The Recording Academy, the organization internationally known for the Grammy Awards, will present its 2012 Grammys on the Hill Awards in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 25 at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel.

Often referred to as Washington’s most interesting mix of music and politics, the event will honor U.S. Representative Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and seven-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer John Mayer for their commitment to improving the working environment for the nation’s music community.

The Grammys on the Hill events include an awards ceremony on April 25 and the music community’s only annual advocacy day on Capitol Hill on Thursday, April 26, at which hundreds of music professionals from across the country will visit with legislators to advance pro-music policies that improve the environment for music and its makers.

For updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy’s social networks on Twitter and Facebook: www.twitter.com/thegrammys, www.facebook.com/thegrammys. For updates on Advocacy, please follow @TRAinDC on Twitter.

“Advocating for the protection of music makers’ rights is an essential part of the work we do at The Academy, and Grammys on the Hill is an excellent opportunity to recognize leaders and influencers who work on this mission, while inviting our members to utilize their voice,” said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. “This year we are proud to honor Rep. Berman, who has a long history of working to support music creators, and John Mayer, who beyond being an enormous talent is also an active philanthropist in arts and education.”

Grammys on the Hill Awards: April 25, 6:30 – 10 p.m.

Taking place at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel, the Grammys on The Hill Awards will include a cocktail reception preceding the awards ceremony with special guest presenters and performers to help recognize the achievements of Berman and Mayer as well as a Grammy Foundation Signature School that has demonstrated excellence in music education.

Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day: April 26, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

This advocacy day for music makers features a morning briefing with keynote speeches by leading legislators and lobbying members of Congress on Capitol Hill with special guests.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/csis_er/

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Columbia Records is pleased to announce that ‘Born and Raised’, the next album from Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician John Mayer, will be released on May 22. The first single, “Shadow Days,” will be out on March 6 and available on iTunes.

Mayer produced Born and Raised with Don Was, who’s worked on albums for acts such as the Rolling Stones, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt.  Rock legends David Crosby and Graham Nash provide vocals on the album’s title song.

Musicians joining Mayer on the album and on the road include highly-regarded keyboardist/pianist Chuck Leavell—who has worked with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers Band—as well as previous collaborators Sean Hurley on bass and Aaron Sterling on drums.  Jim Keltner makes a special appearance on drums on “Something Like Olivia.” Rounding out the touring band are David Ryan Harris on guitar and vocals, Doug Pettibone on guitar and Michito Sanchez on percussion.

Columbia Records recently announced that Mayer will do an 18-date spring tour that kicks off April 9 in Bloomington, IN. Stops on the tour include Detroit, Providence, Buffalo, Memphis, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Phoenix. He will also be performing at South By Southwest in Austin on March 17, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 29.

Mayer’s previous albums—Room for Squares, Heavier Things, Continuum and Battle Studies—have sold more than 12 million copies combined.  He has been honored with seven Grammy Awards and an additional 11 nominations.  He has also been included in Time Magazine’s annual Time 100 list of the most influential contemporary thinkers, leaders, artists and entertainers, and twice been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine’s annual “Guitar” issue.

John Mayer – Born and Raised – produced by John Mayer and Don Was

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/pkeigan/

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Tony Bennett made music history with the Grammy-nominated CD Duets II when it debuted at the top of the Billboard Album charts, making Bennett the oldest vocal artist ever to achieve the number one spot. Recently nominated for three Grammys, including Best Traditional Pop Vocal, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), the critically acclaimed album followed the 85-year-old singer’s Grammy-winning 2006 Duets CD, which had, in turn, been released in honor of his 80th birthday.

Tony Bennett: Duets II, a presentation of THIRTEEN’s Great Performances, features the singer’s greatest hits, performed by Bennett and today’s biggest stars, including John Mayer, Michael Buble, k.d. lang, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Queen Latifah, Norah Jones, Josh Groban, Faith Hill, Alejandro Sanz, Carrie Underwood and more.

