New York - Actress and singer, Cynthia Basinet petitions the United Nations Sixty-second General Assembly Fourth Committee on behalf of issues facing the Western Sahara.

From the UN official site:

CYNTHIA BASINET, singer and actress, said that the international community had a moral responsibility as steward of the Saharawi people, and that a shift in heart and not just policy was required. Anemia, diabetes, tuberculosis, stunting and acute malnutrition were plaguing the Saharawi population, and yet 90 per cent of the population had attended school and were literate, according to a 1998 study.

She expressed deep concern over land mine explosions, such as that which had claimed the life of 8 year-old Fatima Bent Ibrahim this past year. Food prices rivaled those of Europe, with camel meat costing about €4 and the price of potatoes and milk equally prohibitive. Finally, refugees living abroad were unable to bring relatives with them because Western Sahara was not recognized by the United Nations, nor were documents and passports.

It took all facets to make the world a diamond, she said, and the international community must look beyond traditional methods of aid to consider public-private partnerships and microlending, among other forms of assistance, so that Saharawis were not “slowly delineated from the human map of the world”.

Cynthia visited the W. Sahara in ‘01 in efforts to raise awareness for the Saharwian refugees living in self-determination.

She was later nominated for a shared Nobel Peace Prize as part of the “1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe”.

The singer is best known for hits “Santa Baby” and “Tea For Two” .

For more visit:
www.cynthiabasinet.com

Shilts Returns Home to nuGroove and Releases Jigsaw Life

Moorestown, NJ
What do you get when you combine unforgettable hooks and atomic energy? You get a sound that is fresh, unique and totally Shilts. The former frontman for the funk-fortified Down to the Bone and groove jazz specialist, Shilts has signed with nuGroove for the release of his new CD, Jigsaw Life.

“nuGroove was the original home for Down to the Bone. I’m excited to have Shilts back with us. When I heard cuts from this release, I was ecstatic. The songs are unbelievable. There was so much good material on this release that we had a hard time picking the first single,” said David Chackler, President and Co-owner.

Paul “Shilts” Weimar originally hails from London, England and has been playing saxophone since his early teens. His career has spanned all forms of jazz, soul, rock and pop music. He has toured all over the world and performed with a host of international artists, such as The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Rick Braun, Jeff Lorber, Peter White and many more. Eventually Shilts became the most visible and identifiable member of the UK jazz group Down To the Bone. In his eleven years with the group, he remained excited creating a separate identity for himself. He did this with his highly anticipated debut, See What Happens, which earned a 2001 Smooth Jazz Award nomination, followed by his second and highly acclaimed follow up, HeadBoppin. His third and latest release, Jigsaw Life, is a powerful showcase of Shilts’ multitude of performing and composing talents, focusing not only on his tenor brilliance but also his instantly infectious melodies.

“I’ve been lucky that I’ve played in so many different styles of music…soul, fusion, pop, big band, smooth jazz. I’ve brought all those different styles in this CD. I’ve tried to make each track sound different. The jigsaw to me is different styles of music,” said Shilts.

A little taste of the Jigsaw Life:
Jigsaw Life opens with “Piece by Piece.” One of the first songs that Shilts chose for the album, it was originally a tune he wrote for Rick Braun and Richard Elliot but never recorded. On second glance, Shilts decided to crank up the tempo and enriched the funk. Additionally, for the first time in 20 years, Shilts decided to play the soprano. Unfortunately, he no longer owned a soprano. Luckily, Yamaha was gracious enough to loan him one and “Piece by Piece” blossomed into a duet between the soprano and tenor.

Destined to be a summer hit, the upbeat dance track and first single to go to radio, “Back on The Hudson” was untitled for a long time. “I was performing in New York with Down to the Bone on the Spirit Cruises and decided I wanted to play it during the set to test out the new tune. Everyone loved it and asked me the name…I didn’t have one.” In celebration of the location, Shilts name the song “Back on The Hudson.”

In contrast to the rowdy “Back on The Hudson,” the sole ballad on Jigsaw Life is “A Promise is a Promise” with a stunning soprano ballad melody. “This one is for the ladies,” said Shilts.

Keeping to the spirit of making each song unique on Jigsaw Life, Shilts enlisted the aid of a string quartet for “Broken Silence.” Simple and emotionally powerful with a soprano lead, the song slowly builds with a Hammond B-3 and acoustic guitar added to the mix with a dynamic electric guitar solo at the end.

“One of my favorites is track seven, “Outside the Box,” said Shilts. “It’s the furthest away from any other tracks on the album. I originally was going to call it “Southern Fried Sax.” It has a bluesy, southern soul sort of sound with a trio of tenor saxophones interacting with one another…a dirty, nasty, funky groove, yet very minimalist.” With the exception of the guitar, Shilts plays all the instruments for this party track.

