And very young he seemed to be at the time too – he looked about sixteen – and was, I now realise, probably either waiting to, or already studying music at the Dartington College of Arts at Plymouth University, which is effectively the only remaining link with the famous, and educationally progressive, Dartington Hall School (created by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst in 1926), which finally closed its doors in 1987.

Afterwards I wrote a short, and glowing, review of his playing (the food and wine got a mention too), a copy of which I sent to Johnny. I received back a charming letter saying no one had ever written about him like that before, and that he had some, I think, family connection with Stratford-upon-Avon.

Over the years I listened out for him and his playing, but heard nothing more – he just seemed to vanish off the radar, at least off my radar.

I got on with other things but often thought about his innovative playing and how it reminded me (the more I thought about it) of Tubby Hayes and less that of John Coltrane, which was a blessing as just about every young tenor player in the ’90s seemed to have been grafted off that giant of the internal musical monologue.

And then, when I was looking up stuff about the brilliant sax player Mornington Lockett, there was Johnny’s name linked with his, and that he’d actually played with Lockett in a two tenor band (the New Jazz Couriers) in 2005 in London – he’d also spent time studying under Lockett – but had, according to his own website (and how had I managed to miss that) been living and working in New Zealand since 1999, which would account for him going off my radar I suppose.

Okay, so had I paid more attention I should have known that Johnny Lippiett played with some of the best London based musicians, even becoming a finalist in the Young Jazz Musician of the Year Awards in 1996, before moving to New Zealand.

Lippiett, like Lockett, and an increasing number of young jazz musician, was determined to learn his art at the highest level, which included, in 1990, earning a Diploma of Jazz Studies from Chichester College, followed, in 1991, by a BTEC in Performing Arts from the same college. In 1997 he graduated from the aforementioned Dartington College of Arts in Plymouth with an Honours Degree in Music, which was followed, in 1998, with a post-graduate teaching diploma in jazz from the University of London. In 2006 he won his Mmus in saxophone performance from the New Zealand School of Music.

The man is, apart from being seriously gifted, also seriously qualified.

But all the time he was studying he was also learning the day to day craft of being a jazz musician, travelling widely in the US and Canada and playing with some of the finest names in North American jazz.

Johnny Lippiett now lives and works in New York.

by Steve Newman

Most young girls have a poster of Hannah Montana gracing their bedroom walls. The Hannah Montana Disney show which is her claim to fame, is known throughout most countries. But it appears that Miley wishes to spread her wings. She wishes to show the world that she has other talents other than simply playing the role of Hannah Montana for ever and a day. Miley Cyrus is now staring in a movie very different to her role as Hannah Montana. She does no singing within this movie and that is a shame indeed. While it is natural for a young woman to wish to spread her wings and prove herself in other areas, the world would be very saddened if they never heard Miley Cyrus sing again.

Quitting music to focus on acting alone would be such a shame. Miley Cyrus has the voice of an angel, a voice which has the potential to be one of the most famed voices in the world. Yet she wishes to throw this God given talent to the wind? Miley Cyrus has not even given herself the opportunity to see where her singing abilities could lead. Miley Cyrus has talent which her father also had, yet she has the ability to be so much more than he ever was. Her voice has such strength, her pitch and diction are excellent. A voice which is gentle yet holds such strength within. In vocal ability Miley Cyrus has it all. Her projection is perfect, her ability to mesmerize her audience is faultless.

Unfortunately for Miley Cyrus, being accepted into the adult acting world will be a battle. More so since she was a child star. When the fans of a child actor have basically grown up with that particular person, watched them day in day out, they shun the transition. They don’t wish to accept that that particular person can be anyone else other than, for instance, Hannah Montana. Unfortunately a host of wishful child stars, do not make it in the adult world.

Miley Cyrus has proved she can sing, act and write her own songs. She could be risking everything, fall along the wayside to be forgotten in a few years time. Her chances of success are very limited, we’ve all seen what happens to most child stars who try to make the transition to serious roles. Perchance she may never find the role which truly suits her persona. Or the worse case scenario could be that her success is short lived. How would she feel if her stardom was very short lived?

Fortunately for Miley Cyrus she has her musical abilities to fall back on. But she could simply be wasting her time. Perhaps her fans will turn away from her, disappointed and feeling that she has let them down. Disappointed that the child star they once loved so fiercely has basically walked on. Fans of child stars often refuse to accept their icons in any role other than the ones they fell in love with. They don’t wish for them to grow up, lose their cuteness and so forth. They go into denial and look for another child star to fill their needs. The fan base declines and so does the popularity.

