Written by well-known publicist Seth Cohen, LVanHart sends out our very first press release. having now been producing concerts in the Kingston, NY area for one year, Hartmann thought it was important for the press to have more knowledge about her history in the music industry.
Read the press release.

Laura Hartmann, President of LVanHart to teach at the College of St. Rose
Laura will be teaching the Artist Management class at the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY for the fall 2011 semester, making her an adjunct faculty member of the Music Industry program. She will teach a class of 15 students of the junior class. It being such an innovative program, it was recently named by Billboard Magazine as 'one of just 28 "Schools of Rock" nationwide.' In its first "Music Business School Guide," Billboard cites Saint Rose for its performance- and recording-based program that develops students' technical, artistic and promotional skills. She will be teaching in collaboration with her former teacher, Sr. Mary Anne Nelson who is the head of the program.

On April 29th, Laura Hartmann produced a concert on April 29th, A Celebration of Life and Legacy of Dr. Billy Taylor, who was a dear friend, mentor and colleague. The concert took place at the Massry Center for the Arts at the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY (Hartmann's alma mater). The legendary pianist, Ramsey Lewis, was the featured performer who play solo piano in honor of Taylor. It was Taylor who many times told Ramsey he should play more solo piano, he did for his friend that night. The evening opened with a conversation between Hartmann and Lewis about their friend and his great impact on the music, and humanity. Read the Review.

LVanHart is currently in production for a new educational series that will focus on the last generation to play with the originators of jazz. She is working in partnership with Emmy nominated media company Remote Digital Media to develop this series. More information will be coming soon.

NPR to Air Steve Wilson with Strings from the Kennedy Center
On February 2nd NPR will release Steve Wilson with Strings from The Kennedy Center, airing on JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. The release is in celebration of Steve's 51st birthday on February 9th. JazzSet airs on WBGO 88.3FM on Sunday 2/5 at 6pm and Wednesday, 2/9 at 6:30pm. Please check for your local listing at jazzset.npr.org. The performance is from the Kennedy, where Steve played music from Bird With Strings. The band features Bruce Barth on piano, Michael Bowie on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, and a killin' string section: Diane Monroe, Matvei Sigalov, Naira Underwood, Troy Stuart and Dawn Johnson. The showed will also be archived at jazzset.npr.org. Read the 5 star review.

Diane Monroe feature Interview Published on AllAbout Jazz.com
All About Jazz recently published a 'tell all' interview with Diane on her journey from classical violinist, to jazz groove master! Diane Monroe: Bridging Diverse Musical Worlds. "Listening to Diane Monroe play jazz violin—whether solo, duo, or in a group—what's immediately evident is how great an improviser she is, fitting seamlessly with the music and the group, breathing and moving with the music. Only then does it become clear that she possesses the precision, complexity, and technique of a classical concert violinist." Read the full interview.

Wilson Makes his Debut as a Headliner at the 32nd Annual Detroit Jazz Festival!
Steve has just returned from Detroit where he and his band Wilsonian's Grain performed on the Absopure Pyramid Stage on Sunday, September 5th. The performance was picked as Best Set (Outdoor) of the festival. Mark Stryker writes, "His post-bop quartet, Wilsonian's Grain, channeled the saxophonist's best qualities -- selflessness, a fresh and well-made take on the tradition, and the ability to reference a broad spectrum of strategies and styles without falling prey to pastiche or sacrificing an original voice. Musicians known for their versatility like Wilson sometimes lack a strong enough point of view to put their own stamp on a group. Or they're so intent on putting a stake in the ground that they force the action. But Wilson, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and Detroit-born drummer Clarence Penn let the music come to them in unpretentious, charismatic fashion at the Pyramid Stage at Hart Plaza."
Read the full review.

Steve Wilson's most recent feature interview appears in June "Sax Lovers" issue of Jazz Inside NY. Read Steve's thoughts on the great musicians who have mentored and influenced his own music, along with his take on the current direction of jazz. "...music at its best reflects humanity, humility, spirituality and communication, and has those at its core."

On May 21, 2011, Diane Monroe premiered the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Markand Thacker. Read the review. The Concerto was "written for, and dedicated to Diane Monroe, a brilliant violinist and dear friend" several year's ago by Dr. David Baker. It was a sold out crowd, and Diane asked how much of the cadenza in the first movement was written by Baker, her response was "well, not very much!" Earlier in the program she performed Bach's double concerto with concertmaster Erin Aldridge. Monroe wowed the audience with her very special brand of jazz meets classical!

Michael Wolff recently spent some time with syndicated writer Nick Russo. The interview appears in two parts on the website Something Else! Reviews. Read  Part 1 and Part 2, In syndication, it has also appeared in All About Jazz and many other online outlets. Michael discussed his experiences working with Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson, and other influences in his music. "Cannonball's thing was that if you talked to the audience, you could connect with them musically. He's the one who showed me you could talk with people from the bandstand. Now, that's my personality; it comes out in me.'"