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Queen Latifah Inks Deal for Fragrance!
July 3, 2008 - Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah has signed a deal to create her own signature perfume for Florida-based Parlux Fragrances, E! Online reports. The product should be on the market by fall 2009. |
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John Legend Honoured as Humanitarian
 July 7, 2008 - Famous R&B singer, pianist and composer John Legend is not only an accomplished musician (winner of 5 Grammy Awards), but he is also known to serve various humanitarian causes. More.
Long Beach Jazz Festival
 July 7, 2008 - The 21st edition of Long Beach Festival will take place August 8th, 9th and 10th in Long Beach. The festival will host an amazing line-up of contemporary Jazz artists. More. |
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In a statement, the artist born Dana Owens says, "For me, beauty really does start on the inside. It's like a state of mind -- a state of love, if you will ... Scent expresses a woman's confidence and sensuality. It's how she embraces her body, her mind and her strength."
Latifah is currently the face of weight-loss company Jenny Craig's television campaign.
On the big screen, Latifah has already appeared this year in Mad Money and What Happens In Vegas. Her next screen appearance will likely be in The Secret Life Of Bees, which also stars Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Sophie Okonedo, and Dakota Fanning. Her most recent CD is the Grammy-nominated Trav'lin' Light. - By Akbar Nour
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Robin Thicke Juggles Cats With Ease
 July 7, 2008 – Robin Thicke likes to multi-task. So much so that the singer says as well as a new CD, he’s also writing a movie score, a novel, a screenplay and his first poetry book. More.
Al Jarreau Ready with New CD
 July 5, 2008 - Seven time Grammy Award-winning vocalist and composer Al Jarreau is currently working on his next solo album, after his most recent musical work “Love songs” (a collection of some of his classics with covers of other favourites) came out in January 2008. More. |
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Queen Latifah: The Rapping
Jazz Queen is back!
 October
2, 2007 - Queen
Latifah became famous as one of the first
female rappers to break onto the stage with the
album All Hail the Queen (1989). Since then she
has turned to a successful multi-faceted entertainer,
becoming an Oscar nominated actress and a soulful
jazz singer. She did her first steps in the jazz
sphere in 2004, when she released her first album
under her real name (The Dana Owens Album), Dana
Owens, better known as Queen
Latifah, did not rap, but sang various blues,
soul and jazz standards, surrounded by an amazing
cast of jazz giants including Arif and Joe Mardin,
Herbie Hanccok, Vinnie Colaiuta and John Patitucci. More below.
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Beyonce Gets £500,000 for One Show
 July 3, 2008 – What would you do with £500,000? Maybe buy a dream home? Help a downtrodden charity or you could go really nuts and hire Beyonce? That’s right, for a measly £500,000 you could have Beyonce all to yourself – well kind of. More.
Queen Latifah Inks Deal for Fragrance!
July 3, 2008 - Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah has signed a deal to create her own signature perfume for Florida-based Parlux Fragrances, E! Online reports. The product should be on the market by fall 2009. More. |
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And
three years later, The Queen is back with her
second jazz-oriented album "Trav'lin'Light',
due to be released September 25, 2007 on Verve
Records. She again takes the same successful
recipe she used for her debut album: singing
standards with her warm vocals, helped by a
bunch of great artists: piano and keyboard pioneers
George Duke and Joe Sample, bossa nova famous
guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, experienced guitarist
Paul Jackson Jr, drum master Abraham Laboriel
Jr, famous bassist Christian McBride and eventually
legendary Stevie Wonder's harmonica on one track
of the album.
Furthermore,
the album has been produced by three-time Grammy
winner Tommy LiPuma and Grammy-nominated producer
and Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair. It has been
engineered by 15-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt.
With such big names, Dana Owens has raised the
bar even higher than her successful debut album.
If you want to see the Queen perform live, she
will be touring in various American cities, starting
on September 29,2007 in Dallas. For more information: www.queenlatifah.com By Akbar Nour,
Smoothjazznow.com's Contributing Editor |
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Queen
Latifah Stays With Jazz
 August
21, 2007 - The follow up to "The Dana
Owens Album" will be another Jazz affair
for Queen
Latifah. The successful actress/singer
will release "Trav'lin' Light" on
September 25th. Latifah says the new album
gives props to her favourite singers of the
past, including Peggy Lee, Nina Simone, Sarah
Vaughn, Mary Wells and Roberta Flack. The
singer who named her debut album after her
real name Dana Owens recently spoke out about
insane diets in Hollywood adding that she
was perfectly happy being a plus size performer.
"Trav'lin" will include some of
her high profile friends including, Jill Scott,
Erykah Badu, Joe Sample, George Duke, Christian
McBride and Stevie Wonder. "Trav'lin'
Light" is produced by music legend Tommy
LiPuma and Ron Fair and will be released on
the Jazz label Verve. Latifah was recently
featured in the new hit film "Hairspray."-
by Kari Graham
Smooth
Jazz Nominees at the Grammys
 December
8, 2004 - Looks like the sun won't set any
time soon on Norah
Jones. The singer was nominated for five
Grammys yesterday including nods for Pop Vocal
Album and Female Pop Vocal for her second
CD "Feels Like Home." The late Ray
Charles was another multiple nominee with
seven (his album had 10 nominations) and the
biggest artist heard on Smooth Jazz radio
was Alicia
Keys with eight nominations. Read
more.
Queen
Latifah 1 Nomination
- Best Jazz Vocal
Album - - The Dana Owens Album
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