We hope you're all amped for RAMP who are performing live at Giant Step's Central Park SummerStage show on Sunday July 7th. The 70s funk group from Cincinnati, Ohio responsible for the Roy Ayers produced Come Into Knowledge has recently reformed off the back of a few successful performances. Their 1977 debut was maladroitly released sans promotional or financial backing from their label and RAMP and their album faded to relative silence for nearly 30...

?uestlove just announced details on The Roots 10th album with the working title Rising Down , which will be released on Def Jam . “We’re trying to make number ten as exciting as number one was, as exciting as number five was,” projected ?uestlove in an interview with AllHipHop.com. In line with The Roots’ previous album Game Theory , it will be compiled from a stack of 60-70 recordings and trimmed down to 12-14 tracks. The spokesman for the...

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...

On its 9th year in Louisiana's City Park, New Orleans, The Voodoo Music Festival 2007 lineup has just been announced today and it includes Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Paolo Nutini, M.I.A. - who will no doubt be showcasing material from her forthcoming album - Common, Zap Mama, Hot 8 Brass Band, Tiesto, Ska Cubano and more. The festival takes place over Halloween weekend (October 26-28) and

Sara Bareilles' new single "Love Song" is being featured on iTunes as Single of the Week. (It's FREE!). Click HERE . Straight out of LA, she's quite the up-and-coming singer/songwriter, so watch out for more from her. For...

Solar and Guru's next edition in the much lauded Jazzmatazz series on 7 Grand records is called Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back To The Future (out July 17th). As previously reported , it features collaborations with several key artists, each well-known in their respective genres. The video for the 2nd track "State Of Clarity feat. Common and Bob James" has just been posted on...

Ornette Coleman fell prey to the unbearable 100 degree heat on Sunday while performing at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN. Apparently the effects were only short-term and the 77 year old saxophonist regained consciousness just minutes after the incident. Proper treatment followed at the Coffey County Hospital where the celebrated ‘50s free-jazz innovator is still resting and recovering, according to Billboard.com . Barring any future complications,...

Continuing from last summer’s successful Beach Parties in Long Island City (NYC) , the Water Taxi Beach establishment has put together a diverse lineup for its 2007 Saturday night schedule (June 30 – Sept 1) with hosts Justin Carter, Probus , and the Brothers’ Brothers . The list of guests includes neo-disco prince Prins Thomas (partner of Hans-Peter Lindstrom), post-punkfunk master Sasha Crnobrnja of In Flagranti , luscious French house DJ...

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings have announced their third LP 100 Days, 100 Nights (out Sept. 25th on their very own Daptone records ). Since Naturally , you’ve probably caught various members lending their talents to live shows and productions of artists Ghostface Killah, Lou Reed, Lily Allen, Rufus Wainwright, Amy Winehouse and They Might Be Giants . Finally, they will be recording and performing as a unit this summer and fall....

Mark Ronson’s album of covers entitled Version features everyone from Lily Allen to Kenna and Amy Winehouse . And on his latest "Stop Me" - another "drawn animation over real life" music video - Ronson and Daniel Merriweather retouch The Smith's "Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before" in bars and across city landscapes gushing with unsettling green goo. The song, like the new album (out on Allido Records / RCA July...