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Ivana Santilli Makes Pop That Isn't 'Dumbed Down'

CP Records Ivana Santilli may be looking to branch out into pop music after gaining respect as a soulful R&B singer, but she's not willing to dumb her music down. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and veteran of the recording studio, some wonder how the tone of her earlier records, 'Brown' and 'Corduroy Boogie,' led her into ...

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Cyndi Lauper's True Color Is the Blues

Neilson Barnard, Getty Images Type Cyndi Lauper's name into Google and by the time you get to the letter 'N' the search engine will already know who you're talking about, suggesting her full name as your preferable destination. Pretty surprising for a girl who had most of her fun back in the 1980s, but think for a minute about her career: ...

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Allan Toussaint and Mavis Staples Bring Americana to Toronto Jazz Festival

The Toronto Jazz Festival took its audience on a tour of Americana music on Wednesday, beginning in New Orleans with funk/R&B legend Allan Toussaint and landing in Chicago with activist and Gospel royalty, Mavis Staples. It was hard to decipher which name sold more tickets to the capacity City Hall Mainstage show, as both acts put on lengthy ...

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The Roots Inject Hip-Hop Groove Into Toronto Jazz Fest

After a weekend of clashes between riot police and protesters plagued Toronto, thanks to the G20 Summit, the exhausted city needed a tonic. On Tuesday June 29th, the Roots, Philadelphia's tireless campaigners for hip-hop, funk and R&B, eased the pain of a bruised city with a night of pure and groovy fun at the Toronto Jazz Festival's Mainstage ...

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Stanley Clarke, Jazz Legend, Embraces Technology

With a new record, a summer tour freshly underway and a hot young band at his side, it would be fair to say that bassist and composer Stanley Clarke is too busy to spend time pondering how people find out about him -- but he recognize that thanks to modern technology it's never been easier. "I know there are certain fans that come to see me ...

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Ron Hawkins Paints Portraits of Artists From Amy Winehouse to Jay-Z

Ron Hawkins' alphabet of rock and pop star paintings -- A is for Amy Winehouse, J is for Michael Jackson, Z is for Robert Zimmerman (er, B was already in use) -- are currently on display at Toronto's Drake Hotel General Store. The solo musician and former Lowest of the Low frontman is also multi-tasking, with four concert dates at the Queen West ...

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The National Bring the Baritone in Toronto

It was a duel between bass, brass and baritone as the Brooklyn-based band the National took the stage at Toronto's Massey Hall on Tuesday. Known for their distinctive anthems, thoughtful lyrics, and yes, that unmistakable deep voice, the group are several weeks into a grueling eight-month tour, but still shined in the first of two near-capacity ...

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