BY CORTNEY HARDING LIVING ROOM ROCK New Cale Show Captures Music In Unconventional ` anue.s

A converted 19th -century synagogue, a 700 - testing and building a microsite for the show," acre farm and the Los Angeles County Mu- Slava says. After the premiere episode Jan.13, seum of Natural History might not seem like featuring KT Tunstall at the fully restored, early - usual venues for rock concerts, but produc- 20th- century -era Prince George Ballroom in ers of a new show called "Live From the Artists Manhattan, the show will settle into a regular Den" are hoping to broaden viewers' ideas of Thursday 8 p.m. time slot. where live music can happen. Other artists and venues featured will in- "One of my main inspirations for starting clude Crowded House at the Masonic Hall the show was realizing just how awful tradi- Grand Lodge in New York, Fountains of tional venues are," the show's producer Mark Wayne on a 100 -year -old ship at New York's Lieberman says. Lieberman started out put- South Street Seaport, the Swell Season at ting on living room concerts and says that he the Good Shepherd Center Chapel in Seat- "saw magic in the room" when people were al- "Tito inspired me in the Inducted in 2006 into the students music beyond their lowed to experience musicians in nontradi- sense that he proved to me Bronx Walk of Fame - capacity, but they didn't know tional settings. that drummer /percussionists which includes such Latin that. So, it's gratifying to see "One of the main things I wanted to address could be accomplished musi- jazz notables as Eddie how they mastered it." was the issue of music discovery waning after cians. He was a total artist: a Palmieri and Ray Barretto Sanabria's commitment to a certain age," Lieberman says. "People who virtuoso player, an accom- -Sanabria serves as the the tradition in the class- were big fars still love music, but they can't plished bandleader, composer, Latin jazz big -band instruc- room and on the bandstand stay out in smoky cluks until the middle of the arranger and a good dancer," tor at the Manhattan School is so unrelenting that night. This brings the music to them in a new, says Sanabria, whose résumé of Music and New York's "Folktales" trombonist Joe innovative way." includes a big -band stint with New School for Jazz and Fiedler told him he's the To delive- the shows, Lieberman part- Mario Bauzá, the Godfather Contemporary Music. only guy he knows who's of Afro -Cuban jazz, and a On Nov. 15, Sanabria di- willing to get into a fistfight Grammy Award nomination rected the New School Afro - with someone to play the in the best Latin jazz album Cuban Jazz Orchestra in a music right. Sanabria laughs category for his 2000 CD, rousing concert at Tishman and says, "Now, that was the "Afro -Cuban Dream ... Live Auditorium. "The music is de- second -biggest compliment & In Clave" (Arabesque). manding," he says. "I gave the I got in 2007." .

to Jeezy but he didn't really like it because tus in that Grand Hustle situation. Don't it was so different." treat me like a side producer when I'm the And the rest is history. West and Toomp foundation of your company and you have worked on several more songs from West's admitted that to me but would never admit "Graduation," including "Big Brother" and it on paper. "Good Life," which is No. 7 on the Hot 100 "I'm the third partner of this company, this issue. Toomp also has his own R &B Grand Hustle, the ears and eyes," he adds. group, 620, in the wings for 2008 and place- "I know what albums should sound like, and ments on new albums from Mariah Carey after a few things start lining up, they could and Ludacris. move around without having to borrow "I really programmed myself to try to money from me anymore. I started off ex- win a Grammy every year," DJ Toomp says. ecutive- producing, then I wasn't, and some- "I just nailed a hit song on Mariah Carey's where the music got crazy. My placements nered with cable network Ovation TV, a new record. I've got a song on Lloyd's new were down from five songs to two songs, and 10- year -old channel that was resurrected album. I want to bring that Quincy Jones/ I'm saying, 'I hope I make the album.' Our last year. "Even though I personally don't

Michael Jackson feel to his record. I've situation was more of a respect thing." like TV, I felt like Ovat on was smart and got a lot of R &B artists in my scope be- Toomp says that he's "not sure" if he'll curated, and the mission fit was spot - cause I've already worked with all of the work on T.I.'s next album, but he and the on," Lieberman says. big guys in hip -hop. But I've also got songs Grand Hustle team have been talking. According to the channel's senior VP of on Jeezy and Ludacris' next albums and I "I will admit that it felt good to read the programming Kris Slava, Ovation is avail- did 'Say Hello' on Jay -Vs 'American comments from people who heard the last able in 16 million homes nationwide and Gangster.' Jay stuck his head in the studio record," DJ Toomp says. "When people said, has a presence on DirecTV. "The channel's tie and Patty Griffin at the Angel Orensanz a few times while Kanye and I were work- 'Thumbs down, Toomp, where were you ?,' focus is the arts, but we have a very broad def- Foundation for the Arts on Manhattan's ing on 'Big Brother.' " it definitely felt good to be missed." inition of art," Slava says. "We run everything Lower East Side. But the biggest question is whether A Grand Hustle representative had no from classical concerts to artist profiles to "We were in the frame of mind that in an un- Toomp will work with longtime friend T.I. comment at press time. pieces on photography and ballet." usual space you do an unusual show, and we anytime soon. It was rumored the pair parted Either way, I'm just hoping the pair The network has commissioned eight con- did," Crowded House's Neil Finn says. "We ways over money during the recording of get together on "," the record certs from the "Artists Den" and plans an ag- were quite expansive and loose with the for- "T.I. vs. T.I.P." but Toomp says that wasn't T.I.'s recording while under house ar- gressive marketing campaign to coincide with mat. At TV tapings, it can sometimes Teel a bit the whole story. rest in Atlanta. Like Snoop and Dr. Dre, the first airings in January. "We are doing a formal, but it didn't feel very formal in there "I don't want to say it was about money," it's always better when the original team print campaign in cooperation with Grey at all. People were really digging it. I think every DJ Toomp says. "It was really about my sta- is together. , Goose Entertainment, some interactive con- aspect of it turned out brilliantly.."

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