Top Jazz Albums for the 4/10/2010 issue

Now Last Weeks Peak

1 1 25 1 Crazy Love – Michael Buble (/Warner Bros.)

2 1 2 The Way Of The World – Mose Allison (/Epitaph)

3 2 2 2 Highway Rider – Brad Mehldau (/Warner Bros.)

4 4 48 2 My One And Only Thrill – Melody Gardot (/VG)

5 5 28 1 Your Songs – Harry Connick, Jr. (/Sony Music)

6 3 6 2 Preservation – Preservation Hall Jazz Band ()

7 6 41 1 Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden – Michael Buble (/Warner Bros.)

8 8 24 2 Love Is The Answer – Barbra Streisand (/Sony Music)

9 1 9 Pathways – Dave Holland Octet ()

10 9 53 1 Quiet Nights – Diana Krall (/VG)

Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley top dream duet list

London, March 27 (ANI): Lady Gaga And Elvis Presley duet can be the best collaboration, according to a new poll.

The ‘Poker Face’ hitmaker and the ‘Candle in the wind’ singer topped the survey conducted by website Match.com.

The voters were asked to select the two singers they would most like to see perform together, reports The Daily Express.

Michael Buble and Nina Simone followed them while soul stars Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross came third.

Will Young/Barbra Streisand ranked fourth.

And Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf collaboration was positioned fifth in the list. (ANI)

Jonathan Ross secures exclusive interview with Barbra Streisand

London, Sep 10 (ANI): American singer Barbra Streisand is to be interviewed by Brit film critic Jonathan Ross for an episode of his BBC One chat show.

An entire show, which has been branded as ‘Friday Night With Streisand and Ross’, will be dedicated to 67-year-old Streisand, reports the BBC.

The singer/actress will be discussing her career and also perform some of her classic hits and material from her new album, ‘Love Is The Answer’, on the programme which will be broadcast on October 2.

A spokeswoman for Streisand said the BBC One show would be the star’s first studio interview in the UK since she spoke with Des O’Connor in the 1980s.

Streisand’s new album is set for release in the UK on September 28.

It has a collection of jazz standards, which will show the singer performing tracks including ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ and ‘In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning’. (ANI)

Barbra Streisand’s ex to auction tapes of her earliest performances

New York, Aug 22 (ANI): Singer Barbra Streisand’s ex-boyfriend will soon have three recordings of her earliest performances auctioned.

Barry Dennen, who claims to have convinced her to become a singer, had made the tapes almost 50 years ago.

It includes the actress singing “A Taste of Honey” and “Two Brothers” in Dennen’s apartment, with him accompanying on guitar.

There’s also a Sept. 17, 1960, rehearsal at the Bon Soir nightclub, where Streisand sang “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now,” “A Sleepin’ Bee,” “I Want To Be Bad,” “When Sunny Gets Blue,” “Lover Come Back to Me,” “Nobody’s Heart” and “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”

He will now be selling it, with bids starting at 1 million dollars.

“I’m a little trepidatious. I don’t know what the fallout will be. I don’t like upsetting Barbra, and I don’t want her fans angry at me,” the New York Post quoted him as saying.

Dennen revealed that he first met Streisand in 1959 as castmates in a Broadway play, “The Insect Comedy.”

Soon they began dating and started living together at Ninth Street and Sixth Avenue in California.

Barry mentioned that Barbra had asked him for the tapes in 1965 as they had broken up but he had refused to give it to her.

He recollected: “I said ‘No. They are the only thing I have left of our collaboration.’ ”

The auction will happen on Web site, MomentsInTime.com

Meanwhile, Streisand reps said: “Our lawyers are dealing with this.” (ANI)

Eerie pictures show Michael Jackson rehearsing on stage for London comeback gigs just 48 hours before he died

These are the last pictures of Michael Jackson on stage, taken just two days before he died.

The images of the singer hard at work rehearsing for upcoming tour This Is It give a glimpse of what was in store for fans at his planned gigs in London’s 02.

