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From television cowboy to one of the most instantly recognizable movie stars in the world, no one does it like Clint Eastwood. There's an irony to the man with no name, a character made famous by Sergio Leone's deeply influential "Dollars" trilogy, becoming so ingrained in pop culture that his signature squint alone transcends generations. Eastwood could have lived off his acting roles for the rest of his career. He was so popular that one of the highest grossing films of 1978 was "Every Which Way But Loose," a leisurely road trip comedy with Eastwood as a truck driver/bar brawler traveling the country with his trusty orangutan buddy. He's nothing, if not adaptable, proving countless times that he's also one of the industry's most restless talents by way of his expansive director's portfolio.

For the past five decades, Eastwood has taken a stab at just about every genre from...

Arthur Hamilton, the Oscar-nominated songwriter best known for his smoky torch-song classic “Cry Me a River,” memorably recorded by Julie London, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Cocker and many others, has died. He was 98.

His death was announced this week by ASCAP and the Society of Composers and Lyricists; details were not immediately available.

Hamilton received his Oscar nom for best song (shared with composer Riz Ortolani) for “Till Love Touches Your Life” from Madron (1970), performed by Richard Williams and Jan Daley for the movie Western that starred Richard Boone and Leslie Caron.

For Warner Bros.’ Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955), starring and directed by Jack Webb, Hamilton created two wistful songs for Peggy Lee, who played an alcoholic jazz singer in the musical crime film — “He Needs Me” and “Sing a Rainbow,” which would evolve into a children’s classic.

“Cry Me a River” was sung by Fitzgerald for the film but did...

Brian Avnet, the respected personal manager and music executive who discovered Josh Groban, collaborated with David Foster and helped The Manhattan Transfer to great success, has died. He was 82.

Avnet died May 14 at his home in Los Angeles after a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease, a publicist announced.

The Baltimore native also worked closely with the likes of Johnny Mandel, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Cyndi Lauper, Take 6, Jean-Luc Ponty, Eric Benét and Joshua Ledet.

Avnet began working with The Manhattan Transfer in 1979, and two years later the vocal group became the first to win Grammys in the pop and jazz categories in the same year, earning trophies for “The Boy From New York City” and “Until I Met You (Corner Pocket).”

“Brian was an excellent manager and like a brother to me,” Manhattan Transfer founding member Alan Paul said in a statement.

Steven Spielberg is often regarded for his invaluable contributions to cinema, but there's an argument to be made for his place in television. After his short film "Amblin'" made waves with Sid Sheinberg, the former head of Universal, Spielberg spent the late '60s and early '70s directing a number of shows including "Columbo" and "Night Gallery." Though his focus would cater toward the glamour of big screen adventures, he never lost sight of the medium that gave him the opportunities to flex his chops. Most of Spielberg's later television career consisted of executive producer credits, but there were some shows that he had an active hand in developing, with one that made a considerable splash in the mid '80s.

"Amazing Stories" was Spielberg's foray into the world of anthology television, as each episode spanned the genre-scope of fantasy, science fiction and horror. Invoking the series will undoubtedly...

Brandyn Barbara Artis, an actress who appeared in films including George Lucas’ Thx 1138 and Randa Haines’ The Doctor, has died. She was 81.

Artis battled breast cancer and died March 31 at her home in Los Angeles, her friend Karen T. Bolt announced.

Artis’ résumé also included work on such TV shows as Man From Atlantis, The White Shadow, Knots Landing, Dynasty and General Hospital.

She played a hologram dancer in Thx 1138 (1971), which starred Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence in Lucas’ first feature as a director, and was a nurse in The Doctor, starring William Hurt.

An U.S. Air Force veteran, Artis wrote the autobiographical one-woman play Sister, Girl, which was drawn from a journal she kept during her treatment for breast cancer. It was performed in the U.S. and internationally.

She also authored the 2011 romance novel Running Barefoot in Paris and won a Harper’s Bazaar/Estée Lauder “Fabulous at Every Age” contest,...

Pearl Jam, Kacey Musgraves, Lil Wayne with the Roots, Luke Combs, and Dave Matthews Band are among the headliners for the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Haim, Lenny Kravitz, Santana, John Fogerty, Burna Boy, Cage the Elephant, and My Morning Jacket will also take the Big Easy stage at this year’s Jazz Fest from April 24 to May 4.