The sessions, filmed to capture the magic of these performers singing with the master of the Great American Songbook, airs on Friday, January 27, 2012, at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).

Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

The album took more than six months to record, with each track recorded face-to-face with his singer partners in studios around the world, from LA to Nashville to London.  Among the many highlights is Amy Winehouse’s last recorded track (“Body and Soul”), which was produced in London’s famous Abbey Road Studios in March. Other tracks were recorded in New York in late July: the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart classic, “The Lady Is a Tramp,” with Lady Gaga, and the Alan and Marilyn Bergman classic, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing,” with Aretha Franklin , and “Stranger in Paradise,” with Andrea Bocelli , recorded at the singer’s Italian home (see full track listing below).

The CD received kudos from all quarters. The Wall Street Journal noted that the singer was “…constantly reaffirming his position as pop music’s greatest living patriarch,” and Associated Press observed, “Tony Bennett is as timeless as the songs he sings on ‘Duets II.’”

The musical segments are highlighted by insights on the process from the performers, making for an up-close look at one of the year’s most celebrated recordings. The sessions were filmed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe (“Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Collateral”), providing a personal, behind-the-scenes look at Bennett’s latest collaborations and his artistic approach with each song.

Entering his seventh decade as a recording artist with more than 100 albums and 15 Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Bennett has earned his legendary status many times over. He remains the Columbia recording artist with the greatest longevity at the label. His 2007 primetime special, “Tony Bennett:  An American Classic,” won seven Emmy Awards and was directed by Academy Award winner Rob Marshall.

He has performed for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. He also worked with and marched alongside Martin Luther King in his 1965 civil rights march and was honored with the Martin Luther King’s Salute to Greatness Award.

In addition to performing, he is a visual artist as well, with three of his original paintings featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian, including his portraits of Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. His humanitarian efforts are renowned, and the United Nations honored him with their Humanitarian Award in 2007.

He has published three books — his autobiography, The Good Life, and two collections of his paintings,Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen and Tony Bennett in the Studio: A Life of Art and Music. Bennett founded, in association with the Department of Education in New York City, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts — a public arts high school in his hometown of Astoria, Queens. With his wife, Susan, he established Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization that supports arts education in NYC public high schools. Exploring the Arts supports 14 public high schools throughout New York City.

In the fall of 2007, a documentary of Bennett’s life and career, produced by Clint Eastwood, “Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends,” aired on THIRTEEN’s American Masters on PBS.

The full song program follows:

“The Lady Is a Tramp” (Lady Gaga)
“One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)” (John Mayer)
“Body and Soul” (Amy Winehouse)
“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” (Michael Buble)
“Blue Velvet” (k.d. lang)
“How Do You Keep the Music Playing” (Aretha Franklin)
“The Girl I Love” (Sheryl Crow)
“On the Sunny Side of the Street” (Willie Nelson)
“Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)” (Queen Latifah)
“Speak Low” (Norah Jones)
“This Is All I Ask” (Josh Groban)
“Watch What Happens” (Natalie Cole)
“Stranger in Paradise” (Andrea Bocelli)
“The Way You Look Tonight” (Faith Hill)
“Yesterday I Heard the Rain” (Alejandro Sanz)
“It Had to Be You” (Carrie Underwood)

Image Courtesy of  Tony Bennett

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Back in early 2010 after a huge media backlash, John Mayer seemed to disappear. Now, after almost two years, Mayer has returned in an unexpected way.

John Mayer first came on the music scene with the success of his first album Room for Squares in 2001. Songs such as “No Such Thing,” and “Your Body is a Wonderland” gained popularity and even resulted in a Grammy Award win for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Since then, Mayer has been nominated for 18 Grammys and has won seven. He has collaborated with Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Kanye West and other notable celebrities.

Mayer’s accomplishments, however, have often been looked past by his relationships with famous women such as Minka Kelly and Jessica Simpson, among many others. As a result, Hollywood has dubbed him a “womanizer.”

