Jazz

The Versatile Vanessa Williams

PUBLISHED IN THE TORONTO STAR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1997 Beauty Queen recovers from Penthouse debacle to star on stage, screen Nick Krewen Today, some people might call her a multi-media performer, but the old-fashioned word entertainer fits Vanessa Williams just fine. Film? She held her own with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action-packed thriller Eraser, received critical acclaim for her acting in Soul Food and just completed Shut Up And Dance, the…


Tony Bennett: Cruisin’ and Croonin’

NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator Tuesday, May 27, 1997   Maybe Tony Bennett should think twice the next time he cancels out on Hamilton Place. The popular Italian crooner, riding a wave of popularity that continues to crest since he received an Album Of The Year Grammy for 1994’s Tony Bennett – MTV Unplugged, staged a last-minute pull-out of his scheduled November 6 concert because newly re-elected U.S. president Bill Clinton…


Burning For Buddy

Neil Peart launches solo album tribute to iconic drummer Buddy Rich NICK KREWEN The Hamilton Spectator October 20, 1996 Neil Peart admits he’s been in no rush to release a solo album. One of Canada’s foremost drummers and lyricists who has built his worldwide reputation exclusively with Canadian power rock trio Rush over 22 years and almost as many million-selling albums, Peart launched the band’s first outside project earlier this…


‘Better, not bitter’

Carlos Santana’s strategy for success has kept him on top for 20 years   Nick Krewen Hamilton Spectator Friday, July 24, 1987   It was 20 years ago today that Carlos Santana taught his band to play. The summer of love may be best remembered for The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,  but 1967 should also go down in history as the year Latin rock surfaced to the…