Jazz Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Bram Inscore, best known for his work with Troye Sivan, Beck and BTS, has died at the age of 41. The songwriter, producer and instrumentalist died by suicide after a battle with depression, according to a statement from his family and friends.

Variety staffers reflected on some of the most standout scenes from the year’s top contenders. For 2023, there’s been no shortage of imaginative and inspiring storytelling crafted by both award-winning pros and newcomers — and each one has gifted audiences memorable scenes that have left us laughing, crying, and with plenty to think about long after the credits have rolled.

Getting four creatives to see eye to eye on anything is a feat in and of itself. For indie soul outfit Club Lotus, who seamlessly blend their diverse influences and musical backgrounds, finding a name was an important first step in getting on the same wavelength.

Todd Gilchrist editor Great Christmas songs, and great versions of great Christmas songs, are as plentiful as letters to Santa Claus. It’s the holiday for which various-artists compilations were seemingly created (and why the two-disc set “Now That’s What I Call Christmas” was certified 6x platinum just three years after its 2001 release).

Michelle Monaghan is reflecting on her unconventional honeymoon.

Made in Chelsea star Freddy Knatchbull seems slightly peeved he wasn't one of the stars that went to Sydney to film a special series of the hit E4 show. Back in London, Freddy enjoyed a pub date with his ex-flame and MIC newcomer Jasmine Saunders, where he blasted the rest of the cast as 'snakes'.

EXCLUSIVE: Laura Karpman was drip-fed jazz notes when she was a baby. Her mother’s turn-table featured a playlist that included Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Wes Montgomery and Thelonious Monk, the virtuoso pianist, whose music informs and underpins her own jazz-infused score for Cord Jefferson’s scorching American Fiction.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Not even the pain of recovering from surgery for a broken hip could keep Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from expressing his love for the Manhattan Transfer. Although he wasn’t able to pay tribute to the group during their final concert Friday in downtown Los Angeles, as he was intending to when the injury occurred, he came through on that mission on Sunday night, via a statement of appreciation he shared from his hospital bed. It was previously reported only that Abdul-Jabbar broke his hip at “a concert.” What not even fans of the Transfer knew, as they gathered at Walt Disney Concert Hall Friday, was that the Lakers legend had been on the premises and suffered an injury somewhere between parking and making it backstage.

Ray Romano has weighed in on the possibility of rebooting his hit ’90s sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond.Speaking on the latest episode of HBO‘s Real Time With Bill Maher, Romano emphatically shut down talks of reviving Everybody Loves Raymond. When asked if the show could come back in some form, Romano told Maher, per Variety: “As far as a reboot, well it’s out now of the question because unfortunately the parents are gone: Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts.”Peter Boyle, who played Raymon’s father Frank, died in 2006 shortly after the series concluded.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The last “Saturday Night Live” of the year is always a special occasion, and 2023 was no exception: Billie Eilish performed the television debut of “What Was I Made For?,” written and recorded for Greta Gerwig’s summer blockbuster “Barbie.” Eilish was accompanied by her brother/ collaborator Finneas and jazz bassist Christian McBride, as well as a six-piece string ensemble. “What Was I Made For?” was introduced by Gerwig who appeared on stage alongside this week’s host (and “Barbie” costar) Kate McKinnon in a joyful embrace.

Amanda Bynes has officially kicked off her podcast!

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Laufey (pronounced Lay-vay) is captivating Gen Z by writing and singing music that almost sounds like it could be from Gen WWII. Go figure, and go marvel. But the 24-year-old has always instinctively known that a box is no place to be: She hails from Iceland, is of Asian heritage, and is in many ways a quintessentially all-American girl.

Naman Ramachandran Dubai-based distribution and production outfit Oceana Studios has picked up worldwide sales rights to thriller “Tonic,” starring Billy Blair (“Doc Holliday”) and Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”). Written and directed by Derek Presley (“Boon”) and produced by U.S.

With the festive season here, everyone is looking for standout pieces to jazz up their look. River Island has just cut the price of a pair of sparkly jeans that Loose Women's Frankie Bridge loves. The White Embellished Stove Pipe Straight Jeans were recently worn by Frankie, who said they were "perfect".

So many celebrities walked the red carpet at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Gala on Thursday (December 7) in Los Angeles.

is not yet over. , already has another headlining act lined up: a star turn on Broadway in the Chicago musical. Following in the iconic footsteps of Pamela Anderson, Mel B, and Christie Brinkley (to name a few), Madix will be portraying murderess and jazz singer Roxie Hart.Madix made the announcement on on December 6.

Jon Burlingame Laura Karpman is one of very few composers who has made a genuine difference in the scoring community. A five-time Emmy winner, she co-founded the Alliance for Women Film Composers, which is widely credited with helping to propel the nearly invisible community of female music writers into prominence. No one asks “why aren’t there any women film composers?” anymore.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It’s obvious from SZA’s music that she has a wide range of influences, from classic R&B to Joni Mitchell, jazz to pop-punk and beyond. But just how far those influences range becomes dramatically clear when she talks about the music in her house and at school growing up, and best of all, when starts looking at the playlists in her phone. For much more from this remarkable interview, see our “SZA: Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year” article. What kinds of music were playing in your house when you were growing up? My mom has a lot of church music; my dad has a lot of jazz and abstract music; my sister plays a lot of melodic hip-hop and rap. And I love classical music, I love jazz, I love music with color.