The festival is split into two four-day-long weekends, with the first weekend (April 24 to 27) featuring Dave Matthews Band, Lil Wayne & the Roots, Musgraves, Fogerty, Burna Boy, Haim, Harry Connick Jr., Goose, Gladys Knight,...

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has revealed its 2025 lineup featuring Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, hometown hero Lil Wayne with The Roots, Lenny Kravitz, Kacey Musgraves, John Fogerty, Luke Combs, Santana, and Burna Boy as headliners.

Other notable acts set to play include Haim, Cage the Elephant, My Morning Jacket, Goose, Laufey, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, Kamasi Washington, Banda Ms, The Wailers featuring Julian Marley, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick, Trombone Short & Orleans Avenue, Harry Connick Jr., The Revivalists, Margo Price, Irma Thomas, Tank and The Bangas, Branford Marsalis, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Maze Honoring Frankie Beverly “The Legacy Band”, Morris Day & the Time, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Hurray for the Riff Raff, James Bay, Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Cyril Neville, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, James Bay, Dumpstaphunk, The Radiators, Samantha Fish, Anders Osborne, Kenny Wayne Shepherd with Bobby Rush, Terence Blanchard, and more.

Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, and many other musicians will recreate Bob Dylan’s 1975 masterpiece Blood on the Tracks onstage at a 50th anniversary concert next month, joined by three of the album’s original musicians. The Jan. 24 tribute concert, Shelter From the Storm, is organized by the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and will take place in that city’s Cain’s Ballroom.

Actor Luke Wilson is set to host the evening, which will feature a complete performance of the album, plus other selections from Dylan’s catalog. The...

As The Voice finished its Season 26 Battles Monday night, we got one duet after another that would’ve barely qualified as a Tiff. But toward the end of the evening, things picked up in a big way, ultimately leaving us high from a face-off that that was a genuine knockout. Read on, and we’ll discuss all of the showdowns…

Team Bublé: J.Paul (Grade: B-) defeated Kamila Kiehne (Grade: D) on “Toxic” | Not an auspicious way to start an episode. J.Paul and Kamila’s Battle immediately veered into train-wreck territory, with Britney Spears’ hit being altogether the wrong song for him,...

Paquin Entertainment Group, the producer and talent agency repping the likes of Michael Bublé and Bryan Adams, has hired an ex-Cineflix exec as its first Chief Operating Officer.

Andrew Akman took on the newly-created role last week and will help produce film and TV, exhibitions and large-scale events. Paquin said it is “currently in development on several talent-driven projects for broadcasters, streaming platforms, and live audiences.”

Akman is a vet of the TV space, having held senior roles including COO at Cineflix Media, Shaw Media, Canwest Media and Alliance Atlantis Communications, while he co-founded TV production company Husk Media.

The hire comes with Paquin looking to leverage more of its IP and artists into film, TV and docs. It reps the likes of Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, Nickelback, Sarah McLachlan, Bryan Adams, Serena Ryder, and Christine and the Queens.

Chairman and CEO Gilles Paquin said: “Andrew’s expertise in...

On October 19, The Rolling Stones launched their new album, Hackney Diamonds, at a secret New York City nightclub with Lady Gaga.

Elvis Costello and Diana Krall were seen on the balcony with the closest view of the stage.

Many other stars were present, including Daniel Craig, Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Weisz, Keegan Michael Key, Mary Kate Olson, Trevor Noah, along with Rolling Stone editor Gus Wenner and his father, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner.

Mick Jagger, 80, still maintained his youthful exuberance for his fans, with no decline in energy despite his age.

Six hundred fans got to hear the band power through old favorites, with songs off the new album interspersed throughout. Gaga joined the band on stage to perform their new track, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.” Clad in platform heels and a sparkly black-and-maroon bell bottom jumpsuit, Gaga did a high counterpart and response to Jagger’s lead vocals.

Questlove...

The Rolling Stones are back with Hackney Diamonds, their first new album in over 18 years, and to help them kick off their new era is none other than their recent collaborator, Lady Gaga, who joined the Brit rock legends on stage at their album release show in New York City on Thursday night. Watch video of the performance below.

