Harman International Industries has formed a marketing relationship with musician/producer Quincy Jones for licensed and co-branded products in the consumer, automotive and professional audio fields.

Jones will also make a number of appearances at Harman-sponsored events and contribute to various corporate and brand-level marketing activities.

"Quincy's passion for excellence in the entertainment field is a natural complement to our own respected audio brands," said Dinesh C. Paliwal, Harman's chairman and CEO. "His iconic status and musical genius pair strongly with Harman's technical leadership and legacy of innovation and provide an exciting expression of our mutual commitment to delivering superior performances."

"Creating memorable musical experiences is both my business and my passion," said Jones. "The value of any production is established when the performers' true talents are expressed in the studio, the concert hall, or the homes of our shared customers through superior audio equipment. I have long respected Harman systems for meeting this requirement, and I'm pleased to join Harman in celebrating our shared commitment."

"This new relationship brings Quincy, a recognized leader in sound production, together with Harman, a recognized leader in sound reproduction," said Robert Thorne, CEO of Quincy Jones Enterprises

The music of Philadelphia International Records sounds effortless: the easygoing groove of the O'Jays' "Love Train," the triumphant horns of MFSB's "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)," even the cocky declamations of Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones

But forming a new R&B label in the early '70s -- particularly one leaning away from the funky, angular sounds of James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone popular at the time -- wasn't easy at all, says Kenneth Gamble, who co-founded the label with Leon Huff in 1971 after several years of producing and songwriting success.

"It was very, very hard to get information for us. It had pretty much been the norm for African-Americans to [be cheated] out of a lot of their music and their royalties," he said. "I think the industry, by closing us out of so many doors ... in order for us to make it, we had to do it on our own."

The Central Ms. Blues Society hosted its First Annual CMBS Blues Challenge at Blue Monday on Nov. 10, 2008. Four wonderful bands competed, any one of which would be a wonderful representative of our Blues Society at the upcoming International Blues Challenge. Congratulations to Stevie J and the Blues Eruption for taking first prize in our Challenge! Congratulations to the runner up band, Bernard Jenkins and the B-Cats. Our thanks to the Bailey Brothers Band and to the Robert Johnson Grandson Band (RJGB) for their participation in the Challenge and for adding to the excitement and enjoyment of the audience.

Stevie J and the Blues Eruption will be sponsored by the CMBS at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, February 4-7, 2009. Get your tickets now as we are taking a winner to Memphis! (https://ww w.blues.org/tickets/ibc.php)

We are grateful for the expertise of our Challenge judges: Lois Cooper, Dr. London Branch, Dr. Joseph Henderson, Karen Wilson, and alternate judge Shirley Waring, President of the Vicksburg Blues Society. The Central Ms. Blues Society extends sincere thanks and appreciation to Peggy Brown and Mike Lilly, organizers of the 1st Annual CMBS Blues Challenge.

Platinum, Grammy Award Winning Rapper Chamillionaire is cueing up his third major label effort, Venom for an early 2009 debut via his new home, Chamillitary/Universal Republic Records. The much anticipated release will be made available on store shelves and at retail online in the first quarter of next year - a much-buzzed about follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2007 sophomore effort, Ultimate Victory. At his new label, Chamillionaire will be joining a formidable Universal Republic urban arsenal, which includes the recently signed Lil Jon, India.Arie, Damian Marley, Stephen Marley, and Amy Winehouse among others. In keeping with his unprecedented connectivity with fans around the globe, Chamillionaire.com has also re-launched with a new design where exclusive content and official merchandise can only be found for Chamillionaire and artists signed to Chamillitary Records. The site will be fully loaded with frequent news updates, performance footage, video blogs, music, show info, merchandise, giveaways and much more. The influx of ongoing new content should keep fans content until the release date for Venom is officially announced. For more information on Chamillionaire and to preview his newest song, "Creepin" (Solo) featuring Ludacris off of Venom,

The "Queen of the Blues" will now have a street named for her in her hometown. The Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday renamed 30th Avenue between 15th Street and Kaulton Park as Dinah Washington Avenue in honor of the legendary blues, jazz and R&B singer.

