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Sullivan Fortner – Solo Piano Live in Tokyo

Sullivan Fortner – Solo Piano Live in Tokyo

Fresh off three Grammy nominations at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, celebrated jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner returns to Japan for a one-night-only solo performance at COTTON CLUB Tokyo.
Known for his dazzling technique, soulful touch, and genre-crossing brilliance, Fortner has collaborated with legends like Cécile McLorin Salvant, Roy Hargrove, and Samara Joy—whose Grammy-winning 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Me' features his playing. A former protégé of Fred Hersch, Fortner is now widely regarded as one of the most important jazz pianists of his generation.
This intimate solo set will showcase music from his acclaimed two-disc project Solo Game and Wildflowers Vol.1 (with Kurt Elling), alongside selections from his latest album Southern Nights, which blends jazz with R&B classics by Allen Toussaint and Bill Lee.
Whether you're a jazz purist or a newcomer to the scene, this is a rare opportunity to experience the full range of Fortner's expressive, storytelling pianism—live and up close.
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As Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour draws to a close, Blue Ivy emerges as a star
As Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour draws to a close, Blue Ivy emerges as a star

Japan Today

time2 hours ago

  • Japan Today

As Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour draws to a close, Blue Ivy emerges as a star

In this photo provided by Olivia Ellis, she wears a custom corset top that she painted to one of Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' tour performances at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., May 25, 2025. (Olivia Ellis via AP) By SARAH JONES-SMITH 'Who they came to see?' Beyoncé asks as she performs her 2023 single 'My House' during the Cowboy Carter tour. For many, the answer has been Blue Ivy. Blue Ivy Carter, the Grammy-winning artist's 13-year-old daughter, is more present than ever on stage, and fans are impressed by the growth from her first performance years ago to now. Isabella Kerr, 15, has admired Beyoncé for years, but said she attended the Cowboy Carter tour specifically to experience Blue Ivy's moves in person. 'People are saying, 'Oh, she's a mini Beyoncé,' but no, I think she's the first Blue. Everything about her when she's on stage is electrifying,' said Kerr. The Cowboy Carter tour concludes Saturday in Las Vegas. The tour's 30 previously stops have fans buzzing that Blue Ivy is well on her way to being a next generation powerhouse. Blue first graced the stage at 11 years old during her mother's 2023 Renaissance tour, appearing during the legacy-celebrating anthems 'My Power' and 'Black Parade.' Supporters anticipated her performance at each stop. She performed again during 'Beyoncé Bowl,' the NFL Christmas Day Halftime Show that was just nominated for four Emmy Awards. She danced alongside the icon as she performed songs from the 'Cowboy Carter' album for the first time. 'Even the difference between the Renaissance Tour and now, you can tell she's really grown in her confidence,' said fan and artist Olivia Ellis. 'You can tell she has a different vibe about her.' On the Cowboy Carter tour, she can almost be mistaken for one of Beyoncé's professional dancers. She is on stage for nearly every song and has a solo recreating her mother's choreography from her 2006 'Déjà-vu' music video, a nod to the undeniable similarities between the two. Online videos of Blue display professionalism comparable to her mother's during the Cowboy Carter tour. During a rainy New Jersey stop, she brought out towels to dry her area of the stage before nailing her 'America Has a Problem' choreography. In another unexpected moment during a Chicago show, her earring got caught on Beyoncé's hair. Blue remained calm, removed the jewelry and motioned to the singer that it was safe in her hand as they both seamlessly continued. 'It's the family business,' said Kinitra D. Brooks, an academic and author of 'The Lemonade Reader,' a collection that explores the nuances of Beyoncé's 2016 visual album, 'Lemonade.' 'She is literally studying under the best person doing it out there today. Why wouldn't she take advantage of that opportunity?' In 'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,' fans were given a behind-the-scenes look at the decision-making process the first time Blue was allowed to perform. Beyoncé expressed how nervous she was about her child being in front of thousands of people made her, revealing she initially said no. 'I did not think it was an appropriate place for an 11-year-old on a stadium stage,' she said in the documentary. 'I made a deal with her, and I said, 'If you practice and you show your commitment, I'll let you do one show.'' Blue Ivy fulfilled her end of the deal, and a fan base was formed: the 'Ivy League.' Kerr says Blue's accomplishments inspire her to work harder to achieve her own dreams. 'She worked to be on stage, and look at her now. If I work to what I want to be, I can be killing it like her.' At last month's Cowboy Carter Paris stop, members of the Beyhive and Ivy League finally got what they had been asking for — Blue Ivy merchandise. Shirts with the teen's face and the phrase 'Déjà Blue' plastered on the front were available for purchase. Prior to that, fans were creating their own custom pieces that highlighted Blue and Beyoncé's connection. At the MetLife Stadium show, Ellis wore a custom corset top she painted, showcasing Blue Ivy and her 8-year-old sister, Rumi Carter, on stage with Beyoncé during 'Protector,' a track from the 'Cowboy Carter' album that Rumi is featured on. 'I thought that would just be a really fun moment to highlight on a corset,' she said. 'It's just really cool to see her as a mom because we've all grown up with Beyoncé, and now it's like her show is kind of like a family affair.' Blue Ivy's confidence and professionalism are not only a testament to her hard work, but Beyoncé's motherhood. Mother-daughter duos around the globe filled stadium seats, excited to watch Beyoncé and her daughter display their strong bond for the world to see. In many cases, the mothers have been Beyoncé fans for years and are excited for their daughters to grow up with Blue Ivy, a high-flyer for their generation. Tanazha Baylis took her now 11-year-old daughter, Aria Brown, to the Renaissance tour, where she did not miss a beat dancing along to Blue Ivy's 'My Power' choreography. Brown was so determined to attend the Cowboy Carter Tour that she started selling popular toys, such as slime and Squishmallows, and saving her money. 'She literally was like, 'Mom, I don't know what you're going to do, but I have to go to this concert,'' said Baylis. 'I just had to make it happen after that.' Brown became a Beyoncé fan after participating in a dance recital with a theme centered around the superstar's career throughout the years. Baylis, who says she has always been a big fan, is happy to share these experiences with her daughter. 'It just showed her a cool mom and daughter, and it's just something that she can do as well. Beyoncé is a little older but, with seeing Blue there, it made it tangible for her.' Although there is no solid answer for what the future holds for Blue Ivy, it is widely recognized that the possibilities are limitless. 'We couldn't imagine that Beyoncé would do all of these things that she could do. All we saw were people trying to put limitations on her,' said Brooks. 'I think one of the things that Beyoncé wants us to do and what she wants for Blue is for us to not put those limitations on Blue.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Jazz Legend Chuck Mangione, Known for ‘Feels So Good,' Dies at 84
Jazz Legend Chuck Mangione, Known for ‘Feels So Good,' Dies at 84

