Betty Carter News

"This house is just a big party house," Howard Katz says. "It was built by the mob as a party house." Katz is referring to his home, which sits high on a hill on Hollins Avenue across from the bluff on Lake Roland in North Baltimore.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:00pm & 8:00pm Sets The Zinc Bar 82 W 3rd St New York, NY 10012 477-8337 zincbar.com No Cover - $0 FEATURING: Michelle Walker - Vocals Robert Rodriguez - Piano Sandro Albert - Guitar Michael O'Brien - Bass John Davis - Drums This performance is a Special Showcase at the popular jazz lounge THE ZINC BAR.

The four busy jazz musicians who make up the collective combo Tarbaby are as clever as a rabbit, Br'er Rabbit, to be precise.

Playing solo piano requires, among other things, a distinctive style and enough musical ideas to hold a listener's interest over a period of time.

When: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Two sets: 8pm and 10pm Cover $25.00 Reservations are highly recommended!!! NY-based jazz vocalist Michelle Walker returns to her hometown for a wonderful evening of live jazz at this premier jazz venue.

Leading ladies are nothing new in jazz. Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Nina Simone and, more recently, Patti Austin and Nora Jones fronted jazz ensembles.

Anzic Records to Release "Project A" from Saxophonist Joel Frahm + Hammond B3 Player/Pianist Bruce Katz "Katz is a killer on the B3" --Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes "Joel Frahm, one of the young band leaders often heard in New York's small jazz clubs, sounds supremely comfortable playing the tenor saxophone." --Ben Ratliff, The New York Times Available ...

Concord Records caps a year in which it reissued many of Ray Charles' classic albums with the artist's only Christmas album of his entire career, The Spirit of Christmas .

Acclaimed as the best ever British jazz singer in a recent issue of America's leading jazz publication Jazz Times, Claire Martin was born to sing.

Greg Thomas is a long-time writer/editor and host/co-producer of Jazz it Up!, the web's first interactive jazz series.

As one of the most original and gifted male jazz vocalists to perform over the last 50 years, six-time Grammy Award nominee Mark Murphy has inspired generations of up-and-coming jazz singers.

As one of the most original and gifted male jazz vocalists to perform over the last 50 years, six-time Grammy Award nominee Mark Murphy has inspired generations of up-and-coming jazz singers.

Resurgent legends mentored budding players, providing them with invaluable experience and exposure.

Resurgent legends mentored budding players, providing them with invaluable experience and exposure.

With heartfelt collaboration from some of the most celebrated, urbane and soulful of current instrumental soloists and rhythm teams, the West Coast-based chanteuse with an international following captures the freedom, intimacy and excitement she generates in club and concert performances over the run of two cds in her generous Doozy package.

Understanding music through the kaleidoscopic lens of jazz is daunting. But it's a challenge made for virtuoso drummer, multiinstrumentalist, rapper, and arranger Karriem Riggins.

Birds chirping in the background, Karriem Riggins spoke to me from his mother's house in Detroit.

Named " best jazz pianist of his generation " in Time Magazine, Cyrus Chestnut is known for his imaginative, inventive style and his profound sense of the history and language of Jazz.

The 1920's ushered in a great jazz age, where sexually ambiguous female jazz singers, such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, Moms Mabley and Ethel Waters purposely cultivated lesbian or bisexual images to broaden their appeal.

Mike Baggetta, guitarist, composer and educator, is originally from Agawam, Massachusetts.