Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed “sex kitten” famous for her catlike purr, was one of America’s most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.

Through the years, Kitt remained a picture of vitality and attracted fans less than half her age even as she neared 80.

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Producers of the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival have announced the lineup for the 2009 festival. The festival will be held over two weekends; April 24th through the 26th and April 30th through May 3rd.

This time of year it is especially encouraging to see the triumph in stories like that of The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. A festival which was nearly knocked out by Hurricane Katrina set goals to reclaim itself with its 2008 re-birth, it would appear now to be just as strong, if not stronger than the heights the festival had seen prior to Katrina’s destruction.

The revival of the festival was owed in part to an investment in a broad range of national talent as well as the steady return of the region’s own highly talented and supremely gifted musicians and performers.

The coming 2009 version of the festival showcases two weekends jam-packed with huge names, most notably Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, The Neville Brothers, Hugh Masekela, Earth Wind & Fire, Etta James with the Roots Band, Esperanza Spalding, Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, The O’Jays and many more.

The event also includes a large number of huge mainstream acts including the Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Erykah Badu, Wilco, Sugarland and Bonnie Raitt.

However, the flashiness of the mainstream roster barely resonates in the minds and must-see-lists of those who frequent the Jazz Fest’s renowned trinity of jazz, blues and gospel.

These three entities are without a doubt the definitive backbone of the Jazz Fest and they are the core attraction for people who will travel hundreds of thousands of miles to attend. The big stars with household names will not outshine the home-grown, grass-roots talent that is signature to this one-of-a-kind festival.

In 1970, George Wein, jazz impresario behind the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Folk Festival (begun respectively in 1954 and 1959) was hired to design and produce a unique festival for New Orleans. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was established to oversee the Festival.

From the very beginning, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was envisioned as an important event that would have great cultural significance and popular appeal. The Festival was the culmination of years of discussions and efforts by city leaders who wanted to create an event worthy of the city’s legacy as the birthplace of jazz.

For more information, history, and complete daily schedules of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival visit nojazzfest.com.

On February 3rd, 2009 Boney James will release Send One Your Love, a 10-track album of intimate love songs from. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the sax icon has put together the ultimate collection of love songs which includes new material as well as covers from Stevie Wonder, Barry White, James Taylor and more.

Send One Your Love is the third album James has recorded since signing with Concord Records. The album follows his debut for the label – Shine – which received rave reviews and landed him at #1 on the Contemporary Jazz charts.

The first single is Boney’s sultry interpretation of the Stylistics classic, “Stop, Look, Listen”.

Send One Your Love is a collection of instrumental tracks with one incredible surprise on the James Taylor cover of “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”. On this track, Boney introduces the world to the incredible sound of Atlanta based R&B singer Quinn. Having previously done background vocals, Quinn has now set off on his own and gladly lends his smooth vocals to the album.

“When I heard a demo of Quinn, I knew I had to have him sing on the album,” Boney says. “His voice brings the track to life and adds such flavor to the record. The world needs to hear Quinn and I am happy they can on my album!”

Boney James was raised in New Rochelle, NY, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. James has sold millions of albums, headlined sold-out tours, been awarded four Gold Album certifications and a Soul Train Award, and received two Grammy Award nominations and one NAACP Image Award nomination. James is married to actress and filmmaker Lily Mariye who portrays nurse Lily Jarvik on the NBC drama ER.

“This is my 12th record, but for the first time, I did have a loose concept,” James said back in August. “I started to think about what it is about my playing or my sound that people have been digging. And it does have a little bit of that seductive quality; it does have that low, fat-tone thing.

“So I wanted to make almost like a Marvin Gaye record where you can put it on and it can set this almost incredible mood. It’s like make-out music.”

For more information on Boney James you can visit him online at boneyjames.com.

The Soulful Christmas Tour began at the end of November and singer Will Downing, dubbed “Prince of Sophisticated Soul,” joined the tour that also features Lalah Hathaway and saxophonist Gerald Albright. The vocalist is looking forward to performing holiday material as well as tunes from his hit 2007 CD release After Tonight.

This year has seen Downing concentrating on getting back to performing live after learning in 2006 that he has the debilitating disease polymyositis, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks muscle fibers. For almost a year the singer was bedridden and nearly unable to move.

In April Downing announced that with the aid of immunosuppressant drugs of the type tested in Muscular Dystrophy Association clinical trials, he was recovering and returning to his performing career.

Downing has 13 albums to his credit and won the International Association of African-American Music’s Diamond Award in 2002.

Downing acknowledges that breakthroughs in medical research helped him beat a disease that initially dealt him almost unbearable pain. “My family’s support, faith in God and doctors who knew how to fight my illness brought me back from some very tough times,” he said.

