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Mindi Abair's Strong Friendship with Adam Sandler
July 1, 2008 - Friendship means a lot for talented female saxophonist, vocalist and composer, Mindi Abair. More below. |
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Jay Soto in Concert to Support HIV-AIDS
 July 1, 2008 - Guitarist Jay Soto will perform live at the “First Annual Night of Jazz and Fashion on August 30, 2008 at the Hermosa Beach Community Theatre, in Hermosa Beach, California. More.
Stevie Wonder Supporting Barack Obama
 June 30, 2008 - In a recent concert in New York Stevie Wonder confirmed his support to the Democrats' Presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama. Read More. |
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Mindi Abair Comes Back with “Stars”
May 8, 2008 – It’s easy to call Mindi Abair a crossover artist. She’s a composer, saxophonist and a talented vocalist – Pop stardom could be just around the corner. More Below.
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Elton John Say’s Sorry to His Ex-Wife
 June 26, 2008 – Oh, this was the stuff made for movies. Elton John, who most people in the industry knew was gay, marries a woman. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew the whole thing was a sham. More.
Wayman Tisdale Rebounds from Cancer
 June 27, 2008 - Wayman Tisdale is back and has rebounded from bone cancer which was diagnosed last year. In February 2007, after breaking his leg in his home, further tests discovered bone cancer. More |
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Do You Want Janet Jackson Designing Your Daughter’s Clothes?
 June 29, 2008 – Janet Jackson wants to be a fashion designer. The famous "wardrobe malfunction" singer might be forgetting that we haven’t forgotten Super Bowl 38 in 2004. More.
Leona Lewis Sexiest Vegetarian of 2008
 June 26, 2008 – Sure, winning a Grammy is cool but being Sexiest Vegetarian has to be a close second. Leona Lewis and Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer, Anthony Keidis, have just received the honor or curious distinction from PETA.More. |
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Mindi Abair's Strong Friendship with Adam Sandler
June 27, 2008 - Friendship means a lot for talented female saxophonist, vocalist and composer, Mindi Abair. Famous comic Adam Sandler was just awarded for his screen antics with the 2008 MTV Generation Award two weeks ago. Abair, who recently toured in Russia for two concerts, did not hesitate to fly back to Los Angeles at short notice and performed at her long-time friend's live performance at the MTV Award show.
Before establishing herself as a successful solo musician in 2003, Abair toured as a backing musician in the mid-90s with various artists: Bobby Lyle, John Tesh, Teena Marie, The Backstreet Boys, Mandy Moore, Duran Duran, Jonathan Butler and obviously Adam Sandler.
When talking of touring with Sandler, the crossover musician declared, "I have to say that's the most fun tour ever, he hired all these amazing musicians, like Waddy Wachtel on guitar, and we played these crazy songs that I could tell you the names of here if you could print them. These songs were so funny, so we didn't have to take ourselves too seriously. We had a ball. I think the only reason we rehearsed was so we wouldn't crack up during the whole thing." (...)" And the audiences loved it."
Mindi Abair's latest album "Stars" (released on May 6th for Peak Records) is the follow up to her 2006 CD "Life Less Ordinary" which debuted on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart at #1; and spawned three #1 hit singles on Radio & Records. Her debut CD, It Just Happens That Way, stayed in the Top 10 for 19 consecutive weeks, and she was named the #1 most played Contemporary Jazz CD of 2003 by Jazz Week.
Her mix of Pop and Jazz with a little soul thrown in is doing very well in Smooth Jazz charts, as her instrumental single "Smile" (drawn from "Stars") is currently charting in the top 20 of the R&R Smooth Jazz chart.
For more information: www.mindiabair.com - By Akbar Nour |
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Mindi Abair Comes Back with “Stars”
 May 8, 2008 – It’s easy to call Mindi Abair a crossover artist. She’s a composer, saxophonist and a talented vocalist – Pop stardom could be just around the corner. More Below. Five of the tunes on her new “Stars” album are vocals but for now it’s the instrumental “Smile” that’s charting in the top 20 of the R&R Smooth Jazz chart. The album features keyboardist Ricky Peterson (John Mayer, Prince) drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Paul McCartney, Sting) and cellist Richard Dodd (Faith Hill, Foo Fighters.) STARS is the follow up to Abair’s 2006 CD “Life Less Ordinary,” which debuted on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart at #1 and spawned three #1 hit singles on Radio & Records. – by John Beaudin
Chris
Botti Gives Chill Hosting Duties to Mindi Abair
April
24, 2007 - It seems we can't get enough of Mindi
Abair and there's more coming. The saxophonist
has been slated as the new host of Chris
Botti's Chill program. The popular show
syndicated by Rendezvous Entertainment and Smooth
Jazz Consultants Broadcast Architecture has
been hosted by Botti since September 2004. Chill
with Mindi
Abair will debut at the beginning of May
2007 and feature the same mix of music including
artists like Praful and Moby. - by Kari Graham
Smooth
Jazz Music News
July
5, 2005 - Mindi
Abair and Greg Jasperse will perform at the Smooth
Jazz at Sunset Jazz Festival in St. Joseph,
Michigan on July 9th, 2005. -
by Cheryl
Philips
Little
Smooth Jazz Extras
June
6, 2005 - Hidden extras appear to be one
of the ways many Smooth Jazz artists are
rewarding their loyal fans, according to smoothvibes.com.