Jackson was due to begin the first of 50 dates at the arena on July 13, but died on Thursday after being rushed to hospital in Los Angeles.

Putting on a thriller: Michael Jackso strikes a familiar pose as he practises his routine in the Staples Centre, LA,  for the This Is It comeback concerts

Putting on a thriller: Michael Jackso strikes a familiar pose as he practises his routine in the Staples Centre, LA,  for the This Is It comeback concerts

Eerie pictures show Michael Jackson rehearsing on stage for London comeback gigs just 48 hours before he died

Eerie pictures show Michael Jackson rehearsing on stage for London comeback gigs just 48 hours before he died

In one of the newly-emerged images, taken on Tuesday at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, the singer points towards the audience as backing dancers perform in front of a huge This Is It banner.

Despite looking frail, the star strikes a familiar pose and appears to be in full flow during the rehearsal.

In another photo, he smiles broadly, microphone in hand, dressed in a long shimmering mac over a top and trousers.

Man in the mac: Microphone in hand, the singer appears to be enjoying himself as he rehearses

Man in the mac: Microphone in hand, the singer appears to be enjoying himself as he rehearses

More than 800,000 tickets costing up to £1,000 had been sold for the concerts at London’s O2 arena which were hailed as the most ‘expensive and technically advanced’ live shows ever.

The concerts, which were due to start in two weeks’ time, had been expected to be the highest grossing pop production of all time.

Hundreds of thousands of fans who bought tickets for the cancelled gigs have been told they will be entitled to a refund.

ON DVD, THE FINAL PERFORMANCE

Footage from Jackson’s final rehearsals is already being compiled for a DVD and album.

The star is believed to have been filmed running through his songs and dance routines the day before he died.

In the groove: Footage of star rehearsing could be released on DVD although it's unclear who owns the rights

In the groove: Footage of star rehearsing could be released on DVD although it’s unclear who owns the rights

It is expected that when released this could become one of the star’s biggest selling works.

It is understood filming took place last Wednesday during Jackson’s rehearsals at the Los Angeles Staples Centre for the 50-date This Is It tour.

It remains unclear who has official ownership of the footage. A spokesman for concert promoter AEG
declined to comment. It is expected that the star’s estate will make more money in the next year from his music than he did in the last decade of his life.

The king of pop’s family will release a series of posthumous albums, starting this Christmas. It is understood Jackson wrote a number of songs for his three children, which were not to be released until after his death.

There are also songs left over from his last album, Invincible, released in 2001.

A tribute show is planned for September with Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand said to be in talks to appear.

Source By – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1196369/New-pictures-Michael-Jackson-hard-work-rehearsing-just-days-died.html

Salma Hayek blasts claims of being Jon Peters’ mistress

Washington, June 25 (ANI): Salma Hayek has blasted speculation suggesting that she was once romantically involved with Barbra Streisand’s alleged ex Jon Peters.

The Mexican-American actress was reported to be in the list of Peters’ conquests in his racy new autobiography.

The Lonely Hearts star slammed the reports in a statement, dubbing them untrue.

“I have never dated nor had a romantic relationship with Mr. Peters. My name has been continually linked to his romantic liaisons, and I want to put a stop to this lie,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

Peters pulled the plug on his explosive tome in May after the original transcript was leaked and some stars mentioned in the book threatened to sue if it went on sale.

He said at the time: “I have been besieged by lawsuits and threatened litigation by some of the most important figures in showbusiness.” (ANI)

Barbra Streisand taking up jazz in first studio album in 4yrs

New Delhi, June 24 (ANI): After four years of releasing her last studio album, Barbra Streisand has finally joined hands with Canadian jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall to come up with her latest venture-’Love Is The Answer’.

Her record label Columbia Records has revealed that the album is Streisand’s first full-length collection of new studio recordings since 2005′s ‘Guilty Pleasures’, and her first album since ‘Live In Concert 2006′.

Last year, the singer-actress was preoccupied with the U.S. election campaign, reports the China Daily.

But this year, she said that having a new president in the White House has provided her time to relax, and she could get back to making music again.

