John May News

42nd Street's renowned music venue, B. B. KING BLUES CLUB & GRILL, has debuted a completely redesigned Web site. The homepage boasts a jukebox, 'Request an Artist' tab, photo gallery and, of course, upcoming show description and ticket buy links.

On Tuesday, March 8, Legacy Recordings will release, for the very first time, Billy Joel - Live at Shea Stadium, a full-length music film of Billy Joel's historic shows in July 2008 marking the last-ever concerts at rock's first great arena venue.

The 2011 Grammy Nominees CD track list has been announced, and this year, the album will feature 19 songs featuring GLEE, Cee Lo Gree, Adam Lambert, and may more. The CD will be released on January 25. Proceeds will benefit both the MusiCares Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.

The Recording Academy®'s (www.grammy.com) GRAMMY Recordings® has partnered with Jive Records to release the 2011 GRAMMY® Nominees album, the 17th edition of the best-selling series, which highlights artists and songs nominated for the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards®.The 19-song collectionwill be available Jan. 25 and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit the MusiCares® Foundation (www.musicares.com) and the GRAMMY Foundation® (www.grammyfoundation.com)- two charitable organizations established by The Recording Academy. For more information on the nominees album, please visit www.2011grammycd.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join The Academy's social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, and aYouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys.

For the third year in a row, Performing Arts Fort Worth presents the University of North Texas Jazz Artist Series at McDavid Studio. The series kicks off Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. at McDavid Studio, 301 E. 4th St.

Sir Elton John may have sold millions of records, won multiple Grammys, and have a Tony Award along with one of Broadway's current hits in Billy Elliot under his belt, but the singer-songwriter hasn't yet made an appearance on one of TV's biggest musical shows: the FOX hit Glee.

An exciting range of performances including a post-modern variety show, a contemporary psychedelic funk opera, a celebration for the acclaimed Apollo Theater in conjunction with its 75th anniversary exhibition, and the U.S. debut of Daorum, an innovative collaboration between Korean and Australian jazz musicians highlight the next three months of TARGET® FREE THURSDAYS at the David Rubenstein Atrium.

CMT CROSSROADS will go live when Crossroads heads to Super Bowl XLV and North Texas with a very special episode featuring rock royalty, THE PRETENDERS, and five-time Grammy winner, FAITH HILL. CMT CROSSROADS: THE PRETENDERS & FAITH HILL LIVE FROM THE PEPSI SUPER BOWL FAN JAM premieres live on CMT on Saturday, February 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT, as part of the NFL PEPSI SUPER BOWL FAN JAM festivities. It is the third performance in the concert series and will air from Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX.

An exciting range of performances including a post-modern variety show, a contemporary psychedelic funk opera, a celebration for the acclaimed Apollo Theater in conjunction with its 75th anniversary exhibition, and the U.S. debut of Daorum, an innovative collaboration between Korean and Australian jazz musicians highlight the next three months of TARGET® FREE THURSDAYS at the David Rubenstein Atrium.

Toshi Reagon, Cole Escola, Huun Huur Tu, Justin Bond and more will play at Joe's Pub January 28-31.

Trumpet sensation Chris Botti, known for effortlessly crossing boundaries between pop and classical, jazz and rock, will bring his chart-topping talents to the Orange County Performing Arts Center for a special one-night-only concert Sunday, January 8, 2011 in Segerstrom Hall. A gifted instrumentalist, talented composer, charismatic performer and former trumpeter for Sting, Botti has risen to new heights of popularity with his critically acclaimed CDs, Live in Boston, December and Italia. Botti's performance is being offered as a Bonus Event in the Center's 2010-11 Jazz Series.

The Recording Academy®'s (www.grammy.com) GRAMMY Recordings® has partnered with Jive Records to release the 2011 GRAMMY® Nominees album, the 17th edition of the best-selling series, which highlights artists and songs nominated for the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards®.The 19-song collectionwill be available Jan. 25 and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit the MusiCares® Foundation (www.musicares.com) and the GRAMMY Foundation® (www.grammyfoundation.com)- two charitable organizations established by The Recording Academy. For more information on the nominees album, please visit www.2011grammycd.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join The Academy's social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, and aYouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys.

