Legacy’s Classic Christmas Album Series Rings In The Holidays With New Collections By Alabama, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Martina McBride, Barbra Streisand, And Andy Williams

All titles arrive in stores October 8, 2013

Legacy Recordings’ Classic Christmas Album Series (http://www.legacyrecordings.com) rings in this year’s holiday season with new collections by Alabama, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Martina McBride, Barbra Streisand, and Andy Williams.  The eight new titles will be available everywhere October 8, 2013 through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Each new collection gathers a dozen or more remastered tracks that span the career of each artist, all of whom recorded multiple holiday albums through the years (some on multiple record labels), as well as occasional Christmas tunes on other albums such as soundtracks or benefit albums.

The Classic Christmas Album by Neil Diamond, for example, draws its selections from his three holiday bestsellers: The Christmas Album (1992), The Christmas Album 2 (1994), and A Cherry Cherry Christmas (2009).  The Classic Christmas Album by Alabama presents tracks from Alabama Christmas (1985), Christmas With The Judds And Alabama (1994), and Alabama Christmas Vol. II (1996).  The Classic Christmas Album by Gladys Knight & the Pips gathers songs from Bless This House (1975, Buddah) and That Special Time Of Year (1980, Columbia).

With many of their holiday albums either out-of-print, or never issued on CD, or highly collectible rarities, each new title in the Classic Christmas Album series is a welcome cross-section of those hard-to-find classics.  Each Classic Christmas Album gathers a career’s worth of precious memories, often spanning decades, while creating new memories at the same time.

The eight new Classic Christmas Album entries comprise the following:

The Classic Christmas Album by Alabama (RCA/Legacy 88883 74444 2 2)  (http://smarturl.it/cc_alabama_amzn ) Selections: 1. Christmas In Dixie 2. A Candle In The Window 3. Christmas In Your Arms 4. Tennessee Christmas 5. When It Comes To Christmas 6. The Night Before Christmas 7. Hangin’ ‘Round The Mistletoe 8. New Year’s Eve 1999 9. The Blessings 10. Angels Among Us 11. I Was Young Once Too 12. Tonight Is Christmas 13. Joseph And Mary’s Boy 14. O Little Town Of Bethlehem 15. Little Drummer Boy 16. Silent Night.

The Classic Christmas Album by Johnny Cash (Columbia/Legacy 88883 73609 2 0)  (http://smarturl.it/cc_cash_amzn ) Selections: 1. Christmas As I Knew It 2. Christmas Time’s A-Comin’ 3. That Christmasy Feeling 4. Christmas With You 5. Blue Christmas 6. The Little Drummer Boy 7. The Gifts They Gave 8. King Of Love 9. Merry Christmas Mary 10. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day 11. Joy To The World 12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 13. Ringing The Bells For Jim 14. The Christmas Guest 15. The Christmas Spirit 16. Silent Night.

The Classic Christmas Album by Neil Diamond (Columbia/Legacy 88883 74363 2 8)  (http://smarturl.it/cc_ndiamond_amzn ) Selections: 1. White Christmas 2. Joy To The World 3. O Come All Ye Faithful 4. The First Noel 5. Winter Wonderland 6. You Make It Feel Like Christmas 7. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) 8. O Holy Night 9. Silver Bells 10. Sleigh Ride 11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 12. Silent Night.

Oscar D’Leon, Juan Formell, Roberto Menescal, Toto La Momposina, Palito Ortega, Eddie Palmieri, And Miguel Rios To Be Honored With The Latin Recording Academy® Lifetime Achievement Award

MARIO KREUTZBERGER AKA “DON FRANCISCO” and PEDRO RAMIREZ VELAZQUEZ TO RECEIVE THE TRUSTEES AWARD

Oscar D’León, Juan Formell, Roberto Menescal, Totó La Momposina, Palito Ortega, Eddie Palmieri, and Miguel Ríos will be honored with The Latin Recording Academy(®’)s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Mario Kreutzberger aka “Don Francisco” and Pedro Ramírez Velázquez are the recipients of the prestigious Trustees Award, it was announced today by The Latin Recording Academy. These honorees will be acknowledged at a special invitation-only ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas as part of the weeklong 14th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards®

The Latin Recording Academy Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Latin Recording Academy)

celebration.

