Category Archives: Industry Buzz

Nick Colionne Tribute

By Melanie Maxwell We are sad to report that guitarist Nick Colionne passed away on Jan. 1, 2022. The Chicago native died unexpectedly at a local hospital. His cause of death has not yet been disclosed. As a teen, Colionne honed his guitar skills playing with The Staples Singers, The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield and Natalie […]

Legendary singer Al Jarreau dies at 76

Al Jarreau, one of the world’s great singers and a song stylist who defied categorization for decades, died today, the same date as the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards, in Los Angeles at the age of 76. The seven-time GRAMMY winner had recently announced his retirement from the entertainment business after being hospitalized for exhaustion. Jarreau had […]

The Bad-Asses of Yamaha kickin’ it at NAMM

By Melanie Maxwell I had to be out of my mind to drive from San Diego to Anaheim on a Friday afternoon. Especially during our month-end crunch; the pressure of writing a barrage of last-minute stories within an impossible deadline; the night before the Ocean Institute Jazz Festival Gala in Dana Point; two days before […]