JazzWeek with airplay data powered by jazzweek.com • Dec. 26, 2005 Volume 2, Number 6 • $7.95 In This Issue: Concord Music OUR 2005 YEAR END ISSUE Group Acquires Telarc and Heads Up . 4 TOP 100 JAZZ page 10 Metheny, Hall TOP 100 SMOOTH Tape Legends of ALBUMS Jazz. 6 AND SINGLES page 20 Telarc Signs Liquid Soul . 6 Berklee Plans 60th Anniversary Concert . 8 Jazz Radio . 25 Smooth Jazz Radio. 33 Radio Panels. 32, 37 News. 4 Charts: #1 Jazz Album – Joe Locke #1 Smooth Album – Euge Groove #1 Smooth Single – Euge Groove JazzWeek This Week EDITOR/PUBLISHER Ed Trefzger MUSIC EDITOR lmost as soon as the word hit the streets about Concord ac- Tad Hendrickson quiring Telarc, I started to get phone calls and emails from Acolleagues concerned about it. The last few years have been CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Keith Zimmerman tough as we’ve all seen friends displaced or downsized as compa- Kent Zimmerman nies have been sold, merged or cut back; even Concord’s acqui- CONTRIBUTING WRITER/ sition of Fantasy was not without some staff reductions. (Radio PHOTOGRAPHER hasn’t been spared either, with cutbacks at stations and at NPR.) Tom Mallison Unlike some of those other moves, though, Concord, Telarc, PHOTOGRAPHY Barry Solof and Heads Up and associated labels all seem to be on the upswing, with new signings and aggressive release schedules. While other Founding Publisher: Tony Gasparre recent changes have understandably given people reasons to be ADVERTISING: Devon Murphy pessimistic, I’m going to remain optimistic about this consolida- Call (866) 453-6401 ext. 3 or tion. It appears to be the joining of two strong operations rather email: [email protected] than the retrenching we’ve seen all too often. 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We appre- 1000 Chesterbrook Blvd. ciate your advertising support to keep us going as we reach more Suite 150 Berwyn, PA 19312 and more people – not just in radio, but in retail, promotion and publicity, as well as a growing number of performing musicians, JazzWeek (ISSN 1554-4338) educators and students. is published weekly by As you plan your buys for 2006, please contact advertising manager Devon Murphy at (866) 453-6401 extension 3, or at [email protected]. I’ll also be happy to review the benefits of advertising with 2117 Buffalo Road JazzWeek in print, on the web, on our email blasts, and on the Suite 317 Rochester, NY 14624 Jazz Programmers Mailing List when we see each other at IAJE. phone/fax: (866) 453-6401 [email protected] – Ed Trefzger, Editor Copyright ©2005 Yellow Dog Communications Inc. jazzweek.com • Dec. 26, 2005 JazzWeek 2 Contents Dec. 26, 2005 News . 4 Concord Music Group Acquires Telarc and Heads Up International . 4 ‘The Great Guitars’ Taped for Legends of Jazz April Broadcast. 6 Telarc Signs Chicago’s Liquid Soul for May 2006 Label Debut . 6 Michael Wolff Records With African Children’s Choir . 7 Jamie Cullum Loses Tour Equipment in British Oil Depot Fire and Explosion. 7 Huge Concert Planned for Berklee 60th . 8 6 Birthdays . 9 Features 2005 Jazz Year in Review . 10 Top 100 Jazz Album Chart . 15 2005 Jazz Top 10 Lists . 17 2005 Top Smooth Jazz Albums and Singles . 20 Top 100 Smooth Jazz Album Chart. 21 10 Top 100 Smooth Jazz Singles Chart . 23 Jazz Charts . 25 Jazz Album Chart . 26 Jazz Add Dates . 27 Jazz Current CDs . 28 Jazz Radio Panel . 32 Smooth Jazz Charts . 33 Smooth Album Chart . 34 25 Smooth Singles Chart. 35 Smooth Current CDs . 36 Smooth Radio Panel . 37 Classifieds . 24 33 JazzWeek Volume 2 Number 6 jazzweek.com • Dec. 26, 2005 JazzWeek 3 News Concord Music Group Acquires Telarc and Heads Up International oncord Music Group has ac- Love, and their Concord’s current roster includes quired Telarc International and talented team and Grammy Award-winning artists Gary Cits subsidiary label Heads Up know that they Burton, Chick Corea, Sergio Mendes, International. The deal follows by just will make a great Ozomatli, Eddie Palmieri, and Pon- over a year the purchase by Concord contribution to- cho Sanchez, among many others. of Fantasy Records (JazzWeek, Dec. 3, ward the achieve- Smooth jazz and R&B label Peak Re- 2004.) ment of our mu- cords, a joint venture with Concord, is “The cultures of our companies are tual goals.” an industry leader in smooth jazz and very similar and we see lots of syner- Dr. Jazz/drjazz.com Founded in R&B and features artists including Glen Barros gies through the merging of our tal- 