Melissa Daniels

Melissa’s Contributions

October 2008 Artist Profiles

René Marie: Star-Spangled Controversy

When Colorado-based jazz singer René Marie first performed her arrangement of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” she knew she’d created a song that made her feel like an American. “After I sang the song for the very first time, I...

08/25/08 News

Smooth Jazz Cruise Will Feature Rufus with Chaka Khan, Others

Cruise-goers looking for attitude and style in their on-board entertainment can find it on the sixth annual Smooth Jazz Cruise from Jazz Cruises, LLC. Hosted by smooth jazz personality and former NBA player Wayman Tisdale, the cruise departs from Ft. Lauderdale...

08/20/08 News

Louis Armstrong Center for Medicine and Music to Hold Awards Event

The generosity of Louis Armstrong has been felt for years, with the grants and programs funded through his foundation. Since 2005, the Louis Armstrong Center for Medicine and Music has been providing the unique and powerful service of music therapy and specialty...

08/08/08 News

Luther Henderson's Widow Establishes Scholarship Fund

The sound of jazz is an American sound, and it’s one that Billie Allen-Henderson (pictured) hopes to keep hearing. “You travel all over the world and you hear this music, this wonderful music, that we in the States are famous for—from the New York theatre...

08/07/08 News

Guitarist Mark Elf Launches Online Guitar Conservatory

Guitar players looking for a new teacher can turn right to their computers, with a convenient and affordable new online guitar conservatory from jazz guitarist Mark Elf (pictured). MarkElfConservatory.com features videos, tutorials and PDF files for a practical...

08/05/08 News

Rare Louis Armstrong Recordings Due from Jazz Heritage Society

Fans of trumpet legend Louis Armstrong can hear never-before-released recordings with a new two-disc CD release from the Jazz Heritage Society. Created and authorized by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, the set includes more than one hour’s worth...

08/04/08 News

Jazz Cruise Set for November--Guests Include Andy Bey, Regina Carter and More

The Jazz Cruise from Jazz Cruises LLC will have more than 100 musicians and vocalists on board during the eighth annual sailing from Nov. 9-16. Among the many artists for cruise guests to hear are Grammy-nominated jazz ensemble the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra...

07/31/08 News

Dave Koz Cruise Scheduled for November

For fans of contemporary jazz and R&B, the fourth annual Dave Koz and Friends at Sea cruise will be hitting up four Caribbean destinations this November. Put on by Jazz Cruises LLC, the cruise will take place from Nov. 2-9. The cruise departs from Fort Lauderdale...

07/30/08 News

Jazz Bassist Charlie Haden to Perform Bluegrass

Famed jazz bassist Charlie Haden will be switching gears and performing bluegrass as part of Lincoln Center’s 25th Annual Roots of American Music Festival on Sunday, August 24. To showcase the bluegrass-Americana song style from Haden’s upcoming album, the...

07/29/08 News

AARP to Sponsor Legends of Jazz Tour

Advocacy organization AARP has teamed with LRSmedia for this fall’s Legends of Jazz tour, featuring pianist and TV personality Ramsey Lewis, saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, singer Kurt Elling (pictured) and smooth jazz quartet Fourplay. Headed...

07/24/08 News

ECM to Reissue 40 Classics for 40th Anniversary

To celebrate the upcoming 40th anniversary of ECM Records, the label will re-release 40 of the best recordings in its catalog. Since its conception in 1969, ECM has released more than 1,000 recordings. The label has been home to jazz masters of the second...

07/23/08 News

Benefit Concert for Barbara Lea This Friday

The photo section on singer Barbara Lea’s Web site is a digital glimpse into a musician’s past—the page displays a lone headshot of a young Lea with a wry smile, and a decades-old snapshot of the vocalist facing four young men. Their expression? Captivated...

07/18/08 News

Ornette Coleman, Henry Grimes Among New ESP-Disk Reissues

Fans of avant-garde free jazz will find a new collection of recordings to sift through with a new handful of ESP-DISK re-releases. With typewriter fonts and vivid graphics, the digipak albums are a handheld version of the free jazz that ESP got its start...

07/15/08 News

University of Idaho Launches Jazz Archives Web Site

The University of Idaho is releasing its collection of jazz memorabilia to fans all over the world with the launch of a new Web site. International Jazz Collections, a branch of the university’s archives, includes photos, videos, interviews and correspondence...

07/14/08 News

Monterey Jazz Festival Records to Release Six New Titles

The Monterey Jazz Festival Records label will unveil a second collection of never-before-released concert recordings this summer, just before the 51st annual festival this fall. Six new collections of Monterey Jazz Festival performances will be released...

07/11/08 News

Bassist Charlie Haden Returns to His Country Roots on New CD

Bassist Charlie Haden got his start performing traditional Americana songs on radio stations with his family in the late 1930s when he was just 2 years old—decades later, Haden’s career has come full circle. Haden’s upcoming release, Ocean of Diamonds...