“‘Love Is The Answer’ presents the artist as a cabaret and jazz singer of emotional clarity, depth and maturity,” said Columbia Records, a unit of Sony Corp, in a statement.

On the new album, Streisand works for the first time with Grammy-winning Krall and her quartet of guitar, bass, and drums as well as songwriter Johnny Mandel, whom she has worked with on her 1993 ‘Back to Broadway’ album.

Although the album is set for a September 29 release, the song titles for the album have yet to be announced. (ANI)

Barbra Streisand to release architecture book

Washington, May 29 (ANI): Barbra Streisand is all geared up to share her thoughts about architecture in a new book.

The tome, which will showcase her homes, chronicles the design and building of her new pad in California.

A Passion For Design also looks back at her other dream residences, reports Contactmusic.

The book, which will hit stores in time for Christmas next year will be “the culmination and reflection of Barbra’s love of American architecture”, according to a press release from the publisher, Viking.

She says, “Designing and building for me is about the creative process and transformation.

“One of the reasons I haven’t made a movie since 2004 is because this last house was a five year, full-time job. Now that it’s done, I’m thrilled to share it.” (ANI)

Has Barbra Streisand seen off ex-lover Jon Peters’ ‘kiss and tell’?

London, May 24 (ANI): American singer-actress Barbra Streisand is believed to have seen off an ex-lover who planned to publish a “kiss and tell”.

Hollywood producer Jon Peters, who made a deal with HarperCollins regarding his memoirs earlier this month, has had a change of heart now.

The deal was said to be worth 490,000 pounds.

“I must decline your current kind and generous offer to publish my autobiography. Circumstances far beyond my imagination have caused me to remove the project from the marketplace at this ime. “Somehow this proposal has become a kind of holy grail of gossip, and I have become Hollywood’s ‘Man Who Knows Too Much,’” the Telegraph quoted him as having written to Michael Morrison, of the publishers Peters adds: “I have been besieged by potential lawsuits and threatened litigation by some of the most important figures in the world of show business. What’s worse… is the fact that I consider all these people my friends.” (ANI)

Jon Peters puts tell-all memoir on hold

New York, May 24 (IANS) Hollywood producer Jon Peters has pulled plans to release an explosive memoir detailing tinseltown’s most torrid secrets after he was threatened by a series of lawsuits from some of the industry’s biggest players.

Imdb.com reports that the “Batman” boss had agreed a $700,000 deal with Harper-Collins Publishers for his insightful tome, titled “Studio Head”, which blew the lid on the behind-the-scenes goings-on of stars including his ex-girlfriend Barbra Streisand.

In the book’s proposal to the publishers, which was leaked to New York gossip column PageSix, Peters claimed Streisand had a string of affairs with her co-stars Robert Redford, Ryan O’Neal And Kris Kristofferson.

He also alleged she was sexually abused by Hollywood movie mogul Ray Stark as she prepared for her breakthrough performance in 1968’s “Funny Girl”.

But the tell-all book has not gone down well with Peters’ peers – a string of legal threats have forced him to scrap the memoir in its entirety.

In a letter to publishing director Michael Morrison, obtained by PageSix, Peters writes: “I must decline your current kind and generous offer to publish my autobiography… circumstances far beyond my imagination have caused me to remove the project from the marketplace at this time. Unfortunate leaks of the proposal have created a firestorm in the press, from PageSix to CNN and seemingly every other gossip page and entertainment news show in between.

“Somehow this proposal has become a kind of Holy Grail of gossip and I have become Hollywood’s ‘Man Who Knows Too Much.’ I have been besieged by potential lawsuits and threatened litigation by some of the most important figures in the world of show business.

“What’s worse… is the fact that I consider all these people my friends… I want my book to be a celebration of, never an attack upon, the remarkable people I have known and worked with.”

But Peters hints in the letter that the furore will not prevent him from releasing his memoirs in the future – insisting he wants to “work on this project privately and quietly”.

