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THE YEAR BEST IN JAZZ AND CABARET

THE ULTIMATE DIVAS, SINGERS, SONGWRITERS AND MUSICIANS OF CABARET, JAZZ, AMERICAN STANDARDS AND WORLD MUSIC

Volume III of the World Who's Who in Jazz, Cabaret, Music and Entertainment explored all aspects and facets of entertainment and music and the universe of the great ones encompassing singers, musicians and entertainers. Bubbly chapters included the ultimate divas in cabaret and jazz. Who are the ultimate divas, singers, composers, musicians and entertainers according to the  World Who's Who in Jazz, Cabaret, Music and Entertainment (Just Published) ? Here they are:

Photos from L to R and clockwise: Maureen McGovern, Barbara Cook, Donna Byrne, Amanda McBroom, Eartha Kitt, Marlene VerPlanck, Wesla Whitfield, Carol Welsman, Jill Corey.

OUTSTANDING PEOPLE OF THE YEAR

Photos from L to R: Sir George Martin: Best producer, Sir Rodney Bennett: Best composer, Mr. Donald Smith: Pioneer of American cabaret. 10-Mr. Robert Osborne: Best cinema/entertainment historian and TV show/program host.

Photos from L to R, clockwise: Ms. Marian McPartland, Mr. Michael Ricci, Ms. Ute Lemper, Ms. Andrea Marcovicci, Ms. Ann Hampton Callaway, Mr. Stu Hamstra, Mr. Frank Dain, Mr. Quincy Jones, Mr. Andrew Lloyd Weber, Ms. Blossom Dearie, Ms. Doris Day, Mr. Paul Anka, Mr..Charles.Aznavour,.Mr..Burt.Bacharach,  Mr. Chick Corea.

SHOWS, MUSIC, CDs: THE BEST OF THE BEST

_______WORLD WHO’S WHO AWARDS_______

Best one-woman-show: The Toni Morrell Show: Salute To The Legendary Ladies,  by Toni Morrell, Las Vegas.

Best jazz pianist: Sarah Jane Cion. Winner of the 17th annual Great American Jazz Piano Competition.

Best new American standards CD/Album: My Impetuous Heart by Marlene VerPlanck. Vocal: Marlene VerPlanck, piano: Hank Jones, bass: Gary Mazzaroppi, drums: Joe Cocuzzo, guitar: Bucky Pizzarelli. Special guest appearances: Marian McPartland, George Shearing. Composition-arrangements: Billy VerPlanck.

Best world music CD/Album: Unexpected by Erika Luckett. (Also chosen “Album of the Year” by Just Plain Folks, and Best “International Music CD of the Year” by the World Arts Celebrities Journal.)

Best contemporary jazz CD/Album: Fair Warning by Rebecca Spencer. Vocal: Rebecca Spencer, piano: Philip Fortenberry, cello: Moonlight Tran, cello orchestrations: Keith Thompson.

Best smooth jazz CD/Album: All The Lonely People by Donna Byrne. Vocal: Donna Byrne, piano:Tim Ray, bass: Marshall Wood, tenor sax:  Harry Allen, guitars: Jon Wheatley, Jack Pearson, drums: Jim Gwin.

Best original compositions (Words and music) CD/Album: That…Which Is Real by Maria Gentile. Artists: Various artists for each track. So many to list. One of the tracks of the album, "I'd Rather Never Know" was nominated for 2005 MAC Song of the Year, and anoher, "Kindness Makes Me Cry", was named 2004 MAC song of the year! Another composition, "If I Was a Boy" (co-written with Caren Cole), was nominated for 2003 MAC song of the year.

Best international jazz-swing CD/Album: What'cha Got Cookin by Carol Welsman, winner of the 2006 Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Keyboardist-Pianist of the Year, Nominated for Best Original Composition “You take me away”, and for Best Female Vocalist, 2005 Smooth Jazz Awards (Canada), Four Juno Award nominations (Canadian Grammys) for her five CDs.

     BEST SINGERS OF THE YEAR

From L to R, clockwise: Mr. Mark Murphy, best torch singe. Ms. Patrice Ferris, best trio vocalist. Ms. Marlene Verplanck, best American standards singer.  Mr. Tony Bennett, best American singer.   

