Lil’ WayneGets A Lap DanceFromNickiMinaj [Video]
Lil’ Wayne and his Young Money crew are currently out on the road for their “I Am Music II” tour and it appears they’re really having fun on stage. While performing the other night during the Long Island show at the Nassau Colliseum, YM mistress Nicki Minaj put on a special show for her boss Weezy, as she gave him a lapdance. Read more on Vibe Magazine
Cage The Elephant: A botched interview and a sold out show [Music]
The Bowling Green, Kentucky-natives make their return to Kentucky this Friday, April 1st for a sold out show at Headliners. But, not to worry, they’ll be back just a few weeks later. When Bowling Green, Kentucky-native Cage the Elephant released their self-titled debut album in 2009, some referred to them as saviors of the whole funk-punk music genre, thanks to hit singles like “Ain’t No Rest … Read more on Louisville.com
Good-bye, LCD Soundsystem: James Murphy’s Art of Hopeless Commitment
In the early nineties, when he was 22 years old, James Murphy had a chance to try writing for a network-TV sitcom. He passed on the opportunity and spent the rest of the decade working on music instead — playing in a couple of decent bands that never really took off, running sound for a reasonably great band that never really took off, and eventually reaching that still-young age at which the … Read more on Vulture
Kevin Bacon is the Center of the Universe: Blues Edition
I thought this would be a fun game to play. There are a lot of cross-connections between Hollywood and the music industry so it’s pretty limitless. I made this playlist http://mog.com/playlists/342208#play awhile back and I explain the connections there, but I’ll repeat them here. Here goes: Kevin Bacon appeared in “Animal House” with John Belushi, who was in the Blues … Read more on MOG
Born on August 17th 1960, Maria Pia De Vito is an Italian vocalist, composer and arranger and is a standout of the contemporary European jazz scene.
She studied opera and contemporary singing and began her music career in 1976 as a vocalist and musician (plectra, percussion, piano) in research groups committed to ethnic music as well as ethnic and non-ethnic polyphony, mostly related to the Mediterranean, Balkan and South-American areas.
After 15 years practicing the great American jazz songbook of scat and be-bop, in 1994 she begins a new phase of her work with the project Nauplia, conceived and directed together with Rita Marcotulli, her first trespass into free form and the crossover with European jazz. The vocal textures form the basis of the sound, which will see the encounter between the hybrid of jazz and the peculiarities of Neapolitan singing (”Nauplia”, “Fore Paese”, “Triboh”).
The concept of improvisational possibilities of the voice in contact with several cultural contexts becomes the basis of her new direction, whose first release is “Phonè”, a work about the voice preceding the language and about rhythm and dance in their different cultural inflexion. It is a project that marks the beginning of the collaboration with John Taylor.
At Umbria Jazz ’98 she presented the Phoné project, which featured John Taylor, Gianluigi Trovesi, Enzo Pietropaoli and Federico Sanesi. Among their most important performances, the group played in Weimar, in occasion of WEIMAR 1999.
Since 1996 she has collaborated with British composer Colin Towns with his Big Band, The Mask Orchestra. She played live at the major festivals in England and Germany including the remarkable exhibition at the Queen Elizabeth Hall of London with the “Mask Symphonic” (70 musicians) and the participation of Norma Winstone.
In 1997 the Maria Pia De Vito / John Taylor / Ralph Towner trio is born, marked with the release of the album “Verso”.
In 2001 the name of Maria Pia was critically lauded by the most celebrated signatures of American jazz press as she is in the category “Beyond Artist” of the 49th Down Beat Critics Poll. In this list, her name appears alongside outstanding artists such as Caetano Veloso, Joni Mitchell, Cesaria Evora, Olu Dara, Carlos Santana, Uri Caine and Marisa Monte.
This very important acknowledgement was to be her stepping stone into the international market.
In 2001 she also imposed herself on the Italian scene, winning the POSITANO JAZZ prize.
In 2002 she released the CD “Nel Respiro” with the John Taylor and Ralph Towner trio, with the participation of Steve Swallow and Patrice Heral, with whom she begins a profitable artistic collaboration.
2003 is the year for the project and the release of the CD “Tumulti” which represents her most experimental work to date. Oriented to interaction between voice, improvisation and electronics, co-leading the project with Patrice Heral and collaborating with cello player Ernst Reijseger and Austrian pianist Paul Urbanek, multi-awarded in his country for his “reverse composing” works.