Miley Cyrus will need to work twice as hard to prove herself, to gain new fans, ones which appreciate her as an adult. Music is known to be far more popular than movies. Perchance she needs to give a little more thought to her future before she moves into a totally new world.

Doolittle comes across as a very humble girl appreciative to the judges comments and yet to show A.I viewers that she is too big for her bridges, despite her being a fan favorite and that to me scores big points when I am choosing which contestant should go further in the competition. Also she somewhat has a edge on the other contestants (the exception of booted Idol Brandon Rogers) as a professional background singer which clearly shows Melinda knows how to use her voice, when to hit a certain note and more importantly, what particular song to sing that will accentuate her voice. Thanks to her already formal training, she knows what it takes to be a real singer and performer and being on a show such as American Idol will be almost a walk in the park for Doolittle.

But I also knows she is a very smart girl that will not become a one-trick pony for weeks to come; though she knows what song suits her voice best and how to move the audience; Doolittle also strikes me as a reserve and quiet girl that can surprise the audience with a song no one ever expect of her performing. She also has that likability factor and is a cute young woman which doesn’t hurt either.

Doolittle has the highest potential of winning Idol. But don’t get me wrong, I like the other Idol contestants, Lakisha Jones another wonderful performer with a powerhouse voice, Jordin Sparks for her bubbly personality and lovely singing and Blake Lewis for his beat boxing, smooth voice and great stage presence but there is something about Melinda’s voice that always grabs my attention and it amazes me every single time when she has that perfect performance. On top of it all, she is not using her looks or certain clothing to attract voters and using her God given talent every single week on the Idol stage.

Doolittle without a doubt is marketable and would be a great addition along with other established artists such as Alicia Keys, Beyonce, and John Legend and among others that are now shining brightly. She is someone that can easily be molded to a superstar in no time, because she is the type of girl that seems easy to work with, a hard worker and has the passion for what she is doing, I can confidently say that Melinda Doolittle without a doubt is the next American Idol in 2007.

I remember the first time I’d heard of Tina Turner. It was 1984, I was about 10 or 11, and I was watching the “What’s Love Got to Do With It” music video with my family. She had this wild hairstyle and was wearing a short skirt that revealed legs that I haven’t been able to attain after years in the gym. During the video, my parents informed me that she wasn’t a new singer; they told me that she’d been around since the 1960s. Of course, my dad commented on how good she looked. Then, my parents talked about the physical abuse she received from her ex-husband, Ike Turner. Years later, while watching a documentary, I saw an old picture of her with a black eye, probably as a result of a beating.

Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee, she never intended to be a singer. Anna Mae and her sister were abandoned by their feuding parents and cared for by their grandmother until her death. In 1956, the girls reunited with their mother in St. Louis. It was there that 16-year-old Anna Mae met Ike Turner in a nightclub. According to some reports, one night he called her on stage and let her sing. He was surprised such a powerful voice from such a young girl.

Eventually, Anna Mae becomes Ike’s prodigy, the clay he wanted to mold. In the meantime, she becomes a young mother of two, one for a band member and one for Ike. Controlling almost all aspects of her life, Ike renames Anna Mae, and she becomes Tina Turner. Ultimately, the pair got married in 1962 in Mexico. According to an interview on “VH1′s Behind the Music,” Tina said she had reservations about marrying him almost immediately.

Throughout the 60′s and early 70′s, Ike and Tina attained success with their band, the Ike and Tina Revue. As is the case in many musical groups, Tina’s star began rising higher than Ike’s, and she was courted by individuals who wanted her to record solos or duets with other singers. However, public success hid a life of physical abuse for Tina. Fueled by drugs and alcohol, Tina endured a life of fear for nearly all of the 16 years of their marriage.

Three musicians share the number one spot, with a fortune worth £11 million (approximately $17 million): Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins and Leona Lewis. Leona Lewis is probably the best-known of the three on an international level, having reached stardom by winning Simon Cowell’s X Factor. Charlotte Church has had a successful classical singing career from a very young age, before branching into a brief pop career, and is currently one of the judges in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Over the Rainbow – a quest to find a new Dorothy for the musical version of The Wizard of Oz. Katherine Jenkins is a very successful classical singer, who, like Charlotte Church, is Welsh.

