Many of you are not able to make our meetings for lots of reasons including living out of town, band practices, family obligations, and more. So our webmaster David Barber has been filming the panels and has been posting them to YouTube. Topics include “Lawyers, Clubs and Money”, and performances by the New Darlins and Geoff Union, winners of our 2014 songwriting contest. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZWXnO5WKAH5ORlMLunli3A
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Nocturne Jazz Club Opens in the RiNO District of Denver
I was at a media party for a new jazz club opening in the RiNO District last night. It is called Nocturne – www.nocturnejazz.com The owners are Scott & Nicole Mattson. Education is part of their mission. It is a gorgeous and small club (seating 78, max cap 150-170) in an art deco style. Nocturne officially opened last Monday and is having 3 months residencies for a bunch of local artists compared to other clubs with month long residencies.
Nocturne – A Modern Jazz & Supper Club…where the art of music, drinking, and dining collide
1330 27th Street, Denver 80205
From their website info: Nocturne celebrates America’s rich cultural heritage through the art of hospitality, and the idea that when combined good food, music, and cocktails are greater the sum of their parts. As a well of inspiration, Nocturne looks to the great American supper clubs of the 40’s and 50’s, the underground jazz venues of old Hollywood, and New York’s legendary 52nd street in its heyday.
● Denver’s legacy as a great jazz city
Denver is a great American jazz city with a rich heritage and storied history that goes back nearly a century. A common stop for touring bands traveling between St. Louis and Los Angeles, Denver became a hot destination for jazz artists from the late 1930’s through the 1960’s. In fact Denver’s Five Points neighborhood (just a few blocks from Nocturne) was affectionately called the “Harlem of the West” and hosts an annual jazz festival to celebrate this history.
A live jazz experience that looks forward while honoring its heritage
Today Denver remains as important as ever to the jazz world with an internationally acclaimed jazz radio station in KUVO, a number of music festivals, and scores of world-class musicians (including a number of Grammy award winners). Inspired by this legacy, Nocturne features live music six nights a week in an environment that re-imagines and celebrates the art of jazz through the eyes of a new generation.
● Social Hour
Before the live music begins, Nocturne plays host to “Social Hour”. The 9 to 5 workday is becoming more uncommon in many American cities and along with it the traditional happy hour. Offering an alternative with subtle sophistication, Nocturne’s “Social Hour” runs from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Proving that the art of socializing is alive and well, Nocturne forgoes the flat-screens and instead drops the needle on a large collection of classic jazz in the vinyl format. Attractively priced cocktails, wine, and craft beers are offered alongside the full menu and social hour small plate specials.
● Chef sharing the stage
More than just jazz and a proper cocktail, Nocturne explores how the arts of gastronomy and music can be combined. Central to this exploration is chef Dustin Beckner’s tasting menu entitled “Renditions”, a constantly changing menu inspirited by iconic and historical jazz recordings. From Coltrane’s Giant Steps to Way out West by Sonny Rollins, each new menu is released in a concert setting with the album’s music performed live by a local jazz artist. The menu release also includes a discussion from chef Dustin Beckner and host Scott Mattson on how the food and drink was inspired by the album. Each Renditions tasting menu will have a 6 to 8 week “run”. On March 28th we will launch the spring Renditions menu based on Money Jungle. Stay tuned for more details.
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Jury Rules Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ Crossed Copyright Line
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ chart-topping song “Blurred Lines” crossed the copyright line, a Los Angeles jury ruled Tuesday. According to media reports, the jury found the melody leaned too heavily on “Got To Give It Up”, a 1977 song by the late Marvin Gaye. For the infringement, the eight-person jury ordered Williams and Thicke to pay $7.3 million to Gaye’s family. The song’s lyrics have also been in hot water for what some critics call their promotion of rape culture.
By Jim Jelter
‘Blurred Lines’ Verdict Likely to Alter Music Business
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A verdict saying Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke copied Marvin Gaye’s music to create their hit song “Blurred Lines” could ripple across the music industry, potentially changing how artists work and opening the door to new copyright claims.
An eight-person jury determined Tuesday that Williams and Thicke copied elements of Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up” and ordered the pair to pay nearly $7.4 million to the late R&B legend’s three children.
Millions more in potential future profits for “Blurred Lines” are now also at stake.