Washington was born Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa on Aug. 29, 1924, and later moved with her family to Chicago.

Washington recorded for the Keynote, Mercury, EmArcy and Roulette labels during a career that lasted from 1943 until her death in 1963 at the age of 39. She is credited with influencing such musical greats as Aretha Franklin.

Dinah Washington Boogies Flashback Video

Two decades ago, Barry Mayo reconfigured America's radio landscape when he introduced the adult urban contemporary format to the dial. He took WBMX-FM 102.7 and transformed it into WVAZ-V103. The rest, as they say, is history.

On the recent occasion of the station's 20th anniversary, some of those responsible for the station's success-on-air personalities Herb Kent, Troi Tyler and Ramonski Luv, program director Derrick Brown and Scott "Smokin' " Silz, production and imaging director-gathered in a studio and talked about life at V103, then, now and down the road

Amid the generally vile November weather, something energising and heart-warming is about to arrive: the London Jazz Festival.

It's the capital's second biggest music festival after the Proms, and its organisers are hoping that the remarkable surge in jazz's popularity evidenced in previous festivals, particularly among younger listeners, will continue. And for those who can't make it, much of the festival will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

But, for more traditional jazz lovers, the festival is likely to be a puzzle. Who are all these Scandinavians and Latinos and Africans with the unpronounceable names and the odd instruments? Why does so much of what passes for jazz these days sound like earnest contemporary classical music, or head- banging "avant-rock", or the wilder reaches of left-field improvisation? And (most plaintive of all the complaints raised against the new jazz) - where, oh where is the swing in all this music?

It's five minutes after 6 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and the loyal listeners of TOUCH 106.1FM - those who are awake, at least - have to settle for the crackle and puff of static from their speakers.

No James Brown, no New Edition, no Amiri Baraka. Just static.

Over in Grove Hall, someone - probably the station's do-everything morning talk show host MC Spice - is running late. Either that, or the feds have slipped in overnight and cut the power cords or ripped down the antenna that pumps TOUCH FM into the ether above [the Boston areas of] Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and J.P. [Jamaica Plain] each day.

It's damn near 6:10 a.m. and the panic starts to set in. Is it over? Have the radio rebels at TOUCH FM finally caved under the pressure from the dreaded FCC?

Nahhh.

Suddenly, the beat kicks in and the silky sounds of a lady announcer - definitely a native Bostonian - purr into a microphone. Next up, a classic Marvin Gaye joint from 1963. He wants a witness with a quickness.

A new day has begun at TOUCH, the pirate radio outfit with a secret location that has - over the last year-and- a-half - definitively emerged as "the voice of Black Boston" on the radio dial. The only question is, will the station make it 'til tomorrow.

All music genres go through a very similar life cycle: birth, growth, mainstream acceptance, decline, and finally obscurity. With black music, however, the final stage is never reached because white people are work tirelessly to keep it alive. Apparently, once a music has lost its relevance with its intended audience, it becomes MORE relevant to white people.

Historically speaking, the music that white people have kept on life support for the longest period of time is Jazz. Thanks largely to public radio, bookstores, and coffee shops, Jazz has carved out a niche in white culture that is not yet ready to be replaced by Indie Rock. But the biggest role that Jazz plays in white culture is in the white fantasy of leisure. All white people believe that they prefer listening to jazz over watching television. This is not true.

Every few a months, a white person will put on some Jazz and pour themselves a glass of wine or scotch and tell themselves how nice it is. Then they will get bored and watch television or write emails to other white people about how nice it was to listen to Jazz at home. "Last night, I poured myself a glass of Shiraz and put Charlie Parker on the Bose. It was so relaxing, I wish I had a fireplace." Listing this activity as one of your favorites is a sure fire way to make progress towards a romantic relationship with a white person.

To say that Johnny Mack's got the blues may be the understatement of the year.

