Monthly Archives: April 2009

By Ernest Barteldes-NewYork Press

In the spring of 1994, a jazz aficionado named Mitch Borden started the West Village–based Smalls Jazz Club, an after-hours basement where musicians and fans came together to celebrate the music they loved. Back then, things were quite different:There was a $10 cover charge and a loose BYOB policy.The music went on pretty much until the sun came up—a laidback scene quite different from other mainstream jazz venues in Manhattan. For starters, patrons not only brought six-packs from the neighborhood deli but also brought pizza, Chinese food or whatever munchies they could get.

But that was then. These days Smalls has a full bar and heftier cover charge, but the spirit remains. [Read More]

By Ryan Nakashima(AP)-Yahoo news

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – In 2004, when MySpace was still getting going, recording label executive Courtney Holt noticed that musicians were using the Web site to connect more intimately with their fans, through detailed blogs and behind-the-scenes photos. So Holt arranged to meet MySpace’s founders.

“I remember going into his office when we were very small,” said MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, “when most other companies wouldn’t pay attention to us.” [Read More]

By Jonathan Melber_The Huffington Post

A few days ago, the Associated Press announced that Obama’s famous HOPE poster amounts to copyright infringement. The artist behind the poster, Shepard Fairey, has never hidden the fact that he based his iconic creation on a photograph he found through Google. The AP thinks it owns the copyright to that photograph, since Mannie Garcia was freelancing for the AP when he shot it. With posters sold out, a special edition in theNational Portrait Gallery, and major exhibitions in New York and Boston, the AP wants in on the windfall. [Read More]

By Fact

The World of Arthur Russell, put together by Soul Jazz Records in 2004, is generally regarded as the best available Arthur Russell compilation. Since its release, the New York composer/cellist/singer/producer has gone from cult legend to media sensation, culminating in the release last year of doleful but affectionate documentary Wild Combination. Now, after a couple of years spent out of print we’re pleased to announce that it’s being re-issued on both CD and 3xLP. [Read More]

 By Jim Farber-Daily News

The cry of “Queens is in the house!” just gained new resonance.

Last night, the undisputed kings of Queens hip hop, Run-D.M.C., were inducted into music’s most exclusive house: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They’re only the second hip-hop act to make the grade (Grand Master Flash earned the inaugural nod in 2007). [Read More]