Two former Yardbirds are set to share the stage: Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck have announced theyll play two shows together at Saitama, Japans Super Arena, on February 21st and 22nd. The duo have performed together at album sessions, benefits and festivals in years past, but these concerts mark the first time the pair have ever shared the bill for major arena shows. How mighty are these two axmen? Clapton ranked Number Four on our list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and Beck came in Number 14. If by some chance youll find yourself in Japan for this epic exhibition of guitar gods (or you just happen to live in Japan), take note that tickets for these concerts go on sale January 17th...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Punk guitarist Ron Asheton of The Stooges has been found dead in his Ann Arbor home. He was 60. Iggy Pop, center with Ron Asheton, left, and Scott Asheton. City police Sgt. Brad Hill says there were no signs of foul play, and the death appeared to be of natural causes. Hill says officers discovered Asheton early today after they were called to his home around midnight by an associate who hadn't heard from him in several days...

The Freedom Jazz Dance tribute show for the late, great Freddie Hubbard is uploaded at freedomjazzdance.net. Double click on the radio blog file and enjoy this two hour tribute to the trumpet genius. Freedom Jazz Dance The unstoppable sound of freedom in the groove Sundays from 5-7 PM 90.1 FM WDCE from the University of Richmond Live webcast at wdce.org Archived shows and playlists at freedomjazzdance.net...

Galapagos line up features Aaron Jennings and Eivind Opsvik. 1. CLAUDIO FINNI GALDIOLO'S INCAPACITA 2. OPSVIK and JENNINGS Aaron Jennings - guitar Eivind Opsvik - bass, lapsteel guitar, yamaha vss-30 Dave Christian - drums Brian Drye - organ, synthesizer Rich Johnson - trumpet, laptop 3. AMY KOHN OCTET...

James Moody & Hank Jones Our Delight (IPO Recordings) Dave Holland Pass It On (Dare2/EmArcy) Roy Hargrove Earfood (Emarcy) McCoy Tyner Guitars (McCoy Tyner Music) Javon Jackson Once Upon A Melody (Palmetto) Bill Cunliffe The Blues And The Abstract Truth (Resonance) Roger Kellaway Live At The Jazz Standard (IPO Recordings)...

CARNEGIE HALL CELEBRATES THE MUSIC OF HUNGARY FROM JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 14 Celebrating Hungary Performances Include Appearances by Ivn Fischer and Budapest Festival Orchestra, Roby Lakatos, Beta Palya, and Peter Etvs, Among Others From January 24 through February 14, Carnegie Hall presents Celebrating Hungary, a collection of concerts that place the spotlight on the folk, symphonic, chamber, and new music of Hungary with performances by leading artists. The celebration includes an eight-day residency by renowned composer, pedagogue, and pianist Gyrgy Kurtg in his first-ever New York appearance; performances of traditional folk music by Gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos and vocalist Beta Palya; folk-inspired symphonic works and traditional Gypsy folk music performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Music Director Ivn Fischer with father/son violinists Jzsef Lendvay Sr. and Jzsef Lendvay Jr. as well as cimbalom player Oszkr krs; a Making Music program focusing on the work of composer Peter Etvs; and a performance of the great Austro-Hungarian composer Joseph Haydns hugely influential choral masterwork, The Creation, the culminating event of the Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop led by Helmuth Rilling. These concerts and programs are a part of Extremely Hungary, a citywide festival of Hungarian arts and culture presented at cultural institutions throughout 2009. Celebrating Hungary is sponsored by Erste Group, the leading financial services group in Central and Eastern Europe...

At the Macworld Expo today, Apple Inc. confirmed reports that all four majors were now onboard to deliver DRM-free music through iTunes. Apple has offered DRM-free music from EMI since May 2007; the new deals unveiled today are with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The company also revealed plans for a new variable pricing model, starting in April; the price points for tracks are listed as 69 cents for older catalog titles, 99 cents for current songs and $1.29 for hits. The company said more songs will be priced at 69 cents than $1.29...

The Beatles Catalog Finally Goes Digital Thanks To Norwegian Podcasts. (Knock on Wood) The Beatles will reportedly make a bulk of their musical catalog available as a free, legal download thanks to a series of Norwegian podcasts. In 2001, the Fab Four were the subject of a documentary series entitled Vr daglige Beatles, or Our Daily Beatles, in which Norwegian journalists told the stories behind every track in the Beatles official catalog in chronological order, with the tracks themselves being played after the story was told. Now, for the first time ever, the series is available as a downloadable podcast, marking the first time the Beatles music in any form has been legally available via download. Despite efforts to finally bring the Beatles to iTunes, Paul McCartney said talks between Apple Corps. and EMI Records have stalled...

Today Blue Note Records celebrates its 70th birthday. The label was born on January 6, 1939 when a young jazz fan named Alfred Lion recorded two of his favorite boogie-woogie pianists at a New York studio. That first session (Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis - The First Day) proved to be the start of an illustrious history that continues to this day...