The next two musicians on the list (joint fourth) are Cheryl Cole and Katie Melua, who are reported to have fortunes of £10 million (approximately $15 million) each. Cheryl Cole’s presence, after being at number ten last year, is no surprise. A band member of successful girl group Girls Aloud, she has now become successful in her own right as a solo singer and X Factor judge. Katie Melua is rather more of a surprise – although a well-known singer, she hasn’t been in the public eye very much over the past couple of years. She does have a new album coming out, although this was not advertised until after the Rich List was compiled.

At number six is Joss Stone, with £9 million (nearly $14 million). The soul singer has recently appeared on American Idol and is still making albums, deserving her place in the list. At number seven is one of the only two men in the list – Craig David, with £8 million (approximately $12 million). Like Katie Melua, he is not in the public eye very much any more, but he has released five albums, one of which, Signed Sealed Delivered, came out in March 2010. Singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield is at number eight with £6 million (approximately $9 billion) and three albums behind her, as well as a number of music awards.

At number nine, there are a total of ten musicians all with reported fortunes

of £5 million (approximately $7.7 million), including one more man: singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum, who is married to British model (and granddaughter of Roald Dahl) Sophie Dahl. Cheryl Cole’s four band-mates from Girls Aloud are also present – Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberly Walsh. Amy Winehouse’s presence, despite her recent troubles, is unexpected, as is singer Lily Allen. Relative newcomers to the UK music industry, Welsh songstress Duffy, Scottish crooner Paolo Nutini and English singer-songwriter James Morrison complete the list.

It is fair to say that all the musicians who have made the list have worked for their fortunes, but some seem to have worked just that little bit harder than others – at least in recent history. Cheryl Cole has to be up there as one of the hardest working celebrities – with a solo career, band career and now TV judge career. Her recent split from her husband has ensured that she is at the top of most media outlet’s celebrity news. Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins, having branched out into TV in the past year, are also reaping the rewards. Leona Lewis’ on-going international career is ensuring that she is unstoppable. It will be interesting to see how many of them are still in the rich list in 2011.
Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ent ertainment/8638465.stm

http://www.londonwired.co.uk/a rticles.php/54115-Charlotte-Ch urch-tops-young-music-rich-lis t

http://www.inthenews.co.uk/new s/entertainment/music/charlott e-church-and-leona-lewis-top-y oung-musicians-rich-list-$1373 577.htm

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/ 62563,people,news,millionaire- cheryl-cole-climbs-up-the-rich -list

Firstly, The Beatles made music which will surely last as long as the popular song itself. Secondly, like Elvis Presley, The Beatles made a cultural impact which transcended their music. Finally, they were great entertainers – and their comic turns in the movies ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help!’ shouldn’t be underestimated.

Even in a golden decade of creativity like the 1960s, which was often described as a second renaissance, The Beatles are remembered by most as the main creative force of that decade. Everything seemed to revolve around them, and bounce off them.

Individually, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were – apart from their music and a penchant for humour – four quite different individuals. John was complicated – acerbic, harsh on himself and often on others, but, overall, he had a great humanitarian streak, and with Paul formed arguably the greatest songwriting partnership in popular music history.

Paul was the diplomatic Beatle, though is often, unfairly, portrayed as the destroyer of the group. Paul’s love of animals and nature came through in songs such as ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Mother Nature’s Son’. George was underestimated – a deep thinker, and a quiet voice struggling to be heard. As a solo artist, his ‘All Things Must Pass’ album was maybe better than any solo album even John and Paul produced. Ringo was the most instantly likeable member of the group, and unfairly derided for his drumming skills by some critics. He was a good drummer, good singer, and no mean songwriter, viz. ‘Octopus’s Garden’. Also, his talent for comic acting was never fully utilised.

For anyone who says they didn’t like The Beatles, I’d think they were just being perverse, and suggest they actually think about the songs The Beatles wrote and performed.

I would concede that the early material of The Beatles was nothing special, but from the mid-1960s onwards they took modern, popular music to a higher plane, with songs such as these: ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘Here, There And Everywhere’, ‘She’s Leaving Home’, ‘Something’, ‘The Fool On The Hill’, ‘Let It Be’, ‘The Long And Winding Road’, ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Penny Lane’, ‘Help!’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Your Mother Should Know’, ”While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘And I Love Her’, ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’, ‘In My Life’, ‘A Day In The Life’, ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, ‘Here Comes The Sun’, ‘Across The Universe’, ‘I Am The Walrus’…The Beatles also made several of the greatest albums of all time, notably ‘Rubber Soul’, ‘Revolver’, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, ‘The White Album’, and ‘Abbey Road’. Egged on by the inventive genius of producer George Martin, The Beatles wrote and performed songs in so many genres – rock ‘n’ roll, heavy rock, soul, pop, folk, blues, rock, R&B, country, classical, psychedelic, surreal, avant-garde, Indian music, electronic music, and old style Music Hall. I rest my case!

