Guitarist and bandleader Jeff Healey dies in Toronto hospital
March 6, 2008 by Romy
Following a lengthy struggle with cancer, Healey passes away on the eve of the release of a new blues rock album.
Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died today (Sunday March 2) in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Toronto. He was 41, and leaves his wife, Cristie, daughter Rachel (13) and son Derek (three), as well as his father and step-mother, Bud and Rose Healey, and sisters Laura and Linda. Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending.
Robbed of his sight as a baby due to a rare form of cancer, retino blastoma, and he started to play guitar when he was three, holding the instrument unconventionally across his lap. He formed his first band at 17, but soon formed a trio which was named the Jeff Healey Band.
After his appearance in the movie Road House, he was signed to Arista records, and in 1988 released the Grammy-nominated album See the Light, which included a major hit single, Angel Eyes. He earned a Juno Award in 1990 as Entertainer of the Year. Two more albums emerged on Arista, with lessening success as the ’90s passed. Various “best-of” and live packages were released, and he recorded two more rock albums, before turning to his real love, classic American jazz from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s.
By then, however, Healey was an internationally-known star who had played with dozens of musicians, including B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and recorded with George Harrison. Mark Knopfler and the late blues legend, Jimmy Rogers. A family man with a three-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter he preferred to stay close to home. “I’ve traveled widely before — been there and done that,” he told friends, determined to avoid the lengthy, exhausting tours that marked his life in his twenties and early thirties.
A long-running CBC Radio series saw him in the role of disc jockey — My Kinda Jazz was a staple for a while, but in recent years he had hosted a programme with a similar name on Jazz-FM in Toronto. A highlight of his broadcasts was always the use of rare — and rarely heard — music from his 30,000-plus collection of 78-rpm records. As his rock career wound down as the millennium came, he recorded a series of three album of early jazz, playing trumpet as well as acoustic guitar in a band he called Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards. The most recent was It’s Tight Like That, recorded live at Hugh’s Room in Toronto in 2005, with British jazz legend Chris Barber as guest star.
At the time of his death he was about to see the release of his first rock/blues album in eight years, Mess of Blues, which is being released in Europe on March 20, and in Canada and the U.S. on April 22. The album was the result of a joint agreement between the German label, Ruf Records, and Stony Plain, the independent Edmonton-based label that has released his three jazz CDs. Mess of Blues was recorded in studios in Toronto, with two cuts recorded at the Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto and two at a concert in London England. The backup group on the upcoming CD — the Healey’s House Band — played with him regularly at the downtown Roadhouse, and at a previous club bearing his name in the Queen-Bathurst area.
Early last year, Healey underwent surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his legs, and later from both lungs; aggressive radiation treatments and chemotherapy, however, failed to halt the spread of the disease. Despite his battle with cancer, he undertook frequent tours across Canada with both his blues-based band and his jazz group; he was set for a major tour in Germany and the U.K. and was to be a guest on the BBC’s famed Jools Holland Show in April. Remembered by his musicians — and his audiences — for his wry sense of humour as well as his musical playfulness, Healey was a unique musician who bridged different genres with ease and assurance.
Selected Discography:
In honor of this legend, we also recommend you check out his amazing Live in Montreux 1999 Concert performance.
The Future of Television – Out of one “Box” and into Another!
March 6, 2008 by Romy
With so many critics panning the current state of network television, with its endless pilot cancellations and recycled, tired material, it’s no wonder that avid viewers are flocking to self-control their “boob tube” fix with TV on DVD. There are literally hundreds of television series now available to purchase and with so many at affordable prices, you can create your own customized schedule at less than the cost of a yearly cable subscription. Here are just a few of the television box sets that have been atop our bestsellers list, propelling the shift in television viewership towards its next phase.
Dexter – The Complete First Season
People can’t get enough of the Serial Scientist! The first season of this creepy dramedy series, originally aired on Showtime, follows Dexter Morgan, a forensics expert who spends his free time as a serial killer, eradicating some of the city’s most notorious criminals one by one.
The Tudors – The Complete First Season
Mining one of history’s most infamous figures to create a rich episodic drama, Showtime’s The Tudors takes on the early life of King Henry VIII, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Woody Allen’s Match Point). With enough rivalries, scandals, and debauchery to make Melrose Place blush, the engrossing series follows the 16th-century monarch’s rise to power, political conflicts, and personal ruthlessness.
The Gilmore Girls – The Complete Sixth Season
Most famous for its fast-paced dialogue and edgy soundtrack, the show explores the bittersweet dynamics of family, friendships, and romantic relationships in the small fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
Grey Anatomy – The Complete Third Season
This season of Grey’s Anatomy also marked the departure of a central character, as Kate Walsh left to star in the spin-off Private Practice, in which she leaves Seattle for Los Angeles.