WORLD WHO’S WHO AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Best free monthly jazz guide: Hot House Jazz Magazine.

For 25 years Hot House Jazz Magazine has been known by its reader as The Bible of Jazz in New York. Without any doubt, Hot House Jazz magazine is New York's best free monthly jazz guide. It is well crafted, practical, informative and extremely useful. It was launched in 1982 by jazz expert Gene Kalbacher whom goal was to provide music enthusiasts with a handy free printed guide to the best in New York jazz clubs, halls and festivals - with informed commentary on up-and-comers as well as established talent appearing in local venues. Since then, every jazz fan has been relying on Hot House’s previews to know what’s happening in the jazz world and make its entertainment plans. Today, well into its third decade, Hot House is going strong, thanks to a loyal readership, including many people living far from the city and even outside the U.S. plus the enthusiastic support of club owners, concert promoters and record companies eager to build the audience for this music. Hot House is delivered to more than 200 locations in Manhattan itself and over 100 in the Metro area like clockwork the last weekend of each month. Jazz lovers will find it in every jazz club, venue, hall, music instrument and record store, recording studio and University in the Tri-State area and many concierges of upscale hotels in New York City use it to inform their guests. In spite of their leadership, President Gwen Calvier and her team (editor Paul Blair with a loyal crew of contributing writers and art director Karen Pica) are more than ever committed to improve the quality of their magazine: expanded coverage, increased circulation, updated website with direct connection to artists' and clubs' websites, special edition such as Summer festivals, University jazz programs, Holiday gift guide…Since jazz never stands still, neither will they!

BEST ENTERTAINMENT HISTORIAN AND TV SHOW HOST

Robert Osborne

 Finally (in 2007), Mr. Osborne got his “star” on the Hollywood Walk of Hall of Fame. A wish I expressed in an article I wrote a few years ago about Mr. Osborne and was published by the European Journal (www.europeanjournal.net) and circulated by the International News Agency (www.internationalnewsagency.org). I am not very fond of “tough cookie” critics and reviewers, and particularly gossipy and pompous TV shows hosts. But Mr. Robert Osborne is an exception. I met the man. I interviewed him during my last visit to the United States and was delighted. This is a gentle walking encyclopedia with integrity, human warmth, captivating personality and down to earth approach to life, the arts and entertainment.