Ex reveals Streisand’s hidden secrets in explosive book

New York, May 15 (ANI): American singer Barbra Streisand’s ex has revealed that she was once sexually abused by a movie mogul while auditioning for a film.

Streisand’s ex-boyfriend and Hollywood producer Jon Peters is set to lay bare some of the hidden secrets of the 67-year-old singer in his tell-all book, reports New York Post.

In his memoir, ‘Studio Head’, Peters revealed that he “wanted to kill” Ray Stark, producer of “The Way We Were,” when he learned that “Stark, an ogre of male chauvinistic casting-couch sexual entitlement, had molested both Lesley Ann [Warren] and Barbra when they were auditioning for him, and neither had ever really gotten over it.”

He also revealed that Streisand has had affairs with three of her leading men.

Peters claims she told him that she’d had “life-imitates-art affairs with Robert Redford on ‘The Way We Were’ and Ryan O’Neal on ‘What’s Up, Doc?’”

And had just ended one with Kris Kristofferson, then at his hunkiest in “A Star Is Born.” (ANI)

Barbra Streisand’s assistant busted on drug charges

New York, May 11 (ANI): Barbra Streisand’s assistant landed herself in trouble after cops arrested her on drug charges.

Tina Fortenberry was taken into custody after police in Malibu discovered cocaine, methamphetamines and a dangerous weapon inside her car.

A report published on the celebrity web site TMZ says that the 52-year-old was pulled over after officials spotted expired tags on her vehicle, according to the New York Daily News.

Cops, after searching the car, allegedly found drugs along with a “sap”, a blackjack-style weapon.

Fortenberry was also collared for driving with a suspended license.

She was later released on bond, and is slated to appear in Malibu Supreme Court in July. (ANI)

Katherine Jenkins’ surprise b’day song for Barbra Streisand

London, May 4 (ANI): Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins has revealed that she was recently called to sing as a surprise guest at singer Barbra Streisand’s birthday bash.

Jenkins, 28, was invited to attend Streisand’s recent 67th birthday bash, just hours after touching down in Los Angeles.

“I got invited on the spur of the moment,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

“I had jet lag and thought I would have an early night. When the call came, of course I said yes,” she said.

When she arrived, it soon became clear that she would be expected to perform.

“I went to this house in Bel Air where one of her friends was throwing her a private soirée and everyone was there from Warren Beatty to Hugh Jackman,” she recalled.

“All of a sudden her friend said to me: ‘You really should sing something for Barbra’s birthday’,” she said.

A somewhat flustered Jenkins hastily decided on the opera aria O Mio Babbino Caro, followed by Happy Birthday.

“I couldn’t believe it happened. How nerve-racking was that? She told me I had a lovely voice,” she added. (ANI)

Miley Cyrus is the new Judy Garland, says Hanna Montana movie director

Washington, Apr 2 (ANI): Director Peter Chelsom hails teen sensation Miley Cyrus as the new Judy Garland.

Chelsom, who directed Hannah Montana: The Movie, has compared the 16-year-old star’s acting talent with screen legend Garland, insisting he was “blown away” the first time he saw the teen superstar.

In an interview to E! Online, he admits he saw Cyrus’s potential long before they worked together – recalling an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s talkshow, which left him speechless.

“I was blown away. I just thought, you know there is no way this girl shouldn’t be ranked with Shirley Temple or Judy Garland,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

“I couldn’t believe it. It was like watching an evening with Barbra Streisand,” he added.

The filmmaker is adamant that Cyrus deserves to have her talent recognised – because she has reached such a high standard at such a young age.

“She was 15 for the whole making of the movie…Was Barbra doing that at 15? I don’t think so,” he said. (ANI)

Barbra Streisand’s never seen her films, heard her music

Washington, Mar 16 (ANI): Barbra Streisand has admitted that she’s never seen or heard some of her greatest entertainment achievements.

The screen legend has admitted that she spends so much time working on projects that she can’t bear to indulge herself in her films and albums once they’re wrapped.

