One of the most famous American band leaders of the swing era, the clarinettist Artie Shaw, has died. He died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 94.

His 1938 recording of the Cole Porter tune “Begin the Beguine” helped make him one of the most famous and highly-paid musicians in the US at the time.

Shaw was one of the biggest names in the jazz scene during the 1930s and 40s, alongside artists such as Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.

One of the most famous members of his original band was the then-unknown blues singer Billie Holiday, who went on to become one of the icons of the era.

In 2002, Shaw released a CD box set called Self Portrait that included some never released recordings.

He received a lifetime achievement Grammy Award in 2004.

Source: bbc

Phish drummer Jon Fishman’s offbeat “sonic rhythm dress” which is stitched together from recycled cassette tapes is going on display at a museum this month.

The dress commissioned by Fishman, is going on display at Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, The Boston Globe reported in Thursday’s editions.

The dress includes sound collages of some of Fishman’s favorite artists. The bodice includes Jimi Hendrix, Sun Ra, Led Zeppelin and Prince, the newspaper reported. The fabric retains its magnetism and emits a sound when rubbed with a tape head.

The dress was commissioned by the Vermont rocker and designed by New York artist Alyce Santoro.

Source: yahoo

Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is trying to stage a ‘Live Aid’ style concert to raise money for the Asian tsunami disaster appeal.

Stadium bosses are in talks with some of the UK’s top performers to mount the charity gig on 22 January, but they are working against a tight deadline to get the massive charity gig organised in under three weeks.

“It’s going to be tight,” said stadium manager Paul Sergeant, adding a team of people from the stadium was working over the bank holiday to try to get the concert plan off the ground.

Talks were going on with “A list acts” including some from Wales to support the concert, said Mr Sergeant, although he refused to name possible acts.

Source bbc

There are an estimated 5 million people who have been displaced, in addition to the nearly 125,000 people who’ve been killed in the Indian Ocean tsunami. If you wish to help, please visit one of the resources below.

Our thoughts are with the victims and their families in this tragic time.

Americares

American Red Cross

CARE USA

International Aid

International Rescue Committee

UNICEF

World Relief

Oxfam America

If you Google Donavon Frankenreiter looking for a music bio and tour itinerary, you’re much more likely to find his surf team roster at the top of the list.

While it’s true that Laguna Beach, Calif., resident is a team rider for Surf Prescriptions with sponsors including Surf Rx, Billabong and Von Zipper, the Jack Johnson protege is a budding acoustic music star as well.

If surfing truly is a way of life, one can tell that Frankenreiter is deadly serious about his music career – because he’s not going to be doing much surfing on his upcoming 35-city North American tour.

In fact, he might want to invest in a nice parka before hitting the ski towns of Colorado starting January 15 in Telluride, before moving on to cities that don’t exactly evoke images of surf, sand or swaying palm trees.

The winter caravan includes stops in Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Atlanta before finally making its way back to the West Coast, where Frankenreiter can break out the board in between gigs in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Then he’ll head up the coast to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle before tentatively winding down the outing in Vancouver, B.C., March 6th.

Frankenreiter’s eponymous debut was produced by Johnson and released on the his signature label, Bushfire Records. The buzz on this laid back dude has been growing ever since.

The tour marks his first major American outing after a year spent primarily in Europe and Australia when it wasn’t spent catching waves.

Source pollstar.com.

Legendary country, rock and jazz guitarist Hank Garland has died at the age of 74. Garland, who performed with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Patsy Cline among others, died in Florida on Monday. Walter “Hank” Garland was renowned guitarist on Nashville’s country scene during the 1950s and 60s.

He had his first million-selling hit at 19 with Sugar Foot Rag, a famous country tune, and worked with Elvis during the 1950s and 60s on hits such as Little Sister and Big Hunk of Love.

In addition to performing with Elvis and other Nashville stars, Garland was at the forefront of the rock ‘n’ roll movement and enjoyed a successful career as a country virtuoso.

Garland, who spent the final years of his life fighting ill health and record companies over royalties, died of a staph infection at Orange Park Medical Centre.

Source: bbc

With memories of a successful summer tour in Southeast Asia still fresh in their minds, the members of Linkin Park are spearheading an effort to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami that have devastated the region. With an initial contribution of $100,000 by the rock act, the newly created organization Music for Relief will directly support American Red Cross programs to provide immediate help and long-term support to those in need.

“We are fortunate to be in a position to help, but this needs to be a broader effort,” guitarist Brad Delson says, saying the band will call on fans and peers to join the effort.

“If one of our fans can donate $10, then that’s going to help… We are also going to appeal to our musical peers by asking them to donate as well,” he adds. “The bottom line is the more we can do, and the quicker we can do it, the more lives we can save.”

At deadline, news services were reporting more than 114,000 are confirmed dead in the wake of a tsunami that followed Sunday’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the depths of the Indian Ocean, off of the coast of Sumatra.

Over the summer, Linkin Park played sold-out stadium shows in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. “The outpouring of emotion from our fans there was overwhelming,” Delson admits. “It really affected us.”

Linkin Park is no stranger to charity, having donated $500,000 to various charities throughout 2004, according to the band’s label, Warner Bros. The group’s official Web site includes an “Awareness” section, with links to such organizations as the International Child Abuse Network, the United Way and the Japanese American National Museum.

Delson describes the band’s creation of Music for Relief as “our way of giving back to the people who so desperately need it.”

Those interested in information about contributing to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, can visit the Music for Relief Web site at www.musicforrelief.org.

Source billboard.com.

Initial dates have been announced for a reunion tour featuring Gary Louris and Mark Olsen, both founding members of the late 80

Adrian Belew has set Jan. 25 as the release date for his latest solo album, “Side One” (Sanctuary). The nine-track set was recorded with Primus leader/bassist Les Claypool and Tool drummer Danny Carey.

“‘Side One’ deals with the concept of the power trio and writing in that headspace,” says Belew, who is a member of King Crimson and has played with everyone from David Bowie and Frank Zappa to Trent Reznor and David Byrne. “As the guitar player in that equation, you’re only as good as your rhythm section and I can’t imagine a better rhythm section than Les Claypool and Danny Carey.”

Two more albums from the sessions — “Side Two” and “Side Three” — are completed, although no release dates are yet confirmed. A trio tour is being planned for 2005, as is the fourth studio album from another Belew project, the Bears.

Source billboard.com .

SkierGuard, an insurance policy launched by Skier Insurance Services (SIS) in August of 2003, will refund the unused portion of a ski resort season pass on a pro-rata basis if a policyholder becomes sick or injured and cannot use the pass for 30 days. The policy, which costs six percent of the season pass, also comes with $15,000 in emergency evacuation insurance and $10,000 of accidental death/dismemberment coverage.