Performing at an intimate club party several hours before Hackney Diamonds officially dropped, the Stones’ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood delivered a seven-song set of tracks from the new album, including the lead single “Angry.” To close things out, Gaga hopped onstage for the encore: a live rendition of Consequence’s Song of the Week “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” which features contributions from Gaga and Stevie Wonder on the studio recording.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, others who were in attendance at the star-studded release show include: Daniel Craig,...

The Rolling Stones celebrated the release of their new album with an intimate club performance in New York City, closing the show with a rousing duet with Lady Gaga as Daniel Craig, Chris Rock, Mary-Kate Olsen and more cheered on.

The rock icons performed songs from Hackney Diamonds — including the Gaga-featured “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” first single “Angry,” “Whole Wide World” and “Bite My Head Off” — hours before the album was released Friday morning. The Stones’ seven-track set also included well-known songs like “Tumbling Dice,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Shattered.”

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood played like old friends onstage, enjoying every second of the short performance while the audience watched in awe. Attendees included Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Taylor Hill, Rachel Weisz, Christie Brinkley, Ed Burns, Keegan-Michael Key, Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds, Minka Kelly, Christy Turlington and Questlove, who deejayed sets before and after the Stones performed.

A version of this story about Greg Philinganes and Joni Mitchell first appeared in the Down to the Wire: Comedy/Variety/Reality/Nonfiction issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Of the many musical-tribute specials that aired during the past Emmy season, few had the emotional clout of PBS’ “Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: Joni Mitchell.” For starters, it featured a stellar array of musicians paying tribute to the pioneering singer-songwriter — among them Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper, Angelique Kidjo, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Brandi Carlile and Marcus Mumford performing songs that included “Both Sides Now,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Blue,” “Carey” and “Shine.”

But at the end of the night, it also included the 79-year-old Mitchell herself, eight years after a brain aneurysm that forced her to relearn how to walk and sing, performing an exquisite version of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” in a voice far different...

Renowned singer Tony Bennett died on July 21 at age 96, but he leaves behind a long legacy. Bennett was an iconic jazz and pop vocalist who rose to prominence in the 1950s and netted 19 Grammys during his lifetime. He was always a prolific collaborator, working with the likes of Amy Winehouse and Diana Krall. But in his later years, he worked extensively with his dear friend Lady Gaga.

On July 31, a little over a week after Bennett's death, Gaga honored him in a moving tribute shared on Instagram. "I will miss my friend forever," she wrote in a caption alongside a photo of the two hugging. "I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together. With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave...

Tony Bennett's first record, "Because of You" was released in 1952 and it instantly codified the entertainer as one of the music world's great crooners. In 1962, his 15th record, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was certified platinum by the RIAA, but that was after he had already established himself with Count Basie and his Orchestra and as a great fan of songwriter Harold Arlen. All told, he released 61 records in his decades-long career, not including his eight albums of collaborations and duets. He sang with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Carrie Underwood, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Mariah Carey, Bono, Sting, Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, and many others. Most recently, he released two collaborations with Lady Gaga in 2018 and 2021. Bennett passed away on July 21, 2023 at the age of 96. He will be deeply missed.

Naturally, a talent of Bennett's stature couldn't be ignored by Hollywood, and he would appear...

Tony Bennett, who died today at the age of 96, was a singular figure in music — a classic crooner who weathered the fickle winds of popular music over multiple decades by adapting but never fundamentally changing who he was. His initial rise and success were astounding in their own right, but the second half of Bennett’s career is just as fascinating. Starting in the Nineties, Bennett didn’t so much try to court younger audiences or artists but find some kind of common ground with them.

Related Tony Bennett, Beloved Standards Crooner Who Bridged Generations,...

Who didn’t Tony Bennett duet with?

The legendary singer was famously known for his Grammy-winning, platinum-selling Duet albums that featured everyone from Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse to Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand.

Here, we celebrate the collaborative efforts of Bennett, who died Friday at age 96.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga ditched the upbeat, electronic dance sound that made her popular to work with Bennett on jazz music, a genre she had been singing since she was a teenager. The New Yorkers first collaborated on “The Lady Is a Tramp” from Bennett’s 2011 release Duets II. The pairing was so perfect they went on to record 2014’s Cheek to Cheek, with Bennett and Gaga hoping to turn more kids to jazz music. “[Gaga] has a vast group of young people who love her, and they’ve never heard popular jazz music, classical American music … and my ambition was to do this...

