Urban Music 2000 Blog - Music News, Celebrity News, & Gossip

Herbie Hancock has grand plans for his new position as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s creative chair for jazz.
The two-year stint, which begins in 2010, includes overseeing jazz programming for the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, helping to hire musicians and mentoring young artists. The 69-year-old Los Angeles resident will take over from [...]

Angie Stone and Ledisi will groove with Long Beach, California at the city’s annual Jazz Festival this August.
According to organizers, the duo will be joined by Ramsey Lewis, David Sanborn and Norman Brown at Rainbow Lagoon Park.
Billed as “The Ultimate Summer Groove,” this year’s festival is dedicated to late jazz musician Wayman Tisdale.
The Long [...]

Grammy-winning British singer Estelle will replace Lauryn Hill as the headline act at this year’s Stockholm Jazz Festival.
Earlier this month, the festival said Hill had canceled all European tour dates because of health reasons.
The Stockholm Jazz Festival is one of Sweden’s biggest music events, and has previously hosted stars such as Mary J. Blige, Sting, [...]

First Lady Michelle Obama hosted 150 middle and high school jazz students in the East Wing on Monday for Jazz Studio, where teens participated in workshops led by famous jazz musicians such as the Marsalis family.
Jazz Studio is part one of a new White House music series that will continue later this year, focusing [...]

Sade Adu, the reclusive “quiet storm” soul signer who takes notoriously long breaks between releases, has regrouped with the band that bears her name and is recording her first album of new material since 2000’s “Lovers Rock,” Billboard.com sources confirmed.
The group is in the studio through June. Sony has not set a release date but [...]

Legendary singer Chaka Khan just stepped in to help recovering soulful singer Natalie Cole, this after Cole’s kidney transplant and loss of a family member.
Khan, known widely for singles like “I’m Every Woman” and “Tell Me Something Good,” will take Cole’s place at the 17th Annual Capital Jazz Fest.
Cole, now recovering from a kidney transplant, [...]

Natalie Cole is “resting comfortable” after a successful kidney transplant earlier this week.
Cole, known widely for hits like “Unforgettable,” had been receiving dialysis treatment three times a week since September.
According to her publicist, Cole will postpone a planned summer tour which was set to kick off June 5 and run through November.
The daughter of [...]

With thousands swaying to gospel tunes, Wayman Tisdale was remembered Thursday as a basketball star and gifted musician who led a “blessed life.”
A horse-drawn carriage held the casket carrying the former Oklahoma All-American, making a 3-mile trip to the downtown arena for the public memorial. There was live jazz music, clapping and shouting in honor [...]

Music fans old enough to have attended the first New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 40 years ago boogied alongside those who weren’t yet born when the celebration of music, food and the culture of Louisiana began.
Sunday’s Jazz Fest finale paid heavy homage to music’s elder statesmen. Neil Young, 63, was on stage for two [...]

Organizers say former Fugees singer Lauryn Hill will be the headline act for the Stockholm Jazz Festival in July.
Festival spokesman Gunnar Lagerman says the hip-hop and R&B singer will perform at the five-day event as part of a 10-stop European tour.
It will be the second time Hill has headlined the festival. Other artists lined up [...]

Smokey Robinson, Michael McDonald and Dave Brubeck will join 800 other musicians and singers performing at this year’s Rochester International Jazz Festival.
The eighth-annual, nine-day festival kicks off June 12 with a concert by Robinson, whose hits with the Miracles include “Tears of a Clown,” “You Really Got a Hold on Me” and “I Second That [...]