Want a calm moment in your busy day? Listen to guitarist and lead singer with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, sing Sonnet 18 because, well, Shakespeare. It’s taken from the 2002 DVD David Gilmour in Concert but recorded for the album When Love Speaks a beautiful, classic gift of love inspired by the sonnets of William Shakespeare.
The Tenors Announce 2019 Holiday Tour
“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?” The Tenors are coming to town. The multi-platinum selling, JUNO Award-winning band today announced their annual North American holiday tour “Wonder of Christmas.”
Kicking off in Seattle, WA on November 29, The Tenors will celebrate the holiday season with fans in 13 cities across Canada and the U.S. The Tenors will perform a selection of songs from their two Christmas albums, along with other festive favourites. The tour culminates on December 22 in Brantford, ON with a special celebration for the 100th anniversary of the Temple Theatre’s opening night.
Tickets for select shows go on sale starting Friday, August 23 at 10 A.M local time at tenorsmusic.com. VIP packages are available at the-tenors.wun.io and include premium seats, a personal photo with The Tenors, a signed 8 x 10 photograph and exclusive merchandise.
“Sharing the joy of the holidays through music with our families and extended families – our fans – is one of our favourite ways to celebrate the Christmas season,” said The Tenors.
Tour dates include:
November 29: Seattle, WA | Benaroya Concert Hall
December 2: Portland, OR | Arlene Schnitzer Hall
December 3: Vancouver, BC | Queen Elizabeth Theatre
December 5: Calgary, AB | Southern Alberta Jubilee
December 8: Saskatoon, SK | TCU Place
December 10: Edmonton, AB | Northern Alberta Jubilee
December 12: Winnipeg, MB | Club Regent Casino
December 13: Prior Lake, MN | Mystic Lake Casino
December 15 Windsor, ON | Caesars Windsor
December 16: Ottawa ON | Southam Hall
December 18: Glenside, PA | Keswick Theatre
December 20: New York, NY | The Town Hall
December 22: Brantford, ON | Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts
Duo Performs The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ on a Double-Sided Guitar
Musician Rob Scallon teamed up with fellow musician Mary Spender to perform The Beatles “Come Together” on a double-sided guitar. It’s like The Beatles on a budget!
How Drumsticks Are Made
“How A 5A Is Made” is a compilation of Vic Firth’s #HowItsMade Series on Instagram which takes you through each step of their drumstick making process.
Bruce Cockburn releases new “April In Memphis” video
Bruce Cockburn has released his new April In Memphis video from his upcoming album Crowing Ignites.
Bruce says, “The piece came into being on MLK Day 2019. It pretty much formed itself in the course of a practice session. It took the shape of a lament, more than a celebration, which set me to thinking of King’s murder, and the loss of a voice of wisdom, compassion and respect that we could really use about now. Hence the title. I think the video conveys the right sense of the poignant beauty, of the dignity, of the man and the spirituality that fueled him.”
Kurt Swinghammer who produced and directed the video, says, “Creating an animation for Bruce’s moving instrumental was an inspired opportunity to reflect on the loss of the most important spiritual leader of the last century. 50 years after MLK’s assassination, we clearly still need to hear his message.”
Check it out below!
Video: How Taylor Guitars Are Made
Video producer Caroline Aghajanian of Insider visited Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, California and in Tecate, Mexico to check out how Taylor Guitars are made.
Taylor Guitars was founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug, and has grown into the leading global builder of premium acoustic guitars. Renowned for blending modern, innovative manufacturing techniques with a master craftsman’s attention to detail, Taylor acoustic guitars are widely considered among the best-sounding and easiest to play in the world. The company is a pioneer in the use of computer mills, lasers and other high-tech tools and proprietary machinery, and today, Bob Taylor is widely recognized throughout the musical instrument industry as the visionary acoustic guitar manufacturer.
How Zildjian Cymbals Are Made
Check out this video of Zildjian’s Norwell, MA factory, and for more, follow their “How Its Made” Series on Instagram which takes you through each step of their cymbal making process.
Experience the King Like Never Before With ‘Elvis Unleashed,’ in Movie Theaters Worldwide on October 7 and 10
Elvis Presley returns to big screens across the globe this fall with the new music special, “Elvis Unleashed,” featuring previously unseen footage on movie theater screens of Elvis as he filmed the iconic “68 Comeback Special.” The two-day cinema event, which includes outtakes and performances that reveal a new side of the King, will air in cinemas on October 7, with an encore screening on October 10.
Each screening will include a new 30-minute segment with Los Angeles Times lead music writer Randy Lewis in conversation with actor Dennis Quaid, rising pop/country artist Jade Jackson and the esteemed director and producer of the “68 Elvis Comeback Special,” Steve Binder, to discuss Elvis’s life and legacy. Quaid and Jackson are set to perform some Elvis classics, while Randy Lewis discusses the behind-the-scenes interactions that Binder had with Elvis and his manager Colonel Parker, as well as celebrating the King.
Fathom Events will present “Elvis Unleashed” in more than 800 U.S. movie theaters on Monday, October 7, and Thursday, October 10 at 7:00 p.m. local time (both dates), through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of U.S. theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change). International cinema locations and ticket-on-sale dates will be announced at a later date.
The “‘Elvis ’68 Comeback Special” was a major milestone in Elvis Presley’s storied career, marking his first live television performance in seven years and pioneering the “unplugged” performance style with an acoustic set. “Elvis Unleashed” captures the spontaneous moments and stories behind the legendary special, and sheds new light on Elvis as a cultural icon.
The Roots’ Iconic ‘Things Fall Apart,’ ‘Do You Want More?!!??!’ and ‘Illadelph Halflife’ to Receive Expansive Anniversary Re-Issues
To celebrate the continuing cultural impact of The Roots, Geffen and UMe/Urban Legends will re-issue the bands’ iconic Things Fall Apart, Do You Want More ?!!??! and Illadelph Halflife to commemorate the anniversary of each album’s release.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Things Fall Apart, with Do You Want More?!!!??! celebrating its 25th anniversary next year and Illadelph Halflife turning 25 in 2021. Each remastered re-issue will be drawn from the original master recordings, and Things Fall Apart will include bonus selections, rare photos, essays by Black Thought and Questlove and liner notes from Questlove.
“We’re looking forward to going back to the vault to revisit our original recordings from the studio and we’re excited to celebrate these albums by really delivering something special for our fans,” said The Roots.
Starting off the celebration will be The Roots’ breakthrough fourth album Things Fall Apart, available on September 27, 2019. This melancholy gem of 2000s alternative hip-hop, originally released on MCA Records in 1999, has been freshly remastered and re-pressed in two lavish triple vinyl configurations. The standard configuration features the original album, remastered on double vinyl with a third LP of bonus tracks curated by Questlove, including a 24-page booklet featuring rare images, retrospective essays by Black Thought and Questlove, track-by-track liner notes from Questlove. The Collector’s Edition features all of the above, but with clear vinyl and a die-cut slipcase with all 5 alternate covers as interchangeable lithos with foil stamp numbering. More information, including pre-order details, will be announced soon.
Do You Want More?!!!??!, The Roots’ second studio album, is the band’s major label-debut, coming two years after their independent debut album, Organix in 1993. The album is critically acclaimed as a classic of hip-hop jazz. Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot celebrated the group’s ability to “mate hip-hop wordplay, funk rhythms and jazzy textures” and calls the album “an impressive display of skills, intelligently arranged and performed.” In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. The re-issue will be available in 2020.
Illadelph Halflife’s is the third studio album from The Roots. With contributions from artists across jazz and R&B including Amel Larrieux, D’Angelo, Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, David Murray, and Cassandra Wilson, the album shows the immense growth of the band from their first two titles. Upon release, The New York Times music critic Neil Strauss recognized the album as “one of the year’s best rap offerings” and celebrated its “politically conscious lyrics.” Illadelph Halflife offered a fresh perspective on hip-hop. The album, which will be re-issued in 2021, has been recognized by The Source, The Village Voice, and Hip-Hop Connections as one of the 100 Best Rap Albums.
Unreleased”Blue World” Album of John Coltrane and His All-Star Classic Quartet Mastered from Original Analog Tape for Release by Impulse!
In 1964, John Coltrane and his Classic Quartet went into Van Gelder Studios and, in an unprecedented move for Coltrane, recorded new versions of some of his most famous works. This never-before-heard recording, Blue World, will be released on September 27 in CD, vinyl LP and digital editions.
Early in 1964, the year he recorded A Love Supreme, Coltrane was approached by a Quebecois filmmaker, Gilles Groulx. Groulx was planning his film Le chat dans le sac, a love story set in Montreal with political undertones. A die-hard Coltrane fan, Groulx was fixated on having Coltrane record a soundtrack for his film. Groulx approached Coltrane via a personal connection with bassist Jimmy Garrison, and amazingly, Coltrane agreed.
So right between the recording sessions for Crescent and A Love Supreme in June of ’64, John Coltrane brought Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner into Van Gelder Studios to do something virtually unprecedented in Coltrane world: revisit and record earlier works.
Gilles Groulx was at Van Gelder, watching the session, listening. It’s unclear how much creative input the filmmaker had, and how much conversation happened between him and Coltrane, that yielded this rare kind of session. Recorded on 1/4″ analog mono tape, the session was mixed by Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder Studios on June 24, 1964. Groulx took the master to Canada to use in his film, although he only included ten minutes of the 37-minute recording.
Blue World has been mastered from its original analog tape by Kevin Reeves at Universal Music Mastering in New York. The new vinyl edition’s lacquers were cut by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios.
Blue World reveals Coltrane’s personal progress, as well as the interactive consistency and sonic details the Classic Quartet had firmly established as their collective signature by 1964. This signature was so assured and dramatic, so buoyant and different from the sound Coltrane had delivered before. And it is significant that this recording session – whatever the ultimate driving force was – happened in between two of Coltrane’s most expansive, spiritually transcendent records that would set the tone for the rest of his musical career.
Blue World follows on the heels of last year’s global success Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, a studio album recorded in 1963 that revealed new compositions from Coltrane and the Classic Quartet at their peak. Both Directions landed Coltrane at #21 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, his highest debut ever. The record easily topped jazz charts around the world and put Coltrane in the Top 20 on Overall Charts in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Italy and more. Global sales to date for Both Directions has exceeded a quarter of a million albums sold worldwide.