Tony Bennett, the jazz and pop singer with work covering eight decades, died on Friday morning. He was 96.

Bennett dropped his debut single, “Because of You,” in 1951 and released perhaps his most famed hit, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” in 1962. He earned a total of 20 Grammy awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. While in his late 80s, his second album of Duets debuted at No. 1 in September 2011, making Bennett the oldest performer to release a chart-topping album.

The singer has also had a host of high-profile collaborations, including Carrie Underwood, Michael Bublé, Diana Krall and Amy Winehouse. He also recorded a pair of albums with Lady Gaga.

Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, but he continued to sing and record music until 2021. His wife, Susan Benedetto, said he was “not always sure where he is or what is happening around him” where objects such as “a...

Tony Bennett, the treasured American storyteller, singer and showman whose joyful impact on the pop and jazz landscape spanned 70 years and stretched from Queens to San Francisco and all around the world, died Friday. He was 96.

Bennett died in his hometown of New York, his publicist Sylvia Weiner said. In February 2021, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years earlier, but he soldiered on, in the recording studio and on tour, rarely performing a song the same way twice.

He and Lady Gaga headlined two shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in August 2021, after which he announced he was canceling his fall tour.

On his Facebook page, it was noted Friday that Bennett was “still singing the other day at his piano, and his last song was ‘Because of You.'” That was his first No. 1 hit.

The recipient of 20 Grammy Awards...

Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.

The singer’s publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed his death to The Associated Press on Friday morning, saying he died in his hometown of New York. There was no specific cause of death, but Bennett had been battling Alzheimer’s disease.

No one was more surprised by the duration and arc of Bennett’s career than Bennett himself.

“I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel about all this,” Bennett said during a 2006 interview, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. “I never really thought I’d be doing it this long… and it’s so much more than I ever imagined it would be. So I’m just thrilled.”

Bennett went out on a high note, too. Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, he kept working as able, bringing his performing career to a close with duet partner Lady Gaga...

Six TV documentarians will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Denton Davidson and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following Emmy contenders:

Dear Mama (FX)

Synopsis: It follows the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur and his mother, the Black Panther activist Afeni Shakur.

Bio: Allen Hughes is an Emmy nominee for “The Defiant Ones.” His career has included “Menace II Society,...

Joni Mitchell was recently feted at an all-star tribute concert in Washington, D.C. as the recipient of the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. During the concert, which will be broadcast on March 31 on PBS, Mitchell performed a cover of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.”

An array of other artists joined the festivities, including James Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Marcus Mumford, Graham Nash, Diana Krall, Angelique Kidjo, and Ledisi. Lennox showcased a version of Mitchell’s 1966 song “Both Sides Now,” and later joined forces with Carlile,...

The Newport Jazz Festival has announced its 2023 lineup, with Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, and Thundercat leading the bill. The legendary fest celebrates its 69th anniversary from August 4th to 6th at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island.

Other big names on the 2023 Newport lineup include Kamasi Washington, Diana Krall, Charles Lloyd, Vijay Iyer, Samara Joy, DOMi & Jd Beck, Arooj Aftab, Big Freedia, DJ Pee .Wee (aka Anderson .Paak), Big Gigantic, Alfa Mist, and Cautious Clay. Newport Jazz artistic director Christian McBride will also lead his annual Jam Jawn, while the ensembles MoodSwing, Scary Goldings (featuring John Scofield), Superblue, Orrin Evans Quintet, and the Bill Charlap Trio will perform as well. Check out the complete lineup below.

Specially priced three-day tickets to the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival go on sale Wednesday, March 22nd at 1:00 p.m. Et via Dice. That deal extends for 24 hours; full-price single-day, two-day, and three-day tickets then go on sale Thursday,...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

Herbie Hancock, Thundercat, Big Freedia, Jon Batiste, Kamasi Washington, Diana Krall, Charles Lloyd, and Vijay Iyer will lead this year’s Newport Jazz Festival lineup. The event, set for Aug. 4-6 at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island, marks the 69th edition of the annual festival.