Some of the hidden gems found on the latest
Smooth Jazz offerings are guitarist Chuck Loeb's untitled jazz/funk track
after the last official song on the album
"When I'm With You." Chieli
Minucci's four hidden interludes which
can be heard on his latest only if the album
is played in order without skipping any
tracks, and Mindy
Abair's tribute to Cannonball Adderly
from her album "Come As You Are",
titled "26 Hemenway" (a reference
to her address during her time at Boston's
Berkelee College of Music). - By Cheryl
Philips
Mindi
Abair Remembers Everyone Screwing Up Her
Name
December
15, 2004 - After the success of her debut
album "It Just Happens That Way"
broadcasters and fans alike are finally
on the same page concerning Mindi
Abair's name. So in the beginning did
everyone screw up the pronunciation ? "Oh
yes, all the time," says the saxophonist,
'I've gotten 'Aburr' or 'ah bear' but as
you know it's pronounced "A" (as
in the letter A) bear." In Smooth Jazz
she's not alone everyone from Ivan Lins, Praful and Chieli
Minucci have had their names butchered
by well meaning fans. Abair told Smooth
Jazz Now, "You know no one knew how
to say my name at first and at a certain
point we were all laughing about it because
absolutely no one got it right," she
said laughing. "So people at the label
decided to send out a press release and
phonetically tell people how to pronounce
it and it worked." Abair's new album
is "Come As You Are," she is our
"Artist of the Month," read
part two of our interview here. Also
enter to win Mindi Abair albums on our contest
page.
Mindi
Abair - "Artist of the Month"
On Smooth Jazz Now
December
1, 2004 - Mindi
Abair is spreading Christmas cheer on
the road with Peter
White and Rick
Braun this month on White's annual holiday
tour. Abair says she's developed a real
fondness for the English guitarist, "I
love Peter
White. I did the Christmas tour with
him last year and it was just Peter and
me and it was a blast and he joked that
we were the Regis and Kelly of Jazz,"
she says with a laugh. "He has this
dry wit and I have a very quirky side so
we have so much fun together and to add Rick Braun to the mix is wonderful." Mindi Abair
is our "Artist of the Month" for
December. Read
our interview.
Mindi
Abair Doesn't Believe in the Sophomore Slump
November
11, 2004 - With the tremendous success of
her first album "It Just Happens That
Way," we wondered if Mindi
Abair felt a little pressure releasing
her follow up "Come As You Are?"
"Well, you know I'm not one for that
sophomore jinx," says Abair. In fact
the saxophonist told Smooth Jazz Now that
she didn't feel the pressure with the first
one either, "If I would have been really
worried about what people thought it (the
first album) probably would have been a
very different CD," says Abair. It
would have been easy for her to record a
carbon copy of her first hit "Lucy's"
but that didn't even enter her mind, "I
didn't want to repeat myself and I see artists
who get a chance to make a second CD and
basically they make the same album over
again and that's no fun for me." Abair
says, "I'm such a fan of artists who
just go out and do their own thing, the
artists who don't worry if radio will play
it. If you look at people like Ricky Lee
Jones who really did her own thing and she
was brilliant. Miles Davis for instance
took so much flack because lots of his records
were so different. I think it's important
to play it the way that you hear it and
if people like it that's awesome. So I thought
that way on my first record and I certainly
thought that way on my second CD." Read
our interview from October 2004.
Mindi
Abair Urges Everyone To Vote
November
2, 2004 - Mindi
Abair will be voting today and she hopes
that all other Americans will do the same.
It's the Presidential election and Abair
has a message to the folks who just like
to bitch, "You can criticize as much
as you want but if you're not part of the
process like you're allowed to be then you
shouldn't complain." Abair who will
be the Smooth Jazz Now "Artist of the
Month" for December told us, "I
think it is all together so important to
be a part of your countries decision making
process," Adding, "I think you're
shooting yourself in the foot if you don't
take it upon yourself to speak your mind."