Jon Burlingame Approaches to film scoring have become increasingly eclectic—from jazz and classical to hip-hop and avant-garde—making it more difficult than ever for Academy voters to narrow the field to 15 for Oscar’s shortlist. Variety examines 16 of the possible choices, in alphabetical order: ‘American Fiction‘ – Laura Karpman Cord Jefferson’s movie—about a Black writer who, as a joke, writes a bad novel that becomes a best seller—has a lead character whose name is Thelonious and whose nickname is Monk.

Tired of the same old mac and cheese recipes? Fed up of making it the classic way each time? No worries, we've got you covered! There's a selection of recipes below that we've picked for you to try.These deviate from the standard pasta dish, including a French onion mac and cheese soup and even a pulled pork version. As the nights continue to draw in, what could be better than a warming mac and cheese with a hunk of crusty bread.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “Brutal out there” may be a good description for how Record Store Day Black Friday will feel for those customers who have their appetites set only on the limited-edition piece that Olivia Rodrigo has coming out for the occasion. Rodrigo is essentially playing the role of Taylor Swift this time around, in drawing the attention of consumers who might otherwise be fine leaving a Record Store Day event alone with a special release that will be noted for its immediate scarcity — in this case, “Guts: The Secret Tracks,” a four-song EP that has not been pressed in anything near the quantity to meet the demand.

Nas and Ezra Collective have been announced in the first wave of acts set to perform at All Points East 2024 alongside headliner Loyle Carner.Also joining the previously announced Carner at the East London festival in Victoria Park on Saturday, August 17 are Sainté, Joe James, ENNY and Navy Blue.Many more headliners and acts are set to be announced for All Points East 2024, which takes place across two weekends from August 16 to 25.A post shared by Uber One presents All Points East (@allpointseastuk)Carner’s hometown show is set to be his biggest show ever and his only live London date for 2024.AMEX presale is now live until 9am BST on Thursday, November 23, before general sale start 10am BST on Thursday from here.This year’s edition of the festival saw The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Walkmen and more take to the stage.The Strokes’ set was described as “a brilliant balancing act” in a four-star NME review, despite battling sound issues. It added: “The New York indie icons bring big-hitters and less obvious choices to All Points East as they battle, once again, with volume levels.”Stormzy also performed a career-highlight headline performance as part of his ‘This Is What We Mean’ day.

With Black Friday in full swing, beauty buffs are being inundated with perfume deals. Countless websites and brands have slashed the price of some of their most popular scents, with names like Tom Ford, Jo Malone and Dior all proving popular.

Psychedelic Furs and Waitresses saxophonist Mars Williams has died, aged 68.The news was shared by The Chicago Tribune, which reported that the musician died yesterday (November 20) from ampullary cancer. He was diagnosed with the illness just less than one year ago.Born in Evanston, Illinois, Williams famously performed in the Chicago free jazz group NRG Ensemble and with the Waitresses, before going on to join the iconic English rock band Psychedelic Furs in 1983.His initial time as part of the band lasted six years, and he departed the line-up in 1989.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As expected, the Rolling Stones have announced they are going back on the road in 2024 behind their recently released “Hackney Diamonds” album. The group, led by core members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood, will perform in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada, playing a combination of classics, deep cuts and songs from the new album, according to the announcement.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Mars Williams, a saxophone player known for his work as a member of the Waitresses and later the Psychedelic Furs, died Monday at age 68. His hometown newspaper the Chicago Tribune first confirmed Williams’ passing and reported that the cause of death was ampullary cancer.

New Look fans have been blown away by a dress that has been hailed as 'perfect' for wearing to the office or 'jazzing up for drinks'. The dress, which can be effortlessly paired with winter boots, heels or trainers, has been described as being 'fabulous' for women off all shapes and sizes, and doesn't cling to the body too much, for those who are concerned about lumps and bumps.

George “Funky” Brown, the drummer, founding member and one of the main songwriters of pop-R&B group Kool & The Gang, died in Los Angeles last night following a battle with lung cancer. He was 74.

Jon Batiste is taking his music to the people.The former “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” bandleader just announced his 24-concert ‘Uneasy Tour: Purifying the Airwaves for the People’ that will send him to venues all over North America in support of his recently released album “World Music Radio” from February through April 2024.That includes a headlining gig at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on Tuesday, March 19.“For my first solo run I wanted to play in smaller venues and curate experiences that let me really feel the people while I play,” the 37-year-old Louisiana native shared with The Associated Press. “Think of these 24 shows less as a tour and more as a series of 24 not to be missed experiences, each being one-of-a-kind.”And if you want to make sure you don’t miss these “not to be missed experiences,” you can scoop up tickets for the winter/spring tour as soon as today.Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster until Friday, Nov.

When you’re composing music for a character named Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in the movie American Fiction, it should be pretty obvious where a composer like Laura Karpman might find her inspiration.