An exciting range of performances including a post-modern variety show, a contemporary psychedelic funk opera, a celebration for the acclaimed Apollo Theater in conjunction with its 75th anniversary exhibition, and the U.S. debut of Daorum, an innovative collaboration between Korean and Australian jazz musicians highlight the next three months of TARGET® FREE THURSDAYS at the David Rubenstein Atrium.

An exciting range of performances including a post-modern variety show, a contemporary psychedelic funk opera, a celebration for the acclaimed Apollo Theater in conjunction with its 75th anniversary exhibition, and the U.S. debut of Daorum, an innovative collaboration between Korean and Australian jazz musicians highlight the next three months of TARGET® FREE THURSDAYS at the David Rubenstein Atrium.

Chris Botti returns to the Blue Note for his annual three-week residence from December 13 to January 2, including Christmas and New Year's Eve. This year, Botti is bringing a new band that features drummer Billy Kilson, guitarist Mark Whitfield, pianist Billy Childs, keyboardist Andy Ezrin, bassist Carlos Henriquez, vocalist Lisa Fischer, and violinists Caroline Campbell and Chee-Yun. Botti's accessible style, charm, and impressive backing band have kept him at the top of the contemporary jazz world for years. With a warm, effortless tone on the trumpet, Botti seamlessly weaves songs from the pop, jazz, classical and contemporary genres into each set. His Blue Note runs have been star-studded affairs over the last few years, boasting guest artists like John Mayer and Sting, and this year's series will be no different. As an artist who plays mostly concert halls all over the world, playing for three weeks at such an intimate club is a treat for Botti, who calls the Blue Note his favorite stop of the year.

The Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) goes global at its annual Winter Concert with a program spotlighting the choral music of 20 composers from 10 nations spanning 5 centuries, on Sunday, December 5, 7 p.m, and Sunday, December 12, 2010, 7 p.m., at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The 'musical tour' includes a Buddhist prayer sung in Japanese, Italian art songs, and a Czech piece based on a Moravian folksong, as well as works by J.S. Bach, Benjamin Britten, John Rutter, Omar Macha and Gustav Holst, and contemporary composers Ruth Watson Henderson, Nicholas Nicassio, Mark Sirett and Brian Holmes, and others. Punctuated with plenty of holiday spirit as well, the Winter Concert is part of the renowned choir's year-long 25th Anniversary celebration, commemorating LACC's commitment to educating young people in the choral arts and creating glorious music for audiences around the world.

World renowned tenor Ben Heppner - described by the Telegraph (UK) as 'the world's dramatic tenor of choice, distinguished not only by his stamina and power but also his clarion beauty of tone' - headlines a special free community conversation open to the general public and presented by Los Angeles Children's Chorus in conjunction with its new Young Men's Ensemble (YME) on Friday, December 10, at 7:30 P.M., at Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. Young Men's Ensemble Director Dr. Steven Kronauer moderates the conversation, during which Heppner, currently featured in the title role of LA Opera's production of Lohengrin, will discuss his career in general, as well as his singing techniques, his voice change during adolescence, and how he trained during that period of his life. He will also answer questions from the audience.

World renowned tenor Ben Heppner - described by the Telegraph (UK) as 'the world's dramatic tenor of choice, distinguished not only by his stamina and power but also his clarion beauty of tone' - headlines a special free community conversation open to the general public and presented by Los Angeles Children's Chorus in conjunction with its new Young Men's Ensemble (YME) on Friday, December 10, at 7:30 P.M., at Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. Young Men's Ensemble Director Dr. Steven Kronauer moderates the conversation, during which Heppner, currently featured in the title role of LA Opera's production of Lohengrin, will discuss his career in general, as well as his singing techniques, his voice change during adolescence, and how he trained during that period of his life. He will also answer questions from the audience.

Trumpet sensation Chris Botti, known for effortlessly crossing boundaries between pop and classical, jazz and rock, will bring his chart-topping talents to the Orange County Performing Arts Center for a special one-night-only concert Sunday, January 8, 2011 in Segerstrom Hall. A gifted instrumentalist, talented composer, charismatic performer and former trumpeter for Sting, Botti has risen to new heights of popularity with his critically acclaimed CDs, Live in Boston, December and Italia. Botti's performance is being offered as a Bonus Event in the Center's 2010-11 Jazz Series.

For the third year in a row, Performing Arts Fort Worth presents the University of North Texas Jazz Artist Series at McDavid Studio. The series kicks off Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. at McDavid Studio, 301 E. 4th St.