The saxophonist has been approached by various
radio stations to urge Americans to show
up at the polls. Abair has just released
her new album "Come As You Are"
and plans to join Peter
White on his Christmas tour starting
at the end of the month. Look for our interview
with Mindi Abair coming soon.
Peter
White Shares His Christmas Spirit With Mindi
Abair & Rick Braun
 October
22, 2004 - Peter
White will be up to his usual holiday
merrymaking this November and December and
he's keeping pretty good company again.
The guitarist will be rejoined by Saxophonist Mindi Abair and Rick
Braun is also in the fold. The Peter
White Christmas tour will stop in 18 U.S.
cities kicking off in San Diego, California
on November 26th. All three artists have
previously released holiday CDs, White says
"My earliest memories of Christmas
were probably not much different from many
other people: snowflakes, tinsel, Santa
Claus, reindeer and the opening of presents
surrounded by family. As a child, my father
taught me to play Christmas music on my
first instrument, the recorder, and my love
for holiday music has endured throughout
the years. I hope this tour will be an opportunity
for fans to enjoy their favorite Christmas
songs in a family setting. Perhaps I'll
even bring my recorder." Mindi Abair
will be our "Artist Of The Month"
for December.
| The
itinerary for A Peter White Christmas
concert tour is below (additional
dates may be added): |
November
26 San Diego, CA Spreckles
November 27 Incline Village, NV Hyatt
Regency Lake Tahoe at Incline Village
November 28 Fresno, CA Tower Theatre
December 1 Jacksonville, FL Florida
Theatre
December 2 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd
Hall
December 3 Destin, FL Sandestin Golf
& Beach Resort
December 4 Atlanta, GA Robert Ferst
Center for the Arts
December 6 Stuart, FL Lyric Theatre
December 7 Annapolis, MD Rams Head
Tavern
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December
8 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
December 9 West Reading, PA Scottish
Rite Cathedral
December 10 Huntington, NY IMAC
December 11 New Haven, CT John Lyman
Center/S. Connecticut State College
December 12 St. Charles, IL Norris
Arts Center
December 13 Milwaukee, WI Northern
Lights Theatre/Potawatomi Bingo Casino
December 15 Cleveland, OH Playhouse
Square Center Allen Theatre
December 18 Huntington Beach, CA Huntington
Beach Cultural Center (Mindi
Abair will not appear)
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Mindi
Abair Ready To Celebrate 'Come As You Are'
September
8, 2004 - Her new album will be in stores
on Tuesday and Mindi
Abair knows that keeping the momentum
going from her last hit album is top priority.
The saxophonist is set to release 'Come
As You Are' on GRP featuring a similar mix
of punchy sax tunes and three vocals. To
give the album an extra boost Abair is set
to party it up with some of the top Smooth
Jazz stations on the planet, KKSF
in San Francisco, KIFM
in San Diego and KSSJ in Sacramento.
Check below for dates and times. On 'Come As You Are' she again teams up
with producer/co-writer Matthew Hager. Also
listen for acoustic piano from Russell
Ferrante on 'New Shoes' which also features
her dad Lance Abair on tenor sax. Ricky
Petersen also adds some funky Wurlitzer
on 'High Five.' In
other news Abair had a cameo on the Drew
Carey Show last month playing, you guessed
it, a sax player in Mimi's "free Jazz"
band.
EXCLUSIVE
With Smooth Jazz Station KIFM
Where : Borders Carmel Mountain,
11160 Rancho Carmel Dr. San Diego,
CA
When: Tuesday, September 14th at
7:00PM
EXCLUSIVE
With Smooth Jazz Station KKSF
Where: Borders Mission Bay, 200
King Street San Francisco, CA
When: Sunday, September 17th at
5PM
EXCLUSIVE
With Smooth Jazz Station KSSJ
Where: Borders Sacramento 2339 Fair
Oaks Blvd. Sacramento, CA
When: Saturday, September 18th at
12:30PM |
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Mindi
Abair to Tour With Josh Groban This Summer
July
8, 2004 - The good life continues for Mindi
Abair. The saxophonist plans to tour
with singer Josh Groban and is debuting
music from her next album on the gigs. 'Come
As You Are' will be released September 14
on GRP following the success of 'It
Just Happens That Way' which featured the
huge hit 'Lucy's.' Abair studied at the
prestigious Berklee College of Music and
has toured with the Backstreet Boys, Duran
Duran and most recently with Peter
White. In April SAXX an upscale Jewelry
store on mainland China used Abair as their
image. She plans to design her own jewelry
for the store.
