Casey Abrams, who placed sixth in Season 10 of American Idol, has signed a recording contract for his debut album with Concord Music Group.  The 20 year-old singer-songwriter from Idyllwild, CA names artists like Ray Charles, James Taylor and Frank Sinatra as major influences.  Abrams studied music at the University of Colorado at Boulder and...

Donna Summer passed away today (May 17) in Florida, after a battle with lung cancer, according to TMZ.  The "Queen of Disco" was 63.  Summer, a five-time Grammy winner, was known for her hits like "Last Dance", "Love To Love You Baby" and "Bad Girls" and scored an impressive 19 number one dance hits b...

The 34th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival is set to take place on June 16-17 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  Boney James will headline the show Saturday night, while legendary pianist Ramsey Lewis will close out the event on Sunday evening.  Also included in the all-star line-up are Robin Thicke, Sheila E., Keb' Mo', Sharon Jones &...

Billboard announced Whitney Houston will be honored posthumously with their 2012 Millenium Award.  A tribute will be performed by Jordin Sparks and John Legend at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena this Sunday, May 20.  Whitney died on February 11 at the age of 48, but her musical legacy lives on.  The six-time Gr...

Grammy winning guitarist Norman Brown has teamed up with saxophonist Gerald Albright and the two will release their new album, 24/7, on June 19 via Concord Jazz.  The project features Norman on lead and rhythm guitars with Gerald on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, flutes, bass guitar, electric wind instrument, percussion, programmming and...