Lifetime Achievement Awards: This Special Award is presented by vote of The Latin Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees to performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording during their careers.

Oscar D’Leon

Born with rhythm in his blood, renowned Venezuelan singer and musician Oscar D’León is known as “El León de la Salsa” (“The Lion of Salsa”). At a young age, D’León expressed a love for music by vocally improvising harmonies and using surface tops to mimic percussion rhythms. Self-taught as a bass player, he gained notoriety for his ability to entertain by dancing, singing and playing instruments as he performed. In 1972, he formed the group Dimensión Latina with whom he released one of his most famous hits, “Llorarás.” In 1976, he left the group to form two more orchestras, La Salsa Mayor and La Crítica. In the ’80s, D’León’s solo career rose to international acclaim as he began touring Europe and became an overnight phenomenon. In his 30-year career, he has performed in Japan, Australia, Cuba, Turkey, Canada and Latin America. Today, he continues to record music and is a great philanthropist.

Renowned Cuban musician, bassist, composer, and arranger Juan Formell is the true definition of a musical innovator. His studies began under the tutelage of his father, musician and composer Francisco Formell. As his talent grew, he began working with some of the most famous artists in Havana leading to his highly successful compositions with the Carlos Faxas Orchestra, “Ya Lo Se,” “De Mis Recuerdos” and “Lo Material.” Formell’s work with the Elio Reve’s Orchestra heralded his ingenuity as a pioneer in the sound of popular music. He introduced electronic instrumentation into the field of Cuban music, changing its form, style and structure and resulting in the creation of the “La Nueva Trova Cubana” (“the new Cuban ballad”). In 1969, he created Los Van Van – one of the most important and influential bands in the history of Cuban pop music – and later earned a GRAMMY(®) Award in 1999 for Best Salsa Performance. He has authored more than 250 musical works, composed for theater, television, and films, and toured the globe while continuing to experiment and create new rhythms and sounds.

Roberto Menescal

With a career that spans more than 50 years as a composer, producer, guitarist, and vocalist, Roberto Menescal is revered as one of the founders of bossa nova. Born in Brazil and beginning his professional career at age 20, his creative and brilliant songwriting ability, coupled with his rhythmic use of the guitar, has led him to create some of the country’s most beloved and classic songs, such as “O Barquinho,” “Você,” “Nós E O Mar,” “Bye, Bye Brasil,” and “Rio,” among others. Aside from forming the basis for the bossa nova sound, Menescal has performed in a variety of Latin music mediums, including Brazilian pop, Música Popular Brasileira and Samba. He has composed two soundtracks for film and four biographical books have been written about his life’s work and contributions. He continues to perform internationally, record music and participate in workshop programs throughout the Brazil.

Hailing from Colombia, singer and performer Totó La Momposina is a national treasure. Her music is inspired by a rich cultural mix of African, Native Indian, and Spanish history that embraces her native

Toto la Momposina

land and is represented in the Latin American rhythms she presents. Touring and performing at a young age in coastal villages, her deep love for her roots and musical traditions developed into her signature style. While studying music history, choreography and rhythm at Paris’ Sorbonne University, she also began touring in Europe, presenting for the first time the indigenous music of her homeland to the outside world. Tours in Latin America and the Caribbean would follow along with a move to Cuba, where she studied the bolero. She continues to tour internationally and share the colorful history, native melodies and rhythmic forms of her beloved Colombia.

LEGACY’s ESSENTIAL SERIES WELCOMES FIVE NEW ENTRIES FROM SARAH McLachlan, NAS, SANTANA, BILL WITHERS, AND TAMMY WYNETTE

Legacy Recordings’ critically acclaimed and globally successful Essential Series has released its latest entries, covering the recording careers of Sarah McLachlan, Nas, Santana, Bill Withers, and Tammy Wynette. The following titles were made available everywhere August 20th through Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT: The Essential Sarah McLachlan (RCA/Legacy 88883 75077 2); The Essential Nas (Columbia/Legacy 88883 75467 2, in Explicit and Clean formats); The Essential Santana (Columbia/Legacy 88697 83420 2); The Essential Bill Withers (Columbia/Legacy 88883 74220 2); and The Essential Tammy Wynette (Epic/Legacy 88883 74115 2).

