“Paul Josephs; composer, performer, wordsmith, singer, guitarist, New York native, educator, environmental activist, blues man. Been playing professionally since 16; hit the scene with these older blues musicians playing all around NYC and also ran my own night on Tuesdays opening up for the comedy show at the NY Improv. Since then have had the good fortune to have toured and been hired for session work with a handful of wonderful musicians; Idris Muhammad, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Pharoahe Monch, Jean Grae, Beyonce, Citizen Cope, Maceo Parker, Aurthur Blythe, Kenwood Denard, Rodney Jones, The Roots, Nikki Glaspie, Alice Smith etc.… have released two of my own albums; the second one, Strong World, has had me touring in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, England, and France.

Grew up on the Hudson River, the native people of this land called it Mahicanituk or “river that flows both ways,” and named themselves after it as “people of the river that flows both ways,” Muhheakunn (the Dutch used Mohican.) The songs and spirit are connected with this river; as is true for many musicians and artist alive now and many greats that came before including John Coltrane and Thelonius Monk.

The music is performed with different ensembles often with either a trio of guitar, bass and drums or a solo concert featuring just guitar or piano and voice; and also at times the music is presented in one-man concerts featuring live-looping. Sometimes the space on stage contracts significantly as the group expands into a septet with trumpet, trombone, sax, and keys or another guitar.

I produce music of all kinds with all different types of people and conduct production and song writing workshops with students all over new york city and the world.

On the road with purpose and leaving a trail of raised spirits in the wake.

pauljosephs.com

The post “Paul Josephs; composer, performer, wordsmith, singer, guitarist, New York native, educator, environmental activist, blues man. appeared first on Good News!.

Dear friends

It is with deep sorrow and grief  that I share these news
I feel that our sharing love for James Cannings and coming together last night helped him to pass in comfort.
He was surrounded by family and friends at all times.
By the amount of visitors greetings blessings and  prayers we can see the reflexion of a life well lived
An example of leadership peacemaking friendship musical mastery and all the love and dedication he be stowed upon his friends and loved ones
Blessings to James, his family, his Vigil family and everyone he touched
We miss you greatly Dear Friend
Your inspiration itality and joy are always with us
much love  Susana

James, you were a true loving spirit.  You lived the worlds of the song One Love and gave much joy to so many.  Till we meet again you will be missed.  You were a true Peace Man.  Paul

The post James Cannings transition appeared first on Good News!.

Ted Mason, meets Good News sitting and playing and watching his dog in the park.  Ted  is a former member of the multiplatinum British rock/pop band Modern English http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0yOYyhAjKc and an EMMY nominated film producer. The band has sold over 4 million records in the United States with hit songs such as Melt with you, “Hands across the Sea, Ricochet Days,” 16 Days to name a few. He is a producer, composer (composing and producing the music for the Academy Award winning HBO doc “Prudence’s Song”) as well as a lead guitarist, Classical/Flamenco/Bebop guitarist, singer, songwriter he is President of his own Record Label Mi5 Recordings, a Universal distributed label. He is also in a label/production company partnership with musician/producer extraordinaire Jerry Wonder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Duplessis).

In addition to playing in Modern English, Mr. Mason has worked as a producer/musician with such artists as AKON, Chris Brown, Mary J Blige, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Santana, Dead Prez, Midge Ure, Bob Geldoff, the Verve, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Prince, Papa Wemba, Khaled, Youssou N’dour , Sandra Bernhard, Real Roxanne, Macy Grey, Thomas Mapfumo, and Peter Gabriel. He has successfully released back catalog and obscure Modern English tracks through his label as well as a huge roster of artists from Hip Hop to Africa Soukous. He now performs as a solo artist in the United States, Europe and Africa, blending British Rock with world and African music.

Producing Mr. Mason has worked as a producer/musician with such artists as AKON, Chris Brown, Mary J Blige, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Santana, Dead Prez, Midge Ure, Bob Geldoff, the Verve, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Prince, Papa Wemba, Khaled, Youssou N’dour, Sandra Bernhard, Real Roxanne, Macy Grey, Thomas Mapfumo, and Peter Gabriel. In 2010 he has toured in Central Africa backed by Rwanda’s Soukous All Stars and a duet with Lokua Kanza while producing the Fes Pad concert series for the country of Rwanda. He is currently producing a new solo album, an album with Hip Hop superstars Mobb Deep and a duet with Wyclef Jean and Mona Lisa.