Johnny Mack (a.k.a., John McCormack) hosts Knoxville's WDVX weekly program Johnny Mack's Friday Night Blues Attack!, and each program is a crash course in American-born blues music.

"I couldn't have asked for anybody else to do this show," says WDVX General Manager and Program Director Tony Lawson. "John has so much knowledge and is so passionate about the blues. He receives phone calls and e-mails from all over the world."

The alias Johnny Mack is befitting for McCormack. After all, real bluesmen nearly always have a nickname like Professor Longhair (Henry Byrd), Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield), or Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett).

The six-hour show is aptly named because it ignites both the air and the cyberspace of the World Wide Web, broad-siding listeners with the rarest, rawest and most riveting blues the deejay can find. It runs from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Make Plans now to see Henry Butler.
An eight-time Blues Music Award "Best Blues Instrumentalist - Piano" award nominee, Henry Butler knows no limitations. Although blinded by glaucoma since birth, Butler is also a world class photographer with his work displayed at exhibitions throughout the United States. Playing piano since the age of six, Butler is a master of musical diversity. Combining the percussive jazz piano playing of McCoy Tyner and the New Orleans style playing of Professor Longhair through his classically trained wizardry, Butler continues to craft a sound uniquely his own. A rich amalgam of jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, blues and R&B influences, his music is as excitingly eclectic as that of his New Orleans birthplace.

More On Henry Butler Here

• Date: Friday, November 28, 2008 @ 8 p.m. (Doors at 7:30 p.m.)
• Place: The Warehouse, 36 E GE Patterson Ave (at Front Street), Memphis, TN 38103
• Tickets: $25 in advance,
• $30 at door
• VIP and member price of $50 also available

Val Jones is a creative wiz when it comes to the commercial production and creative services department. She is one of the most skilled in the broadcast industry. From copywriting and voiceovers to producing radio commercials, editing your musical project and basic broadcasting, this full-service veteran can give you excellent results when it comes to your commercials, documentaries, special projects and more. And with MP3 capabilities right at her fingertips, Val can get your commercials and projects to you quickly and efficiently.

FROM CONCEPT TO FINISH! Val Jones is a far more than just another voice talent. Whether you desire sex appeal, sizzle or straight, Val is a full-service production talent...from writing to finishing. Available also: copyright free music, fully professional award-winning audio and music production, copy writing and creative concept development. Fax or email your instructions and let Val do the rest. Guaranteed 48-hr turnaround on most projects!

Dear Twins: It's the holidays and I'm worried about being alone. The man I've been seeing is married and I'm concerned that I'll be sitting in my apartment by myself on Thanksgiving Day. There's another man that works with me and he's asked me to be apart of his family's get together for the holidays. My motto has always been not to date anyone I work with and that's why I 've not responded to his invitations. He's single and has been very nice. He asked me back in October to spend the holidays with him and his family. He sent flowers and left notes on my desk and everyone thought it was cute. I thought it was too much. I don't like people at work in my business. The married man I've been seeing tells me to be patient and don't make plans for the holidays. He says he's going to make time for me this year. He buys me things all the time like a fur last year and I'll probably get a diamond this year. I really love him but the single man tells me there's more to life than playing the waiting game. What should I do Twins?

According to legend Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads of Highways 61 & 49 for the ability to play the best Blues guitar in the world.

During the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's Clarksdale was home to Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Ike Turner, to name just a handful of great bluesmen.

We will bring Clarksdale's rich musical history to the world, not only as a popular stop on the Blues Trail, but as an exciting aIn honor of the Bluesmen and Blueswomen who paved the way for Blues, Rock & Roll, Gospel, Soul, and Jazz. A tribute of bricks with the names of the Blues Friends who helped lay the foundation of the Park.ttraction to music fans and history buffs.

It was meant to be the Christmas present on everyone's list this year but radio listeners will now have to wait until Mother's Day to experience the crystal clear sounds, images and services promised by free-to-air digital radio.