“I never watch my things again. I make an album and then maybe 10 years later, I hear a thing or two. If I walk into somebody’s house or a department store, I always say, ‘Can you please turn that off?’ Contactmusic quoted Streisand, as telling Newsweek.

“Because I spend so much time on it, before it’s released, that once it’s released it’s on its own. I really don’t want to listen to it,” she added. (ANI)

Charlie Chaplin’s son passes away at 82

Washington, Mar 6 (ANI): Sydney Chaplin, the Tony Award-winning son of film legend Charlie Chaplin, has died at his home in California. He was 82.

Sydney, who once starred on Broadway opposite Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, passed away on Tuesday at his Rancho Mirage home after a long struggle with a stroke.

The young Chaplin appeared in two of his father’s films, Limelight and The Countess From Hong Kong, reports Contactmusic.

He won a Tony for musical Bells Are Ringing in the mid-1950s.

He quit the show before Streisand took the musical to the big screen – and Omar Sharif took on the role Chaplin made famous on Broadway.

Sydney is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Rancho Mirage, and his son from a previous marriage, Stephan, now living in Europe. (ANI)

Charlie Chaplin’s son passes away at 82

Washington, Mar 6 (ANI): Sydney Chaplin, the Tony Award-winning son of film legend Charlie Chaplin, has died at his home in California. He was 82.

Sydney, who once starred on Broadway opposite Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, passed away on Tuesday at his Rancho Mirage home after a long struggle with a stroke.

The young Chaplin appeared in two of his father’s films, Limelight and The Countess From Hong Kong, reports Contactmusic.

He won a Tony for musical Bells Are Ringing in the mid-1950s.

He quit the show before Streisand took the musical to the big screen – and Omar Sharif took on the role Chaplin made famous on Broadway.

Sydney is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Rancho Mirage, and his son from a previous marriage, Stephan, now living in Europe. (ANI)

Charlie Chaplin’s son passes away at 82

Washington, Mar 6 (ANI): Sydney Chaplin, the Tony Award-winning son of film legend Charlie Chaplin, has died at his home in California. He was 82.

Sydney, who once starred on Broadway opposite Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, passed away on Tuesday at his Rancho Mirage home after a long struggle with a stroke.

The young Chaplin appeared in two of his father’s films, Limelight and The Countess From Hong Kong, reports Contactmusic.

He won a Tony for musical Bells Are Ringing in the mid-1950s.

He quit the show before Streisand took the musical to the big screen – and Omar Sharif took on the role Chaplin made famous on Broadway.

Sydney is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Rancho Mirage, and his son from a previous marriage, Stephan, now living in Europe. (ANI)

Charlie Chaplin’s son passes away at 82

Washington, Mar 6 (ANI): Sydney Chaplin, the Tony Award-winning son of film legend Charlie Chaplin, has died at his home in California. He was 82.

Sydney, who once starred on Broadway opposite Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, passed away on Tuesday at his Rancho Mirage home after a long struggle with a stroke.

The young Chaplin appeared in two of his father’s films, Limelight and The Countess From Hong Kong, reports Contactmusic.

He won a Tony for musical Bells Are Ringing in the mid-1950s.

He quit the show before Streisand took the musical to the big screen – and Omar Sharif took on the role Chaplin made famous on Broadway.

Sydney is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Rancho Mirage, and his son from a previous marriage, Stephan, now living in Europe. (ANI)

Charlie Chaplin’s son passes away at 82

Washington, Mar 6 (ANI): Sydney Chaplin, the Tony Award-winning son of film legend Charlie Chaplin, has died at his home in California. He was 82.

Sydney, who once starred on Broadway opposite Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, passed away on Tuesday at his Rancho Mirage home after a long struggle with a stroke.

The young Chaplin appeared in two of his father’s films, Limelight and The Countess From Hong Kong, reports Contactmusic.

He won a Tony for musical Bells Are Ringing in the mid-1950s.

He quit the show before Streisand took the musical to the big screen – and Omar Sharif took on the role Chaplin made famous on Broadway.

Sydney is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Rancho Mirage, and his son from a previous marriage, Stephan, now living in Europe. (ANI)