Saxophonist Elan Trotman is set to release his sixth solo album entitled Tropicality on February 19, 2013.  Born and raised on the Caribbean island of Barbados, Elan received a full scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA from the Barbadian government.  He quickly made his mark as a three-time winner of the New England Urban Music Award as Best Jazz Male, the 2011 Barbados Music Awards Instrumentalist of the Year, and two nominations for a Boston Music Award.  Elan gets some help on the new album from guitarist Peter White who produced and plays on the project along with Elan.  The set features guests like guitarist U-Nam, keyboardist/producer Jeff Lorber, guitarist/producer Paul Brown, guitarist Nick Colionne, drummers Terri Lyne Carrington, Ricky Lawson and Tony Moore, trumpeter Lin Rountree, bassist Alex Al and percussionist Lenny Castro, in addition to several international musicians.  Elan's next performance will be ringing in the New Year on December 31st in Melbourne, FL.     

Brian Culbertson has announced his 2nd Napa Valley Jazz Getaway weekend will take place June 5-9, 2013, offering a 5-day celebration of jazz and wine in California's idyllic wine country. Joining Brian this time around are Grammy winners Norman Brown and Kirk Whalum who will reunite with Rick Braun performing as BWB; Grammy winning a capella group Take 6, guitarists Ray Parker, Jr. and Nick Colionne, funk legend Larry Graham & Graham Central Station, saxophonists Eric Darius and Michael Lington, party band DW3 and comedian Sinbad.  The festival events take place at various wineries around the Napa Valley in addition to shows at the Napa Valley Opera House and Lincoln Center.  You can get more information and book your trip here.     

Hurricane Sandy made history creating billions of dollars in damage in the Northeast in October 2012.  Tonight the "12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy Relief" will make history with its own all-star lineup of musicians taking the stage to raise money for the Robin Hood Relief Fund.  The event will take place beginning at 7:30pm ET at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be broadcast live via a global network of television and cable stations, on Clear Channel radio stations and via live streaming websites.  The artists performing include Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Bill Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen,  Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters, Kanye West and The Who.  Organizers expect over 2 billion people to access the concert worldwide via 34 television networks and 30 websites, including YouTube, MTV.com, Hulu and Myspace.  The Robin Hood Relief Fund will distribute the money raised to various community non-profits in the hardest hit areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.  Visit the 12-12-12 website to donate and get more information on the concert here.

British singer-songwriter Dido has announced the title and track listing for her fourth studio album, due out in March 2013.  Girl Who Got Away will include 11 new tracks and features a collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on the song "Let Us Move On."  The set is Dido's first release since 2008's Safe Trip Home, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 2010.  She is best known for her international hits "Thank You" and "White Flag," for which she won the Ivor Novello Award for International Hit of the Year in 2004.      

Birthday wishes to British multi-instrumentalist and producer Paul Hardcastle who celebrates today (December 10).  Paul was born in Kensington, London, England and began his career in the early '80s playing keyboards with the dance music bands Direct Drive and First Light.  He released his first solo albumin 1984 and had major hits with songs like "Rainforest" and "19."  In 1986, Paul began working on soundtracks and producing remixes for artists like Barry White, Hiroshima and Third World.  He released his first Jazzmasters album in 1993 and received the Billboard Smooth Jazz Artist Of The Year award in 2008.  Hardcastle launched a new management company this year and signed his first artist, "X Factor UK" contestant Joseph Whelan.  His latest album, 19 Below Zero, was released in the UK in September and he's working on a new album for release in the US in 2013.

Michael Bublé is celebrating the holidays with an early Christmas present - a Grammy Award nomination for his album Christmas, released on October 25, 2011.  The CD was the second best-selling album of 2011 behind Adele's blockbuster 21.  Michael is also hosting his second "Michael Bublé - Home For The Holidays" Christmas special on Monday, December 10 at 10pm on NBC, immediately following his appearance on "The Voice."  The holiday show will feature a special virtual duet with the legendary Bing Crosby on the classic "White Christmas," in addition to appearances by Rod Stewart, Blake Shelton and Carly Rae Jepsen.  The new Bublé/Crosby "White Christmas" single will be released via iTunes on December 10.

The Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 55th Grammy Awards, set to take place on February 10, 2013 at 8pm on CBS.  Nominated in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category are Gerald Albright and Norman Brown 24/7, Chris Botti Impresssions, Larry Carlton Four Hands & A Heart Volume One and Dave Koz Live at The Blue Note Tokyo.  In the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category Michael Buble Christmas and Paul McCartney Kisses On The Bottom.  In the Best Jazz Vocal Album category Denise Donatelli Soul Shadows, Al Jarreau Live and Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society.  Anita Baker picks up a nomination for her new single "Lately" in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category, while Chuck Loeb is nominated for Best Instrumental Composition for his song "December Dream" from the Fourplay album Esprit De Four.  In the Best Long Form Music Video category Sade is nominated for Bring Me Home - Live 2011 and Esperanza Spalding for Radio Music Society.  A full list of all the 2013 nominees is available here.

Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist and composer, best known for his international hit "Take Five" has died.  The 91 year-old artist would have celebrated his 92nd birthday tomorrow, December 6.  According to his manager Russell Gloyd, Brubeck died this morning of heart failure while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son Darius.  Brubeck was born in Concord, CA on December 6, 1920 and planned to become a rancher like his father.  While studying at College of the Pacific he was bitten by the music bug and following graduation, was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served as a musician during World War II in the Wolfpack Band.  He formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951 and released his seminal album Time Out, containing his biggest hit "Take Five" in 1959.  On November 8, 1954, Brubeck became the first modern jazz musician to grace the cover of Time magazine.  He is survived by his wife Iola; four sons and a daughter; grandsons and a great granddaughter.

The 90th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is set to take place in Washington, D.C. tomorrow (December 6) beginning at 4:30pm EST.  Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris will serve as the master of ceremonies while Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, Colbie Caillat, James Taylor, Jason Mraz, Ledesi, The Fray and Phillip Phillips will perform a collection of holiday favorites during the show.  The 2012 National Christmas Tree Lighting takes place on the Ellipse at President's Park.  The events can be viewed online, live at www.thenationaltree.org beginning at 4:30pm on Thursday.  The ceremony will be broadcast on public television throughout the month of December.

The Louis Armstrong House Museum kicks off their Historic Holiday House Tours beginning today, December 4 through December 30th.  The Louis Armstrong House Museum, located in Corona, New York, is the only preserved home of a jazz legend in the world, providing a glimpse of the life of Louis and his wife, Lucille Armstrong.  All of the furnishings are original and no one has lived in the house since the Armstrong's.  The house tours will feature rare audio clips from Louis's personal recordings of himself and family celebrations at home including an at-home recording of "Twas the Night Before Christmas, A Visit from St. Nicholas."  The tour also features Armstrong's "Zat You Santa Claus" and Louis listening to Nat 'King' Cole singing "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" with an impromptu duet by Louis himself.  You can visit the museum website for hours and admission info here.