Media release - 'Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things' Virtual Cinema release starts June 26

Eagle Rock Entertainment presents a virtual cinema release of

'Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things'

~STARTING JUNE 26, 2020~
~TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

New York, NY (June 4, 2020)--This summer, Eagle Rock Entertainment is delighted to announce the virtual cinema release of Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things -- the much heralded, critically acclaimed documentary about the one-and-only “First Lady Of Jazz.” Tickets and trailer available now at Eventive.

Originally scheduled to be released this past April in cinemas nationwide, the theatrical run of Just One Of Those Things was cancelled due to COVID-19. Now, Eagle Rock invites movie lovers to see the film from home, even while supporting their local movie theaters. TV viewing apps are also available for AppleTV, Roku and AndroidTV.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Leslie Woodhead and produced by novelist Reggie Nadelson, Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things reveals an intimate history of a beloved icon. Featuring never-before-seen footage, the film includes interviews with Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Itzhak Perlman, Norma Miller, the late Andre Previn, and a rare conversation with Ella Fitzgerald’s son, Ray Brown Jr.

Ella Fitzgerald is a cherished American figure: her brilliant singing included unsurpassed scat vocalizations. She covered most of a century, excelling in Swing, Pop, Bebop and redefined the Great American Songbook. Her tenacity allowed her to break barriers and chart a powerful course as a woman of color in the male-dominated music business. She fought for Civil Rights. She earned 13 Grammys, the NAACP Equal Justice Award, and the American Black Achievement Award, among others, and sold over 40 million albums throughout her six-decade career.

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things gives viewers a chance to get to know and understand Ella. Losing her mother at the age of 15, Ella endured life in an abusive reform school before escaping to the streets of Harlem. Penniless and alone during The Great Depression, her fate changed in 1934, after she won one of the first amateur nights at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem. She made a brilliant career even as she suffered racism, poverty, sexism. Ella, as everybody knew her, was the rare female bandleader when she was only nineteen. She worked with Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Benny Goodman. But like so many professional women, she struggled to reconcile her role as a world-famous performer and her private life. Married to Bebop’s innovative bassist Ray Brown, she didn’t have the time to enjoy a domestic life with him and their son, Ray, Jr. Throughout the documentary, we follow Ella as she endures these conflicts -- her trials and her triumphs -- gaining a clearer music of this woman, and what fueled her timeless voice.

Now, in these trying times, Ella’s spirit resonates more than ever. As stated in this clip by Tony Bennett in the film, “She never made a political statement except the one that I heard her say... was only three words, and it was the most complete definition of the ignorance of the world and the way they treat African Americans. She said ‘Tony, we’re all here.’ In three words, she said the whole thing.”

“Her Majesty’s reign in jazz warmly celebrated”
– Mojo

“This profile explores the jazz great’s extraordinary journey across give decades, covering some of the most tumultuous years of American history.”
– Daily Mail

Apple Music and Apple TV App To Livestream 'Jersey 4 Jersey' Benefit Show On Wednesday April 22

I posted an item about this a few years ago, but here are additional details how to tune in to hear/see the benefit live-stream later today...Robert Kinsler

APPLE MUSIC AND APPLE TV APP TO LIVESTREAM 'JERSEY 4 JERSEY' BENEFIT SHOW ON WEDNESDAY APRIL 22

Fountains of Wayne will perform together for the
first time in 7 years, also honoring the memory of
band's bassist Adam Schlesinger (second from
right), who passed away from COVID-19-related
complications on April 1, 2020.

Apple Music, Beats 1 and the Apple TV app will livestream JERSEY 4 JERSEY, a star-studded one-night benefit show on behalf of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF) to fight the medical, social and economic impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey's most vulnerable communities. The fundraiser is set to feature some of NJ's biggest celebrities, including Saquon Barkley, Tony Bennett, Jon Bon Jovi, Danny DeVito, Whoopi Goldberg, Halsey, Chelsea Handler, Charlie Puth, Kelly Ripa, Chris Rock, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, Jon Stewart, SZA and Fountains of Wayne as they raise funds to fight the impact of COVID-19.

Tune in live Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 7 p.m. ET on the Apple Music and Apple TV apps, listen to the audio on Beats 1, and also Shazam the live show at any point during the live stream to identify the songs being performed for a full timeline of music from the night, plus link to featured content in Apple Music from the artists performing.