The Essential Series has set a worldwide standard with its vast catalog of career-spanning, chronologically sequenced, fully annotated collections, available as double-CD packages or digital downloads. Individually:

The Essential Sarah McLachlan

The Essential Sarah McLachlan serves as a 25th anniversary commemoration of the singer-songwriter’s career, which evolves over the course of this 36-song double-CD. Starting in 1988, her career initially built with her first three albums, culminating with Fumbling Towards Ecstasy in 1993. After the left-field success of “I Will Remember You” from The Brothers McMullen movie soundtrack, she emerged as a global star in 1997, founding the all-female touring festival, Lilith Fair, and releasing her new album, the 8-times platinum Surfacing (with Grammy Award®-winning hit, “Building a Mystery,” “Sweet Surrender,” “Adia,” and “Angel“). After a well-earned hiatus, Sarah re-emerged with the multi-platinum Afterglow in 2003 (“Fallen,” “Stupid,” “World On Fire“) and Afterglow Live in 2004 (“Push,” “Witness“). Three of the single releases from Sarah’s 2010 album Laws Of Illusion (“Loving You Is Easy,” “Forgiveness,” “Illusions Of Bliss“) bring to a close this collection, which was produced by Darren Salmieri, and executive produced by Sarah. Respected Brooklyn-based writer and arts critic Amy Linden contributes a powerful 1,200-word liner notes essay to the package.

The Essential Nas (Explicit & Clean)

The Essential Nas marks the first major double-CD collection released in the U.S. that covers the full solo recording career of hip-hop’s most controversial and uncompromising New York MC. The 30 tracks here focus on Nas’ decade at Columbia, from his Illmatic debut in 1994 (with “The World Is Yours” and “It Ain’t Hard To Tell“), up through his final album for the label, the astounding landmark double-CD of 2004, Street’s Disciple. For good measure, two tracks represent Nas’ subsequent decade at Def Jam, both drawn from his most recent studio album, last year’s Life Is Good (“Nasty” and “Loco-Motive” featuring Large Professor). The compilation was produced by Noah Uman (who has worked on numerous Legacy projects by Run-D.M.C., Big Pun, the Fugees, and more); and contains a biographical liner notes essay by Gabriel Alvarez, co-author of ego trip’s The Big Book of Racism! (Harper, 2002).

The Essential Santana

The Essential Santana covers nearly 40 years of recording, a testament to the inimitable life force known as Carlos Santana, who personally compiled this 28-song double-CD. At one end of the timeline is the Woodstock/Fillmore era band signed to Columbia by Clive Davis, with their litany of hits from 1969 to the early ’90s: “Jingo,” “Everybody’s Everything,” “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen,” “Oye Como Va,” “No One To Depend On,” “She’s Not There,” and more. At the other end of the timeline are Santana and Clive Davis reunited at Arista starting in 1999 with the 15-times platinum Supernatural album that generated a record nine Grammy Awards®, for “Smooth” (featuring Rob Thomas), “Maria Maria,” “The Calling” featuring Eric Clapton, and more. The story is told by Albany-based music journalist/jazz drummer Hal Miller, who has annotated numerous Santana reissues for Legacy, and who is now collaborating with Carlos and author Ashley Khan on the Santana autobiography.

The Essential Bill Withers

The Essential Bill Withers is a reminder of the immortal mystique that surrounds one of our most gifted 20th century songwriters, who recently celebrated his 75th birthday on July 4th. This two CD package was compiled and produced by Grammy®-nominated Legacy veteran Leo Sacks and Marcia Withers (Bill’s wife and manager), who dig deep into Bill’s catalog, beyond the timeless quartet of ’71-’72 hits that established his career, Grammy® Hall Of Fame classics “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean On Me,” “Grandma’s Hands,” and “Use Me.” The   collection moves into personal (and fan) favorites and rare singles, as well as album tracks covering each and every one of Bill’s eight studio albums, from 1971’s Just As I Am debut to 1985’s Watching You Watching Me. The icing on the cake is the trio of off-label ’80s collaborations that put Bill in the good company of the Jazz Crusaders (“Soul Shadows“), Grover Washington, Jr. (“Just The Two Of Us“), and Ralph MacDonald (“In The Name Of Love“). The package features a biographical essay by Los Angeles-based arts and culture journalist Lynell George.