Their debut Youth and Young Manhood was a bold and brassy start. Certainly one of the finest albums of the year, it was full of Southern fried punk / blues and produced two catchy singles in California Waiting and Molly’s Chambers which should have done so much better in the charts.

Next came Aha Shake Heartbreak. It had its moments like The Bucket and Day Old Blues, but felt much like it was the left overs from their debut. However, songs like the haunting Milk did signpost the material found on their new album Because of the Times.

Their sound has changed, it’s more expansive and a departure from the hick, Clarence Clearwater Revival sound that defined their earlier work. That becomes obvious from the outset with the plodding emergence from the fog of the band returning after nearly three years. Charmer is a frenetic head banger with Caleb’s Marmite screaming. On Call is the gorgeous single and the son of Milk. Probably the most mainstream track on the album, it is certainly the most instantly memorable.

After a strong opening three, the album seems to stutter a tad with the forgettable McFearless and Black Thumbnail. It gets back on track with the excitable My Party’ (a meditation on the excesses they’ve been having over the last few years), the delicate True Love Way and then the charming lilt of Ragoo.

Fans demonstrates what a tight unit they are, disciplined and battle scarred so that the snarl of the guitar, the pistol whipping drums, the purposefully pounding bass are beautifully complimented by the hoarse vocals.

Runner is probably the song that most reminds the listener of their front porch at dusk sound which came out on the likes of Wicker Chair and Talahina Sky. The final chorus (I talk to Jesus everyday) sums up the difference between US and UK rock. The White Stripes and BRMC  have thanked the Lord on recent album sleeves and Kings of Leon do likewise here. It always seems a little uncomfortable and the next track’Trunk’ doesn’t shake the vibe with its Gospel harmonies.

But whereas praising the good old Lord ruined BRMC’s last album Howl, the family Followill pull away into a sumptuous high pitched guitar riff on Camarobefore the moody blues of Arizona as the finale.

It’s not as accessible as their previous albums. It’s not as catchy. It’s not full of the same get in-get out three minute blasts. In fact it’s frustrating. There’s a lot going for it, especially the excellent three at the start which showcases their development as musicians and songwriters. But the momentum is too often lost. There have been criticisms that this album contains a few too many tracks. That is certainly the case and one must wonder if the running order could have been different with the lesser songs being disguised in amongst the better moments.

A third album is notoriously difficult. It’s usually when a band have run out of material that they had years to play live and fine tune and are unsure of where to go. Speaking about their peers, it certainly isn’t the huge disappointment that BRMC’s third album was. However, it doesn’t have the tunes nor the assured touch of The Strokes’ third work.

As with their last album, there are some gems in there such as On Call’ and Arizona’ but whatever they do next needs to be quick given the forgetful public. If they can take the best elements of Because of the Times, a classic album could be on the horizon. If this isn’t a transitional album then they might be facing the same decline as BRMC.

Born James Cecil Dickens, the old school singing sensation and renowned country-novelty singer Little Jimmy Dickens is perhaps one of the smaller yet brighter stars of Hollywood. At 4-feet-11, Dickens is small but despite his miniature frame he achieved huge success.

Dickens was a regular performer for the Grand Ole Opry for decades and has been considered as the face of novelty music. He performed and traveled around the world specifically to Vietnam soldiers in the 70s.

Dickens was born and raised in Bolt, West Virginia in a family of 13 children. Dickens began his music career in the 1930s while still studying at West Virginia University. He first performed at a local radio station. Shortly, he quit college to pursue his dream of becoming a country singer.

During the decade, Dickens traveled around the country performing in small clubs and local radio stations using the screen name “Jimmy the Kid.”

In 1948 came Dickens’ biggest break, he was performing on a radio station in Michigan when the late Roy Acuff, the prominent country music singer and promoter, heard and invited him to sing on the Grand Ole Opry – a weekly country music program that features the best country music singers of America.

Dickens did not spoil the opportunity, he signed a contract to be a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry. He then started using the name “Little Jimmy Dickens.”

In the spring of 1949, Dickens’ first single “Take an Old Cold Tater,” was released and was an instant hit, landing on top ten charts of the year.