Its switch-on date in Australia has been put back to May 1 following delays in infrastructure works, including installing the new antennas required in capital cities.

Digital radio is not to be confused with internet radio - or radio transmission via the internet - that has been available since stations started streaming their shows online. Some 13,000 national and international radio stations can be heard on PCs, laptops, PC-radio adapters and Wi-Fi devices.

Digital radio is different. It is a new broadcasting technology that will allow existing on-air stations to eventually move all their transmissions to the digital spectrum as television broadcasters are doing. It is transmitted free over the airwaves and does not require a broadband or hotspot connection. All you need is a digital radio receiver.

The technology adopted in Australia - Digital Audio Broadcasting or DAB+ - has several benefits over AM and FM radio. It provides a better signal, CD-quality transmission, pause and rewind ability and more efficient spectrum utilisation. It also allows multi- channelling, so commercial stations will be able to transmit their normal programming on one channel and specialist or niche programming on another. They may also split their total signal allocation to provide more program combinations - 2Day FM, for example, has created a new test station called SupaFresh on a second channel. The ABC and SBS will be granted additional channels, with the latter touting nine new stations to cater for different languages and audience profiles. Community radio stations will also share spectrum allocation.
In addition, DAB+ allows for simultaneous data transmission, so new radio receivers with LCD screens will display weather and traffic information, names of songs and artists, advertiser links and announcers' pictures. In countries such as Korea, the devices can also receive television images and video clips but here legislation will prevent moving images to be broadcast over the radio to protect the infant digital television industry.

Commercial Radio Australia
(digitalradioplus.com.au) - the peak body representing commercial stations - ABC and SBS, has been conducting trials of the technology in Sydney and Melbourne for five years to iron out the bugs. About 400 digital devices have been distributed to listeners to try the service in areas where the signal emitted by temporary test antennas could reach.

"We were planning on launching all capital cities together but our antenna builders couldn't get all five antennas up for January 1. They said it will be ready in April, so we set the launch for May," says Joan Warner, chief executive of Commercial Radio Australia.

Warner had hoped weather would not interfere with the permanent antenna installations and cause havoc with the work schedule of the three rigging teams in the country. Despite a $400 million investment, no additional teams were brought in from overseas where digital radio is already a reality, forcing the switch to the new technology to be delayed.

Nevertheless, she is excited about the switch-on date and is planning a multimillion-dollar advertising and education campaign to convince listeners to upgrade the estimated 45 million analog radios they have at home, in the car and at work.

"It's a massive infrastructure build," she says. "[The delay] is not the end of the world. The services will be gradually turned on before May. Consumers will know about it by the end of the campaign. The good thing is we didn't build up consumers' expectations for December, so they are not rushing to the stores and getting disappointed. We will tell our listeners when we're ready and make the content so compelling they will want to change."

Jeremy Macvean, head of digital strategy at Austereo, owner of Triple M and 2Day-Fox FM doesn't expect massive take-up in the first six months following the launch but believes the switch is inevitable and the best thing to happen to commercial radio since the advent of FM.

"My enthusiasm for digital radio is increasing each day as our content plans are developed and we think of the possibilities," he says.

Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde is unmoved by the excitement. He's been waiting for digital radio to become reality since being shown a demonstration by European operators in Sydney in 1986.

Budde is doubtful digital radio is going to make a big impact in people's lives, given the arrival of internet radio, podcasting and vodcasting in the interim.

"I'm not against the technology," he says. "Obviously radio has to be digitalised, I just can't see how it can be monetised and the financial crisis is only taking gadgets like that further away from consumers' minds.

"Of course there will be a few thousand early adopters but very rapidly it will peter out and then how are you going to get the other millions to convert?"

Meanwhile hardware manufacturers are working on dual band (FM and DAB+) radio receivers for all tastes, including large ones for the home or office, pocket-size MP3-capable devices, factory installed and after-market in-car units, mobile phones with built- in digital receivers and adaptors for existing in-car GPS units.

