Source: Seattle Times

British bandleader, composer and jazz saxophonist Sir John Dankworth has died. He was 82.

His wife, jazz vocalist Dame Cleo Laine, announced his death during a concert at the theater they founded on the grounds of their Buckinghamshire home, northwest of London.

Dankworth died Saturday in a London hospital after having been ill for several months.

Born in Woodford, Essex, in 1927, Dankworth began by playing the clarinet, but after discovering the music of Charlie Parker switched to the saxophone.

He met Laine while auditioning singers for his jazz band. They married in 1958 and had two children, who are both musicians.

Dankworth was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 for services to music.

Published By: Jerome Frankson

The latest video from K’naan featuring Spanish pop-star David Bisbal. This version is the official Coca-Cola anthem for the 2010 Fifa World Cup which is to be held in South Africa.

http://www.knaanmusic.ning.com

http://www.myspace.com/knaanmusic

The Toronto native Kardinal Offishall is up to his old ways releasing his latest single, ‘We Gon Go’ which features Darryl Riley from the Black Jays camp. The song is the latest single of Kardinal’s upcoming album, ‘Mr. International’ directed by Chris G. Through the video Kardinal gives credit where credit is due, to multiple artists, djs and entertainers who have paid their dues as he also puts his work in for Toronto in the video.

Kardinal was also featured on a track from reggae superstar Barrington Levy, “No War” which was recently released along with the video below.

Lexus takes us behind the scenes of ‘The Rushers’ starring the Lexus GX 460 & co-starring Ryan Leslie as part of a new promotion by Lexus.

Watch the video below to see the official trailer.

To see the full The Rushers episode, visit  http://www.lexus.com/luxuryawaits

Behind the scenes footage of the newest Sprite Commercial inspired by Drake’s ‘Forever’ which is to be released on February 13th, 2010. The commercial itself is very extravagant and gives the viewer a visual as the cameras enter Drake’s body during a recording session. There are also cameos made by Drake’s in house producers [40/40, Boi 1da] who have engineered the majority of Drake’s most notable songs to this point.

Canwest News Service – Brendan Burke, the son of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, has been killed in a car accident in Indiana. He was 21.

The Palladium-Item of Richmond, Ind., reported Friday night that Brendan Burke and Mark Reedy, 18, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., were killed in a head-on crash on Highway 35 in Wayne County, Ind.

Police told the paper roads were slick due to a heavy snowfall when Burke, while driving eastbound in a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, apparently lost control of the vehicle and slid sideways into another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

“We are saddened to report that Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke, succumbed to injuries he suffered in an auto accident earlier today in Indiana,” the Maple Leafs wrote in a news release. “The family asks for privacy at this difficult time.” … More

A film by John Nolan, enter the struggle and triumphant story of a household rodent.

Source: Montreal Gazette

Some might still call it rhythm ‘n’ blues, but it’s really the genre’s hip-hop-influenced, weaned-on-pop grandchild that Mariah Carey offered to 7,000 fawning fans Thursday night at a suitably shrunken Bell Centre. As the multimillion-selling, statistic-breaking singer proved one more time, R & B might have become more of a brand name than a meaningful style.

At its best, Carey’s music is infectious and cannily persuasive enough to do the form justice. Even after 13 years, you’d have to be a hopeless purist not to be seduced by Always Be My Baby, which was mostly delivered as Carey reclined invitingly in a love seat. And if the hook in Obsessed or the sweet, anthemic We Belong Together don’t do anything at all for you, maybe you’re just not being fair. Not to forget Touch My Body, an irresistibly catchy song, effective even without the video antics of 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer. … More

Source: Statesman

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal jury found an Arlington couple guilty Tuesday of compelling a Nigerian widow to work as their servant for nine years.

Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji each face up to 55 years in prison after their convictions on conspiracy, forced labor and other charges.

According to a Justice Department statement, trial evidence showed the Nigerian-born Nnajis lured the woman to the United States with promises of a salary and child support.

The evidence shows the couple seized the woman’s passport, isolated her in their home and made her work long hours as their servant with no days off and little to no pay. They didn’t provide support for the woman’s six children in Nigeria and limited and monitored her contact with her family.

Emmanuel Nnaji also sexually assaulted the victim, according to the statement. … More

Source: Reuters

Star-struck singers, rappers and actors, including Barbra Streisand, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus, checked their egos at the door on Monday to record a new version of “We Are The World” for Haiti earthquake victims, 25 years after the song raised awareness of the famine in Africa.

None of the singers of the original song were invited to participate in the update, which was recorded at the same Hollywood studio once again under the oversight of Quincy Jones and the song’s co-writer Lionel Richie.

In all, more than 70 stars lent their voices to the song, and they all seemed in awe of each other.

“As celebrities, we’re fans of one another, so we’re all looky-looing in there, and getting autographs and numbers,” said Natalie Cole.

Streisand, Celine Dion and Tony Bennett appeared to inspire the most stares. Fifteen-year-old Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber, who sang the opening line originally performed by Richie, joked that he would ask his new friend, R&B singer Akon, to get the telephone number of Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. … More

Source: CBS

Their free speech may not be pretty, but their highway just might be. A Colorado neo-Nazi group that’s being allowed to participate in an Adopt-A-Highway program hit the road Saturday to start picking up litter.

The National Socialist Movement, which calls itself “America’s Nazi Party,” is responsible for cleaning up along a one-mile stretch of Highway 85 in Brighton, Colo., near a suburb north of Denver.

Earlier in the week, the Colorado Department of Transportation shifted the neo-Nazis to that location after accidentally assigning them a road in front of a church.