Film Production Mr. Mason has also worked as a composer and film producer on many films including the HBO Academy Award Winning Documentary film project “Music By Prudence,” directed Roger Ross Williams. Past directors he has worked with included Milos Forman. He also works closely with his wife Jennifer Brunetti, (former company owner of Fbi Productions, Inc.) in producing video, film and live concert events most notably “Volvo for Life Awards” which included production logistics and booking of such acts as Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, and Suzanne Vega.

Producing

Mr. Mason has worked as a producer/musician with such artists as Akon, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Santana, Dead Prez, Midge Ure, Bob Geldof, the Verve, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Prince, Papa Wemba, Khaled, Youssou N’dour, Sandra Bernhard, Real Roxanne, Macy Gray, Thomas Mapfumo, and Peter Gabriel and now working with Jerry Wonder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Duplessis. He has successfully released back catalog and obscure Modern English tracks through his label as well as releasing a huge roster of artists ranging from Hip Hop to African Soukous. He now performs as a solo artist in the United States, France and Africa, blending British Rock with world and African music. In 2010 he has toured in Central Africa backed by Rwanda‘s Soukous All Stars and a duet with Lokua Kanza.

Film production

Mr. Mason has also worked as a composer and film producer on many films including the HBO Academy Award Winning Documentary film project “Music By Prudence,” directed Roger Ross Williams. He is an EMMY nominated film producer and is currently involved in producing numerous music videos for his artists as well as full length independent film productions. Past directors included Milos Forman and Academy Award Film director Roger Ross Williams http://www.godlovesuganda.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ross_Williams http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1543539/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast http://www.musicbyprudence.com/mbp/. He also works closely with his wife Jennifer Brunetti, (former company owner of FBI Productions, Inc.) in producing video, film and live concert events most notably “Volvo for Life Awards” which included production logistics and booking of such acts as Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, and Suzanne Vega. Currently he is working on his new album and working closely as a partner with musician, producer, songwriter extraordinaire Jerry Wonder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Duplessis) and Wonda Music (www.wondamusic.com)

The post Ted Mason appeared first on Good News!.

Good News had the honor to create the 20th anniversary of Woodstock with Richie. He was a great man who taught us a great deal about life. FREEDOM. Reverend Paul Sladkus. Good news planet.
Richie Havens was an American folk singer and guitarist.
He is best known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children.  At an early age, he began organizing his neighborhood friends into street corner doo-wop groups and was performing with the McCrea Gospel Singers at 16.

Early career

At age 20, Havens left Brooklyn, seeking artistic stimulation in Greenwich Village. “I saw the Village as a place to escape to, in order to express yourself”, he recalled. “I had first gone there during the Beatnik days of the 1950s to perform poetry, then I drew portraits for two years and stayed up all night listening to folk music in the clubs. It took a while before I thought of picking up a guitar.”

Havens’ reputation as a solo performer soon spread beyond the Village folk circles. After cutting two records for Douglas Records, he signed on with Bob Dylan‘s manager, Albert Grossman, and landed a record deal with the Verve Forecast label. Verve released Mixed Bag in 1967, which featured tracks such as “Handsome Johnny” (co-written by Havens and future Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr.), “Follow”, and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman“.

Pre-Woodstock rise

By 1969, Havens had released five more albums. Something Else Again (1968) became his first album to hit the Billboard chart and also pulled Mixed Bag back onto the charts. Two of those albums were unauthorized “exploitation albums” released by Douglas Records (or Douglas International): Electric Havens (released June 01, 1968) and Richie Havens Record (1969):

This [Electric Havens] was one of two albums (the other being The Richie Havens Record) comprised of overdubbed solo demos, probably from sometime between 1963-1965, that Havens had done prior to recording for Verve and making his official recording debut. In the late ’60s, as Havens rose to stardom, producer Alan Douglas took the original solo demos and overdubbed them with electric instruments. The albums were pulled from circulation and are hard to find today. The eight-song set is oriented toward the kind of traditional material that he was likely doing in clubs around that time, such as “Oxford Town”, “C. C. Rider”, and “900 Miles From Home” as well as an early Dylan cover, “Boots & Spanish Leather”.

Woodstock: opening act

Havens’ reputation as a live performer earned him widespread notice. His Woodstock appearance proved to be a major turning point in his career. As the festival’s first performer, he held the crowd for nearly three hours (in part because he was told to perform a lengthy set because many artists were delayed in reaching the festival location), and he was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual “Motherless Child” that became “Freedom”. The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival in late August 1969.

Following the success of his Woodstock performance, Havens started his own record label, Stormy Forest, and released Stonehenge in 1970. Later that year came Alarm Clock, which included the George Harrison-penned hit single, “Here Comes the Sun“. This was Havens’ first album to reach Billboard’s Top 30 Chart. Stormy Forest went on to release four more of his albums: The Great Blind Degree (1971), Live On Stage (1972), Portfolio (1973), and Mixed Bag II (1974). Memorable television appearances included performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. On the latter program, the audience reacted with such enthusiasm that when the applause continued even after the commercial break, Carson asked Havens to return the following night.