1977 by musi- The Rippingtons, Gerald Albright, ented staffs and our mutual goals,” said cians and former David Benoit, LaToya London, and Telarc president Bob Woods in a state- teachers Bob Woods and Jack Renner, Lee Ritenour. ment Dec. 19 announcing the deal. Telarc has amassed 46 Grammy Both Telarc and Heads Up have “[Concord Music Group president and awards and a catalogue of more than a significant number of recordings in CEO] Glen Barros and I have known 1,000 master recordings ranging from high definition and Super Audio Com- each other for some time and I respect classical and classical-crossover to jazz pact Disc (SACD) format, based on the creative indie mentality our com- and blues, from such legendary art- Direct Stream Digital recording tech- panies share, which allows us to re- ists as Dave Brubeck, George Shear- nology. Telarc became the first label to spond quickly to the constant change ing, Ray Brown, Andre Previn, and commercially use digital recording in and abundant opportunities in our in- Oscar Peterson. The current jazz ros- 1978, and, in 1983, was one of the first dustry.” ter includes celebrated singer/guitarist to launch compact discs in a joint ef- Barros concurred: “We are in- John Pizzarelli, vocalist Tierney Sut- fort with Sony Corporation. credibly proud to welcome Telarc and ton, and recently-signed pianist Cyrus The acquisition of Fantasy last year Heads Up to the Concord family, as Chestnut. resulted in the cutting of some staff at we truly admire these great labels. Te- Heads Up International’s roster, the newly combined company. Heads larc’s history of impeccable audio and headed by founder and label president Up president Love said that for the musical standards has made it one of Dave Love, includes contemporary forseeable future, things won’t change the world’s most respected indepen- jazz artists such as Spyro Gyra, Najee, much at the Telarc and Heads Up dent labels and we are honored to be Michael Brecker, The Yellowjackets, headquarters near Cleveland, where the ones chosen to safeguard this rich and world music artists including La- Woods will remain at the head of Te- legacy. As with all great record compa- dysmith Black Mambazo and Hugh larc. nies, Telarc and Heads Up are built on Masekela. Heads Up celebrated its “For the moment there are no a solid foundation of great artists and 15th anniversary this year (JazzWeek, plans to move any of the operations great people. We truly look forward to March 9, 2004) and became a part of to Beverly Hills. We will be utilizing working alongside Bob Woods, Dave Telarc in 2000. continued ... jazzweek.com • Dec. 26, 2005 JazzWeek 4 News Concord Acquires Telarc and Heads Up (continued) our strengths to Jazz, Stretch, Concord Picante, and closed. Concord owners Act III Com- bolster our posi- Fantasy Records, which is home to such munications, owned by Norman Lear tions even fur- historic imprints as Milestone, Pab- and Hal Gaba, and Tailwind Capital ther in the jazz lo, Prestige/New Jazz, Riverside/Jazz Partners, who joined Lear and Gaba community,” said Land, Stax/Volt/Enterprise, Specialty, in the Fantasy deal, supplied new eq- Love. “Jazz radio Takoma and more. The combined cat- uity capital to finance the acquisition, should contin- alog features over 3,000 albums from along with additional bank funding. ue to expect the Heads Up International such legendary artists as Charlie Byrd, Woods said that the deal won’t same high quali- Dave Love Rosemary Clooney, Herb Ellis, Stan make the company less nimble. “We’ll ty recordings our Getz, Mel Torme, John Lee Hooker, be a larger entity, but we won’t move various entities release. I am very ex- Little Richard, Gerry Mulligan, Chet slowly,” said Woods. “Besides, Telarc cited to work with Glen Barros and his Baker, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Ella and Heads Up are certain that they dynamic team. Concord is a very art- Fitzgerald, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, will kick Concord’s butt in the com- ist friendly recording company in-line Thelonius Monk, Joe Pass, Art Pepper, pany softball game.” with the philosophy here at Heads Up Otis Redding, Vince Guaraldi, Sonny Barros responded, “The only thing and Telarc.” Rollins, Sarah Vaughn, Sam Cooke, I’m worried about is how Bob is going The addition of Telarc bolsters a Count Basie and Creedence Clearwa- to take the news when he finds out that massive library owned by Concord, ter Revival.