Talk about bad bookkeeping. … More

Source: Seattle Times

It’s been a year of “Fearless” and fairytales for Taylor Swift.

The 20-year-old country cutie – who has been on a winning streak for months with her hit album, “Fearless” – won four Grammy Awards Sunday, including the night’s top prize, album of the year.

“I did not see it coming tonight,” she told reporters after the show. “This was a beautiful, beautiful surprise.”

Earlier in the evening, Swift performed her song, “Today Was a Fairytale,” which apparently became more and more true as the night went on. She also sang with one of her heroes, Stevie Nicks, on a mash-up that mixed Nicks’ hit “Rhiannon” with Swift’s award-winning “You Belong With Me.”

Swift swiped the night’s biggest prize, but Beyonce was the biggest winner. The multihyphenate entertainer made Grammy history as she collected six awards, the most won by a female artist in one night.

The 28-year-old diva won song of the year for her anthem “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), a trophy she shared with three fellow writers. “Single Ladies” also won prizes for best female R&B vocal and best R&B song.

Her song “At Last” was named best traditional R&B vocal performance and “I Am … Sasha Fierce” won best R&B contemporary album.

“This has been such an amazing night for me and I’d love to thank the Grammys,” Beyonce said after winning best female pop vocal for “Halo.” She also thanked her family and her husband, Jay-Z. … More

Starting Monday drivers in Ontario could be paying a price for texting friends, picking up a cellphone to call the boss or browsing through song selections on mp3 players.

Drivers can be forgiven for thinking Ontario’s so-called distracted driver law was already in effect — and it has been, since October — but as of 12:01 a.m. Monday the grace period ends and anyone caught breaking the law will be slapped with a $155 fine.

But if a driver challenges that ticket in court the judge has the discretion to knock it down to as low as $60 or boost it to up to $500.

Similar legislation has been in effect in British Columbia since Jan. 1, but starting Monday drivers in that province caught using a hand-held cellphone could be fined $167 and people texting or emailing will net three demerit points.

“There are an awful lot of distractions in your vehicle and really, driving is a 100 per cent concentration effort at all times,” said Ontario Provincial Police Const. Graham Williamson.

“It only takes a moment of distraction for something to happen.” … More

Derülo was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Haitian parents who speak Creole, French and English. His birth name is Desrouleaux, but he has changed the spelling to make it easier to pronounce.

Derülo has been performing since the age of five and wrote his first song, “Crush On You”, at age eight. Derülo spent his youth studying opera, theater, and ballet. He attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.

At age 12, Derülo met his future manager, Frank Harris, a law school student who was helping him improve his basketball skills. … More

The following is a television commercial advertising KFC’s ‘Cricket Survival Guide’. Racist or justified? You be the judge.

Source: Toronto Sun

Reggae artist Shaggy has collaborated with several other musicians on the song Rise Again to raise money for the Digicel Haiti Relief Fund.

Artists featured on Rise Again include Sean Paul; Sean Kingston; Barbadian artists Alison Hinds, Shontelle Layne and Edwin Yearwood; Trinidadian soca artists David Rudder, Kees Dieffenthaller and Destra Garcia; Jamaican reggae artists Tessanne Chin and Etana; and Haitian artiste Belo. The song was written in less than a day and the rhythm produced within five days. Shaggy worked with producer Christopher Birch, who worked on his previous album Hot Shots.

“Rise Again is for the people of Haiti. It is to show them that we are here for them and that we will support them each step of the way as they begin rebuilding their lives which were shattered by the earthquake. I am very proud of this song,” Shaggy said during the launch of the song Tuesday.

“With today’s launch of Rise Again, we can raise much needed funds to support the relief efforts in Haiti.”

Published by: Jerome Frankson

Source: Associated Press

SANTAQUIN, Utah—Actor Gary Coleman has been booked into a Utah jail after police received reports of a civil disturbance at his Santaquin home, according to news reports.

Utah County Jail records show the 41-year-old former “Diff’rent Strokes” actor was booked Sunday on suspicion of domestic assault, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

But the paper said the Santaquin police wrote in a press statement that Coleman was arrested on a warrant alleging he failed to appear in court in a previous case.

KSL-TV says that as of Sunday night Coleman’s $1,725 bail had not been posted.

The Santaquin police and the county sheriff’s office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

The actor was arrested in Utah in 2008 after a man claimed Coleman tried to run over him in a parking lot when he tried to take a picture with the child star. The case was reportedly been settled out of court.

Published by: Jerome Frankson

“Just the Two of Us” is the second single from Will Smith’s first solo album, Big Willie Style . The rap song was inspired by Bill Withers’ love song of the same title; Smith’s version samples and incorporates lyrics from the original. Instead of love between a couple, “Just The Two Of Us” focuses on the relationship between a father and son. The song reached #20 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK, giving him one of his biggest solo hits.

Published by: Jerome

Perform ” Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) ” together for the Hope for Haiti fundraiser. Donate now at 1-877-51-HAITI

Nas and Damian “JR Gong” Marley are already good friends. They collaborated on the mesmerizing cut “Road to Zion ,” off Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock. The twosome’s debut joint, titled Distant Relatives, is a kingdom of a different color. The album conflates Marley’s lonstanding dub-rock aesthetic and Nas’ flow. Nas told MTV News that the Distant Relative project stems from his recent efforts in Africa: “We tryin’ to build some schools in Africa… and trying to build empowerment.” Marley and his brother, Stephen, produced amuch of the album. The duo recorded the disc with a live band in in L.A. and Miami, with Marley doing most of the production. Proceeds from the album will go to building a school in the Congo and tracks like “Count Your Blessings” reflect on the continent’s ongoing unrest.

Distant Relatives is due in stores April 20.

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