“Tumulti” received enormous critical approval and was performed live at jazz festivals in Italy and abroad.
On “So Right” (2005) together with the co-leaders Danilo Rea and Enzo Pietropaoli and the contribution of drummer Aldo Romano, she reflects on song form through the reinterpretation of seven songs by Joni Mitchell and five of her own compositions.
Over the last few years she has been a leading player in projects including “Il Brutto Anatroccolo” (The Ugly Duckling) with music by Giorgio Gaslini, “Gesualdo on Gesualdo da Venosa”, by (and with) Tino Tracanna and Corrado Guarino, “Oltre Napoli”, “La Notte” and “Lettera da Orsara” by Bruno Tommaso, and “Il Celeste Specchio” by Carlo Boccadoro.
She regularly collaborates with the sculptor and video-maker Marisa Albanese with whom she has produced three videos which were presented in art museums and galleries.
2009 has seen the release of her latest album, “Mind The Gap”, a further exploration of the crossover territory between freeform jazz, traditional European music and abstract electronica, and contains a reinterpretation of the Bjork hit “Hidden Place”.
Discography:
Maria Pia De Vito / John Taylor / Ralph Towner Trio: Verso – 1997
Nel Respiro – 2002
Phoné (Maria Pia De Vito, John Taylor, Gianluigi Trovesi, Enzo Pietropaoli, Federico Sanesi):
Phoné – 1998
Nauplia (Rita Marcotulli, Maria Pia De Vito):
Nauplia – 1994
Fore Paese – 1996
Triboh – 1997 (featuring percussionist Arto Tunçboyaciyan)
Solo:
Tumulti – 2003
So Right – 2008
Mind The Gap – 2009
If you speak Italian, you might find this interview interesting (regardling Tumulti), or if not, you might just want to skip to the bits where she’s playing with her band…
Unfortunately it’s the only Maria Pia De Vito video I can find on YouTube that has even remotely decent sound quality.
Needless to say, check her out on Spotify.
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Whenever I’ve discussed the question of “who is the best rock vocalist in the world” in the last few decades, one name has kept cropping up that has always been difficult to argue with.
From the soft and delicate to the cutting and powerful, from the catchy and melodic to the highest tripped-out ethereal insanity… in Soundgarden, Chris Cornell did it all.
The sole album he produced at this time has been overlooked by many, which is a shame because it really should be considered alongside Superunknown as some of the best work he’s ever been a part of.
That is not to say that you should expect another Superunknown. The harder rock elements of Cornell’s Soundgarden days are gone, but the space gives Cornell’s voice a chance to shine at the peak of his talents.
Clearly this isn’t an official video, but have a listen to When I’m Down while you’re reading…
Euphoria Morning was released on September 21, 1999, containing 12 tracks, some versions containing a bonus track of either a French version of Can’t Change Me or Sunshower, a version of which can be found on the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack.
Can’t Change Me was the “big single” from the album, but check out When I’m Down,Mission, Disappearing One, Flutter Girl and Wave Goodbye for the real gems of the album.
Incidentally, Flutter Girl was a leftover from the 1994 Soundgarden classic, Superunknown.
I’ve named a few songs there for you to check out, but the real beauty of Euphoria Morning is that is a true “album” in the best sense of the word. One of those rare modern releases that works best as a whole, as oppose to just being a collection of songs, so stick your headphones on, get yourself onto Spotify and listen to the whole thing in order. You won’t be sorry.
Eventually, Audioslave split up and Cornell returned to being a solo artist, releasing Carry On (2007) and more recently Scream (2009) with Timbaland… (er… what?)
After Euphoria Morning, I eagerly awaited the day Chris Cornell would release more solo material, but I felt short-changed with Carry On. It just felt a bit rushed and too much emphasis on the poptastic with a blatant disregard for the interesting musicality that had worked so well on his solo debut. Hopefully Scream will be a return to form.
After 15 years practicing the great American jazz songbook of scat and be-bop, in 1994 she begins a new phase of her work with the project 
In 2001 the name of Maria Pia was critically lauded by the most celebrated signatures of American jazz press as she is in the category “Beyond Artist” of the 49th Down Beat Critics Poll. In this list, her name appears alongside outstanding artists such as 
On “
Following the demise of the legendary grunge band, Cornell had a brief spell as a solo artist before joining forces with 
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