Flight of the Conchords – The Complete First Season
Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, better known as Flight of the Conchords, have moved from New Zealand to Brooklyn, New York, in an attempt to make it big in the United States. Unfortunately their mix of “digi-bongo-rap-comedy-folk” doesn’t sit well with an American audience, and their hilariously incompetent band manager, Murray, is not helping the situation.
The Wire – The Complete First Season
Unlike most television crime dramas, which neatly introduce and then solve a case all in the space of one hour, HBO’s THE WIRE follows one single drug and homicide investigation throughout the length of an entire season.
The Office – Season 3
The Office portrays the everyday lives of the employees at the Dunder Mifflin paper company in Pennsylvania. In season three, imbecilic boss Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) manages to further offend and alienate his co-workers.
Firefly – The Complete Series
Joss Whedon follows up his hugely successful BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER series for Fox with FIREFLY, an action-packed fusion of the science-fiction and western genres. Set five hundred years in the future, FIREFLY depicts a troubled world after a massive universal civil war.
This Week’s NEXT BIG THING: Yael Naim
March 6, 2008 by Romy
For those interested in sampling the sounds of one of the most dynamic singer/songwriters in World Music today, this two-song CD single from Israel’s darling Yael Naim will not disappoint! For TV fanatics with a good ear for great music, you will likely recognize this single’s lead-off track, “New Soul,” which skyrocketed the young performer to fame after being aired as part of the successfull Apple Macbbook Air ad campaign.
A little more information about Naim:
Born in Paris in 1978 to Jewish-Tunisian parents, Naim moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel at the age of four, where she learned Hebrew and trained as a pianist. She served in Israel Defence Forces as a soloist in Israel Air Force Orchestra and began her singing career with a part in the musical “Les Dix Commandements.” Her first solo album, In A Man’s Womb, was released in 2001.
A move to Paris in 2000 prompted Naïm to meet and join forces with percussionist David Donatien and other ecletic French performers. Over a period of two years they recorded thirteen of Naïm’s songs in a studio in Naïm’s Paris apartment, and these were released as her second album, Yael Naim, in the fall of 2007 on the Tôt Ou Tard label. The songs are in French, English, and Hebrew and received critical acclaim, and the album entered the French album chart at #11 the week after its release. The style has been described as having a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally slightly husky voice.
In January 2008, her song “New Soul” was featured in the debut commercial for the MacBook Air laptop. The song gained fame from being featured in the ad, and it has peaked, as of February 1 2008, at #2 on the iTunes Top 100 Downloaded Songs. The domestic release of her full-length debut is available March 18, 2008.
Discography
* 2001: In A Man’s Womb
* 2007: Yael Naim
Blu-Ray: Technology Titan!
March 6, 2008 by Romy
In case you haven’t heard – this February 19, 2008 was an important day in technology history. BLU Ray was declared victorious in the battle between HD DVD and BLU Ray technologies – Toshiba has decided to stop producing the HD DVD platform.
In honor of this victory, let’s check out the top BLU Rays this month here at Tower.com
1) Planet Earth
Get ready to witness the ultimate portrait of our planet. This incredible BBC documentary-style series was shot with an unprecedented production budget of over $25 million, taking 5 years in produce and over 2,000 days in the field. Of course, the extraordinary numbers don’t stop there – there were over 40 cameramen filming across 200 locations and the series was shot entirely in high-def. Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime capture of the planet!
2) Michael Clayton
This Oscar winning film (Tilda Swinton won Best Supporting Actress) is naturally the second most popular title here at Tower.com this month.
The film is about a Michael Clayton (George Clooney) who is ‘fixer’ or as he describes a ‘janitor’ who cleans up legal messes for corporations and other big shots. Clayton is successful, but after 13 years on the job, he is suddenly faced with the reality of being disgusted with his clientele and must come to terms with his own ethics. This all comes to a head when Clayton is sent to ‘fix’ a lawsuit involving an agro-chemical corporation, whose CEO (Tilda Swinton) will stop at nothing to win the case. If you like suspenseful courtroom dramas, this film is for you!
3) Blade Runner
This timeless classic by director Ridley Scott is a must in any collection. Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, a retired police officer turned private detective, who is searching for 6 “replicants” (artificially constructed human beings) who are looking to confront their designer, Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel) about their unhappiness with the built-in 4-year life expectancy. Set in 2019 in Los Angeles, this not-so-distant futuristic looks shows a world of pollution, flying traffic, neon billboards and a general feeling of an overcrowded dystopia. Perhaps this film works best in conjunction with Planet Earth – what our planet looks like now, and what it may look like in 11 years!
