"Jazz #Music Library is the most comprehensive collection of jazz recordings available online - covering thousands of artists, ensembles, albums, and genres, from all over the world, from the beginnings of jazz to today. It's an essential resource for the study and teaching of jazz history, performance, theory, or appreciation." From Alexander Street Press
"Philadelphia record label owner Alton Coles, also known as "Ace Capone", was convicted under Pennsylvania's "kingpin" law and sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. In August of 2005 Coles was arrested and indicted for organizing a $25 million drug ring that stretched across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, reports AllHipHop.com. During the seven-week trial prosecutors accused Coles and his affiliates of moving two metric tons of powdered cocaine and almost half a ton of crack between 1997 and 2005. Prosecutors believe that Coles opened a number businesses in efforts to portray legitimacy and conceal the true source of his earnings. The enterprises included Take Down Records, a day care center and an ice and water stand." - LiveSteevz
"As American Idol's eighth season hits its home stretch with only seven singers remaining, a former Idol is making some news of his own: While many former Idol contestants have lost their record deals due to slow sales, Season Seven's third runner-up Jason Castro has inked a contract with Atlantic Records. The label will release the dreadlocked crooner's debut album later this year." - Rolling Stone
"It's the annual Goombay celebration in Pensacola, a Caribbean-style festival mixing the sound of the islands with local vendors offering tasty food and quality art and crafts. April 25 and 26, 2009 - Pensacola, Florida
Phil Spector has been found guilty of the murder of a Hollywood actress at his LA home in 2003. Lana Clarkson, 40, died after a gun was fired into her mouth while she was sitting in the foyer of Spector's hilltop mansion in 2003. A jury returned the verdict against the 69-year-old record producer after a five-month retrial. The jury at Los Angeles Superior Court was unanimous in its verdict of second degree murder, as required by Californian law. The first trial ended in a jury deadlock in September 2007.
Late George Harrison is set to receive a star on the renowned Hollywood Walk of Fame at a ceremony on April 14. The guitarist will be honoured posthumously at a Los Angeles ceremony. It is set to take place along the Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street, in front of the Capitol Records building. The ceremony is open to the public beginning 11:30 AM. Harrison's wife, Olivia, and son, Dhani, will be present to accept the honour on his behalf. The former guitarist died of cancer in 2001. He was a founding member of the famous pop and rock band, The Beatles and gained worldwide fame within the group for his songwriting and guitar playing. Harrison began a solo career after the Beatles split up in 1970 and released a solo album, All Things Must Pass, which resulted in the number one hit My sweet Lord. Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese is currently directing a documentary feature about Harrison's life. Capitol/EMI will also announce plans for a new Harrison music release on April 14.
"Although CD sales are down there is still a lot to be gained by connecting musicians directly to company sponsors. Re/Max sponsored artist Dereck Rose was recently picked by an international jury consisting of Arne Frager who hosted the illustrious Metallica in his studio, Gary Platt founder of Full Sail University, Mike Linksvayer VP of Creative Commons Worldwide and Sem Bakker, nineties bass hero who played the major European concert stages."
"The park bench facing Lake Washington is covered with flowers, poems, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes and graffiti. "I miss your beautiful face and voice," one dedication reads. "Thank you for inspiring me," says another. "RIP Kurt." Fifteen years ago Wednesday, at a house adjacent to the park, Kurt Cobain's dead body was discovered by an electrician. The Nirvana frontman, 27, had committed suicide, police later ruled, killing himself with a shotgun while high on heroin and pills. His death ended a battle with hard drugs and added Cobain to a long list of legendary musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, whose careers were cut short by their addictions. Cobain's ashes were reportedly scattered in a Washington state river and a New York Buddhist temple. Nirvana band mates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl eventually formed other bands. Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, stayed in the limelight with an acting career and legal problems surrounding her own drug problems. Frances Bean, the couple's daughter, has largely lived outside the public eye. - CNN
"One of the reasons Rascal Flatts has sold millions over the decade is their deft blend of rock and pop in anthematic crossover hits, from the cover of "Life is a Highway" to the heart-tugging ballad, "What Hurts the Most." Fans will find those familiar touches on their latest record, including their first single, the soaring top 10 Billboard country hit "Here Comes Goodbye." But bassist and songwriter Jay DeMarcus says Flatts fans may be surprised what else they hear on the trio's latest CD, "Unstoppable," released this week." - AP
"The surviving members of the #Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, will perform at a concert on Saturday to raise funds to help children learn a meditation technique McCartney said helped stabilize the band at the height of its fame. McCartney and Starr will perform separate sets at the "Change Begins Within" concert for the David Lynch Foundation, which helps people learn Transcendental Meditation. The Beatles helped popularize Transcendental Meditation - described as a simple mental technique that combats stress - in 1967 when they sought spiritual guidance from an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi."
Electronic publisher Alexander Street Press today announced the launch of Music Online, the broadest and most comprehensive resource available for the study of classical, jazz, world, and American #music. Unique to the resource is its ability to deliver audio recordings, video content, full-text reference materials, musical scores, liner notes, biographies, and images through a single interface. The culmination of a music publishing program that began with Alexander Street's purchase of Classical Music Library in 2002, Music Online built on that collection's robust technical features and functionality by applying rich and consistently controlled vocabularies across all format types to achieve the powerful search capabilities Alexander Street's Semantic Indexing™ makes possible.