Jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul lost his life to a rare skin cancer in Vienna's Wilhelmina Clinic today after being admitted for treatment just 6 weeks ago. Born July 7, 1932 in the city of his death, Joe grew up in the empoverished Erdberg district during WWII, playing the accordion and later attending the Vienna Conservatory for training in classical piano. In 1959, he took a scholarship at the Berklee College of Music , dropping out before graduating to join Dinah...

Details on the release date of Björk's live session CD have yet to be confirmed, but information has leaked that she and her touring band recorded material for it a few weeks back at the Olympic Studios in London. Of her traveling accompanists Björk commented to Billboard.com, "I started with arranging my old stuff to brass, seeing what of it would work. A lot of the songs that were previously done with strings turned out even...

Peanut Butter Wolf alley ooped an unofficial NBA 2K8 soundtrack for his Stones Throw label. Consequently with few exceptions, the entire roster of the release is comprised of Stones Throw artists Percee P, J Dilla, MED, Madlib, OH NO, Aloe Blacc, Koushik and more (listed below). The perfect combination of hip hop beats and button-mashing gameplay, NBA 2K8 has seemingly outdone last year's accompanying compilation – just check "Make It Fast" ...

Want to get your hands on free promos, CDs and show tickets ? Here at Giant Step we love to share new music. Whether it's soulful, funky, eclectic, jazzy, dancefloor oriented, hip hop-ish, latin-tinged or singer/songwriter based, it's really as easy to get a hold of these sounds as entering our contests at www.giantstep.net/contests . *Small print: There is an age requirement for most of the performances as denoted by each show...

Philly soul singer Kevin Michael follows up his infectious "We All Want The Same Thing" debut single and the Micheal Jackson tribute "Stone Cold Killa" with a video for "It Don't Make Any Difference To Me" feat. Wyclef Jean. Michael's 'fro gets corn-rowed in a jiffy while his beat-boxing sidekick Akil Dasan plays guitar on this jam about multi-racial relationships. His album will be released on Downtown Records on October 2nd.

On Tuesday August 28th, Hilly Kristal , founder of the famed CBGB club in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan, tragically died of lung cancer at the age of 75. Originally born in New York City in 1932, Hilly grew up in Hightstown, NJ and attended the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia before managing the Greenwich Village jazz club The Village Vanguard throughout the 50s and 60s. In 1970, Kristal opened his own venture Hilly's On The Bowery , which later...

With Common's latest album Finding Forever blowing up the charts, he's following up with a new video for the single "Drivin' Me Wild" feat. Lily Allen . Shot in various urban environments, Common dons a suit that can only be described as regal, while Allen is in one of her signature single-colored dresses (though, curiously holding a gas mask). The rest of it takes place in an apartment building and on a theatre stage, opting to depict the classier side of...

This coming Tuesday, August 28th Stax Records will reissue 47 of its best funk and soul tracks on a 3-CD compilation, titled Wattstax after the 1972 Stax artist concert in LA known as "the black Woodstock." All of your favorites from Isaac Hayes to The Bar-Kays, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas , and The Rance Allen Group will be present along with excerpts from comedian Richard Pryor and Reverend Jesse Jackson speeches. And of course the liner...

Jazz and soul singer Jon Lucien died last week Saturday, August 18th due predominantly to respiratory failure. Born January 8th, 1942 on the Caribbean island of Tortola, Lucien was the musician and songwriter responsible for classic albums like Rashida, I Am Now, and his 1970 debut Mind's Eye , as well as timeless treasures "Lady Love," "Who Will Buy" and "Listen Love." Influenced by jazz, R&B, and latin flavors, his music will always be a pie...

Brazilian Girls are releasing a digital EP via iTunes next week Tuesday, August 28. Explicitly titled More Than Pussy: The Remix EP , it compiles 5 tracks including Carl Craig's excellent remix of "Last Call," a Brazilian Girls cover of "Crosseyed And Painless" by The Talking Heads and a MSTRKRFT (read: electro-house) remake of "Jique." This Sunday, August 26th you can hear them at KCRW's World Festival with other Giant...