The Essential Tammy Wynette

The Essential Tammy Wynette, which underscores her position as a beacon of hope and independence to a generation of women, arrives 15 years after Tammy’s death in 1998 at age 55; and 45 years since “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and “Stand By Your Man” were back-to-back #1 hits in 1968, sentiments that still resonate in today’s society. Tammy made it to #1 country with just her third single, “My Elusive Dreams” (with David Houston), the first of 20 #1 country hits for Tammy and producer Billy Sherrill, 18 of which are included on this set. Tammy had at least one #1 country hit (sometimes two or three) every year from 1967 to ’73; in 1976 (the year after her divorce from George Jones), she had four consecutive #1 country hits, and she stayed a Top 20 presence well into the 1980s. Along the way, she had world­wide sales of more than 30 million albums. Legacy’s country music A-team of compilation producer Gregg Geller and liner notes essayist Rich Kienzle are to be commended for this Essential package.

PAT ROBERTSON EXPOSÉ TO PREMIERE AT TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND

Eye-opening Documentary “Mission Congo” Explores Religious Right Leader’s Use of Charity Resources for Diamond Mining Mission

The Guardian story about “Mission Congo”: Mission Congo: how Pat Robertson raised millions on the back of a non-existent aid project

“Mission Congo,” a documentary feature delving into religious right leader Pat Robertson’s exploitation of one of the worst humanitarian crises of modern times for what appeared to be his own personal gain, will premiere this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film uncovers Robertson’s alleged hypocrisy and exploitation of the Rwandan refugee crisis, and his operation of a diamond mining endeavor using planes, and possibly other resources, from his charity, Operation Blessing International.

Documentary filmmakers Lara Zizic and David Turner were researching a feature script when they came across an article by Bill Sizemore in the Virginian Pilot, detailing how Pat Robertson, on “The 700 Club,” raised money for the Rwandan refugee crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On the show, he claimed that Operation Blessing International was using its cargo planes to aid refugees – however, it was uncovered that much of the time, the planes were being used to haul mining equipment to a diamond mining concession in a completely different part of DRC for Robertson’s for-profit company, the African Development Company.

Zizic and Turner were immediately fascinated, and contacted the pilots who carried mining equipment for Robertson. These initial interviews led them to contact the miners involved in these operations, and their stories convinced them that a film needed to be made to tell this story. That film, “Mission Congo,” premieres on Friday evening at TIFF.

Despite his high standing and level of respect in the religious community, Robertson is a figure who has been embroiled in numerous controversies throughout his career, not least of which are his relentless disparaging comments about other religions including Islam (and other Christian denominations such as Presbyterians and Methodists), as well as feminists, liberals, and perhaps most consistently, homosexuals. Most recently, Robertson drew the ire of the gay community for

Pat Robertson, TV evangelist

claiming on the August 27th episode of “The 700 Club” that members of the San Francisco gay community would deliberately infect people with AIDS by cutting them with sharp infected rings while shaking hands.

Zizic and Turner released a statement about their goals with the film: “Sometimes a story hits you so profoundly that you simply have to act. We were researching a fiction script when we came across an article mentioning Robertson’s dual activities in Congo.   We felt that these activities, and implied level of deception, were unfathomable on so many levels that we had to find out more. How could something like this happen? Why was there not more coverage in the media? How did he get away with it? If it happened then, is it still happening now?”

Zizic and Turn hope that the new evidence about Robertson’s corrupt practices presented in “Mission Congo” can lead to a re-opening of past investigations regarding Operation Blessing, and encourage a conversation about more responsible oversight of charitable and religious organizations.

“The film raises larger questions over the billions of dollars raised by American religious institutions that go untaxed and unregulated,” said Thom Powers, International Documentary Programmer for TIFF. “Robertson’s organization alone earns annual revenues in the hundreds of millions. If this story can bring about greater accountability, which would truly be a blessing.”

Pat Robertson declined to be interviewed for the film. As a second chance to speak to the content of “Mission Congo,” the filmmakers are extending an invitation to him to participate in the post-screening Q&A at the film’s premiere on Friday evening.

“Mission Congo” – which premieres this weekend in Toronto — is currently seeking distribution, and is being repped by Cinetic Media.

