The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Rocker Mellencamp's divorce from model Irwin final Posted: 16 Aug 2011 05:36 PM PDT NASHVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Rocker John Mellencamp and his ex-wife, Elaine Irwin, have finalized their divorce, taking joint custody of their two sons with Mellencamp paying an unspecified amount of child support. The Herald-Times (http://bit.ly/q76AZf ) reported Tuesday that Irwin will have primary physical custody of the couple's two sons, 17-year-old Speck and 16-year-old Hud. The couple's dissolution was made final Aug. 12 in Brown Circuit Court in Nashville, Ind. The newspaper reports the couple's property and assets will be divided according to a prenuptial agreement both signed Sept. 3, 1992, two days before their wedding. Further details of the divorce were relegated to a 31-page confidential settlement agreement. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| DJ Maestro: Jazz archaeologist Posted: 16 Aug 2011 04:46 PM PDT DJ Maestro has kept the classic Blue Note catalogue alive with his series of boutique compilations for the legendary label. IT was his first compilation for legendary jazz label Blue Note in 2003 that really put Martijn Barkhuis, better known as DJ Maestro, on the map. To date, the Amsterdam-based deejay, widely regarded as the keeper of the flame when it comes to jazz in the club circuit, has done seven editions of the Blue Note Trip boutique series and also dipped into the label's bossa nova catalogue for the Brazilian Trip compilation. "None of us knew what to expect when the first Blue Note Trip compilation was released. Did people want to groove to jazz? Was there such a scene? We didn't know. We just went ahead and put something out and it got people interested. In six months after its release, the first Blue Note Trip became a crossover phenomenon," said DJ Maestro in an interview at No Black Tie in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. Over 250,000 of the Blue Note Trip series has been sold worldwide, making it one of the best-selling jazz re-releases in the past decade. "The label, which runs from an EMI office in Amsterdam, offered me the chance to work with its vast catalogue and I grabbed it. Without Blue Note, I don't think I would be a deejay. I might have still been stuck at a (jazz) radio station or doing something in theatre management. The label has given me a fantastic career, I get the opportunity to make compilations, keep jazz on the dancefloor and travel the world," he added. His relationship with Blue Note has been a special one. His latest Blue Note Trip Vol .9, released earlier this year, reflects his consistency with the music – a blend of obscure jazz, classy lounge cuts and funk soul delights. There are plans to make the next volume (the milestone Blue Note Trip Vol. 10) a memorable one that will coincide with a box-set release next year. Over the years, Maestro has worked with Verve Records once (the Delicious Jazz compilation for the Netherlands market) and done smaller dance-based compilations. As far as profile is concerned, he reckons he has achieved a credible run with Blue Note Trip, even rescuing it from the "Jazzanova disaster" in 2005/06 that saw the Berlin-based group taking over for two editions without flattering results. Blue Note re-engaged his deejay/producer/archivist services in 2007 to help revive the series. There has been no looking back since. He might consider compilations for the Prestige imprint and CTI Records in the future. But Blue Note remains Maestro's true passion. He lists Donald Byrd, Chico Hamilton, Jimmy McGriff, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson and Bobbi Humphrey as some of the unexpected personal favourites to reach new ears and a fresh audience with the Blue Note Trip series. "The point of these compilations is that it is meant for everyone – jazz fans, pop fans, rock kids, basically, anybody who cares about good music. Blue Note's catalogue is endless! Even if you don't like jazz, there is something in this series you could also like ... especially the rare groove, funk, soul treasures and Latin material." The 41-year-old Dutchman, who lives with his girlfriend and a massive vinyl collection (15,000 LPs) in Amsterdam, is obsessive about his jazz and crate-digging habits for rare LPs. As he reveals, it wasn't all deejaying at first. His career started during his student years at University of Utrecht in the early 1990s (studying music) and dabbling in dance parties and student radio. He graduated but ditched the violin. Throughout this interview, he chats passionately about the early days of partying, building up his jazz knowledge and why he prefers LPs. He recommends specialist store Waxwell Records as a choice destination in Amsterdam for vinyl junkies. Old habits die hard with this bloke. Maestro deejays with vinyl whenever possible ("you can't beat LPs for the best sound") and he even lugged a flight case of LPs and 12" singles (25kg) as hand luggage on this tour. "Just make the bag look 'light' and sneak it into the (airline) cabin," he said with a laugh. In terms of compilation work, he has uploaded his CD collection and can count on 10,000 jazz songs, which he "maps out and divides into categories and lists." "When I started the Blue Note Trip compilations, I was bringing over some out-of-print LPs that Blue Note didn't even know they had in their catalogue. Most of these titles have disappeared. It is sad that some have been forgotten. I've been wanting Blue Note to reissue War's Platinum Jazz on CD, it's a great album, very funk-driven. That's just one example, there many more 'lost' Blue Note LPs that should be rescued." Maestro was in town for the first time to deejay a two-night stint at No Black Tie, the local jazz haunt, alongside live musicians like drummer Lewis Pragasam, saxophonist Azmi Hairudin and flautist Providence. For certain, he brought a different jazz atmosphere to the venue with a deejay set complemented by scorching saxophone lines and tight grooves tailor-made for drum pyrotechnics. "It's about a fascinating gathering of talents, with each player contributing equally to the mix," he explained. These days, Maestro, who is trained in classical violin, admits he prefers to work with musicians. The idea, as he explains, is to keep "things spontaneous and give the masses something to look at than just the deejay." For someone who has won over the jazz faithful at the North Sea Jazz Festival in his homeland right to playing at the Java Jazz Fest in Jakarta, Maestro is steadily diversifying his set. His network of jazz musician friends is also growing in this region with live collaborations in KL, Jakarta, Bali and dates in Sydney and Melbourne. If things pan out, he intends to return to South-East Asia at the end of this year with Swiss-born French jazz trumpeter Erik Trufazz. "You can make jazz compilations and get them heard in cafes, lounges and clubs. But the actual jazz circuit is not an easy scene to get into. There are certain prejudices when it comes to deejays. It's always things like ' Why is this guy playing jazz? Deejays have no place in the jazz scene'! "Playing a pure jazz set is difficult and even back in Europe, there are not many places that have a platform for jazz deejays. It's a niche scene, but from what I've seen on my travels, it doesn't take a big crowd to have a massive party when it comes to jazz," he assured us. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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