The Gaye family will seek an injunction against the song, which will give them leverage to negotiate for royalties and other concessions such as songwriting credit, although Tuesday’s verdict could face years of appeals.
While the verdict affects Thicke and Williams’ finances in the short term, artists and music industry lawyers will likely face new constraints as they sort through the verdict and its implications.
Howard King, lead attorney for Thicke and Williams, said in closing arguments that a verdict for the Gaye family would have a chilling effect on musicians trying to evoke an era or create an homage to the sound of earlier artists. Williams contended during the trial that he was only trying to mimic the “feel” of Gaye’s late 1970s music but insisted he did not use elements of his idol’s work.
“Today’s successful verdict, with the odds more than stacked against the Marvin Gaye estate, could redefine what copyright infringement means for recording artists,” said Glen Rothstein, an intellectual property attorney.
He said the decision sets a precedent because “paying homage to musical influences was an acceptable, and indeed commonplace way of conducting business and even showing respect for one’s musical idols, (but) after today, doubt has been cast on where the line will be drawn for copyright infringement purposes.”
Music copyright trials are rare, but allegations that a song copies another artist’s work are common. Singers Sam Smith and Tom Petty recently reached an agreement that conferred songwriting credit to Petty on Smith’s song, “Stay With Me,” which resembled Petty’s hit “I Won’t Back Down.”
In the “Blurred Lines” case, the Gaye family will seek an injunction against the song, giving them leverage to negotiate for royalties and other concessions such as songwriting credits.
Nona Gaye, the late singer’s daughter, wept as the verdict was read and later told reporters: “Right now, I feel free. Free from … Pharrell Williams’ and Robin Thicke’s chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told.”
Larry Iser, an intellectual property lawyer who has represented numerous musicians such as Jackson Browne and David Byrne in music copyright cases, criticized the verdict.
“Although Gaye was the Prince of Soul, he didn’t own a copyright to the genre, and Thicke and Williams’ homage to the feel of Marvin Gaye is not infringing,” Iser said.
King, the pair’s lawyer, said record labels are going to become more reluctant to release music that’s similar to other works — an assertion disputed by Richard Busch, the lead attorney for the Gaye family.
“While Mr. Williams’ lawyer suggested in his closing argument that the world would come to an end, and music would cease to exist if they were found liable, I still see the sun shining,” Busch said. “The music industry will go on.”
So, too, will Williams’ career, said Joe Levy, editor-at-large at Billboard.
“For Pharrell, the story moves on,” he said. “It will move on quickly.”
Williams, 41, is a seven-time Grammy Award winner whose songs he’s performed or produced have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. His hit “Happy” has helped make him a household name, as has his work as a judge on NBC’s music competition show, “The Voice.”
“It’s much to Pharrell’s advantage that he is at a high point in his career,” Levy said.
Thicke’s career may have more issues as a result of Tuesday’s verdict — which came on his 38th birthday — because “Blurred Lines” was a global hit and his follow-up effort failed to connect with audiences, Levy said. Despite the song’s popularity, feminists have criticized it, saying it promotes rape culture.
While the verdict will likely make musicians and record labels more cautious, it won’t stop artists from using others’ works as inspiration, Levy said.
Despite the decision, he predicted that “Blurred Lines” will continue to make plenty of money for Williams, Thicke and, in all likelihood, the Gaye family.
“People aren’t going to stop playing it,” Levy said. “It’s not just going to disappear.”
By Anthony Mccartney, AP Entertainment
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/blurred-lines-verdict-likely-alter-072125727.html
‘Blurred Lines’ Verdict Has Music Industry Singing the Blues
[Video — Talks the financial end of this verdict; brings up several other cases of potential plagiarism.]http://abcnews.go.com/Business/video/blurred-lines-verdict-music-industry-singing-blues-29551940
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SOAPS, SHAMPOOS, ETC., NEEDED FOR HOMELESS
Got a bunch of those little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, or little soaps laying around that you brought home from your stays in hotels and motels? Annette Cannon reminded us that she really could use those to help stuff care bags for the homeless.
Please bring them to the next COMBO meetings. We’ll be glad to “recycle” them for you. And if you don’t have any now, how ‘bout picking them up the next time you go out of town and bring them back with you. Betcha you never thought of giving them to help out less fortunate people.
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