 

Miles Davis’ The Original Mono Recordings Collects Nine Of Miles’ Earliest Columbia Albums, Recorded 1956 To 1961

Landmark box set presents nine albums remastered in original, brilliant sound, as they were intended to be heard in the 1950s and ’60s

Available everywhere November 12, 2013, through Columbia/Legacy

Nine of Miles Davis’ earliest albums on Columbia Records, encompassing music that he recorded for the label in monaural sound from 1956 to 1961 (and released from 1957 to 1964), will be issued together on CD for the first time as Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings.  This historic box set, comprising nine CDs in mini-LP replica jackets, will be available everywhere November 12, 2013 through Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.  (You can pre-order at http://smarturl.it/milesmono_amzn.)

Miles Davis The Original Mono Recordings Box Set

Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings is a true landmark collection, with every album newly remastered in 2012-13, from the original analog master tapes.  CD consumers will be able to hear Miles’ early music in mono, the way virtually all popular music was recorded, marketed and intended to be heard in the 1950s and early 1960s.  Mono was the norm before the home, broadcast and film stereo era began to develop fully in the mid-’60s, leading to stereo’s all-encompassing takeover by the early ’70s.

The Original Mono Recordings follows in the tradition of the eight-time Grammy Award®-winning Miles Davis Series of multiple-CD box sets that began in 1996.  The series culminated in the 2009 box set of 52 mini-LP replica jacketed albums, The Complete Miles Davis Columbia Album Collection, whose contents were all heard in stereo.

The Original Mono Recordings was produced for release by multiple Grammy Award®-winners Steve Berkowitz and mastering engineer Mark Wilder, who have overseen the Miles Davis Series since its inception more than 18 years ago; and the Miles Davis Bootleg Series since it was introduced in 2011.

On November 29th in celebration of Record Store Day, Columbia/Legacy will follow up with vinyl mono editions of Kind Of Blue, Miles & Monk At Newport, and Jazz Track–capping a series of recently released mono LPs including ‘Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead, Milestones, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Someday My Prince Will Come.

The Original Mono Recordings by Miles Davis includes:

— The six albums that trace the development of Miles’ “first great quintet” at Columbia, all notably featuring John Coltrane, namely ‘Round About Midnight, Milestones, Jazz Track, Kind Of Blue (at 4-times RIAA platinum, the greatest selling jazz album of all time), Someday My Prince Will Come, and Miles And Monk At Newport; and

— The three albums that placed Miles (and various group members) in sophisticated orchestral settings at Columbia, all notably arranged and conducted by Gil Evans, namely Miles Ahead, Porgy And Bess, and Sketches Of Spain.

Two of the albums included in The Original Mono Recordings are exciting rare editions that have never appeared in any Miles Davis CD collection in the U.S., and have not been generally available for many years:

— Jazz Track, presenting 10 improvised tracks that Miles recorded in Paris with European musicians in 1957, for director Louis Malle’s film Ascenseur pour l’echafaud (Elevator To the Gallows), combined with three tracks by Miles’ own sextet in New York–featuring Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb–from their only other studio recordings of 1958, prior to the Kind Of Blue sessions in ’59; and

— Miles And Monk At Newport, featuring four jazz classics recorded live by the Miles Davis Sextet at the jazz festival in 1958, followed by two classics recorded at the festival in 1963 by Columbia’s newly-signed Thelonious Monk Quartet.

The Original Mono Recordings will be housed in a slipcase similar to Bob Dylan’s The Original Mono Recordings box released in 2012, containing a fully-annotated 40-page booklet with complete discographic information including personnel and production details, plus a 2,000-word essay by author and Wall Street Journal writer Marc Myers.  The liner notes add in-depth, album-by-album comments on the new remastering processes, as told to Myers by three-time Grammy Award®-winning mastering engineer Mark Wilder.

