Whitney Houston And Alicia Keys Performing At American Music Awards

Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys will both be performing at the 37th annual American Music Awards this Sunday, November 22, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. ABC will televise the show. Houston’s new CD, I Look to You, features the smooth jazz hit single of same name. Keys’ upcoming CD, The Element of Freedom, features the current Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit “Doesn’t Mean Anything.”

Janet Jackson will open the show. Also performing are Green Day, Lil’ Wayne, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Keith Urban, Jay-Z and Carrie Underwood.

Beyonce in nominated three times. She is nominated as favorite female artist in the pop/rock category; favorite female artist, soul/R&B; and favorite album for I Am … Sasha Fierce, soul/R&B. Country star Taylor Swift picked up the most nominations, six, and the late Michael Jackson earned five. Among other nominees is Jason Mraz as favorite artist in the adult contemporary category.

Fans voted online to choose the winners of the American Music Awards, which honor the year’s top-selling artists in eight popular genres.

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Earl Klugh Appearing At Judging Table With Chef Ted Allen

Smooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh will be performing on Sunday, November 22, during a festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, but fans may also want to check out Klugh’s cameo as a judge. Earl will be a judge with celebrity chef Ted Allen during Halifax Uncorked, a two-day celebration of the best in culinary and jazz delights. Presented by the Daytona Beach International Festival, the two days’ events will be held at the riverfront News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach. Smooth jazz saxophonist Richard Elliot is featured Saturday night, November 21.

Allen, formerly of the Bravo TV series Queer Eye, is a chef and wine connoisseur who hosts two prime-time series on Food Network: Chopped and Food Detectives. Allen and a panel of culinary experts, including Klugh, will judge participating restaurants vying for the Top Restaurant Award to be presented Sunday evening.

On his Facebook page, Klugh wrote that he spent several relaxing days this summer at the Broadmoor hotel and resort in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he holds an annual jazz festival. Klugh attended a “barbecue university” with grill master Steve Raichlen.

“I’m not much of a chef,” Klugh wrote, “but I do enjoy spending time in the kitchen. I have been cooking even more now after attending (the barbecue university) and I’m really looking forward to more grilling. So far I have grilled tuna, swordfish and even Caesar salad! Steve taught so much about the history of grilling and shared lots of great recipes with us. Some of my favorites were the parmesan-grilled corn, smoked-roasted pears, muscles grilled on a bed of flaming pine needles, and Indian grilled cheese and vegetable kebabs – yum!”

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Gato Barbieri Performing At Special 77th Birthday Party

Saxophonist Gato Barbieri, who in 1972 recorded what would become one of the most popular and requested smooth jazz songs of all time, “Europa (Earth’s Cry Heaven’s Smile),” will be 77 on November 28. But he isn’t waiting until then to mark the occasion. Barbieri will be performing Saturday, November 21, at a special birthday show in his honor at Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Barbieri was born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1932. He’s also well-known for composing the Grammy Award-winning score to the controversial motion picture Last Tango in Paris. His 50th and most current CD, Shadow Of The Cat, was released in 2002. A full-length documentary on his life is currently in production.

“It’s the melody,” Barbieri says. “The melody is the most important thing, and something I very much love. It’s exciting that people are still moved when I play, and I consider myself blessed to have had fans that have listened to me for such a long time. They still do, and I’m still having fun.”

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Aaron Neville Creates New Holiday Song, Performing On Wake-Up With Al

Grammy-winning vocalist Aaron Neville has teamed up with the Weather Channel and the Salvation Army to create a new holiday recording titled “Please Don’t Forget.” The song is included on a new CD, Holiday Party. A portion of the proceeds from Neville’s song and the entire CD will be donated to the Salvation Army’s Annual Red Kettle Christmas Campaign.

The song and CD are available by download from theweatherchannelmusic.com. It will also be available at major retailers such as Walmart.

A song about true joy and peace received from helping others, “Please Don’t Forget” follows in the tradition of the original Salvation Army Christmas song “Silver Bells,” which also is performed by a Salvation Army brass band on the CD. “Silver Bells,” inspired by the iconic Salvation Army bell ringer, was originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1950.

Neville also lends his voice to the holiday classics “White Christmas” and “Go Tell It On The Mountain” from his album Christmas Prayer. Holiday Party features other well known artists such as Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, Amy Grant, the Salvation Army Ensemble, One Approved, Matt Belsante and Blessing. Classic holiday songs include “All I Want For Christmas,” “Little Drummer Boy,” the “Charlie Brown Christmas Theme” and others.

Neville will appear for the special premiere performance of “Please Don’t Forget” today, Nov. 20, on Wake Up with Al, the Weather Channel morning show hosted by Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams.

The release of Holiday Party follows past CD release successes from the Weather Channel. In December 2007, TWC’s debut album The Weather Channel Presents … Smooth Jazz hit number one on Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart and became a top-20 seller on Amazon.com. In spring 2008, a second smooth-jazz compilation was on Amazon.com’s Top-40 list for several weeks.

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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John Mayer Appearing On Letterman And On Live CBS Stream Today

Guitarist and vocalist John Mayer is a guest on Late Show With David Letterman tonight (November 19), but you don’t have to wait until then to see him perform. Mayer will star in an online-only show at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT from the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan. It will be streamed at cbs.com.

Mayer will be playing songs from his latest CD, Battle Studies, which was released just this week and is expected to debut at the top of the Billboard albums sales chart. He will also be on Letterman’s regular show at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT, and be joined by other guests Stephen Colbert and Emily Blunt.

Mayer says Battle Studies is a “return to music.” The CD is the follow-up to Mayer’s 2006 release, Continuum, which has sold almost 2.5 million copies and offered the worldwide hit and smooth jazz single “Waiting on the World to Change.”

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Natalie Cole Lighting Hollywood Christmas Tree; Has New 2-CD Package

Today, November 19, Grammy Award-winning vocalist Natalie Cole will light the legendary rooftop Christmas tree on top of the Capitol Records tower in Hollywood. In addition to Natalie, other family members attending will be her mother Maria and sisters Timolin and Casey, among others.

The time-honored tradition of lighting Capitol Records’ rooftop Christmas tree, which takes place at 5 p.m. PST, officially ushers in Hollywood’s holiday season. After the tree-lighting, Capitol/EMI executives will present the family with custom multi-platinum award plaques for entertainment legend Nat King Cole’s classic holiday album, The Christmas Song, commemorating sales of more than six million copies in the U.S. alone.

Natalie Cole currently has an exclusive two-disc CD set available on the Home Shopping Network featuring her current release Still Unforgettable and Merry Christmas, Darling, a collection of holiday classics. The holiday songs include “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!,” “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas,” Merry Christmas, Darling” and “My Favorite Things.”

To learn more about the two-CD package or to make a purchase, go to hsn.com.

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Mick Hucknall’s Father, A Major Inspiration For Simply Red, Dies

Condolences go out today from the entire Smooth Jazz Network team to Mick Hucknall, the leader and founder of Simply Red, whose father has died. Hucknall has just posted a picture of his late father, Reginald Hucknall, on his website. He was born in 1935.

According to his website, Mick was born an only child in England and raised by his father, a barber who everyone called Reg. Reginald Hucknall was assisted by a local woman named Nellie Spike and her four daughters. Mick’s mother left home when he was 3, and this reportedly was the inspiration for his biggest hit single, “Holding Back the Years.”

Mick Hucknall, who formed Simply Red 25 years ago, has a 2-year-old daughter named Romy True Hucknall through a relationship with his current girlfriend, Gabriella Wesberry.

Hucknall’s latest release is Tribute to Bobby, which featured the Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit single “Farther Up the Road.”

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Norah Jones, Performing On Colbert Report, Getting Own Video Channel

Norah Jones will soon have her own video channel. Hulu, the online venture between NBC, Fox and ABC that offers free TV shows and movies, announced today, November 18, a deal with the EMI music label to give a “channel” on Hulu to the singer.

All of Jones’s videos will be posted to the site, as well as footage of four concerts and several interviews. Jones’ new CD The Fall features the Smooth Jazz Top 20 hit single “Chasing Pirates.” The plan is to add other EMI artists over time, as well as new material from Jones.

Record labels falling under the EMI banner include Blue Note Records, Capitol, Manhattan, Virgin and others. In addition to Jones, artists with EMI include the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Lily Allen, Massive Attack and Queen.

Jones, who will be appearing tonight, November 18, on The Colbert Report, will be featured on The View on November 23. She’s also added two other TV appearances: December 15 on The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien and December 16 on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Dave Koz Entertaining His Younger Fans Saturday During Free Show

Before embarking on his annual holiday tour, saxophonist and Smooth Jazz Network daytime host Dave Koz will be giving back in his home community. Koz will give a special performance on Saturday, November 21, as part of San Fernando Valley Children’s Day - A Salute To Kids. The free event, where more than 50,000 kids are expected, is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, Calif.

The master of ceremonies is Fritz Coleman of the local NBC television station, and the voice of Bart Simpson, Nancy Cartwright, will also be on hand. There will also be numerous children’s activities. The event is a project by Los Angeles-based Community Partners. For more information on the event, go to childrensday2009.com.

The Dave Koz & Friends: A Smooth Jazz Christmas tour begins November 27 and continues through December 23. Joining Dave on this special reunion tour of the tour’s first year are guitarist Peter White, trumpeter Rick Braun, vocalist Brenda Russell and pianist David Benoit.

(Smooth Jazz Network)

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Michael Buble Announces 20-City U.S. Tour, With More To Come

Michael Buble, whose latest CD Crazy Love debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, will begin a 20-date tour of the U.S. beginning March in Orlando, Fla., and continuing through April 6 in Oakland, Calif. The tour includes stops in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Additional tour dates for the Crazy Love Tour which will run throughout 2010 will be announced early next year. After the 20-city U.S. tour, Buble will perform in Europe from May 6 to June 1.

“I’m an entertainer. It’s what I live for,” Buble says. “The show will be bombastic, cinematic and at the same time a very intimate experience. I can’t wait to get back out on the road and of course to see my fans. I’ve missed them.” Buble’s previous tour had sold out dates in 90 U.S. cities, where he performed for more than 650,000 fans.

Bublé is also scheduled to perform on December 2 at the the NBC Christmas Tree Lighting in Rockefeller Plaza, as well as on Live With Regis and Kelly the same day.

Michael Buble Crazy Love Tour dates

3/10/2010 Orlando, FL
3/12/2010 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
3/13/2010 Tampa, FL
3/14/2010 Atlanta, GA
3/16/2010 Philadelphia, PA
3/17/2010 Pittsburgh, PA
3/19/2010 Worcester, MA
3/20/2010 New York, NY
3/23/2010 Cleveland, OH
3/24/2010 Cincinnati, OH
3/25/2010 Detroit, MI
3/27/2010 Chicago, IL
3/28/2010 St. Paul, MN
3/30/2010 Denver, CO
3/31/2010 Salt Lake City, UT
4/2/2010 Portland, OR
4/3/2010 Seattle, WA
4/6/2010 Oakland, CA
4/8/2010 Phoenix, AZ
4/9/2010 Los Angeles, CA

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