MICHAEL SCHIVO... THE JAZZ PROMOTER Presents... April 2006 | $3.95 Vol. 2 Issue 2 Let the music take you... MONTEREY A Scenic Drive ANGIE STONE NAJEE Keeping Good Giving the fans Music Alive what they want CHRIS BOTTI Shines for PBS Sweeps WARREN HILL CREATES NEW POPJAZZ LABEL BRENDA RUSSELL Strikes Gold Again MICHAEL SCHIVO PRESENTS THE 14TH ANNUAL LAS VEGAS CITY OF LIGHTS HILLS PARK AT SUMMERLIN FRIDAY APRIL 21 & SAT. APRIL 22 STONE SOUL PICNIC FRIDAY 6 PM TO 10 PM CAMEO ~ OHIO PLAYERS ~ MINT CONDITION JAZZ FESTIVAL SATURDAY 1 PM TO 10 PM BONEY JAMES ~ PHIL PERRY ~ MINDI ABAIR MIKE PHILLIPS & THE UNWRAPPED ALLSTARS JOE MCBRIDE ~ PAUL BROWN VIP EARLY BIRD & GA TICKETS AT 1-800-969-VEGAS INGLEWOOD TICKETS 310-671-6400 IN LAS VEGAS AT MR. BILLS PIPE & TOBACCO STORES UNLV PERFORMING ARTS CENTER BOX OFFICE DIRECTIONS & INFO AT WWW.YOURJAZZ.COM OR CALL 702-228-3780 PICNIC BASKETS AND GLASS BOTTLES ARE O.K. 35 18 22 2527 32 F EAT U RES 18 COASTAL GETAWAY Highway 1 22 CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE In-Demand 27 NAJEE His life, His Style, “His Point of View” 32 WARREN HILL Creates New Label... POP Jazz 35 ANGIE STONE Keeping Good Music Alive 50 MIchAEL SchIVO The Jazz Promoters…. Promoter 10 16 DE PART M ENTS 7 JAZZ NOTES 8 8 FASHION FREESTYLE Style line-up for Spring 2006 10 CHRIS BOTTI PBS Selects Chris for TV Sweeps 54 13 TRAVEL PLANNER 16 BRENDA RuSSELL Strikes Gold with The Color Purple 38 CD REVIEW 58 Spyro Gyra: Wrapped In A Dream 40 RESTAURANT & JAzz VENUE Guide to Tampa Bay, FL & Houston, TX 44 CONCERT LISTINGS 52 RADIO LISTINGS 54 VENUE REVIEW Hollywood Bowl 58 REMEmbERING Lou Rawls & Jockey Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo Just bring in this ad and receive a FREE SMOOTH JAZZ CD! 10 SmoothJazz Magazine Let the music take you . Publisher/ CEO Art Jackson Managing Editor Karly Pierre Research Director Doris Gee Marketing Director Mark Lawrence Burwell Art Director Dominic De Lello Jr. Copy Editors Teresa Fowler, Karmel Graham Staff Photographer Ambrose Contributing Writers Ahli Love Philadelphia Amy Rogin Los Angeles Belinda Harris Detroit Cheryl Boone Virgina Beach Teresa Fowler Chicago Contributing Photographers Amy Rogin, Diane Hadley, Mr. Zac/Zac’s Photography, Fullmoon, Mann Advertising Sales National David Facinelli Facinelli Media Sales 1400 E. Touhy Ave., Suite 260 Des Plaines, IL 60018 727-866-9647 Tel 727-866-9222 Fax [email protected] Every effort was made to ensure accuracy of the information in this magazine. However, SmoothJazz Magazine, Inc. assumes no respon- Advertising Sales Los Angeles sibility for errors, changes or omissions, nor does it accept any re- sponsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by anyone Jonathan Smith | Tel: 323.290.0292 using this publication. SmoothJazz Magazine Inc. 3748 Keystone Avenue, Suite #406 No part of this publication may be reproduced nor transmitted in Los Angeles, CA 90034 any form by any means of electronic, mechanical, photocopying, re- Tel: 310.559.1218 Fax: 952.487.4999 cording or otherwise (except brief extracts for the purpose of review email: [email protected] or promotion), without written consent from the publisher. www.smoothjazzmag.net Smooth Jazz Jazz Notes GRAMMY NEWS… At the 48th Birthday List Annual GRAMMY Awards…Burt Bacharach and electric guitar pio- neer Les Paul took home the Pop 03/02 Larry Carlton 58 Instrumental honors. Other noted 03/06 Mary Wilson 62 winners included Dianne Reeves for 03/06 Wes Montgomery her soundtrack to Good Night And Good Luck which 03/09 Jeffery Osborne 58 was her fourth GRAMMY and earning his 19 GRAMMY 03/12 James Taylor 58 overall, guitarist Pat Metheny was named Best Contem- porary Jazz album for The Way Up. 03/14 Quincy Jones 73 03/18 Dana Owens (Queen Latifah) 36 Saxophonist Richard Elliot is on 03/18 Vanessa Williams 43 the road again with Guitars and 03/19 Ruth Pointer 60 Saxes 2006, this year’s line up will include saxophonist Gerald 03/20 Josephine Baker Albright, Guitarists Peter White 03/22 George Benson 63 and Jeff Golub. Also joining the 03/23 Chaka Kahn 53 tour is Richard Elliot label partner trumpeter Rick Braun. 