Brown-produced hit single “I Can’t Help Myself.” In 2008, Standring created his own record label, Ultimate Vibe Recordings, and offered the CD Love & Paragraphs, which featured the Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit single of the same name.
Standring’s latest CD, Blue Bolero, will be released on February 2. His sixth solo CD features orchestral elements, as well as drummer Dave Karasony and upright bassist Larry Steen.
Smooth jazz guitarist Joyce Cooling has recorded her first holiday song and wants to share it with you. Cooling sings on the original “It’s Feeling Like Christmas,” which she is offering through iTunes and amazon.com. The song was written by Joyce and her musical partner, pianist Jay Wagner.
Fifty percent of their proceeds from the sale of “It’s Feeling Like Christmas” will go to the the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an organization Cooling frequently works with.
You can also also watch a video of “It’s Feeling Like Christmas” on YouTube.
Smooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh recently taped two specials for local PBS affiliates, one of which is available for viewing now. In Klugh’s hometown of Atlanta, he was a guest of Enterprising Entrepreneurs, a show that focuses on business-savvy Atlantans. Earl’s episode focused on his experience and involvement with his own career in the evolving music industry. You can watch the show online at the Georgia Public Broadcasting website.
Klugh’s second PBS special will air on WDSC, Central Florida’s PBS station, and focus on his music and influences. Klugh was recently in Florida to perform at the Halifax Uncorked Food and Wine Festival hosted by Emmy-winning TV personality Ted Allen, when the special was filmed. An air date is scheduled for February 2010.
Meanwhile, Klugh – who latest CD is The Spice of Life – has announced that he will perform his first-ever Christmas concert. ‘Tis the Season: An Evening With Earl Klugh,on December 5 at the Ferst Center in Atlanta.
Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Norah Jones has announced U.S. tour dates in support of her new CD The Fall, which was released by EMI’s Blue Note Records on November 17. The 36-city tour will kick off March 5, 2010. A select number of shows will go on sale beginning Friday (December 4). Full venue and ticketing information is available at Jones’ website.
Jones will also be premiering two remixes of her Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit single “Chasing Pirates” this week. On Wednesday (December 2), Stereogum will present “Chasing Pirates (Santigold and Snotty Remix).” On December 3, Artist Direct will present “Chasing Pirates (Droogs Remix),” which was created by a remix collective that included Beck. The remixes will be released digitally and on vinyl on January 12, 2010.
NORAH JONES – 2010 U.S. TOUR DATES
March 5 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
March 6 Kansas City, MO The Midland
March 7 Omaha, NE Orpheum
March 9 Des Moines, IA Civic Center
March 11 Akron, OH E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall
March 12 Louisville, KY Whitney Hall
March 13 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
March 15 Madison, WI Overture Hall
March 17 St. Paul, MN The O’Shaughnessy
March 19 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre
March 20 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
March 25 Boston, MA Wang Theatre
March 26 Mashantucket, CT MGM Foxwoods
March 27 New York, NY WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
March 30 Baltimore, MD Lyric Opera House
April 1 Charlottesville, VA The Paramount Theater
April 2 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
April 3 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre
April 18 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
April 19 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Hall
April 21 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
April 23 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theater
April 24 San Diego, CA Spreckels Theatre
April 25 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theater
April 28 Albuquerque, NM Kiva Auditorium
April 29 El Paso, TX Plaza Theatre
May 1 Austin, TX Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
May 4 Dallas, TX Majestic Theatre
May 5 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
May 6 Mobile, AL Saenger Theatre
May 8 Memphis, TN Orpheum Theatre
May 9 Birmingham, AL Alabama Theatre
May 11 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
May 12 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium
May 14 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
May 15 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
In 2007, noted critic and jazz historian Richard Niles wrote, produced, and hosted a three-part series for the BBC that focused in-depth on the career of Grammy Award-winning guitarist Pat Metheny. Now for the first time ever in print, Hal Leonard presents those interviews in full along with many others that reveal the inner workings of the musician’s relentless drive and dedication.
Good friends Chris Botti and Sting will be reunited next week, December 8 and December 9, during two special shows in New York. Botti will join Sting at St. John the Divine Cathedral as the singer performs selections from his new CD, If On a Winter’s Night. Sting’s latest CD, on which Botti appears, is inspired by his favorite time of year and featues two original compositions as well as traditional songs, carols and lullabies from the British Isles.
Michael Buble, whose latest CD Crazy Love debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, will be performing for the Queen of England on December 7 at the annual Royal Variety Show in Blackpool, England. The popular show, hosted by comedian Peter Kay, has been a staple in the U.K. since debuting in 1912. All proceeds from the show are donated to the Entertainment Artists’ Benevolent Fund.
A special CD/DVD edition of The Very Best of Enya, just released, features a number of Enya’s music videos that have never been released on DVD in the U.S. They include “Orinico Flow,” “Caribbean Blue,” “Only Time,” “Only If” and “Amarantine.” There is also documentary footage.
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Alicia Keys is launching a contest through her charity, the Keep a Child Alive foundation, that will give five people an opportunity to visit the continent with her. She says her first trip to Africa was emotional and inspiring, and she wants to share the experience again, but this time with fans.
Today (December 1st), guitarist Chris Standring is marking his 49th birthday and looking forward to the release of a brand-new smooth jazz CD. Standring was born on a farm in the English countryside. Fortunately for his fans, Standring eventually gave up the tractor for a guitar. In 2004, he purchased his first home, in the Southern California city of Van Nuys, after many years of living in a Los Angeles-area apartment.
Smooth jazz guitarist Joyce Cooling has recorded her first holiday song and wants to share it with you. Cooling sings on the original “It’s Feeling Like Christmas,” which she is offering through 
Smooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh recently taped two specials for local PBS affiliates, one of which is available for viewing now. In Klugh’s hometown of Atlanta, he was a guest of Enterprising Entrepreneurs, a show that focuses on business-savvy Atlantans. Earl’s episode focused on his experience and involvement with his own career in the evolving music industry. You can watch the show 
Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Norah Jones has announced U.S. tour dates in support of her new CD The Fall, which was released by EMI’s Blue Note Records on November 17. The 36-city tour will kick off March 5, 2010. A select number of shows will go on sale beginning Friday (December 4). Full venue and ticketing information is available at Jones’