Sade

Brian Culbertson Opening for Barry Manilow

Back in September, vocalist Barry Manilow called on Smooth Jazz keyboardist Brian Culbertson to open two high-profile shows in Philadelphia and Boston. Manilow must have been impressed, because he has now invited Culbertson to join him on an 11-city tour that begins Jan. 11 in St. Paul, Minn., and concludes Feb. 24 in Miami.

Culbertson will be opening for Manilow on his An Evening of Music and Passion arena tour, which marks Manilow’s final shows before he begins another extended stay at the Las Vegas Hilton, where he began performing in 2005. Culbertson's opening gig will give the keyboardist tremendous exposure, as Manilow has sold 70 million albums worldwide in his long career and has had 31 platinum recordings. In addition, Manilow's concert tour for 2007 ranked at #19 for the year.

Meanwhile, Culbertson says his next Smooth Jazz CD will be finished by the end of this month and features musical contributes by Gerald Albright, Bootsy Collins, Ledisi, Musiq Soulchild and Larry Graham, among others.

Boney, Jarreau and Austin Are Legends

A new superstar tour has been announced in conjunction with pianist Ramsey Lewis Legends of Jazz TV series. The Legends of Jazz tour, which is scheduled to run from Sept. 5 to Oct. 21, in addition to Lewis will feature saxophonist Boney James and vocalists Al Jarreau and Patti Austin.

Specific cities on the tour are expected to be announced soon. Jarreau was featured on the first season of Legends of Jazz, which ran on PBS in 2006, as were numerous other Smooth Jazz and traditional jazz performers. An an announcement is also expected soon on the second season on Legends of Jazz on national television.

Dave Koz Finishes Movie Soundtrack CD

Saxophonist Dave Koz has completed his highly anticipated, fully orchestrated CD titled At the Movies, which he says he created to help show the crucial role music plays in film. A late addition to Koz’s eighth studio album was ‘70s disco diva Donna Summer, who sings “A Whole New World” from the Disney animated motion picture Aladdin. In addition, a sample from the late Judy Garland leads off the album and Koz’s version of “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.

Other guest artists include India Arie (“It Might Be You” from Tootsie), Anita Baker (“Somewhere” from West Side Story), Barry Manilow (“Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s), Johnny Mathis and Chris Botti (“Shadow Of Your Smile” from the Love Theme From The Sandpiper) and Vanessa Williams (“The Way We Were” from the film of the same name).

The CD also includes instrumentals of the themes from Casablanca, Schindler’s List, Cinema Paradiso, Pink Panther and Summer of ’42.

Koz currently has a Top 30 smooth jazz hit with the instrumental version of “It Might Be You” that features guitarist Peter White. The song is from Tootsie.

At the Movies

1. Over The Rainbow (With Judy Garland sample)
2. Moonriver (With Barry Manilow)
3. As Time Goes By
4. Somewhere (With Anita Baker)
5. The Shadow Of Your Smile (Love Theme from The Sandpiper) (With Johnny Mathis and Chris Botti)
6. The Pink Panther
7. The Way We Were (With Vanessa Williams)
8. The Summer Knows (Theme from the Summer of 42)
9. It Might Be You (With India Arie)
10. Cinema Paradiso Suite
11. A Whole New World (With Donna Summer)
12. Schindler’s List
13. It Might Be You (With Peter White)
14. The Shadow Of Your Smile [Love Theme from The Sandpiper] (With Chris Botti)

Dave Koz Will Duet With Anita Baker On TV Special

Saxophonist Dave Koz, who has just announced that his upcoming CD called At the Movies will be released on Jan. 30, will debut the live performance of one of the album’s songs on national television. The song, “Somewhere” from the Academy Award-winning motion picture West Side Story, is a duet with vocalist Anita Baker. The song will be performed by Koz and Baker on Christmas Day during the annual Capital One Holiday Celebration on Ice on NBC.

Koz and Baker are the musical guests on the show, being taped on Oct. 20 at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Koz will also perform “Let It Snow,” “Sleigh Ride” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” on the show, and Baker will offer three selections from her 2005 holiday CD Christmas Fantasy. The Christmas special will also feature skating from such well-known names as two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan, Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva, six-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge and three-time U.S. champion Michael Weiss.

Capital One Holiday Celebration on Ice will air on NBC on Dec. 25^th at 4 p.m. ET.

Fattburger's Hollis Gentry Dies

Saxophonist Hollis Gentry, who helped form the San Diego-based Smooth Jazz group Fattburger more than 20 years ago, has died at age 51. It was two years ago that Gentry was involved in a serious automobile accident in San Diego. He had been through rehabilitation, but entered a hospice a few weeks ago after his health began to worsen. He died on Tuesday, Sept. 5, at his home.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in music composition and a master’s in music technology, Gentry and childhood friend and keyboardist Carl Evans founded Fattburger, which garnered a huge local following in San Diego and eventually became well-known in the U.S. and overseas, especially in Japan. In addition, Gentry was a teacher who counted Kirk Whalum among his students, and he also toured with such superstars as Al Jarreau, Larry Carlton and Joe Sample.

Evans recalls that a benefit concert for Gentry – held after his 2004 accident and featuring Fattburger and Hollis’ childhood friend Nathan East – meant a lot to the saxophonist:

"He was really pleased to see some footage on the news about the benefit concert for him," Evans said. "And he was just really touched. Just really surprised and really overwhelmed. "

Funeral services will be held Sept. 15 in San Diego.