Joni Mitchell News

From Duke Ellington's rocking rhythms, Thelonious Monk's melodious thunks to Mary Lou Williams' spiritual swing and Michel Camilo's island improvisations, the Newport Jazz Festival has been the premier showcase for pianists for decades. This year's edition features a wide variety of keyboardists, shaping the state of jazz to come.

Fancy a bit of Mendelssohn? (Fanny Mendelssohn, that is.) How about Lady Gaga? Or jazzy Mary Lou Williams? Let's drop a few more names - Tori Amos, Alicia Keys, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Diana Krall, Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler. Who?

From Ella Fitzgerald's rapid fire scats, Sarah Vaughan's divine voice, Billie Holiday's fine and mellow artistry and Betty Carter's bebop, the Newport Jazz Festival has been Ground Zero for jazz vocalists for six decades. And, this year's 65thedition is no exception.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with the following acts:

Announcing Performances by Vitaly, John Pizzarelli Trio, and Martin Sexton!

Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation with songs like "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," "April Fools," and his covers of "Hallelujah" and "Across the Universe." Rufus Wainwright returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Tuesday, August 20 at 8pm with his Oh Solo Wainwright Tour. Special guest The Rails will open the show, which is part of Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Songwriter Series. Media sponsor for this event is WFUV.

Spotlight Theatre Company, a Staten Island theatre and production company, is presenting the magical tribute show, FIERCE FEMALES.

Last week, the New York-based singer, songwriter and acclaimed pianist Jon Regen announced his first album in four years Higher Ground with the release of the debut single 'Wide Awake.' The album, out October 4 via Ropeadope, was produced by Jamiroquai's Matt Johnson and includes musical performances by legends like Andy Summers of The Police, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Chuck Leavell of The Rolling Stones, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and more.

GRAMMY Award-winning artist Brandi Carlile will perform six sold-out shows atNashville's historic Ryman Auditorium on January 14, 15, 16, 19, 20 and 21 with special guests Kim Richey, Lucie Silvas, Natalie Hemby, Lori McKenna and Courtney Barnettrespectively. The three additional shows were added due to overwhelming popular demand after the first three shows sold-out immediately during last Friday's on-sale.

Bid now for an evening you will never forget! This is your opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera star, Elizabeth Welch on August 11th, in 'Mother Knows Best!'

A group of cabaret newcomers and veterans alike will join Meg Flather on July 14 and September 14 at Don't Tell Mama for MEG FLATHER SONGS: A CABARET SISTERHOOD, performing the work of the MAC and Bistro Award winner.

Allday has cemented himself as one of Australia's most interesting young songwriters and in demand performers. His catchy songs and quick wit has seen his social media profile grow quickly too (check out his Instagram with over 215,000 followers. Today, Allday release his new album Starry Night Over The Phone via Ultra Records. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, and its title is a cheeky take on Van Gogh's 'Starry Night Over the Rhone.'

Irish Repertory Theatre will present a concert performance of Christine Tobin: Sailing to Byzantium on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage on Tuesday August 27, 2019, at 7pm.  

On Monday night, the Emerson Colonial Theatre presented THE SETH RUDESTSKY SERIES STARRING JESSIE MUELLER, the first of three concerts with Cheyenne Jackson (October 4) and Kelli O'Hara (January 9) to follow. The host of Sirius SM's On Broadway channel, Rudetsky is a pianist, a music director, and possesses a vast knowledge of musical theater. In this series, a combination of conversation and musical performances, Rudetsky moves seamlessly between his dual roles as onstage accompanist and interviewer, starting out on the piano bench and ambling over to a quasi-living room ('we have a carpet') with a pair of comfy armchairs. Singing a broad range of selections, both Broadway and pop, Mueller proves herself to be a vocal chameleon, and presents as warm, genuine, and occasionally self-deprecating during the interview portions of the show.

On October 4, the New York-based singer, songwriter and acclaimed pianist Jon Regen returns with Higher Ground, his first album in nearly five years, via Ropeadope. The album was produced by Jamiroquai's Matt Johnson and includes musical performances by legends like Andy Summers of The Police, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Chuck Leavell of The Rolling Stones, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and more.

Husband-and-wife duo John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey make their annual fall pilgrimage to Cafe Carlyle with an all-new show, November 5-16.

EMI Production Music has partnered with Goldsmiths, University of London to release and market film and TV music composed by the university's students.

Tony Award-winning actress Laura Benanti took a quick hiatus from starring in My Fair Lady on Broadway to make her London debut - and those missing out on the former needn't have worried, as she opened with a bravura 15-minute precis of the production, complete with musical highlights.

Erin Durant's Islands is out on Keeled Scales today, garnering a stamp of approval from Ann Powers and Robin Hilton at NPR Music, notable and essential release designation from Stereogum and Bandcamp, respectively, a deep dive in a rising feature over at The Line of Best Fit and beautiful reviews at American Songwriter, Highway Queens, Secret Meeting and Paste Magazine as well as Greil Marcus' Real Life Rock Top 10 at Rolling Stone. Pitchfork had published their review early with Laura Snapes saying that 'Islands polishes Durant's sound to a resonant and gently rollicking gleam...Durant's songwriting is fine-boned and small-scale, and her lyrics are quietly epic.' Erin Durant's sophomore record, produced by TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone, is an odyssey of sorts, ambitious instrumentals mix with a vague, but compelling, journey, allowing one to lose themselves in the worlds she creates and the sometimes surrealist stories that link these eight songs.

Just in time for the Independence Holiday weekend, the fiery, fiercely independent redhead, Kiki Ebsen, has designed an evening of jazz and blues, and invited two beloved Hollywood friends to join her and her band-on-fire to light up Feinstein's on Friday night, July 5th at 8pm.