| Royal romance ends
British newspapers devoted page after page yesterday to speculation over why Prince William's romance with Kate Middleton (below, with William) ended, with one saying Queen Elizabeth had told him "we don't want another Diana." An official spokesman for William, elder son of the late Princess Diana, said: "We will not discuss the prince's private life." Britain's best-selling Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, said the queen had told the second-in-line to the throne at a secret "royal summit" not to rush into anything he might regret. Friends of William, who met Middleton in 2001 while at university in Scotland and began dating her in 2003, dismissed suggestions there had been any family summit or that his grandparents had told him to end the romance. Middleton, the eldest child of middle-class entrepreneurs who had won plaudits for her dress sense and poise, was widely thought to be Britain's next queen.
American Idol has lost the plot
Are all these celebrities REALLY into American Idol (e.g., J-Lo)? Are they on Idol because their kids think the show is really cool? Or maybe its because music and movie biz is full of shameless sell outs wholl do anything to promote their latest piece of crap. With the impending Idol Gives Back corporate shakedown scheduled for next week and Sanjayas departure this week, AI6 has officially lost the plot this season. But saying that is like shooting fish in a barrel. (Note to self: After being accused of going into Imus territory this week, it's not politically correct to even say shooting as to not to offend the overly-sensitive and out of respect for those affected by the Va. Tech tragedy.) Which conveniently segues into the Va. Tech shootings/Idol controversy Idol and Simon Cowell came prepared with a full video production and obligatory mea culpa about the now infamous eye rolling incident.
Carrying the Torch for Sarah and Ella
Why is it that the only movies with any decent music in them these days are brooding historical dramas about the dark, evil days of the Cold War? I'm referring to "Good Night, and Good Luck," which prominently featured Dianne Reeves, and "The Good Shepherd," which did the same for Ann Hampton Callaway. Perhaps it's because Ms. Reeves and Ms. Callaway are two of our strongest and most talented links to history. When these two bertalented singers first emerged, the giants of jazz's golden era were still on the circuit. But in the years since Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald died, Ms. Reeves and Ms. Callaway have dutifully taken the torch, growing into the finest representatives of the art of contemporary singing. Both appeared in concert this weekend, Ms. Reeves at the Allen Room as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's long-running "Singers Over Manhattan" series, and Ms.
Fighting illegal downloads in Bulgaria
In a movement to try to fight the trend of illegally downloading music and videos from internet, Bol.bg, MVBox.bg and Star Records has started a new low-fee service called New Bol.bg service a possibility for legal Bulgarian music download. On April 5, a news conference was held to announce the new service available through the MVBox website. Representatives of the three companies gathered at Sofia Press to speak to the media. For first time on the Bulgarian market, an internet provider will be providing its users with the opportunity to legally listen to Bulgarian music with paid copyrights as well. Bol.bg manager Dimitur Ganchev, Star Records producer, company owner and manager Atanas Yankulov and Dimitur Ganev of MVBox together announced their stance against illegal music downloads, which, according to the three of them, was blatant theft.
Soul music and nuisance of ring tones
IN the good old days, when you loved a beautiful lass and did not have the right words to tell her, you found a school mate who could lend you some nice words for free. We had sample letters for every occasion. The handwritten words, three to four paragraphs each, were so well written they could coax a queen of bees from a hornet's nest.
Maybe they did not include something like, 'dear one, when I see you the sun seems to shine brighter and the moon becomes a guiding light,' but they were sugar coated and gold plaited, literally speaking. If you were in frequent need of using such flowery language, you painstakingly copied by hand all the letters for future reference.
If you used the language more frequently you started believing that without your object of the heart's desire, there was no sun, moon or stars.
Diversions for April 22, 2007
ORGAN/PIANO/CELLO RECITAL, featuring Thomas Drury, minister of music at St. Mark's Lutheran Church and Carrie Cimildoro-Beem, assistant principal cellist with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and adjunct professor of music at the University of Evansville, 3 p.m., St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 2300 Washington Ave. A reception will follow (free). MONDAY, APRIL 23 HERITAGE HILLS SPRING CHORAL CONCERT, 6:30 p.m., Heritage Hills High School auditorium, Lincoln City, Ind., also 6 p.m. Friday (adults, $5; students, $3). Call (812) 937-4472, ext. 350. TUESDAY, APRIL 24 SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, 7:30 p.m., Neu Chapel, University of Evansville campus. Call 488-2754. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25 OUTDOOR JAZZ CONCERT, 4 p.m., Memorial Plaza, University of Evansville.
Back to the 1950s in Great Yarmouth
Families visiting a popular coastal resort took a step back in time this weekend as a taste of old-fashioned America came to Norfolk.Hundreds of people flocked to Great Yarmouth on Saturday for a 1950s-themed vintage car rally.Hot rods and A40 trucks took over the highways between Hemsby and Great Yarmouth as a fleet of vintage American and British classic cars travelled to the seafront.Meanwhile, Yarmouth's Marine Parade was lit up by a host of legendary stars from the golden age of rock'n'roll.Liz Holt, Hemsby classic car cruise co-ordinator, said: “It was a real American car cruise. You could see everything from hot rods with and without roofs, old A40 trucks that used to be known as the hillbilly trucks that Elvis drove in his '50s movies, plus all the old classic bikes. There were cars and bikes from the '40s to the '60s and everyone was dressed up for it.
Music review Guitarist Pizzarelli, singer Cole swing easy
That advice, which was the driving force behind American music of the 20th century, was also the message the Rev. Edward Coles, father of the great Nat King Cole, had for his youngest son, Freddy. "It wasn't easy learning to be me," Freddy Cole (the younger generation dropped the "s" off "Coles") said about singing and playing piano in the long shadow of his famous older brother. But today, at 75, he has the confidence to sing his brother's signature hits without losing his own identity. With singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli and the Oregon Symphony at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Saturday night, the younger Cole showed that the best musical tributes don't attempt to re-create the original. Instead, Cole, Pizzarelli and conductor/arrangers Jeff Tyzik and Rudi Schlegel honored the legend best when they sounded most like themselves.
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