The popularity of Dickens’ first single set up and launched succeeding novelty hits such as “My Heart’s Bouquet,”  “Country Boy,” “A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed” and “Hillbilly Fever.”

In 1950, he formed his own band, “The Country Boys” although it didn’t matched Dickens’ colossal solo success, the band still managed to have one hit song.

However, in 1968, Dickens bounced back with his biggest hit “May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose” which dominated the top ten hits and even landed in the top 15 on the pop charts.

From the 70s to the late 90s, Dickens continued to tour with the Grand Ole Opry.

Dickens despite his size became one of the most sought after and most loved country singers of all time.

Originally founded as somewhat of a hardcore-punk band, COC released three albums in the 1980s and received a fair amount of critical acclaim for its ability to fuse together multiple sounds. Shortly after the release of 1987′s “Technocracy,” however, original bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dean and lead vocalist Simon Bob Sinister left the band, leaving the future of COC uncertain.

After a two-year hiatus, COC gave the band another shot with a trio of new members, including Pepper Keenan. When Keenan joined the band, he assumed the role of rhythm guitarist behind Woody Weatherman and backing vocals behind the newly recruited Karl Agell. Nevertheless, his influence on COC’s next record, “Blind,” already began to take the band in a different direction.

True to his southern roots, Keenan exerted a heavy dose of southern metal into “Blind,” particularly on the song Vote With a Bullet where he sang lead vocals. The song was COC’s biggest hit up to that point and influenced the band to hand the lead vocals role over to Keenan after Agell and bassist Phil Swisher left to form Leadfoot.

Dean returned to play bass and, along with drummer Reed Mullin, COC found its lineup for the band’s next three albums.

First came “Deliverance,” arguably COC’s greatest work to date. Released in 1994, the album was a straight-forward southern metal record that sparked the radio hits Albatross and Clean My Wounds, which helped it achieve Gold status worldwide.

In the next seven years, Keenan and co. put out “Wiseblood” and “America’s Volume Dealer.” While neither album matched the success of “Deliverance,” the band still had a couple radio hits during that time, most notably Drowning in a Daydream off “Wiseblood.”

Mullin left the band after “America’s Volume Dealer,” and Galactic drummer Stanton Moore was recruited for COC’s latest effort, “In the Arms of God.” Incorporating Stoner Rock influences, “In the Arms of God” spawned the radio hit Stonebreaker and again received acclaim from most critics.

But since that 2006 release and resulting tour, COC has been on an indefinite hiatus due to Keenan’s work with the supergroup Down. Fronted by ex-Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, Down has released three albums since 1995, but until recently was known as just a side project. However, in recent years, the members of Down have decided to make the group their top priority, leaving the future of COC uncertain.

The fact that the conscious mind sometimes poorly grasps aspects of reality, says more about human consciousness than it does about reality. Indeed, those trained in the sciences are often better at framing existence and identifying aspects of reality, than are those untrained in such endeavors.

Just because certain aspects of reality are hard to grasp is not an excuse to say: “Therefore reality is an illusion”. …Rather, we should readily understand that reality is full of complexities. Indeed, the physicist Richard feynman once said: “I think it is safe to say that no one understands Quantum Mechanics.”.

Professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford University gives a good evolutionary definition of why our brains might be so poorly adapted to grasp the universe, at the level of the very small. We evolved in nature in what he calls “middle World” – and thus, the very small and indeed the very big, did not impinge on our senses. Thus, we have not evolved brains which are particularly good at grasping aspects of reality outside the realm of middle-world sense perception (not to be confused with Tolkien’s Middle-Earth in Lord of the Rings).

I take reality to mean the totality of existence. Thus, the concept reality simply means all of existence. In other words every aspect of existence is part of reality. Thus, reality simply means everything which is real.

But what does it mean to say everything which is real? …Is there any need for the qualification ‘everything’? Well, if reality means the sum of everything in existence which could be subsumed to be real, then what else is there. Only a mystic believes in the supernatural realm of the unreal. Therefore there is no need to qualify reality with the statement “everything that is real” …Because there is no such thing as the unreal… The real is all there is. Well, at least that is so in the mind of the objective thinker who does not believe in supernatural claims, which presume unreal realms and unreal entities such as: heaven, hell, God, ghosts etc.

Supernatural simply means ‘above nature’. But this is really the same as saying non-reality or reality in suspension and the suspension of the laws of physics. Again, this is another way of a mystic making the