Warner says there will always be sceptics but she is sure the technology will succeed when it's finally switched on. And with no switch-off date for the existing service yet set by the Federal Government, it is likely listeners will have some 20 years to upgrade their analog radios.

On the Digital Radio Menu
* CD-quality sound
* Pause, rewind and fast-forward function
* Text-based information
* Static pictures
* Traffic and weather updates
* Name of songs and artists
* Electronic program guides
* Links to websites
* Advertiser and promotional info including coupons/tickets
* Music download button (internet capable devices)

November 23, 2008: After a banner year for live Southern Soul music in 2007, the options for Southern Soul Thanksgiving concerts are fewer for Turkey Day 2008, reflecting the tougher economic times.

Last year, in the roughly ten-day period surrounding Thanksgiving, the roster of major Southern Soul performers appearing at various live venues included:

Robert "The Duke" Tillman (after a long absence), Pat Cooley, Lil' Fallay, J. T. Watkins, Carl Marshall, Willie Clayton, Patrick Green, Lebrado, O. B. Buchana, Dave Mack, Wilson Meadows, Andre Lee, Terry Wright, Billy "Soul" Bonds, J. Blackfoot, Ms. Jody, Larry Milton, Karen Brown, David Brinston, Sweet Angel, O. T. Sykes, Pat Brown & Sorrento Ussery.

The contrast with this year's line-up of live music is stark.

Unless you count last Friday's (11-21-08) two concerts, which are already over (Wilson Meadows, Carl Marshall, Betty Padgett, Ricky White and Lil' Fallay), only Lebrado and Pat Brown perform until Dave Mack and L. J. Echols queue it up on Friday, December 5th, over a week after Thanksgiving.

Here's a list of Southern Soul Thanksgiving concerts for 2008, barring any last-minute entries:

10 pm, Friday, November 21, 2008. Couples Entertainment Center, Jackson, Mississippi. Grown Folks Juke Joint Tour. Wilson Meadows, Carl Marshall, Betty Padgett, Ricky White. 601-500-0667.

Sunday, November 23, 2008. Dupis Center, 1212 E. Point Des Mouton Rd., Lafayette Louisiana. Lil' Fallay, Buckwheat Zydeco, and more.

Thursday, November 27, Thanksgiving Night, 2008. L. T. Miller Community Center, Yazoo City, Mississippi (north of Jackson on Hwy #49). Lebrado. 662-571- 0054 or 662-571-1098.

10 pm, Friday, November 28, 2008. Couples Entertainment Center, 4511 Byrd Drive, Jackson, Mississippi. Holiday Kick-Off. Pat Brown & Millenium Band and more. Free food and drinks 8-10 pm. 601- 500-0667 or 601-720-4760.

December 5, 2008. VFW, Hazlehurst, Mississippi (50+ miles south of Jackson on I-55). Big Blues Economy Concert. Dave Mack, L. J. Echols, and more. 956-369- 2597.

By comparison, here's a list of Southern Soul stars appearing onstage over roughly the same Thanksgiving period in 2007:

10 pm, Thursday, November 22, 2007. Malibu Bay, Terry, Mississippi (14 miles south of Jackson on I-55.) Robert "The Duke" Tillman Tour (first of three nights). Malibu Bay appearance Thursday only. 601-948-5835.

8 pm, Friday, November 23, 2007. Charles Evers E & E Park, Jackson, Mississippi. Holiday Blues Kick-Off. Pat Cooley, Carl Marshall, Lil' Fallay, J. T. Watkins. 601-948-5835.

10 pm, Friday, November 23, 2007. Couples Entertainment Center, Jackson, Mississippi. Big Holiday Kick-Off. Willie Clayton, Patrick Green. 601- 500-0667.

9 pm, Friday, November 23, 2007. Elks Club, Brookhaven, Mississippi (south of Jackson on I-55). Robert "The Duke" Tillman. 601-948-5835.

