Guardian Music — Blues and boogie pianist who played with all of the greatsIf for nothing else, the pianist Johnny Parker, who has died aged 80, will be remembered for his rollicking introductory sequence on Humphrey Lyttelton's hit 1956 single Bad Penny Blues. Of co... more info

Totally Fuzzy — a r n e l said... Nina Simone - 2 albums Louis Armstrong - 3 albums Curtis Mayfield - 2 albums A Tribe called Quest - 3 albums Scissor Sisters - 2 albums Chicago - 3 albums Billy Joel - 14 albums KT Tunstall - 2 albums http://bestfbothworlds.blogspot... more info

MTV.com News — Look back at the highlights from Crystal Bowersox, Katelyn Epperly, Lee DeWyze, Alex Lambert and more.By Jim Cantiello Crystal Bowersox performs "Me and Bobby McGee" on "American Idol" Photo: Ray Mickshaw / FOX The ninth season of "American... more info

Guardian Music — Prolific jazz pianist and composer, he was a sensitive accompanist to Ella FitzgeraldThe great jazz drummer Elvin Jones, asked by JazzUK magazine in 2001 how it felt to be still playing full-on jazz in his 70s, simply pointed to the example of his ol... more info

Guardian Music — Though he had recorded with the Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, it was from early 1956 that Sonny Rollins really took off …When the magic of jazz first touched me in the late 1960s, many pathfinding early creators of the music... more info

Guardian Music — She didn't have much of a career at the movies, but that's because she was too good for themI refuse to write an obituary on Lena Horne – I refuse to accept that she is not here still. And, to the extent that I never met her, what have I been depri... more info

Guardian Music — Velvet-voiced singer, actor and activist who broke new ground for black performersA handful of decades ago the roles for black performers in Hollywood movies were deliberately kept peripheral to the plots, so that their appearances could easily be ed... more info

Guardian Music — Throughout a career that brought international acclaim, the showbiz legend never softened her firm stance against racismIf she could have swallowed her pride, Lena Horne could have had an easy life. Born into a middle-class African-American family in... more info

Mjsbigblog — Next week, the Top 4 sing the Songs of the Cinema.  After the jump, check out the 34-song list the kids will use to pick their songs. And man, the list is full of re-treads!  Yikes.  Not liking this list so much… At any rate, we might as well l... more info

All About Jazz — Fame is an ephemeral condition, especially for sidemen in jazz. Drummer Barrett Deems spent a decade stretch with Louis Armstrong. He also served as the engine room for bands under the leadership of Joe Venuti, Jack Teagarden and Benny Goodman. Today... more info