Long time ago, in my first year at the law graduate school, a haunting passion with insatiable appetite devoured my thoughts and feelings. And because of that haunting passion, quite often, I asked myself if studying law instead of cinema  was  really what I wanted it to do. You guessed it. My "first love" was the silver screen. Not, because I was fascinated by the stars but, because I was taken by the mesmerizing talents of cinematographers, the genius of the directors of photography, the light engineers, the set designers, the visions of films directors, the depth of  challenging and engaging dialogues, and of course, the  musical scores composers. I did not care  much for actors and actresses whom I consider -with a very few exception of remarkable human beings like Audrey Hepburn, June Allyson, Doris Day, Edward J. Robinson, Peter Ustinov, Ernest Borgnine, etc.,) to be vain, very show-off, extremely lucky with few merits, pretentious and greedy. My passion for cinema was fueled by my curiosity to know what was happening behind the curtains, the scene, the screen, the untold story of a film, the character and persona of the players, the events that surrounded the creation of the film, the relationship between the movies makers, the artists and the leading players. In other words, the human aspect of cinema with all its neglected or hidden stories fascinated me. And for years, I searched the humanistic history of the movies making. Back then, it was so difficult to harvest those stories. Few studios existed in Paris, headlines rotated around world premieres, vedettes scandals, new releases, events actors and actresses attended, gossips, affairs, marriages and expected divorces ad infinitum, and this left me with few material, events  and inside stories surrounding  the making of a film. Sure, from time to time, a mini documentary on shooting this or that film appeared in movie theaters, but it wasn't enough, especially when the documentary appeared more like a trailer than a story behind the story. It took me years to find my grail. And finally,  I found it in Mr. Robert Osborne. Nowadays, an avalanche of film historians and critics rolls over and over on out TV sets. But only one cinema historian and story-teller extraordinaire captured my full attention: TCM's Robert Osborne. Many other film "introducers and historians" are nothing more than a scenarioed projection of pompous, pretentious and irritating talkers. Mr. Osborne distinguished himself by his warmth, graceful humility, friendly persona, abundance of behind the scene touching and captivating description of what happened back then, on stage, off stage, on location, in the studio and beyond. This very fine gentleman and cinema expert knows what and where are the buried or unknown, unusual and informative movies cosmos stories and how to bring them to his audience. Stories that add more character, meaning, substance, the "un je ne sais quoi", mystique, revelations and  cache to the films. Without Osborne's intros, the films remain simply an enjoyable entertainment, but Helas! without the soul, spirit and multidimensional chronicles that created or metamorphosed through the production stages of the film and brought to us by Mr. Osborne, the film can is  simply a cinema empirical projection. In many instances, I found Mr. Osborne's intros and brief narrative historical back-flashes more fascinating and entertaining than the film itself. This remarkable raconteur, historian and cinema story-teller recreates the whole universe and the genesis of movies. He does it with effectiveness, charming style, authoritative, yet warm mannerism, and above all, with style and confidence. Mr. Osborne is the gentle encyclopedia of cinema and its human dimension. Mr. Osborne was born in Colfax, Washington (population: 2700) and graduated from the University of Washington's School of Journalism, appearing in local plays in his non-study hours. He soon went to Hollywood as an actor under contract to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. But Lucy encouraged him to pursue writing, which he considers among the best advice he's ever been given. She remained a friend and mentor to him until her death. Osborne joined the staff of The Hollywood Reporter in 1977 and six years later began writing the paper's influential "Rambling Reporter" column, which covers all aspects of the movie and television business. He also attends the Cannes Film Festival to review films for the paper and is The Hollywood Reporter's chief Broadway critic, covering New York plays and first nights. Osborne began as the on-air entertainment reporter for the nightly news on Los Angeles, KTTV in 1982. In 1987, he was signed by CBS to make daily appearances on the CBS Morning Program. From 1986-1993, he was also a regular host of The Movie Channel cable network. From 1981-83, he served as president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). He is a frequent guest on Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America and other network shows; won a Golden Mike for excellence (for a TV special he wrote, produced and hosted titled Lana Turner Today); has twice been a CableAce nominee for his "Osborne Report" segments for The Movie Channel; and was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Host Moderator. Osborne is also the winner of the 1984 Press Award from the Publicists Guild of America. In addition to his hosting duties for TCM, Osborne has also done several specials for the network, including hour-long interviews, including the last on-camera interview done by Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, June Allyson, Ann Miller, Mickey Rooney, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Tony Curtis. The biography also reveals that Osborne is also a columnist-critic for The Hollywood Reporter, the daily show business trade paper. He is known as the official biographer of Oscar, thanks to a series of books he's written on the subject of Hollywood's annual Academy Awards. His latest book, the updated 70 Years Of the Oscar, was written at the special request of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has been called "the most comprehensive and definitive book ever done on the subject." An expert insider wrote about Mr. Robert Osborne: "Never volunteer to play Trivial Pursuit with Robert Osborne: He's going to nail every entertainment question. The host of Turner Classic Movies and columnist for the Hollywood Reporter has not only covered Hollywood, he was also a close friend to Hollywood elite such as Bette Davis and Lucille Ball. Osborne loves his field of expertise. And it shows...In a way, Osborne built his prestigious career out of luck. He says he landed in Hollywood at the right time. "Bette Davis and the other stars were at the end of their careers. They wouldn't have had time for me in their heyday. So I got the benefit of spending time with them and hearing their stories." Another movies savvy wrote: "Osborne worked at the Rose Theater as a teen-ager, and broke both his arms while putting Elizabeth Taylor's name up on a marquee. "She was bad for me, too," Osborne jokes...Osborne ended up in Hollywood by chance. He had set out for New York but landed in California by way of an actress friend of his. There he met Lucille Ball and became a contract player for Desilu. He said Ball was the first to encourage him to become a writer. The stars took a liking to Osborne because he had studied them and knew their history. "They didn't have to tell me what they had done in the past. I already knew." He was comfortable around them and was invited to dinners and parties.  Osborne often escorted Davis to dinner. "She was a very proper New England lady and wouldn't go to a restaurant alone or with another woman." So he was her dinner date...Osborne also accompanied Davis to the Academy Awards in 1977. "Bette wanted to sit in the back so that she could sneak out and smoke. She would go out to the press tent. All of these stars of the time, Travolta and others, would hover, wanting to meet her but were so awed by her. They were afraid to approach her, she was such a star. Here she was, she couldn't get a job and these stars were afraid to talk to her. And she didn't know who the hell they were." At one point Davis leaned over to him and, referring to the man sitting next to them, said, "My God, he sure is attractive. Who is he?" "That's Jack Nicholson," Osborne told her. "What does he think of the today's Oscars? Mr. Osborne longs for the days when people, directors, studio executives and stars had more class, style and integrity. He told one reporter: "We've lost class. There's been this declassing of humans. People used to have honor. They never wrote about Spencer Tracy and Hepburn having an affair. You just didn't do that." Anything new or unusual about today's OSCARS? Mr. Osborne commented: "In the past, people used to know the results ahead of time. They simply knew, so they had all the reasons in the world to relax. In the golden days, one could enjoy lavish and splendid banquets. It was a great time and fun for everybody. Today, you just sit there and you don't move. Too many awards are given and more categories are created, like awards for costumes, songs, etc...and of course, today, the OSCARS welcome European and foreign films, a real novelty..." And how about today's movies and stars? Mr. Osborne explains: "Today's films are lacking. "I realize that everyone likes 'Titanic', but if they give (the Oscar) to 'Titanic' I think I'll stop writing books about the Oscars. For $200 million you think that they would have made 'Dr. Zhivago' on board a ship or 'Lawrence of Arabia' on the high seas. Instead, they wrote this sappy little story...There are a few bonafide movie stars around. Emma Thompson. She's got it. She's wonderful in everything that she does." Another top star, he says, is Matt Damon. "He's a great actor." Is Mr. Osborne satisfied with the awards process, procedures and standards? "Even though, today's films are not as good as they used to be, quality-wise, the Academy Awards still point to some gems out there. And the awards are extremely important because "A film really has to stand out to get a nomination, even if it's just a special effects picture with a big box-office  draw. The Academy members take their votes very seriously. "They see their vote as a very respected thing. They take their time and scrutinize the tapes (of the films.)" In an interview he gave, a few years ago, Mr. Osborne mentioned this: "Olivia de Havilland watched Judi Dench's performance in "Mrs. Brown" and had a few notes for the Oscar nominee. "She said that (Dench) needed to work on her eyebrows and the way she carried herself for that period." Mr. Osborne's most cherished and remembered OSCARS moments are when Charlie Chaplin's in 1972, returned to the United States to accept an Oscar for the title song in his film "Limelight." Mr. Osborne said: "He was this little, frail man that people had labeled a child molester and a communist. And as he stood there looking at the people standing up in ovation, you remembered all of the magic that he had brought to the screen. It was very moving to see this little old man just standing there on the stage." Another favorite moment is  Louis Fletcher's acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Mr. Osborne recalls: "This sweet, innocent little girl came up to accept and no one knew who she was," he said. Fletcher had played the bitter and twisted Nurse Ratchett. "Her parents were deaf mutes so she signed her acceptance speech. It was really something to see…" On a regular basis, I watch TCM for three reasons: 1-My passion for classical movies. 2-The lyrical beauty and nostalgia those black and white films awake in me. 3-Mr. Osborne's intros to films. What a delight and inspirational moment I enjoy and feel upon watching those magnificent moving treasures. Consequently, I developed a great admiration and a deep respect for Mr. Osborne. This remarkable man deserves our gratitude and a universal recognition. This year, Mr. Osborne received his “star” at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and I am delighted. This man is a national treasure and a great asset to world cinema. La crème de la crème. -By Maximillien de Lafayette

Continues on the next column.