Showing Archived Posts

Ella Fitzgerald, 10th Anniversary of America’s First Lady of Songs

Posted July 31st, 2011 at 3:21 pm (UTC+0)
2 comments

Fitzgerald had a sweet, powerful three-octave voice and perfect diction, making her the best candidate to record the splendid series of Songbook albums

Pat Metheny, a Vibrant, Versatile and Prolific Guitarist: Interview

Posted July 23rd, 2011 at 12:29 am (UTC+0)
6 comments

If you would like to walk down music memory lane, then I suggest you listen to Path Metheny’s new Album: What’s It All About. It will provoke emotional response

Eva Cassidy, a Jazz, R&B, and Pop Songbird

Posted July 12th, 2011 at 11:14 pm (UTC+0)
2 comments

Eva Cassidy’s music was little-known, and her tremendous talent was not largely discovered outside her native Washington, DC, until after she died in 1996 at the age of 33

Wynton Marsalis, America’s Best Jazz Ambassador

Posted July 4th, 2011 at 1:29 pm (UTC+0)
1 comment

Some critics describe 49-year old Marsalis as “a living legend,” Others say he’s “America’s best jazz ambassador now”

Renowned Pianist Makoto Kuriya Focuses on Maintaining Japan’s Jazz Identity

Posted June 24th, 2011 at 8:01 pm (UTC+0)
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Makoto Kuriya talks with Jazz Beat about his experience with American jazz, how he felt as a Japanese playing American jazz in Europe, and his experience at Cairo Jazz Festival and the Nile cruise Karaoke

Jazz Legend Nat King Cole and the Untamed Wild West

Posted June 17th, 2011 at 9:09 pm (UTC+0)
1 comment

Why banjo music reminds me of jazz icon Nat King Cole, the American Wild West, the majestic Rocky Mountains and the Marlboro Man?

Boney James, One of America’s Top Saxophonists, Playing ‘Better’ After a Car Crash

Posted June 9th, 2011 at 5:53 pm (UTC+0)
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Grammy-nominated saxophonist Boney James makes a full and strong comeback after a car crash that prevented him from performing for several months

Legendary Omar Hakim: From Miles Davis to David Bowie, Madonna & Sting to Trio of OZ

Posted June 4th, 2011 at 1:31 am (UTC+0)
2 comments

Grammy-nominated Omar Hakim is one of America’s top hi-tech drummers, and probably the only person who can say he played drums for Miles Davis, Madonna, Sting, David Bowie and the Nomads

John Pizzarelli and Ahmed el-Gebali, Two Brilliant Guitarists

Posted May 25th, 2011 at 4:41 pm (UTC+0)
2 comments

American guitarist John Pizzarelli, a chip off the old block, and Egyptian guitarist Ahmed el-Gebali: What do they have in common?

Elegant Pianist Amina Figarova: From Baku to Amsterdam to New York

Posted May 12th, 2011 at 4:02 pm (UTC+0)
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She was only two when she began to play piano in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. Internationally Acclaimed pianist Amina Figarova grew up listening to ‘lots and lots of music’ on Voice of America radio.

About

About Jazz Beat

Diaa BekheetCairo native Diaa Bekheet has worked for a host of media outlets, including Radio Cairo in English, ETV News, Deutsche Presse-Agentur and the Associated Press. He joined VOA in Feb. 1989, hosting a variety of popular news and entertainment shows for the former Arabic Service such as Radio Ride Across America, Business Week, and Jazz Club USA. He has interviewed a number of Jazz celebrities, including the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. Diaa is currently an editor for our main English site, VOAnews.com.

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