Other acts include Samara Joy, DOMi & Jd Beck, Arooj Aftab, DJ Pee .Wee (aka Anderson .Paak), Big Gigantic, Alfa Mist, Cautious Clay,...

Joni Mitchell took a long and much-needed hiatus from the stage, but it looks like she’s trying her best to make up for the lost time: The legendary folk artist performed Wednesday night at the Dar Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, during a tribute show that also featured many of her musical friends and peers. The event was in celebration of her receiving the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

As Stereogum points out, the concert included performances from some no-brainer attendees including Graham Nash, James Taylor, and Brandi Carlile. Annie Lennox did a powerful rendition of “Both Sides Now,” while Cyndi Lauper led a large group cover of “Big Yellow Taxi.”

The show also featured performances from Marcus Mumford, Diana Krall, Herbie Hancock, Ledisi, and Angélique Kidjo. Mitchell gave the final performance of the night: She paid tribute to the prize’s namesake George Gershwin by singing “Summertime,...

Grammy® Award-Winning Producer, Guitarist & Singer John Pizzarelli joins Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club’s 2022 Schedule of Shows which now includes 9 Nea Jazz Masters, 52 Grammy® Award-Winning Artists, 46 Blues Music Award-Winners, and a comprehensive list of talented musicians with 575+ Grammy® Award Nominations amongst them. Tickets for John Pizzarelli at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, as well as the current list of 2022 & 2023 shows, can be found on Ticketmaster.com and Jimmy’s Online Event Calendar at: http://www.jimmysoncongress.com/events.

Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club Features Grammy® Award-Winning Producer, Guitarist & Singer John Pizzarelli on Thursday December 15 at 8 P.M. World-Renowned Jazz Guitarist John Pizzarelli has been hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.”

While plenty of jazz greats influenced his work—Benny Goodman, Les Paul, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry and Slam Stewart, among others—Nat King Cole has been Pizzarelli’s hero and foundation over the last 25+ years.

Let’s be real: You probably didn’t stay up after the Oscars to watch the final round of American Idol Season 20 auditions. And who could blame you? We’ve replayed that Will Smith/Chris Rock slap so many times in our brain, it’s made us dizzy.

But the episode did, in fact, happen. And although there were no more Platinum Tickets left to dole out, the judges still sent a few more singers through to Hollywood. Could this season’s winner be among them? (Come on, it’s got to be someone we’ve seen so far.) Let...

Grammy-nominated jazz songwriter, singer and pianist Dave Frishberg died yesterday, according to a post on his Facebook page. His wife April Magnusson said he had been battling an illness for several years. He was 88.

Frishberg had a long and varied career that stretched from the Greenwich Village jazz scene of the ’50s to work as a studio musician in L.A. in the ’70s, to cutting his own Grammy-nominated albums and doing music for films and TV.

But his greatest fame came from his involvement with Schoolhouse Rock, a 1973-85 series of Saturday-morning shorts on ABC that used music and rhyme to help kids learn basic facts, with such memorable songs as “Elementary, My Dear”, “Conjunction Junction” and Frishberg’s “I’m Just a Bill”. “I’m Just a Bill” was famously spoofed on Saturday Night Live in 2014.

He wrote and performed other...

Elton John has announced a new album titled “The Lockdown Sessions,” which is scheduled for release on October 22 from Interscope Records. He has spent the last 18 months recording it — hence the Covid-19 pandemic-themed title — and it features a wide variety of collaborations with young artists. Sound familiar? A beloved veteran teaming up with other music superstars worked like gangbusters for Santana (“Supernatural”), Ray Charles (“Genius Loves Company”), and Tony Bennett (“Duets” and “Duets II”).

Rock legend Santana teamed with the likes of Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, and many more for 1999’s “Supernatural,” which went on to set a record for the most awarded album in Grammy history with nine total trophies, including Album of the Year. It was also a remarkable commercial success, certified an extraordinary 15-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

SEE2022 Grammy predictions: Record of the Year

Soul music pioneer Charles was the...

