Rich Medina tore up our first Hudson party of the year. DJ Spinna dropped some serious jams at our last event. Any idea what our third one will be like with King Britt? You got it: another afterwork bodyrocker. Known for recording under his own name and monikers Sylk 130 and Scuba, King Britt cut his teeth back in the day on a two year tour with Digable Planets. One of our favorites from the Private Park series in 2007, the Philly producer/DJ returns for an exclusive NY throwdown...

Lord, please do! Duffy's "Mercy" - off of her debut Rockferry out May 13th - is a pure blast of Northern Soul. Many predicted her and Adele to be the UK's next Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, and "Mercy" is just the beginning for Duffy, who just topped the UK charts for the second week. The video seems to reflect what she's all about: setting men on fire and making them dance. Check it out. "Mercy" Video

Photo of Janelle Monáe at Spotlight Live © Sian-Pierre Regis A while ago, the R&B Live series at Times Square venue Spotlight, hosted an evening featuring “Diddy and Friends.” Now, he of all-blinding bling and refined cheesecake tastes is fun to watch on the TV but was not who I necessarily felt like spending an evening with. Apparently, I have poor taste in mogul-hosted events as Janelle Monáe was one of the “friends” who performed and wrecked it. Janelle's space age, cartoony...

Born Attilio Joseph Macero, Teo was Miles Davis' record producer for Davis's most notable works in the 60s and 70s, including In a Silent Way, Get Up With It , and Bitches Brew . He died on Tuesday at age 82 in Quogue, N.Y. after years of battling illnesses. Teo's experimental approach to recording has had cross-genre repercussions on artists as varied as Radiohead, Can, and Brian Eno. Born in Glens Falls, New York, he attended the Juilliard School of Music before...

NYC resident and alto saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo discovered last month he had a large brain tumor. The shocking news brought the jazz community together, rallying support for the beloved musician - who immediately had an operation to remove the malignant growth. Despite recovering from the surgery, doctors have given 41 year old D'Angelo 5 years to live without further treatment, and on his website he openly admitted to not having health insurance. D'Angelo's fame has been his saving...

Photo © Phillip Angert If you could sum up Sharon Jones in word it might be "sequins." Big shimmery sequins like the ones that dangled from her chocolate brown dress when she took the stage at The Beacon last Friday night. She and The Dap Kings took over the theater and sweated out everyone's hairstyle. The crowd had the energy and sizzle...

Giant Step's first Hudson event of 2008 with Rich Medina was a spectacle to behold. Possibly the best Monday evening party yet, our series resumed with energy and style - the cold wintry weather sure couldn't quell our desire to dance! On Feb. 25th, we welcome back DJ Spinna to the Hudson. Having previously played to a jam-packed floor for 2007's Private Park #8, Spinna's sure to turn out the funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop and dance grooves for the full four hours (6-10 PM). Click

Bay Area native Amplive of Zion I took the initiative to remix Radiohead's notoriously gratis LP In Rainbows with a legion of hip hop talent including Del The Funky Homosapien, Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I and Chali2na of Jurassic 5. (Un)fortunately, Radiohead issued a cease and desist on the project when it was discovered - but allowing the finished tracks to be available free of charge. This 8-track remix album of In Rainbows , entitled Rainydayz , happens to be...

Photo of Kid Sister © NickyDigital.com Last month, The Natural History Museum hosted a gang of Chicago-bred, genre-blending upstarts from the Fools Gold label. It was a Flavorpill production that turned the site of numerous ennui-inducing school field trips, into an electro-hop playground. Hip hop tag team The Cool Kids , known for their musical-head-nod-to-the-old-school single, "Gold And A Pager," busted on stage with their reliable...

The most talked about newcomer of 2007 Amy Winehouse won a whopping 5 Grammys last night, including Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year and the most coveted Record of the Year. We've been saying it all year and rightly so - who can deny that voice? Mark Ronson, producer of Amy's 'Back To Black,' garnered Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for said album, Lily Allen's “Littlest Things,” his own 'Version' as well as Winehouse's...