In early December, Rolling Stone traveled to London to visit U2 in the studio as Bono and Co. worked on the upcoming No Line on the Horizon. The journey was as spellbinding and energizing as you might imagine, and you'll be able to read all about it when our new issue hits newsstands on Wednesday, January 7th. To tide you over, here's a track-by-track preview of 10 choice songs (and you can dig deeper into all our U2 coverage in our archive)...

10:37am/ Standing ovation for Bennett. That's our show for Macworld 2009, says Phil. I want to thank everyone in my family, and the people at Apple. Enjoy the rest of the show. That's it? These are the sort of announcements that normally would have been in a press release. 10:34am (Tony) Singing "The Best is Yet to Come...

WHO: Sten Hostfalt Trio Sten Hostfalt - guitar, compositions Tim Luntzel - bass Marko Djordjevic - drums WHEN: January 12th, 2009 at 10pm / no cover WHERE: Freddy's NYC 485 Dean St. (Prospect Heights) Brooklyn NY 1/2 to Bergen or any train to Atlantic/Pacific Impressive, Intense - TIME OUT NY Inimitable - PM NYC/PAPER MAGAZINE Groundbreaking - JAZZ REVIEW Editor's Pick - GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE Highly Exceptional - JIMMY GIUFFRE...

National Radio Award for Melanie O'Reilly's "Jazz on the Bay" --- This winning series includes "Women of Jazz on the Bay", featuring Vicki Burns, Anna de Leon, Susan Muscarella, Frankye Kelly, Tammy Hall, Faye Carroll,and Denise Perrier. Melanie O'Reilly, Celtic Jazz singer and educator, who hails from Dublin Ireland, and is based in Berkeley, CA, has just won PPI Radio Award/National Radio Award 2008 for her radio series "Jazz on the Bay...

UK Jazz trumpet player Adam Linsley has recorded a new CD to raise money for Lindsey Lodge Hospice in North Lincolnshire. "The hospice is an amazing place, they cared for my Mother in her later stages of secondary breast cancer offering both day care and then full time care in the last week of her life. They also provided amazing care for my family and friends...

New York Singer / Storyteller Pyeng Threadgill To Share Most Personal and Accomplished Music To Date From Her Forthcoming New CD During the Late Night Grooves Series at New Yorks Famed Blue Note Jazz Club On Saturday, January 10th Daughter of Jazz Great Henry Threadgill Will Also Share Bill for Progressive Black Female Showcase Voicing Between The Lines and a Coveted Hudson Opera House Appearance...

Vibraphonist Tom Beckham Group Vibraphonist Tom Beckhams new CD Rebound (2008) builds upon the group sound achieved on his previous release, Center Songs (2005) which critics and fans agree “has a sound all its own (Rhapsody.com), with terrific charts, a great sound and an impressive performance” (ejazznews.com). Hes as much a tune smith as a performer (KKJZ). Beckham's playing has been described by critics as "intimate and lyrical" by Bob Bernotas, WNTI, "vibrant and colorful" by allaboutjazz.com, and "delightful and surprising" by Baltimore Magazine...

Stone and Steel Combines Ancient and Modern For Unique New Sound New York, NY - The enchanting cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper recently launched her latest CD, Stone and Steel, a scintillating combination of the ancient and the modern. Cooper, a resident of New York City and Tel Aviv, is well-known for her adventurousness and her passion for new, popular and contemporary works. In her newest release, she takes some old classics Gregorian chants, songs of the ever-popular Elizabethan composer John Dowland and the haunting aria from Dido and Aeneus, Didos Lament and musically expresses them in a completely fresh and novel way...

RALE MICIC FEATURES NEW TRIO AT CORNELIA STREET CAFE On Wednesday evening, January 14, one of the most original jazz guitarist and composers on the music scene today, Rale Micic, will present a concert at Cornelia Street Cafe. During past two years, guitarist Micic established himself as one of the most inventive voices in music, leading a quintet featuring jazz great Tom Harrell. His Cornelia Street Cafe appearance marks premiere of his new Trio, including Miriam Sullivan on bass and Greg Hutchinson on drums...

UNIVERSITY of DAYTON announces CURTIS BARNES: A JAZZ TRIBUTE Saturday, January 17, 8 PM Sears Recital Hall, University of Dayton featuring MIKE WADE QUARTET, with guest vocalist Shakera Jones Hosted by Willis "Bing" Davis, this evening is a tribute to one of Dayton's most accomplished African-American painters, Curtis Barnes. Featuring the classic jazz sounds that so-inspired Barnes, the program's music will feature standards by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Lester Young and more. A noted trumpet player, Wade is a well-known and highly regarded jazz musician based in Cincinnati. This concert is offered in conjunction with a major exhibition of Barnes' paintings on view at the University of Dayton through January 30...

All About Jazz is celebrating Maurice Brown's birthday today! JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Maurice BrownOne of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene, Maurice "Mobetta" Brown grew up in the south side of Chicago. Showing a remarkable affinity for the trumpet... more Website | Videos | Articles...