03/25 Aretha Franklin 64 03/26 Diana Ross 62 All In the Family….Norman Lear’s Beverly Hills, CA- based independent record company Concord Music 03/27 Mariah Carey 36 Group has acquired Cleveland-based Telarc, a lead- 03/27 Sarah Vaughan ing classical and jazz recordings. This acquisition also 03/29 Michael Brecker 57 included the roster of Heads Up International world 03/30 Eric Clapton 61 renowned list of artists such as The Yellowjackets, Spyro 03/30 Celine Dion 38 Gyra, Najee, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Hugh Masekela and Michael Brecker just to name a few. 03/30 Tracy Chapman 42 03/30 Norah Jones 27 Label Signings….Concord Records 03/31 Herb Alpert 71 signs saxophonist Boney James. Ar- 04/02 Marvin Gaye tizen Music Group signs saxophonist Paul “Shilts” Weimar, who performs 04/05 Stanley Turrentine 72 with the British acid jazz band 04/07 Billie Holiday Down To The Bone. 04/10 Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds 48 04/12 Al Jarreau 66 Guitarist Joyce Cooling is currently 04/12 Herbie Hancock 66 putting the finishing touches on her new album, titled Revolving Door, and says that all proceeds from sales 04/13 Al Green 60 will be donated to two mental-health organizations: the 04/13 Peabo Bryson 55 National Alliance on Mental Ill- 04/20 Luther Vandross ness and the National Alliance for 04/20 Tito Puente 83 Research on Schizophrenia and 04/24 Barbra Streisand 64 Depression. The issue of mental health is important to Cooling, 04/25 Ella Fitzgerald whose brother has been diagnosed 04/29 Duke Ellington with schizophrenia. Let the music take you... SmoothJazz Magazine 7 LIFESTYLES legant, trendy and new casual fashion FASHION just in time to kick-off the Smooth Rose and Lula EJazz spring festivals season. Hosted by Karmel Graham of Aartscape Magazine the exhibit “Free Styles” featured some of Los Angeles’ newest and brightest designers. An array of formal evening gowns for the inti- mate supper club night on the town to spring m a g a z i n e attire for those breezy lazy days when com- presents... fort is a priority. The evening affair was held at the Infusion Gallery in downtown Los An- geles where the enthusiastic audience could view the décor of abstract paintings which lined the corridors while enjoying the tasty pasta salad and fruit served in Chinese take- out boxes during intermission. The night sizzled into flames as a female fire performer intricately danced to the beat of a live drum- mer to end Aartscape’s first production. For more information about Aartscape magazine, go to: www.aartscapemagazine.com A | “The Braided Dress” - Light blue made of fine rayon jersey- it has braided straps with copper, gold and firepolished beades sewn A B on. B | “Tye Dress” Teal made of silk charmeuse it has a semi padded effect in the bust area and a lace up effect towards the back. E C | “Gala Dress” - Blush color-made of silk charmeuse, pleated bust area, criss-crosses in the back. It has a gradual flowing tail. D | “Flirt Dress” - It is made out of a crinkle chiffon and is shown in a citrus flower print. It is a tube top dress with a smocked waist and semi ruffled skirt. E | “Fiji Dress” - Ivory color made of fine rayon jersey- it has somewhat of a hanker- chief hem. It is embellished with copper and C D gold beads around the straps. 8 SmoothJazz Magazine Let the music take you... LIFESTYLES FREESTYLE Alan Spicer Dalia Pin strips denim, 2 button Super 100, brown with burnt One piece stunning red ball blazer with matching denim orange window pane, sleeve- gown with beaded bust, sheer pants. less suit with a 2 inch cuff on mesh waist and layered tulle the full cut pants. ball gown skirt. A symmetrical silk print Beaded silk gown with or- Two tone beaded silk gown beaded gown with sexy criss- ganza leaf treatment. with layered ruffle hi/low cross back. hem. Let the music take you... SmoothJazz Magazine 9 CHRIS BOTTI PBS Selects Chris for TV Sweeps By: Amy Rogin t was a Thursday night in Los Angeles, as I approached the Wilshire Theatre for the Chris Botti Iconcert, I passed rows of lit “Christmas palms” – a sure sign that the holidays were around the corner…as was the theatre. I grabbed my gear and walked…no, ran, toward the theatre. This event was the launch of Chris’ U.S. tour in conjunction with the release of his latest CD, “To Love Again.” For those who have not heard it, this new CD covers jazz standards in a gor- geous fashion. A wide array of artists appear on the CD, most of whom performed at this event. The im- pressive line-up consisted of Sting, Paula Cole, Burt Bacharach, Paul Buchanan, Renee Olstead, Billy Childs, Jill Scott, and (drum fanatics, unite) Billy Kilson. This event was filmed for DVD release, as well as a PBS special to be aired in March. There were TV cameras, sound booths and jibs ev- erywhere. As a photographer, I felt honored to be there, as there were only two other still photographers in house. As a fan, my excite- ment blended with the crowd’s vibe, for we knew the magnitude of what we were about to witness. There are many highlights worth mention- ing.