Asked about balancing his health with his career, Downing has said, “You know what? I take it day by day. You know the phone is ringing consistently for folks to book me to come out and do whatever I do. That’s good, but I’m trying to do a good balancing act now. I take a little work, do a little play. I do what I can do. I don’t over-extend myself.”

For more information on Will Downing you can visit willdowning.com. For more information on the Soulful Christmas Tour you can visit soulfulchristmastour.com.

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Authentic soul music and superstar musical performances are the consistent theme and backdrop for Soul Men, the comedic film directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film was released nationwide on November 7th and the soundtrack, which showcases the aforementioned music, is in stores now.

The film stars entertainment icons Bernie Mac, who passed away on August 9th, award-winning actor Samuel L. Jackson, and includes a cameo appearance by Isaac Hayes who died the day after Mac in unrelated circumstances.

In his last movie performance, popular comedian Mac, Jackson and Grammy winner John Legend (who makes a special appearance in the movie) play members of a fictitious group, The Real Deal.

More than providing the musical narrative for the movie, the soundtrack for Soul Men stands alone as a solid album that faithfully recreates the legendary sound and flavor associated with Stax Records at the height of its popularity in the late 60s through the mid-70s.

With a slate of top contemporary artists including Grammy winner John Legend, neo-soul stars Anthony Hamilton, Leela James and Ryan Shaw, cult favorites Sharon Jones with her band The Dap Kings and Me’Shell Ndegeocello among others, the Soul Men soundtrack focuses on some of the greatest music classics from the Stax catalog.

For more information on the film and a sampling of the soundtrack you can visit the official website, soulmen-movie.com.

Aretha Franklin is already known the world-over as the Queen of Soul, but now according to a recent poll conducted by Rolling Stone magazine she can also consider herself the greatest singer of the rock era.

The results of the poll placed Franklin, 66, ahead of Ray Charles at No. 2, Elvis Presley at No. 3, Sam Cooke at No. 4 and John Lennon at No. 5. The magazine surveyed 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music-industry insiders.

The 100-strong list was published earlier this month in an issue of Rolling Stone that featured four different covers.

In the issue R&B singer Mary J. Blige writes, in a testimonial, that Franklin is “the reason why women want to sing.” Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, who was No. 15 on the list, describes Presley’s voice as “confident, insinuating and taking no prisoners.”

Besides Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan at No. 7 and Stevie Wonder at No. 9. Marvin Gaye was No. 6, Otis Redding No. 8, and James Brown No. 10.

Other notables included Paul McCartney at No. 11, one place ahead of his idol, Little Richard; and Mick Jagger at No. 16, also one ahead of a key influence, Tina Turner. Among the top 25, 50-year-old Michael Jackson was the youngest, coming in at No. 25.

Voters included Metallica frontman James Hetfield, folk singers David Crosby and Yusuf Islam, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, punk rock veteran Iggy Pop and English pop star James Blunt. They each submitted their top 20 choices, and an accounting firm tabulated the results.

For more information on this issue of Rolling Stone, including images of actual voter ballots, you can visit their site, rollingstone.com.

It is a rare pleasure these days to hear a singer with a completely original sound and an immediately recognizable voice that mesmerizes with sheer tonal beauty and style. Such an artist is soul and jazz powerhouse Maysa, who, like Anita Baker (to whom she is sometimes compared) occupies a completely unique niche in the musical cosmos, at the intersection of jazz and soul.

But Maysa has ranged far more widely, into the realms of Acid Jazz, as a featured vocalist with Incognito, and dance music. Her multi-faceted artistry is part of what makes her special but it may also be a reason why she has not been more widely known, despite the fervor of her fans, in a world that depends far too much on easy categorization.

The release of her seventh album, Metamorphosis, an impressive set of all-original material that follows up on her two acclaimed albums of classic soul, may well be the album that takes her to the next level of appreciation as one of the foremost contemporary vocalists on the scene today.

“My vision for this album,” Maysa notes, “was to change the music a little bit to be in line with the way I feel spiritually and emotionally. On a couple of my previous albums I was playing it a little too safe. I’m not afraid to express myself now.”

Metamorphosis offers many high points that underscore Maysa’s impressive ability to project her soul into different musical contexts. Songs such as “Simpatico” deliver the kind funky Brazilian-inflected jazz that Maysa has been noted for with Incognito, as well as on own her albums. “Never Really Ever” is slinky neo-soul while “I Need A Man” is a straightforward R & B ballad.

Metamorphosis also features some impressive guest performers; saxophonist/flautist Najee and guitarist Nick Colionne and drummer/producer Michael White.

Blues & Soul Magazine has said, “Maysa’s voice is as smooth and as rich as chocolate…its pure, perfect tone is gorgeous and caresses with a languorous sensuality.”

The Baltimore Sun wrote, “Maysa is one of the best singers in underground soul.”

Maysa released Metamorphosis, back in October, for more information you can visit maysa.com.