Havens also branched out into acting during the 1970s. He was featured in the original 1972 stage presentation of The Who’s Tommy, and appeared as Othello in the 1974 film Catch My Soul. He also appeared in Greased Lightning alongside Richard Pryor in 1977. In 1987, he landed a role in the Bob Dylan vehicle Hearts of Fire.

Havens increasingly devoted his energies to educating young people about ecological issues. In the mid-1970s, he co-founded the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children’s museum on City Island in the Bronx. That, in turn, led to the creation of the Natural Guard, an organization Havens describes as “a way of helping kids learn that they can have a hands-on role in affecting the environment. Children study the land, water, and air in their own communities and see how they can make positive changes from something as simple as planting a garden in an abandoned lot.”. In July of 1978 he also was a featured performer at the Benefit Concert for The Longest Walk, an American Indian spiritual walk from Alcatraz to Washington DC affirming treaty rights, as a result of legislation that had been introduced to abrogate Indian treaties.

1980s–1990s

During the 1980s and 1990s, Havens continued a world touring schedule and a steady release of albums. The release of the 1993 Resume, The Best Of Richie Havens Rhinocollected his late 1960s and early 1970s recordings. In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promotional slogan for NBC‘s 1982-83 television season entitled, We’re NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS and ABC, and recorded commercials for Amtrak, singing the slogan “There’s something about a train that’s magic.” Havens also has done corporate commercial work for Maxwell House Coffee as well as singing “The Fabric of Our Lives” theme for the cotton industry.

In 1993, Havens performed at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Among the selections was the “Cotton” song, made famous by a series of television ads in the early 1990s. In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert for an audience of more than 100,000.

Havens also played a small role as a character named Daze in a 1990 film named Street Hunter starring John Leguizamo.

Havens was the twentieth living recipient of the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award, presented in Sherborn, Massachusetts, on April 12, 1991.

In addition to performing at charity benefit concerts, Havens formed the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children’s museum on City Island in The Bronx. The museum led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization that educates children about the environment.

2000s

In 2000, Havens teamed with the electronic music duo Groove Armada for the retro 1970s-style song, “Hands of Time”. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the film Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx; the same song was also used in the films Dominostarring Keira Knightley, and Tell No One with François Cluzet. Havens was also featured on “Little By Little” and “Healing” on the band’s third album, Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub).

In 2000, Havens published They Can’t Hide Us Anymore, an autobiography co-written with Steve Davidowitz. He maintained his status as a folk icon and continued to tour. In 2002, he released Wishing Well, followed by the 2004 album Grace of the Sun.

In 2003, the National Music Council awarded Havens the American Eagle Award for his place as part of America’s musical heritage and for providing “a rare and inspiring voice of eloquence, integrity and social responsibility.”

On October 15, 2006, Havens was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

In 2007, Havens appeared as “Old Man Arvin” in the Todd Haynes film I’m Not There. In a classic front-porch jam scene, he is shown singing the Bob Dylan song “Tombstone Blues” with Marcus Carl Franklin and Tyrone Benskin. Havens’ version of the song also appears on the I’m Not There soundtrack.

Havens was invited to perform at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony. He played “Freedom” in tribute to his fan and jury president, Sean Penn. He also performed at the London, Ontario, Blues Festival in July 2008.

In March 2008, Havens released a new studio album entitled, Nobody Left To Crown. The first single release was the country-tinged “The Key”.

Havens appeared in the acclaimed 2009 film Soundtrack for a Revolution, which provided a general history of the modern Civil Rights Movement, and had modern artists performing many of the era’s musical classics. In the film, Havens performed a haunting rendition of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”.

On May 3, 2009, Havens performed at the fundraising concert in honor of Pete Seeger‘s 90th birthday. In June 2009, he performed at the fifth annual Mountain Jam Festival. The event, hosted by Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, was held at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in Hunter, New York. As is the tradition, the festival took place on the weekend following Memorial Day. On June 20, 2009, Havens performed at the Clearwater Festival. On July 4, 2009, he performed at the Woodstock Tribute festival in Ramsey, New Jersey. On August 8, 2010, he performed at Musikfest 2010 at Foy Hall at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

On March 20, 2012, Havens announced on his Facebook page that he would stop touring after 45 years due to health concerns. On April 22, 2013, Earth Day, Havens died of aheart attack at home in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was 72

The post Richard Pierce “Richie” Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) appeared first on Good News!.