Chuck Berg

Chuck’s Contributions

11/17/08 News

New Book Published in Tribute to Billie Holiday

Boyds Mills Press recently published Becoming Billie Holiday , a fictionalized memoir for young adults on the life of singer Billie Holiday. The book consists of a series of poems, which cover Holiday’s life up until age 25. The story is written by award...

10/20/08 News

Berklee College of Music Campus to be Built in Valencia, Spain

Berklee College and Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) have announced a partnership to build a new music college in Valencia, Spain. The 27-story college, Berklee Valencia, is scheduled to open in 2011 and will be the largest offshore U.S. music...

10/03/08 News

A New Photography Book Celebrates 30 Years of the Chicago Jazz Festival

The Jazz Institute and the City of Chicago have published Jazzography: A Portrait of the Chicago Jazz Festival at 30 , in conjunction with this year’s festival. The book was created as a companion volume to the exhibition currently on display at the city’s...

09/25/08 News

Django Reinhardt New York Festival Set for November

The Django Reinhardt New York Festival is scheduled to take place November 4th through 9th at the Birdland Jazz Club, located at 315 West 44th Street in New York City. The festival, produced by Pat Philips and Ettore Stratta, will feature “The Young Lions...

08/26/08 News

Miles’ ‘Kind of Blue’ Turns 50

Kind of Blue is turning 50 and to celebrate Columbia/Legacy Recordings is releasing a jam-packed 50th anniversary edition of the seminal Miles Davis album on Sept. 30. In addition, Morrison Hotel Gallery will present a traveling exhibit of Davis photography...

08/21/08 News

Women in Jazz Festival Coming to New York

The fourth annual Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival returns to Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in New York from Sept. 9 to Oct. 12. The festival, presented by Diet Coke and Jazz at Lincoln Center, will feature nightly headlining performances from Nnenna Freelon (pictured...

08/19/08 News

Swing University Offers Night Classes on Drums, Coltrane, Charlie Christian…and Swing

Can you tell an Art Blakey drumbeat from a Max Roach? How about bebop John Coltrane from hard bop Coltrane? Know the difference between ragtime and stride? If not, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University may be just for you. The school recently announced...

08/15/08 News

John Pizzarelli Celebrates Richard Rodgers on New CD

For a follow-up to his 2006 tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dear Mr. Sinatra , John Pizzarelli turns his attention to another prolific American musician, composer Richard Rodgers. With A Song In My Heart , due Tuesday, Aug. 19 (Telarc), features 12 of Pizzarelli’s...

08/13/08 News

Cuban Master Bebo Valdes Celebrates His 90th With a New Live Album

Slightly more than a week before turning 90, Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes will release a new album, Live at the Village Vanguard , on Sept. 30. Recorded live at the renowned New York club in November 2005, the album’s 14 songs range from Valdes originals (“Con...

08/06/08 News

Porter Records Aims to Release “Music for the Eclectic People”

Based in Winter Park, Fla., Porter Records is quietly placing its stamp on jazz with its new and reissued experimental releases. The banner on Porter’s Web site reads, “Music for the eclectic people.” And that’s just what the independent label, which Luke...

08/01/08 News

Minnesota Orchestra Appoints Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield Director of Jazz

The Minnesota Orchestra has named trumpeter Irvin Mayfield as its first artistic director of jazz at Orchestra Hall, a post he will hold for one year starting in September. As the Minnesota Orchestra’s artistic director, Mayfield will oversee the orchestra’s...

07/25/08 News

Barbara Morrison Stars as “Big Mama” Thornton in New Production

Legendary blues and jazz singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was the first to record “Hound Dog,” which Elvis Presley later popularized, and she wrote and first recorded one of Janis Joplin’s biggest hits, “Ball and Chain.” Howlin’ Blues & Dirty Dogs...

07/22/08 News

Orrin Keepnews Collection Grows with Classics from Tyner, Rollins, Montgomery and More

Earlier this summer Concord Music Group released the fifth installment in its Keepnews Collection , a series of reissues of albums with producer Orin Keepnews behind the boards. With releases spanning 1957 to 1976, each reissue features original liner notes...

07/17/08 News

Justin Time Records Celebrates 25 Years with Compilation

Canadian-based Justin Time Records celebrates its 25th anniversary with a double-disc collection due Aug. 26. The album’s 27 cuts include the Justin Time’s first signing, Oliver Jones (pictured), and more recent acts, such as hip-hop-jazz hybrid Russell...

07/09/08 News

‘Jazz Icons 3’ DVD Series to Include Rollins, Simone, Hampton, Kirk, More

Performances by Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson and Cannonball Adderley highlight the third series of Jazz Icons DVDs, which features seven new releases, due Sept. 30. Lionel Hampton (pictured), Nina Simone, Bill Evans and Rahsaan Roland Kirk are the other...

07/07/08 News

Chevy Chase to Host JVC-Newport

Furthering his love for jazz, Chevy Chase will host the JVC Jazz Festival-Newport for the second year in a row on Aug. 9 and 10 in Newport, R.I. The actor/comedian and amateur jazz pianist/drummer will introduce the artists playing on the main stage, which...