Tony Bennett performing in Costa Mesa, CA, on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014.
Photo: Kelly A. Swift

Catch the video livestream on Apple Music HERE and listen to the full audio on Beats 1 HERE. Watch the livestream for free on the Apple TV app. It's already on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple TV. 

For viewers that can't make the live event, check back across Apple Music, Beats 1 and the Apple TV app for on demand viewings following the show.

All online proceeds received from JERSEY 4 JERSEY go directly to the NJPRF and help in the battle against the pandemic's impact on New Jersey. For additional information please visit: https://njprf.org/

Sights and Sounds: City and Colour, Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap, my latest Desert Star Weekly column

Happy Friday everybody. Going into the weekend, here is some breaking news to share...

City and Colour's "Lover Come Back" premieres at Paste Magazine

New album 'If I Should Go Before You' to be released October 9, 2015 on Dine Alone Records

 “His music, often dreamy and introspective without being moody and bleak, and maintaining a unique edge, is the perfect score for a long drive or quiet afternoon.”—Esquire

“…tells a story with a sincerity and fluency that is truly masterful.”—BBC

 “…moving, melodramatic songs delivered with candor and confidence by Mr. Green in a sweet, soaring voice. An excellent guitarist, he’s equally adept in a sparse solo folk setting and out in front of powerhouse players…”

—The Wall Street Journal

“Green’s folk sound expands even more…laid-back drums prompt slide-guitar swells and Green’s easy falsetto.”—Rolling Stone

City and Colour’s new single “Lover Come Back” recently premiered at Paste Magazine and can now be heard/shared HERE and purchased at iTunes. Of the single, the site praises, “…a gorgeous, R&B-tinged torch song split evenly between joyous, earnest affection and yearning, lovesick sadness.”

“Lover Come Back” is from City and Colour’s upcoming release If I Should Go Before You, which will be availableOctober 9 on Dine Alone Records. The highly anticipated new record is now available to pre-order via iTunes, which includes an immediate download of “Lover Come Back” as well as the album tracks “Woman” and “Wasted Love.” A fan pre-order is also now available via www.cityandcolour.com featuring limited edition colored vinyl along with other unique items. For those that prefer to shop at record stores, a vinyl pre-order will be available in September, including a bonus 12” that fans will receive instantly upon order. Additional details to be announced.

After performing countless sold-out shows worldwide, City and Colour (aka world-renowned singer, songwriter and performer Dallas Green), will embark on an extensive full band tour this fall, including dates at L.A.’s Hollywood Palladium, NYC’s Terminal 5 and Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. Tickets for all shows are now on-sale. See below for complete details.

Recorded at Nashville, Tennessee’s Blackbird Studios, If I Should Go Before You was produced by Green with additional production and engineering by Karl “Horse” Bareham. Unique to this project, the studio players on If I Should Go Before You are made up of Green’s trusted touring band: Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs, Dead Weather) on bass, Dante Schwebel (Spanish Gold, Dan Auerbach) on guitar, Doug MacGregor (Constantines) on drums and Matt Kelly on pedal steel guitar and keys.

Of the album and recording process, Dallas comments, “They inspired me to want to create new music, just to create it with them—I don’t think I wrote these songs for the band, per se, but I certainly wrote them because of the band.” He goes on to add, “Anybody who has seen us play will understand that this is the best representation of what we do live that we have ever recorded. I was so excited about being able to make and record an album with these guys that it just flowed. I felt so confident about their abilities to make all of my ideas come true.”

If I Should Go Before You is Green’s fifth release as City and Colour and follows 2013’s The Hurry and The Harm,which received widespread critical and commercial praise. The album debuted at #1 on Canada’s Top 200 Chart, #16 in the U.S., #4 in Australia, #32 in the U.K., and #83 in Germany—all career highs.

Most recently, in 2014, Green collaborated with international superstar Alecia Moore (aka P!nk) on a new project, entitled You+Me. The duo’s acclaimed debut, rose ave., debuted at #4 on the U.S. Top 200 Chart, #1 in Canada, #2 in Australia and #6 in Germany. Of the music, The Huffington Post praised, “While such prominent voices rarely mix too seamlessly, Green and Moore were destined to harmonize together,” while Entertainment Weekly declared, “The harmonies on the album are absolutely beautiful.”