Elvis Costello will be hitting the road again with his Imposters band this fall, marking his first tour since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tour kicks off in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 13th at The Soundstage at Graceland, making stops at towns and cities across the United States — including a set at JazzFest in New Orleans — and concluding on November 14th in Oakland, California. See tickets at VividSeats.com.

Costello released his latest album Hey Clockface last year, and later released a Francophone remix EP, La Face de Pendule à Coucou,...

Willie Nelson explores the deep corners of the Frank Sinatra catalog on his new album That’s Life, out February 26th. In addition to tackling classics like “You Make Me Feel So Young” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” Nelson interprets lesser-known Sinatra recordings like 1959’s “Just in Time” and “A Cottage for Sale.” “I’m just glad to be able to do another tribute to him,” said Nelson, who released his first Sinatra tribute, My Way, in 2018. “I’m anxious to get it out there.”

On Friday, Nelson released another track,...

Elvis Costello, Sting and Billy Joel are among the stars lending their support to a campaign to save the fabled New York City jazz venue Birdland. The effort includes a virtual concert — which Costello will partake in — airing January 24th at 7 p.m. Et.

Like so many venues across the country, Birdland was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced it to shut its doors. Despite the passage of the Save Our Stages Act in last year’s Covid-19 relief bill, which will provide targeted aid to the live entertainment industry,...

Stephanie O’Keefe has been elected president of the American Federation of Musicians Local 47, becoming the first woman president in the union’s 123-year history. John Acosta, who served three two-year terms as president, did not seek re-election. In the local’s other elections, Danita Ng-Poss has been elected secretary-treasurer – the first person of Asian descent to serve as a titled officer of the union – and Rick Baptist has been re-elected to a fourth term as vice president.

“I am honored to be elected president of Local 47,” said O’Keefe, a professional French hornist. “It has been a goal of mine for many, many years to be an advocate for my fellow musicians. We are the producers of one of the most valuable commodities on Earth; music has been an integral part of every culture, in every part of the world, for thousands of years. Yet, somehow, the producers of this commodity are often undervalued,...

Johnny Mandel, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter of “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Emily” and the theme from “Mash,” has died. He was 94.

“I was so sad to learn that a hero of mine, Johnny Mandel, passed away,” wrote Michael Buble on Twitter. “He was a genius and one of my favorite writers, arrangers, and personalities. He was a beast.”

“A dear friend and extraordinary composer arranger and all-around brilliant talent, Johnny Mandel, just passed away,” wrote Michael Feinstein on Facebook. “The world will never be quite the same without his humor, wit and wry view of life and the human condition. He was truly beyond compare, and nobody could write or arrange the way he did. Lord will we miss him. Let’s celebrate him with his music! He would like that.”

Mandel was considered one of the finest arrangers of the second half of the 20th century, providing...

This year’s long-standing Newport Folk and Jazz festivals have been canceled due to ongoing health and safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I believe we can emerge from this adversity stronger and more connected than ever before,” said Jay Sweet, the executive producer of the festivals.

The Newport Folk and Jazz festivals are two of the most historic and longest running music festivals in the country. The Jazz Festival began in 1954, and the Folk Festival followed five years later, in 1959.

This year’s Newport Folk Festival would have featured the National,...

Lee Mendelson, the prolific Emmy-winning producer of more than 50 animated Peanuts TV specials, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, has died. He was 86.

Mendelson died on Christmas Day in Hillsborough, California, following a protracted battle with lung cancer, his family told the Palo Alto Daily Post.

Mendelson imported comic strip characters Cathy and Garfield to television success but his signature career moment came in December 1965 when he brought Charles Schulz’s legendary Peanuts characters to the small screen in A Charlie Brown Christmas. The half-hour animated special with the $96,000 budget aired originally on CBS and would become a beloved touchstone of the holiday season, yield a bestselling jazz album, and win the Emmy and Peabody awards.

Mendelson also wrote the lyrics to the 1965 special’s ethereal Christmas Time Is Here, with music composed by Vince Guaraldi and performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

David Foster: Off the Record, a documentary about Canadian music icon David Foster, will receive a world premiere at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday.

The bow for the feature documentary from Bell Media Studios and Melbar Entertainment Group and director Barry Avrich will be followed by a special tribute to Foster at the Tiff Tribute Gala on Sept. 9.