Yomiuri Shimbun

timea day ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Jazz Legend Chuck Mangione, Known for ‘Feels So Good,' Dies at 84

NEW YORK (AP) — Two-time Grammy Award-winning musician Chuck Mangione, who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-flavored single 'Feels So Good' and later became a voice actor on the animated TV comedy 'King of the Hill,' has died. He was 84. Mangione died at his home in Rochester, New York, on Tuesday in his sleep, said his attorney, Peter S. Matorin of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. The musician had been retired since 2015. Perhaps his biggest hit — 'Feels So Good' — is a staple on most smooth-jazz radio stations and has been called one of the most recognized melodies since 'Michelle' by the Beatles. It hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Billboard adult contemporary chart. 'It identified for a lot of people a song with an artist, even though I had a pretty strong base audience that kept us out there touring as often as we wanted to, that song just topped out there and took it to a whole other level,' Mangione told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2008. He followed that hit with 'Give It All You Got,' commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, and he performed it at the closing ceremony. Mangione, a flugelhorn and trumpet player and jazz composer, released more than 30 albums during a career in which he built a sizable following after recording several albums, doing all the writing. He won his first Grammy Award in 1977 for his album 'Bellavia,' which was named in honor of his mother. Another album, 'Friends and Love,' was also Grammy-nominated, and he earned a best original score Golden Globe nomination and a second Grammy for the movie 'The Children of Sanchez.' Mangione introduced himself to a new audience when he appeared on the first several seasons of 'King of the Hill,' appearing as a commercial spokesman for Mega Lo Mart, where 'shopping feels so good.' Mangione, brother of jazz pianist Gap Mangione, with whom he partnered in The Jazz Brothers, started his career as a bebop jazz musician heavily inspired by Dizzy Gillespie. 'He also was one of the first musicians I saw who had a rapport with the audience by just telling the audience what he was going to play and who was in his band,' Mangione told the Post-Gazette. Mangione earned a bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music — where he would eventually return as director of the school's jazz ensemble — and left home to play with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He donated his signature brown felt hat and the score of his Grammy-winning single 'Feels So Good,' as well as albums, songbooks and other ephemera from his long and illustrious career to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2009.

Jazz legend Chuck Mangione, known for 'Feels So Good,' dies at 84
Jazz legend Chuck Mangione, known for 'Feels So Good,' dies at 84

Japan Today

timea day ago

  • Japan Today

Jazz legend Chuck Mangione, known for 'Feels So Good,' dies at 84

By MARK KENNEDY Two-time Grammy Award-winning musician Chuck Mangione, who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-flavored single 'Feels So Good' and later became a voice actor on the animated TV comedy 'King of the Hill,' has died. He was 84. Mangione died at his home in Rochester, New York, on Tuesday in his sleep, said his attorney, Peter S. Matorin of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. The musician had been retired since 2015. Perhaps his biggest hit — 'Feels So Good' — is a staple on most smooth-jazz radio stations and has been called one of the most recognized melodies since 'Michelle' by the Beatles. It hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Billboard adult contemporary chart. 'It identified for a lot of people a song with an artist, even though I had a pretty strong base audience that kept us out there touring as often as we wanted to, that song just topped out there and took it to a whole other level,' Mangione told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2008. He followed that hit with 'Give It All You Got,' commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, and he performed it at the closing ceremony. Mangione, a flugelhorn and trumpet player and jazz composer, released more than 30 albums during a career in which he built a sizable following after recording several albums, doing all the writing. He won his first Grammy Award in 1977 for his album 'Bellavia,' which was named in honor of his mother. Another album, 'Friends and Love,' was also Grammy-nominated, and he earned a best original score Golden Globe nomination and a second Grammy for the movie 'The Children of Sanchez.' Mangione introduced himself to a new audience when he appeared on the first several seasons of 'King of the Hill,' appearing as a commercial spokesman for Mega Lo Mart, where 'shopping feels so good.' Mangione, brother of jazz pianist Gap Mangione, with whom he partnered in The Jazz Brothers, started his career as a bebop jazz musician heavily inspired by Dizzy Gillespie. 'He also was one of the first musicians I saw who had a rapport with the audience by just telling the audience what he was going to play and who was in his band,' Mangione told the Post-Gazette. Mangione earned a bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music — where he would eventually return as director of the school's jazz ensemble — and left home to play with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He donated his signature brown felt hat and the score of his Grammy-winning single 'Feels So Good,' as well as albums, songbooks and other ephemera from his long and illustrious career to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2009. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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