IF I SHOULD GO BEFORE YOU TRACK LIST

1. Woman

2. Northern Blues

3. Mizzy C

4. If I Should Go Before You

5. Killing Time

6. Wasted Love

7. Runaway

8. Lover Come Back

9. Map Of The World

10. Friends

11. Blood

CITY AND COLOUR TOUR DATES

November 5—Detroit, MI—The Fillmore*

November 6—Chicago, IL—Metro* (SOLD OUT)

November 7—Minneapolis, MN—First Ave*

November 9—Denver, CO—The Ogden Theatre*

November 12—Portland, OR—Roseland Theater*

November 13—Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre *

November 15—Oakland, CA—Fox Theatre

November 16—San Diego, CA—House of Blues* (SOLD OUT)

November 18—Los Angeles, CA—Hollywood Palladium*

December 2—Pittsburgh, PA—Stage AE†

December 3—Ithaca, NY—State Theatre†

December 4—Northampton, MA—Calvin Theatre†

December 5—Boston, MA—House of Blues†

December 7— Sayreville, NJ—Starland Ballroom†

December 8—Philadelphia, PA—Tower Theatre†

December 10— New York, NY—Terminal 5†

December 11—Washington, DC—Echo Stage†

December 12—Richmond, VA—The National†

December 13—Nashville, TN—War Memorial Auditorium†

*with special guest Hurray for the Riff Raff

†with special guest Bahamas

 (additional dates to be announced)

Tony Bennett and jazz pianist Bill Charlap record 'The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern'

Bennett's new album for RPM/Columbia Records available everywhere on Friday, September 25, 2015

Photo credit: Kelsey Bennett

RPM/Columbia Records is proud to announce the release of The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, a new album from American musical legend Tony Bennett and acclaimed jazz pianist Bill Charlap, arriving Friday, September 25, 2015. The album is available for pre-order beginning today at Amazon.com at http://smarturl.it/silverlining_amazon and iTunes athttp://smarturl.it/silverlining_itunes.

Following the enormous success of his #1, Grammy-Award winning album with Lady Gaga, Cheek To Cheek, this new release continues the classic series of Tony Bennett album releases celebrating the essentials of the Great American Songbook. The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern is an appreciation of the genius of Jerome David Kern (1885-1945), one of the 20th century's most important American composers of musical theater and popular music.

Tony Bennett is the only artist to successfully bridge the worlds of pop music and jazz on an international scale for over 60 years. The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern become parts of a timeless legacy of recordings that Bennett has done throughout his career that have embraced both genres, in particular the revered piano jazz albums that he recorded with the late Bill Evans in 1975 and 1977.  Tony has become synonymous with the pop/jazz connection and in recent years has been a mentor to contemporary artists such as Lady Gaga and the late Amy Winehouse in encouraging them to embrace jazz music.  With his 90th birthday less than a year away, The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern defines what makes Tony Bennett unique in the pantheon of great singers and is a testament to the legacy that he continues to create as a recording artist and influence in the music industry.

Over the course of his career, Kern composed more than 700 songs, creating musical elements used in more than 100 stage works, collaborating with the greatest lyricists and librettists of the era including P.G. Wodehouse, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin, E.Y. Harburg and many others on a seemingly limitless repertoire of classic songs including "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Long Ago and Far Away" and many more.

New York native Jerome Kern was a major force on Broadway and in Hollywood musicals in a career that spanned more than four decades. He expanded on earlier musical theater traditions, from vaudeville to operetta, to embrace new dance rhythms, syncopation and jazz progressions and helped invent the modern musical template. While many of his Broadway musicals and Hollywood musical films were contemporary smash hits, Kern is perhaps best remembered today through revivals of "Show Boat," one of his signature achievements.

In his liner notes for The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, music historian Will Friedwald describes Kern as "...the key link between the great music of historical and contemporary classics, a direct connection between Brahms and Charlie Parker....a key architect of a uniquely American art form that would eventually take shape as musical theater....one of the founding fathers of a term that Tony Bennett later coined himself, 'the Great American Songbook.'" (Friedwald writes about music and popular culture for The Wall Street Journal, worked with Tony Bennett on Tony's "The Good Life" memoir, and is author of eight books including the award-winning "A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers," "Sinatra! The Song Is You," "Stardust Melodies," and "Jazz Singing."