In February 2010, John Mayer’s infamous Playboy interview became a heated topic as he discussed his controversial feelings on race, past relationships with Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Anniston, and homosexuality.  Readers and fans of Mayer found more information than they wanted whereas his toughest critics found more ammunition.

Almost immediately, numerous groups such as GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) called on Mayer to apologize after he used anti-gay slurs. Notable movie critic, Roger Ebert called Mayer out on his twitter,  ”To John Mayer regarding black women: What’s not to like?”, as the musician said he said he wouldn’t open up himself to dating black women.

Many people were offended by Mayer’s remarks and he expressed regret concerning the interview. “Maybe I need to take a break from trying to be clever… I quit the media game. I quit the sound byte game,” Mayer said to a Nashville, TN crowd as he took an emotional break during his concert shortly after the interview was released.

Mayer also took to his Twitter account to apologize for the interview and the actions he has taken in the past few years to his 3.7 million followers. Since then, he has deleted his account and moved to Tumblr. His last tweet, “What does this button do?” was posted in September of 2010.

Since then, Youtube videos have surfaced of Mayer performing surprise concerts at small cafés. His hair is grown out with plenty of facial hair and wearing a fedora, a look that resembles Johnny Depp. Even at the 2011 Grammy Awards where the musician performed a short version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” with Norah Jones and Keith Urban, Kanye West tweeted,“I didn’t know Johnny Depp played guitar.”

Despite all of the heartache, Mayer seems to be coming back in the spotlight. Rollin’ With Zach is a new television show on Oprah Winfrey’s Network, OWN, where John Mayer lends his talents for the show’s opening theme song. Zach Anner, the host of the show, is a stand up comedian with cerebral palsy who travels across the United States to historic cities.

Anner won Winfrey’s competition, Your OWN Show in early 2011 with the help of Mayer. People were able to go online and vote for their favorite contestant. However, Anner was lacking in votes until his favorite musician posted a video encouraging fans to vote for the aspiring television host. A day after the video was posted, Anner was well into the lead and won by a large gap this past January.

Rollin’ With Zach airs every Monday on OWN at 8pm.

“Let the Boy,” the title song for the show’s theme, is the first official song John Mayer has released in over two years.

After the song was recorded, Mayer was diagnosed with granuloma, a serious throat condition in which an enlarged nodule sits just above the vocal cords. The granuloma was taken out in late October, but it hindered his upcoming album being released. “I am now on complete vocal rest for a month or more,” Mayer wrote on his Tumblr and also added, “I stay in at night…dreaming of playing on the big stage.”

The Grammy-winner’s fifth studio album, Born and Raised, is set to be released in early 2012.

Gustavo Miguel Fernandes / Shutterstock.com

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It couldn’t get more official than this: Jennifer Aniston has taken the plunge and rented a house together with her boyfriend, actor Justin Theroux.

The 42-year-old star of Horrible Bosses sold her old Beverly Hills home in California last month for a whopping $38 million and has moved in with 40-year-old Theroux in a temporary, cosy two-bedroom property in the Hollywood Hills while they search for a permanent home.

This comes after Justin reportedly took Jennifer on a romantic Hawaiian getaway originally planned with his ex-girlfriend for his 40th birthday. The ex was Theroux partner of 14 years, Heidi Biven, who was out of the picture shortly before his relationship with Aniston became public.

According to Monsters and Critics online magazine, the former couple had planned the trip to Hawaii with the intention of looking up property together. Biven, who works as a fashion stylist, told a friend that she was “psyched” about the trip back in March, according to US Weekly sources. This was shortly before the breakup.

Rumor has it that Jennifer may already be pregnant but friends close to Theroux say that he won’t marry the former Friends actress. Now magazine reported that Theroux’s friend, composer Craig Wedren believes he won’t make such a commitment.

“He isn’t the marrying type, as you can see from the 14-year relationship that didn’t end in marriage,” he told Now magazine. “He isn’t the king of guy to be owned.”

RoidRanger / Shutterstock.com

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