Pilot Pen Makes Writing Fashionable, Again at New York Fashion Week

Pilot presents fashion pen collection at GBK Productions Style Suite, Falguni & Shane Peacock Fashion Show, and Birchbox lounge

Pilot Corporation of America (Pilot Pen) is making writing fashionable again at New York Fashion Week, and celebrating

Pilot Acroball PureWhite

self-expression and style, by teaming up with three unique fashion-centric events.  These events include the celebrity focused GBK Productions Style Lounge at The Empire Hotel, the fashionista focused Birchbox Local across from Milk Studios, and the Falguni and Shane Peacock fashion show at Lincoln Center.  In all three locations, Pilot will be featuring its smooth writing, fashion forward pens available in striking spring pantone colors and with chic designs, the perfect way to express yourself and your personal style.

“Fashion and writing are all about self-expression.  The right accessories are the perfect way to personalize your style,” said Ariann Langsam, Director of Consumer Marketing. “When you reach for a pen it should express your style and your words effortlessly!  From the color-blocked Acroball PureWhite, to the striking flourishes of G2 Fashion, to the bold pantone colors of the erasable and retractable FriXion Clicker, Pilot’s new pens deliver style and substance.  For NYFW why wouldn’t you use a pen that looks as good as you do?”

GBK Productions Style Lounge at The Empire Hotel – September 6-7

The week kicks off at the GBK Productions Style Lounge at The Empire Hotel, with guests including top celebrities, stylists, designers, and top jet setters.  Attendees will experience the Acroball PureWhite, the striking G2 Fashion

Pilot Corporation of America Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Pilot Corporation of America)

  Premium Gel Roller, the incredible erasable and retractable FriXion Clicker, and the luxuriously affordable Pilot MR Metropolitan Fountain pen at Pilot’s “Inspiration Station.”

   Birchbox Local at NYFW, Chelsea Market – September 7-10

Pilot Pen has teamed up with Birchbox to be part of their official Fashion Week pop-up, sponsoring the Instagram Photo Booth and Photo Wall. Attendees will experience the flawless writing delivered by the one of a kind FriXion Clicker, creating their own perfect “fashion story picture frame,” showcased on the Birchbox photo wall. The erasable FriXion Clicker allows attendees to express themselves with incredibly smooth writing and expressive colors if you make a mistake, no one has to know you’re not perfect, FriXion Clicker erases clean with no mess.  At the Lounge, attendees can participate in the #PenItFWD campaign. Pen It Forward is more than a contest; it’s a movement to bring the written word to the digital world.

Falguni and Shane Peacock Fashion Show Spotlight – September 9, 5:00pm

Incredible style and unexpected details make Falguni and Shane Peacock collections truly unforgettable. One important detail is the fact that the striking patterns featured on Pilot’s G2 Fashion line of pens will adorn the nails of the models walking in the show. These G2 pens are where style and effortless self-expression meet.  VIP attendees will be gifted the G2 Fashion Collection – the perfect pen to keep them organized and stylish.

Follow Pilot Pens’ adventures at New York Fashion week on www.Facebook.com/PilotPen, Twitter and Instagram @PilotPenUSA #PenItFWD.

Charles James Exhibition and New Costume Institute Galleries to Open in May 2014 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

(Images by Lea Christiano and Lolly Koon)

Gala Benefit May 5, 2014, with Chair Aerin Lauder and Co-Chairs Bradley Cooper, Oscar de la Renta, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, and Anna Wintour

Exhibition Dates:      May 8–August 10, 2014

Exhibition Location: The New Costume Institute Galleries and first-floor Special Exhibition Galleries   

Press Preview:  Monday, May 5, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that the inaugural exhibition of the newly renovated Costume Institute in spring 2014 will examine the career of legendary 20th-century Anglo-American couturier Charles James (1906–1978).  Charles James: Beyond Fashion, on view from May 8 through August 10, 2014 (preceded on May 5 by The Costume Institute Benefit), will be presented in two locations–The Costume Institute’s new galleries as well as special exhibitions galleries on the Museum’s first floor. The exhibition will explore James’s design process and his use of sculptural, scientific, and mathematical approaches to construct revolutionary ball gowns and innovative tailoring that continue to influence designers today.

Charles James, 1947

Charles James, 1947

“Charles James considered himself an artist, and approached fashion with a sculptor’s eye and a scientist’s logic,” said Mr. Campbell.  “As such, the Museum, and in particular, the new Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery in The Costume Institute, offer the ideal setting in which to contextualize the complexity of James’s work.