The veteran music producer, composer and songwriter has worked with top artists like Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. His body of work comprises more than 500 songs, including such hits as “I ...

David Foster: Off the Record, a documentary about Canadian music icon David Foster, will receive a world premiere at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday.

The bow for the feature documentary from Bell Media Studios and Melbar Entertainment Group and director Barry Avrich will be followed by a special tribute to Foster at the Tiff Tribute Gala on Sept. 9.

The veteran music producer, composer and songwriter has worked with top artists like Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. His body of work comprises more than 500 songs, including such hits as “I ...

Brandi Carlile and Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” emerged as early winners at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

Kendrick Lamar heads into the ceremony with eight nominations, followed by Drake has seven, and Brandi Carlile and producer Boi-1da follow with six nods apiece.

Drake, Carlile and Lamar were all recognized in the three biggest categories — Album, Song and Record of the Year — for their most recent albums, “Scorpion,” “By the Way, I Forgive You” and the “Black Panther” soundtrack, respectively.

In addition to the four nominations for his work with frequent collaborator Drake, Boi-1da, a.k.a. Matthew Samuels, earned two additional nods in the rap categories for serving as a writer on Eminem and Jay Rock singles. He also received a nomination for Non-Classical Producer of the Year.

Alicia Keys is hosting this year’s ceremony,...

In today’s film news roundup, a Joni Mitchell documentary generates solid business and indie films “Cristina” and “Dreamcatcher” are moving ahead.

Box Office

Trafalgar Releasing is reporting a strong box office of $568,000 at 414 North American locations for its one-night screening on Feb. 7 of “The Music Center Presents Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration.”

The film achieved the highest per screen average of all titles of more than 100 locations. “Joni 75” was performed on Joni Mitchell’s 75th birthday with tributes from Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Diana Krall, Kris Kristofferson, Graham Nash, Seal, James Taylor and Rufus Wainwright.

This release follows in the wake of Trafalgar Releasing’s record breaking screenings of “Burn the Stage: the Movie,” which became the largest ever event cinema release. Other music releases in 2018 included “Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams” and “Muse: Drones World Tour.”

Production Start

IndustryWorks Studios has set production...

Despite controversies surrounding female musicians last year and this year, it looks like women will dominate the Grammys on Sunday night, February 10, according to the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users. That includes a clean sweep of the top four general field categories, and plenty more down below. Scroll down for our predicted winners in 32 categories sorted by artist.

The two biggest winners according to our racetrack odds will be Lady Gaga and Kacey Musgraves. Gaga earned five nominations this year, and she’s tipped to win four of those, all of them for her “A Star is Born” love ballad “Shallow”: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Visual Media Song. That would bring her career total to 10 Grammys.

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For Musgraves we’re betting on a clean sweep.

On Sunday, February 10, the 61st Annual Grammy Awards will be held in a pair of ceremonies. The Premiere Ceremony in the afternoon will present the vast majority of the 84 categories honoring the best in music across a variety of genres. Then the evening telecast hosted by Alicia Keys will dole out the top prizes, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. So who will prevail? Scroll down for our complete predictions in 32 races with all the nominees ranked in order of their racetrack odds. Our projected winners are highlighted in gold.

Our odds are based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users who have entered their forecasts here in our predictions center, and if you haven’t already you can make or update your own predictions until Sunday. Those users include Expert journalists we’ve polled from top media outlets,...

Get pumped, because the 2019 Grammy Awards are coming up! After last year's big wins for Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar (as well as a posthumous win for Carrie Fisher), this year's batch of hopefuls is sure to make for an amazing show. And since the number of nominees in the popular categories has been increased from five to eight, there are even more nominees to root for than usual! Get excited - the Grammys will air on Feb. 10.

Album Of The Year

Invasion of Privacy by Cardi B

Scorpion by Drake

H.E.R by H.E.R

Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae

Beerbongs & Bentleys by Post Malone

By the Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile

Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves

Black Panther: The Album feat. Kendrick Lamar

Record Of The Year

"I Like It" by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J. Balvin

"The Joke" by Brandi Carlile...