4) 300
Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, 300 takes over the screen like an invading horde. With all the gushing blood of a horror movie and the scope of a classic epic, the second film from Zack Snyder (who helmed the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead) is an impressive visual spectacle. Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera) plays Leonidas, the king of ancient Sparta. The city is famous for its warrior philosophy, and Leonidas won’t kneel to the demands of Persia’s King Xerxes (Lost’s Rodrigo Santoro). Instead, Leonidas leads his 300-strong army against Xerxes’s army of millions. Meanwhile, his wife (Lena Headley, The Brothers Grimm) campaigns in Sparta for the city to send reinforcements as she butts heads with the treacherous Theron (Dominic West, The Wire).
5) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
After the action of Dead Man’s Chest, anti-hero Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp channeling his best Keith Richards) is trapped in the netherworld of Davy Jones’s locker. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) has returned from the dead to aid Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) in their quest to rescue the beloved captain. They journey to Singapore to ask for help from notorious pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), and with this new alliance, they travel to the edge of the earth to find Jack. Then they will join forces with the world’s most powerful pirates to unite against Lord Brackett (Tom Hollander) and the East India Company.
6) Celine Dion – Live in Vegas: A New Day
In true Vegas style - Celine Dion took a gamble when she signed a three-year contract to perform in Las Vegas five nights a week. Now, five years later, her gamble has paid off — night after night she has sold-out performances. Commemorating the end of her blockbuster run, A NEW DAY captures every moment of the stage show, bursting with evocative dancing, flawless singing, and thrilling onstage spectacles. Filmed live at Caesars Palace, this concert release includes stirring renditions of “The Power of Love,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” “My Heart Will Go On,” and many others.
7) Gone Baby Gone
Based on the novel by Mystic River author Dennis Lehane, Gone Baby Gone marks the directorial debut of actor Ben Affleck. Featuring a solid cast that includes Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Affleck’s brother Casey in the lead role as a private detective, this film signifies a confident and impressive turn behind the camera for one of Hollywood’s more contentious stars. A Boston native himself, Affleck takes great care in evoking his city’s entirety, from its undeniably ugly underbelly, to what feels like an almost primordial sense of community. It speaks to Affleck’s substance as a director, and of good things to come.
8) Pan’s Labyrinth
Del Toro continues to amaze us with his breathtaking visual style and beyond-borders imagination and this film is simply stunning in blu-ray quality. Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and before Ofelia can turn back, she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.
9) Full Metal Jacket
Based on Gustav Hasford’s novel The Short Timers, Kubrick’s unusual answer to the 1980s spate of Vietnam War films actually seems like two films in one. The first half focuses on the training of a squad of Marine grunts on Parris Island, and more specifically on the troubled relationship between the brutal drill sergeant (Ermey) and an oafish misfit (a brilliant D’Onofrio) who just happens to be a sharpshooter. Post-training, we follow the grunts to battle of Hue City, the climactic battle of the 1968 Tet Offensive and the turning point of the Vietnam War, seeing mostly through the eyes of a cynical reporter nicknamed Joker (Modine). As a Vietnam War film, Kubrick’s is notable for focusing on urban, rather than jungle, battlefields–with snipers hiding behind every bombed-out building. Definitely a modern classic!
10) Galapagos
Originally developed for IMAX theatres, this breathtaking nature documentary translates perfect to the Blu-Ray format. The Galapagos Islands, scattered across the equator, are the subject of this cinematic expedition. Still widely unexplored, these islands feature a stunning array of wildlife, vast wilderness, and stately volcanoes.
American Idol sings Jeff Buckley praise…Hallelujah!
March 6, 2008 by Danny
In a day and age where our youth are more and more detached from the spirit of music past; American Idol contestant Jason Castro managed to rise above the commercial smoke long enough to pay homage to the late Jeff Buckley. An acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist who’s death the world mourned almost 11 years ago. Castro graced us with his rendition of Hallelujah and proved once again that some music will forever be etched in time. This performance alone landed Jeff Buckley back on top 25 lists across the country and into the hearts of, perhaps other wise, non fans.
Does this provide some insight into the forward direction of pop TV? Can we expect a rise in attention to older more grass root albums such as Buckley’s 1994 debut release “Grace”? Regardless of whether or not this continues as a trend we can definitely adorn American Idol with one gold star for being a part of something better last night…something real.
Click here to purchase “Grace” and other Jeff Buckley albums available at Tower.com
Video Performance on You tube:
