Soulutionn x Sydnee Jane & The Jane-ettes at Jet Lounge 4/30

Houston are you ready?! The fabulous Jet Lounge will host the sounds of Soulutionn and Sydnee Jane & The Jane-ettes, plus other special guests. You can get a healthy dose of the many phases of Soul music they will display for only $7 here. Price may be more at the door, but still worth it.

Bobby Tank: Needin' Me

More new sick ish, that's pleasantly tagged as "stutterin' booty claps" from Bobby Tank, who always comes harder than an armored truck rolling at high speed. Be on the lookout for an EP coming from him soon. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday: Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was a composer, pianist, and big band leader who wrote over 1,000 compositions, is widely regarded as the most important composer in Jazz.

A prominent figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death, the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowing a special posthumous honor in 1999.

Ellington won 12 Grammy Awards (nine while still alive) and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2009, the U.S. Mint featured him on the back of the Washington D.C. quarter.

Happy Birthday: Ella Fitzgerald & Huey Long

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was a Jazz vocalist and pianist with a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6). She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 13 Grammy Awards including one for Lifetime Achievement in 1967. Other major awards and honors she received during her career were the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Medal of Honor Award, National Medal of Art, first Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award, named "Ella" in her honor, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing.

EllaFitzgerald.com





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Huey Long (April 25, 1904 – June 10, 2009) was a singer, musician and composer who was the last living member of the Ink Spots, the legendary group that helped shape the musical genres of rhythm & blues, rock & roll and doo-wop.

Long was born in Sealy, Texas and grew up in a musical family with his brothers Jewell, Herbert and Sam, who all were active musicians. Huey started on piano, then moved to ukulele, to banjo and eventually guitar. In 1925, while working as a shoe shiner outside the Rice Hotel in Houston, opportunity knocked for Long to start a professional career as a musician when star trumpeter Punch Miller was in town to perform at the hotel with The Frank Davis Louisiana Jazz Band, who needed a banjo player to sit in.

After completing the summer with Davis' jazz band, Long played with a local band before moving to Chicago where he gained a foothold in Jazz. He changed to guitar with Texas Guinan's Cuban Orchestra at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Long absorbed the Chicago jazz scene playing with several big bands and recording with New Orleans pianist Richard M Jones and pianist-vocalist Lil Armstrong, the former wife of Louis Armstrong.

When bandleader Fletcher Henderson came to Chicago to play the Grand Terrace supper club, he asked the local musicians union to send him a good guitarist who could sightread. Long played the first show and passed the "audition". Long toured with Henderson and ended up at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York. After Henderson's group disbanded, Long stayed in New York and joined up with Earl Hines' Orchestra, which had Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the line-up. In early 1944, Long got the call from Bill Kenny, leader of the Ink Spots for a position with the group. His short lived tenure with the Ink Spots allowed Long to branch out as musician into other forms of entertainment.

While the Ink Spots were signed to Decca records, they recorded several tunes with label-mate Ella Fitzgerald.

Long moved back to Houston in 1996 and was cared for by his daughter Anita, who set up an Ink Spots museum featuring her father Huey. The museum is located in the Houston Heights area across the street from where his apartment was located. Huey Long was 105 years old when he passed away in 2009. For more info, log on to Ink Spots Museum and contact Anita Long.

Nyoka Ny-D: Get Ah Move On

Here's some HOT new flava from Philly based singer Nyoka Ny-D from her Zealot Mixtape Vol.1. "Get Ah Move On" displays her MC side. Check it out and ENJOY!

R.I.P. Gerard Smith of TV On The Radio

Another one of our legendary music comrades has passed away from us. Gerard Smith bassist of Brooklyn based art rock group TV On The Radio died this morning after battling lung cancer. The news of his illness became public just last month. He will be greatly missed.

Happy Birthday: Lionel Hampton & Luther Vandross

The "Father of the Vibes", Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was a jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Hampton was one of the first jazz vibraphone players and ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich to Charlie Parker and Quincy Jones. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.





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Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an R&B and soul singer-songwriter, and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance with My Father", co-written with Richard Marx.

Jamie Woon: Mirrorwriting

London bred singer Jamie Woon drops Mirrorwriting, his second full length album release today on Universal Records. With his soulful approach to Dubstep, Jamie is taking the internet and airwaves by storm with his first single called "Lady Luck".

For a limited time, visit JamieWoon.com for special edition vinyl and cd sets of Mirrorwriting.

Happy Birthday: Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is a pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet", Hancock helped redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section, and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk. Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "cross over" and achieved success among pop audiences. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. In his jazz improvisation, he possesses a unique creative blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, with harmonic stylings much like the styles of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

Hancock's best-known solo works include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaría), "Maiden Voyage", "Chameleon", and the singles "I Thought It Was You" and "Rockit". His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award after Getz/Gilberto in 1965.

Jill Scott ft. Anthony Hamilton: So In Love

I'm really excited about "Jilly From Philly" who's set to release her next studio album, The Light of the Sun real soon. She teams up with southern soul brother Anthony Hamilton on her latest single titled "So In Love". This is an incredible collaboration of talented singers helping to give rise again to soulful R&B that has an 80's feel to the track. Enjoy!


By the way, today is Jill Scott's birthday, so treat her well by purchasing her cover version of Bill Withers' classic "Lovely Day" via JillScott.com and receive a bonus mixtape with your order.

Happy Birthday: DJ Kool Emdee

Yup...thanks to the CREATOR, my mom and dad and this lovely artform called music, I have been on this rock for 44 years. Lately I have been taking the time to reflect and get things in order with my family and long time friends. Thanks to all the well wishers who hit me on Facebook. My apologies for not updating often. I will be posting more goodies in the near future. Thanks again to my readers. BLESS'UP!

Happy Birthday: Marvin Gaye

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., known to the world as Marvin Gaye, who is one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century. Many don't know that outside of his smooth four octave voice and "tickling the ivory", he started out as a session drummer for Motown.

For many, Here, My Dear is considered a classic, although it failed commercially. At first it received ill reviews until re-examined later. It was supposed to be an attempt at making a "lazy album" due to the unrepairable circumstances surrounding his first marriage to Anna Gordy, the sister of Motown/Tamla mogul Berry Gordy. With the advice of Curtis Shaw, Marvin's attorney, it was agreed that Marvin would give half the royalties for the album to Anna for alimony and child support for their only son Marvin III. However, while recording the album, Marvin's emotions took over the music.

One of my favorite tunes from the album is "Is That Enough", which talks about the divorce court precedings and having to pay attorney fees.