| Mindi
Abair (opening for Josh Groban) --
July/August 2004 |
July
18 Savvis Center St. Louis, MO
July 20 Kresge Auditorium Interlochen,
MI
July 22 Darien Lake Six Flags PAC
Buffalo, NY
July 25 Tweeter Waterfront Wachovia
Center Camden, NJ
July 27 Tweeter Center Boston, MA
July 28 Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
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July
30 Jones Beach Wantagh, NY
July 31 PNC Bank Arts Center Holmdel,
NJ
August 2 Nissan Pavilion Bristow,
VA
August 4 Post Gazette Pittsburgh,
PA
August 5 Germaine Amphitheater Columbus,
OH |
Mindi
Abair to Release "Save the Last Dance"
in February
January
20, 2004 - Mindi Abair's "It Just Happens
That Way" album certainly has legs!
The saxophonist is following the successful
hits, "Lucy's" and "Flirt"
with "Save the Last Dance" to
be released to radio February 6th. Abair
plans to keep the momentum going with work
on a new album, "I'm really excited
about the songs I've written for it so far,"
said Abair on her website www.mindiabair.com , "I may try out some of the new songs
at my concerts coming up." Also look
for Abair on Emeril's Valentines special
to be aired on February 14th. It will feature
the saxophonist jamming with Emeril's band.
Mindi Abair's hit "Lucy's" was
the number two song on Smooth
Jazz Now's year end chart and number
five on the R&R
list. Her album ranked number eight
on the Billboard
Contemporary Jazz list of 2003.
Your
Smooth Jazz Christmas CD's
September
23, 2003 - Remember when it was slim pickins'
for variety in Christmas music? Not that
long ago Christmas carols meant Bing Crosby,
Perry Como or Nat King Cole, not that there's
anything wrong with the classics. What music
brings us back to Christmas past better
than Cole singing Mel Torme's "Christmas
Song?" Well, for the last ten years
new Christmas music by contemporary acts
has flown off the shelves and every genre
in music has reaped the benefits. Even Jethro
Tull is releasing a holiday album! In Smooth
Jazz this year some of the 'A' list acts
to contribute include Saxophonist Mindi
Abair, Jim
Brickman, BWB and the Yellowjackets.
The latter is now available on the official Yellowjackets site www.yellowjackets.com but will be officially released October
7th titled, "Peace Round a Christmas
Celebration."(pictured Left) One dollar
from every sale will go to the Union Station
Foundation, an organization that provides
help for the homeless. Jim
Brickman releases his second Christmas
album "Peace" today. The title
track first single, a non Christmas song
featuring Collin Raye is already an A.C.
hit. Watch for our interview with Jim
Brickman coming soon. Verve will release
a traditional Jazz compilation from their
"For Lovers" series on November
21st. We will keep you updated on further
holiday albums.
Mindi
Abair Plans for Christmas
August
23, 2003 - New Sax sensation Mindi Abair
is in the studio working on a few Christmas
tunes. Abair is recording the two songs
with multi instrumentalist Matthew Hagar
who also played on her 'It Just Happened
That Way' album. The saxophonist says, "Matthew
and I co-wrote one of the songs. We also
got together with my band and recorded our
own version of John Lennon's "Happy
Christmas" as a tribute to him. Both
songs will be released to radio during the
holidays. Stay tuned at my site for the
latest on how to get the new tracks. We
think they came out great!" Abair has
the biggest Smooth Jazz hit in Canada so
far this year with 'Lucy's.' Hagar has also
worked with Mandy Moore, Midge Ure and Duran
Duran's John Taylor.
Mindi
Abair Drops to # 2 after Ten weeks On Top
May
21, 2003 - It's been a great run For Mindi
Abair on Smooth
Jazz Now's top 20 charts. Her "Lucy's"
single has been on top our countdown for
ten weeks until finally dropping to # 2
this week. The former sax player for the
Backstreet Boys and Mandy Moore has also
been at #1 on the U.S. R&R (Radio and
Records) charts for the past six weeks.
"Lucy" is the first single from
Abair's debut "It
Just Happens That Way." Check
out Mindi Abair's Tour Dates for May
and June.
May
24 - Pasadena, CA - Central Park
May 24 - San Diego, CA - Gas Lamp Quarter
May 25 - Las Vegas, NV - Spring Mtn. State
Park
May 31 - Columbia, MD - America's Jazzfest
May 31 - Richmond, VA - Innsbrook After
Hours
June 14 - Detroit, MI - V98.7 Smooth JazzFest
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