The New Costume Institute

May 2014 will mark the grand reopening of The Costume Institute space after an overall two-year renovation, reconfiguration, and updating. The 4,200-square-foot Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery will represent a fundamental change in the Museum’s approach to its costume collection, including a flexible design that lends itself to frequent transformation, a zonal sound system, innovative projection technology, wireless connectivity, and exhibitions on view 10 months a year.

Charles James, 1948

Charles James, 1950

Charles James, 1951

The New Costume Institute will also include the Carl and Iris Barrel Apfel Gallery, which will orient visitors to The Costume Institute’s exhibitions and holdings; a state-of-the-art costume conservation center; an expanded study/storage facility that will house the combined holdings of the Met and the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection; and The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library, one of the world’s foremost fashion libraries. The project is funded by a gift from Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, as well as proceeds raised at the annual Costume Institute Benefit under the leadership of Anna Wintour, and from commitments by Janet and Howard Kagan and the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc.  The Costume Institute was last refurbished in 1992.     

Harry Nilsson’s THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION Commemorates Decade of Recording from 1967 to 1977, On Deluxe 17-CD Box Set

The profound musical gifts of Harry Nilsson, an artist whose fans ranged from all four Beatles to the Monkees, Randy Newman, Keith Moon, Jimmy Webb, and dozens more, are on full display in THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION. THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION is the newest entry in Legacy’s critically acclaimed and commercially successful Complete Album Collections Series, introduced in 2011.  The album catalogues of rock, pop, jazz, fusion; country, R&B, and classical artists from the Sony Music archives have been handsomely reissued in the series.  In every case, each album in the box set is packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that LP’s original front and back cover artwork.  Where applicable, the albums in each box include the bonus tracks that have been released on the various expanded CD editions over the years.  Booklets are included with each box set, containing new liner notes essays and complete discographical information, including sources for all bonus material.

Harry Nilsson The RCA Album Collection

This deluxe 17-CD box set is a must-have for Nilsson devotees, and a seductive lure for those whose awareness is limited to his Grammy Award®-winning versions of Badfinger’s “Without You” (#1) and Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” (a #6 hit from the soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy, 1969).  Then there are the notable covers of his own songs by Three Dog Night (“One“), the Monkees (“Cuddly Toy“), the Yardbirds (“Ten Little Indians“), and Blood, Sweat & Tears (“Without Her“).  Others will recall the duo of hits that appeared alongside “Without You” on 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson album, “Coconut” (#8) and “Jump Into The Fire.”  Finally, the playful “Me And My Arrow” (from the soundtrack of his animated film The Point!) and “Girlfriend” (theme of the early ’70s sitcom The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father) have their own coterie of admirers.

THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION presents the definitive 14 albums in Nilsson’s RCA Records U.S. discography, from his 1967 debut Pandemonium Shadow Show (among whose high points are his takes on the Beatles’ “You Can’t Do That” and “She’s Leaving Home“) to his final album for the label in 1977, Knnillssonn.  Bonus material on those albums add up to 65 tracks, of which 26 are previously unreleased.  Adding to the box set’s historical provenance are three newly-compiled CDs, Nilsson Sessions 1967-1968, Nilsson Sessions 1968-1971, and Nilsson Sessions 1971-1974, containing a total of 58 tracks, exactly half of which (29 tracks) are previously unreleased.

The 17 CDs contained in HARRY NILSSON – THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION are as follows:

CD 1: Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967)

CD 2: Aerial Ballet (1968)

CD 3: HARRY (1969)

CD 4: Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)

CD 5: The Point! (1971)

CD 6: Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (1971)

CD 7: Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)

CD 8: Son Of Schmilsson (1972)

CD 9: A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night (1973)

CD 10: Pussy Cats (1974)

CD 11: Duit On MON Dei (1975)

CD 12: Sandman (1976)

CD 13:  . . . That’s The Way It Is (1976)

CD 14: KNNILLSSONN (1977)

CD 15: NILSSON Sessions 1967–1968

CD 16: NILSSON Sessions 1968–1971

CD 17: NILSSON Sessions 1971–1974

In the case of Harry Nilsson’s THE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION, extensive summaries of every album have been written by Andrew Sandoval, who compiled and produced the box set with Rob Santos of Legacy Recordings.  Sandoval has previously worked on multiple reissue projects on Nilsson.