"The idea of a Kern Songbook project was Tony's," writes Will Friedwald, "thereby placing Kern on the very short list of canonical composers (Rodgers & Hart, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, and Cy Coleman) who have been the beneficiaries of an entire album by Bennett. It was also Bennett's idea to create the album in collaboration with the remarkable Bill Charlap....who can also take a great song we all know by heart and make us feel like we've never heard it before."

Playing alongside Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap on The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern are pianist Renee Rosnes (on the piano duet pieces), Peter Washington (bass) and Kenny Washington (drums).  Unrelated, though sharing the same last name, Peter and Kenny have been performing with Bill Charlap for nearly two decades and pianist Renee Rosnes has been Charlap's life partner for close to 10 years.

With more than 700 Jerome Kern compositions to choose from, the set list for The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern is a distillation of essential highlights from a boundless catalog. With these interpretations of some of Jerome Kern's finest songs, Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap offer a definitive introduction to Kern's music while providing a deep understanding of the abiding and universal qualities of these songs.

TONY BENNETT & BILL CHARLAP
THE SILVER LINING: THE SONGS OF JEROME KERN
Musicians:
Vocals: Tony Bennett
Pianos: Bill Charlap & Renee Rosnes
Bass: Peter Washington
Drums: Kenny Washington

Arranged by Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap

Tracks in Alphabetical Order (14 total)
ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE (single piano)
DEARLY BELOVED (trio)
I WON'T DANCE (trio)
I'M OLD FASHIONED (trio)
LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING (piano duet)
LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY (piano duet)
MAKE BELIEVE (single piano)
NOBODY ELSE BUT ME (trio)
PICK YOURSELF UP (trio)
THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS (piano duet)
THE SONG IS YOU (piano duet)
THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (single piano)
THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME (trio)
YESTERDAYS (trio)

*Single piano is Bill Charlap
*Piano duet is Bill Charlap & Renee Rosnes

My latest column - update Finally, you can read my new album/DVD review column published in Desert Star Weekly here. I'll post a longer version of the column online sometime this weekend.

Sir Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West set to take the stage in a world debut performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards

Breaking news. Paul McCartney "Tweeted" it out this morning and then I received the official media release from The Recording Academy^®...

RIHANNA, PAUL MCCARTNEY, AND KANYE WEST 
SET TO TAKE THE STAGE IN A WORLD DEBUT PERFORMANCE OF RIHANNA'S NEW SINGLE, "FOURFIVESECONDS," 
ON THE 57TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS^®

 Music's Biggest Night^® — Hosted By LL Cool J — Airs Live On CBS, Feb. 8, 2015

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Feb. 3, 2015) — Seven-time GRAMMY^® winner and current nominee Rihanna will deliver a world debut performance of her newly released single, "FourFiveSeconds," with fellow GRAMMY-winning collaborators Kanye West and PaulMcCartney on the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards^®. Making his return to the GRAMMY stage after six years, 21-time GRAMMY winner Kanye West holds two current nominations. The legendary Paul McCartney is an 18-time GRAMMY winner and a two-time recipient of The Recording Academy^®’s Lifetime Achievement Award, as a solo artist and as a member of the Beatles. Entertainment icon and two-time GRAMMY winner LL COOL J returns as host. Taking place at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Music's Biggest Night^® will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). 

Seven-time GRAMMY winner Rihanna is up for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "The Monster" with Eminem.

Twenty-one-time GRAMMY winner Kanye West is up for two awards: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (with Charlie Wilson) and Best Rap Song for "Bound 2."

Previously announced performers are GRAMMY-winning band AC/DC; current nominees and GRAMMY winners Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga; nominee Eric Church; nominees and GRAMMY winners Common with John Legend; nominee Ariana Grande; nominee Hozierwith nominee and GRAMMY winner Annie Lennox; nominee Jessie J with GRAMMY winner Tom Jones; nominee and GRAMMY winner Miranda Lambert; GRAMMY winnersAdam Levine with Gwen Stefani; seven-time GRAMMY winner Madonna; nominee Ed Sheeran; nominee Sam Smith; nominee and eight-time GRAMMY winner Usher; and nominee and seven-time GRAMMY winner Pharrell Williams.

The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards are produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer, Louis J. Horvitz is director, and David Wild and Ken Ehrlich are the writers.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy^® is an organization of musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @TheGRAMMYs on Twitter, like "The GRAMMYs" on Facebook, and join The GRAMMYs' social communities on Google+,Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube.