The Netherlands' North Sea Jazz Festival , which was held in Rotterdam this past weekend, played host to a myriad of live performance treats from the likes of Maceo Parker, Roy Hargrove, The Cinematic Orchestra, Christian Scott, Sleepwalker, Sly & The Family Stone, Ornette Coleman, Paul Anka, Al Green, e.s.t., The Roots, Ojos De Brujo, Al Green , several of the world's premier jazz orchestras and ensembles, Raul Midón and India.Arie . The latter two paired up for an...

Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley told Billboard that the duo (with partner Danger Mouse ) will be delivering their second album by December of 2007. However, in contrast St. Elsewhere , Gnarls will refrain from any promotion or tour (!). Cee-Lo preached, “Gnarls is something we want to salvage. It's not to be exploited or auctioned off to the highest bidder. It will be revered and sought after. Somebody from my generation has to be the Dylan ...

Last night Mark Ronson performed with a full band to a rammed Highline Ballroom, NYC. It was his first ever live gig in America and despite his years of experience DJing, Ronson openly confessed to the crowd that he was "sh*tting himself." The record release party for his album Version included Ronson on guitar with a 7-piece band and various guests Daniel Merriweather, Kenna, Tiggers, Santo Gold, Saigon, Wale , and Alex Greenwald . For those who missed...

A couple of our favorite artists at the moment are finding success in the online retail front. Both Mocean Worker's Cinco De Mowo! and Sara Bareilles' Little Voice have sold well on iTunes , the former rising to #1 in the electronic chart and the latter acheiving the coveted #1 album. Mocean Worker's record also ranked #5 in overall sales at Amazon.com . Numbers aside, a zany music video for Mowo's song "Shake Ya Boogie" was...

Andre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast have agreed to postpone their next LP together for what could be up to "two years" in order to focus on their own solo albums, projects and remix work. Andre Been-Jammin's recently produced the soundtrack and starred as the voice of lead character Sunny Bridges in a Cartoon Network animated TV show called Class of 3000 . Each season's songs will be released as separate CD packages for the "young" fans of...

Zap Mama , the Belgian group fronted by Marie Daulne , is returning next month with a brand new album Supermoon (out in the US Aug. 7 and Europe Sep. 3) and a set of American tour dates. Of the album which features Tony Allen, Meshell Ndegeocello, Michael Franti, Bashiri Johnson, David Gilmour, Daniel Feiberg and more, Daulne confessed the release is "very intimate, beginning with [her] choice of the picture on the cover of the album. You're seeing me very...

Matthias Heilbronn (Pata de Perro) and DJ Moni (Ubiquita) will be gracing the decks at Giant Step's fourth Private Park party inside the Hudson Hotel (NYC) this coming Monday from 6-10pm. Call it an early Independence Day getdown if you wish. Our summer series is heating up - the King Britt event (6/18) was a serious dance party. And although the last two were held inside at the bar, this...

Straight No Chaser has announced that it will no longer be printing thick paper pages containing the best interviews, reviews, articles, charts and club listings in the scene. SNC will however be embracing the digital age in some shape or form (to be decided). The news is bittersweet for all of us who took pleasure in flipping through the textured, organic design of the publication. But assuming the same quality of content will be delivered, the decision may make it more accessible....

David LaChapelle has directed Amy Winehouse's video for "Tears Dry On Their Own." Typically a racy and controversial artist, LaChapelle's toned it down a bit (too much?) for this one. Of course the song itself is a winner, though, and now there's something to watch.

It was decidedly the biggest, muddiest Glastonbury in quite a few years with a crowd in excess of 175,000. Held over a 3 day period from June 22nd - June 24th, the largest festival in the world founded by Michael Eavis boasted a lengthy list of acts - which even if you had attended, you probably still would have missed most of your favorites. Nevertheless, the BBC provided substantial video and audio coverage...