A Joni Mitchell tribute album, celebrating her 75th birthday, will feature live renditions of the singer’s songs by Brandi Carlile, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, James Taylor and many others. The record, Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration, will come out on March 8th. It contains a recording of a tribute concert that was held in her honor in Los Angeles last November.

The concert will additionally be broadcast in movie theaters on February 7th. Tickets are available at the Joni 75 website.

Percussionist Brian Blade, who made three studio albums and toured with Mitchell,...

David Foster, a 16-time Grammy-winning musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, producer and recording artist, has signed with ICM Partners, which will make touring its top priority. The agency will represent him in the U.S. and Latin America, it said Thursday, and will work in collaboration with Octagon in Europe and South Africa.

Foster is currently headlining his own tour and has hosted two “Foster & Friends” concert events in Las Vegas, featuring hits from his extensive catalog. He is also taking his four-decade career to Broadway, where he will write music and develop scripts for several projects.

The music artist’s résumé includes soundtracks for such films as The Bodyguard, Urban Cowboy and St. Elmo’s Fire, and Foster is also an Emmy winner, Golden Globe winner and three-time Academy Award nominee. He has worked with Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban,...

Sir Elton John and David Furnish will host the Elton John AIDS Foundation (Ejaf)’s 27th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at West Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.

IMDb will serve as this year’s Presenting Sponsor.

For the 15th year, Chef Wayne Elias will design and prepare a sumptuous dinner for party guests to enjoy while watching a live telecast of the 91st Academy Awards. For the first time, IMDb will broadcast its annual IMDb Live streaming companion show from the event, co-hosted by Aisha Tyler and Dave Karger, offering viewers four hours of celebrity studded conversation and unique, entertaining and informative coverage of Hollywood’s biggest night. Alexander Gilkes of Paddle8 will return to conduct the evening’s highly anticipated live auction. The event will conclude with dancing until dawn with DJ Johnny Dynell.

Ejaf’s Academy Awards Viewing Party is the most highly visible...

Jo Andres, director of the 1996 festival circuit hit Black Kites and wife for 31 years to actor Steve Buscemi, has died. She was 64. (Some reports put Andres’ age at 65).

Neither a cause nor date of death has been disclosed, but a memorial service reportedly was held Tuesday at the couple’s home in Brooklyn.

An artist whose works combining dance, light projections and film were featured at such downtown Manhattan hot spots of the 1980s as La Mama E.T.C., The Performing Garage and P.S. 122, Andres later became a dance consultant to the acclaimed Wooster Group performing arts center. According to Andres’ website, she was, at various times over a long career, an artist in residence at numerous universities, museums and art colonies including Yaddo and The Rockefeller Study Center in Bellagio, Italy.

Black Kites, a 26-minute film based on the 1992 journals and drawing of Sarajevan visual artist Alma Hajric,...

Growing event cinema specialist Trafalgar Releasing is to give a one night North American release to tribute concert Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration, featuring musicians Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Kris Kristofferson, Chaka Khan, Seal, James Taylor, and Rufus Wainwright.

The theatrical release of the concert, which originally took place at La’s The Music Center in November last year, is set for February 7. The artists preformed a number of Mitchell’s songs including A Case of You; Both Sides, Now; Down To You; For The Roses; The Boho Dance; and Two Grey Rooms.

“We are thrilled to bring audiences together in movie theaters across North America to experience this magical evening,” said Trafalgar Releasing Svp of Programming Kymberli Frueh. “The incredible talent featured in this concert is a true testament to the impact that Joni has had on musicians and fans alike.”...

Joni Mitchell’s birthday party is making its way to the big screen. Fans who lamented they weren’t able to attend a sold-out pair of all-star Mitchell tribute concerts in L.A. two months ago will get their chance when Trafalgar Releasing puts a filmed version of the shows into theaters nationwide for a one-night screening February 7.

“The Music Center Presents Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration” will be shown in cinemas in the U.S. and Mitchell’s native Canada, with tickets going on sale today. A soundtrack album is also going up for advance sale from Verve, with a March 1 release date.

The artists who participated in the Music Center shows Nov. 6-7 included contemporaries of Mitchell’s who also came along in the late 1960s, like James Taylor, Graham Nash and Kris Kristofferson, along with longtime friend Chaka Khan, who recorded with Mitchell in the ’70s. The...