Friday, November 23 and Saturday, November 24, 2007. New Orleans, Louisiana. Varous engagements by Dorothy Moore. Friday, 2 pm, Louisiana Music Factory store (504-586-1094). Friday, 9:30 pm, Old Point Bar, Algiers (504-364-0950). Saturday, 9:30 pm, Ernie K- Doe shrine, Mother-In-Law Lounge, Treme neighborhood (504-947-1078).

Saturday, November 24, 2007. Central City Complex, 609 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive, Jackson, Mississippi. Sagittarius Birthday Blow-Out. Wilson Meadows, Terry Wright, Andre Lee. 601-352-9075.

Saturday, November 24, 2007. C & D's Place (formerly American Legion Post), Edwards, Mississippi (west Jackson). Lebrado. 601-813-6417 or 601-709-6090.

Saturday, November 24, 2007. Elks Club, Canton, Mississippi (north Jackson). Robert "The Duke" Tillman. 601-948-5835.

10 pm, Saturday, November 24, 2007. L. T. Miller Community Center, Yazoo City, Mississippi (northwest of Jackson on Hwy 49). After-Thanksgiving Blues Show. O. B. Buchana, Dave Mack. Host: DJ Ragman. 662-590-6004.

9:30 pm, Friday, November 30, 2007. Anderson Lodge, Canton, Mississippi (north Jackson). Benefit Blues Show For Tommy Tate (co-writer of Cicero Blake's "School Of Life"). Host: DJ Ragman. Billy "Soul" Bonds. 601-613-1085.

9 pm, Saturday, December 1, 2007. Mr. B's Restaurant & Lounge, Jackson, Mississippi. Host: DJ Ragman. J. Blackfoot, Ms. Jody, Larry Milton, Karen Brown. 601- 502-3365.

9 pm, Saturday, December 1, 2007. The Boss Club, 912 Jackson Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. The Pre- Christmas Ultimate Experience Tour 2007. Sweet Angel, O. T. Sykes. 901-246-7545.

7 pm, Sunday, December 2, 2007. E & E Blues Lounge, 2605 Robinson Road, Jackson, Mississippi. Tricky Dick's Birthday Party. David Brinston, Pat Brown, Sorrento Ussery.

--Daddy B. Nice

Silky Sol, a new and innovative sound on the Southern Soul/Blues scene, has been mesmerizing audiences nationwide with her tantalizing vocal style. Silky's show-stopping performances and dymanic stage presence brings the unique combination of R&B, Pop, Jazz, Neo-Soul, Disco, Funk and Gospel to the stage with a flava like no other Diva! Inspired by her mother, gospel singing sensation Ruby Summerville Dickson, Silky Sol continues to gain public acclaim as one of the most captivating performers in the nation! Her superb performing talent earned the respect of producer Narda Michael Waldon, who gave her the name, Silky Sol; describing her style as "Soulful yet Sexy and Sultry but Strong!

" For booking please contact her manager, Marcus Allen, at (314)922-9474.

Aretha Franklin, the long-reigning Queen of Soul, is a benevolent and generous monarch. On top of every other accolade that's been laid at her feet over the last half-century, a prestigious collective of musicians, writers and music industry heavyweights just placed her at the top of Rolling Stone magazine's ranking of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

Another singer might have incorporated that bit of news into her introduction. Or she could have humbly basked in the ovation it surely would have generated had she mentioned it Saturday during the second of two nights at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.

Instead, she launched this rare Southland club appearance with a tacit salute to a few of the other estimable voices in pop music, opening with Jackie Wilson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher." She subsequently offered up Curtis Mayfield's exquisite "Something He Can Feel" and her signature version of Otis Redding's "Respect" and then saluted rock and funk pioneer Sly Stone with a medley of "I Want to Take You Higher" and "Dance to the Music." But just like so many geopolitical monarchs, whatever she touched became her own.

Scholars and barflies will happily continue to debate whether Franklin is "better" than Elvis, whether Ray Charles should only have finished at No. 2 and why the heck Louis Armstrong didn't even make the list -- it's all academic. By any measure, Franklin, 66, is simply one of the treasures of our age.