This is just a small sampling of the pieces of the music that make up Jigsaw Life.

To learn more, please visit www.shiltsmusic.com.

Talented songstress Lorraine Reid is not just reveling in her previous success as lead singer for dance group Temperance; she’s making a major shift in her career with the release of a hot solo R&B album “Lessons Learned.” Hailing from Toronto, Reid has opened for Lou Bega, Monica, Coolio and Destiny’s Child, and “is vocally ready to take her place beside other international R&B songbirds. Some would even go as far as to grade her deep, rich voice against the bluesy sounds of Billy Holiday or Sarah Vaughan” (Georgette Charlicombe, Mic Check).

It’s no surprise that Reid lists Whitney Houston as one of her influences, since her new album contains vocals comparable to those of Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and India.Arie. Says Charles Bouley II from Billboard, “Reid delivers inspired vocal[s] that prove she’s a seasoned performer; it could easily elevate her to diva status. Her delivery is reminiscent of classic Donna Summer.”

Reid’s musical style can be described as a combination of R&B and soul with an edge. Having recorded two previous albums with Temperance, Virtues of Life and If You Don’t Know, she has the experience and the skills to infiltrate the music industry by simply sharing her powerful voice– with her help, Temperance was able to secure more Juno nominations than any other dance group to date.

Soon after Reid’s 7th Juno nomination in 2000, she began to feel as though her life needed a new direction. She decided to pursue a teaching career while continuing to record commercial jingles for radio and television, as well as perform backup vocals for countless other artists.

In the fall of 2005, the combination of full-time teaching and evening-gigging eventually took a toll on Reid’s health. She suffered a lengthy and extensive bout with laryngitis and was diagnosed with vocal nodules. Reid went through with an operation to have her nodules removed, which caused some loss in range and forced her to use an amplification system when speaking publicly.

Lessons Learned couldn’t be released at a better time in Reid’s life; the album’s title emulates the various challenges she has faced to make this record a reality. You are sure to hear a more soulful and established artist, as Reid provides a window into her heart by sharing the experiences that have made her the talented vocalist she is today.

You can expect to see the highly anticipated album out soon this summer, and while you’re anxiously awaiting the album’s release, go see Reid live July 12th, 2008 at the Montreal Reggae Festival (www.montrealreggaefest.com). Reid is also scheduled to play the Michigan Reggae Festival this coming August.

www.myspace.com/lorrainereid
www.musicdish.net/lorrainereid/

PHOENIX, AZ — FROM THEIR HIGH-POWERED CD — “UN NUEVO ESTILO”….. International Latin sensation STILL ALIVE, the Colombian family group who cuts and creates their own style and version of Hip-Hop, Reggaeton, R&B, and too many other music styles to count, are now in Phoenix, AZ- home site of their indie label, Patrón Records…. Members include: SUNDAY, brother MAKLIKY, and cousins, BIGDAY and RJ. Just weeks after entering Miami, FL (the USA) STILL ALIVE has managed to heat-up and shake up the clubs…. continues to create a big buzz in the media. The group was recently seen on the set of Telemundo taping for the CADA DIA show…. “We are all fired-up and hyped-up, we are always ready to perform and we go 150% each time we hit the stage,” states STILL ALIVE. The group’s hot Single Debut- “Lady” has recently hit the Top 10 on the ‘AC Top 100 charts’ with the Spins Tracking System and continues to gain huge reviews from national and world radio stations. The group’s next stop has now landed them in Phoenix, Arizona- home site of their Indie label- Patrón Records.

“We are knocking the door down, our marketing and promotions is right on,” states Abel Romero, CEO of Patrón Records.

**Note– We are now open for investment opportunities/business deals from all major labels and companies! Please check our info and links on our high-powered group - “STILL ALIVE.”

We are currently booking clubs and events in Phoenix, AZ and surrounding areas….
To all clubs and venues– if you are interesested in booking this amazing, highly charged, and stylish group, hit us up at our (booking) email and contact information.

2008 NEW LATIN ARTIST HITTING THE USA CHARTS WITH A BANG !
HUGE RAVES: ORIGINAL, EXPLOSIVE, DYNAMIC, UNIQUE-STYLE, CUTTING-EDGE
FEATURING THE 2008 SUMMER CLUB-BANGER “Lady” with their remix video !!
Check out our “LADY” video at
http://www.blastro.com/player/stillaliveladyremix.html
Preview the CD at http://www.cdbaby.com/stillalive
Check the charts at http://www.newmusicweekly.com

Patrón Records LLC
Abel Romero
1877-7-Patron ext #1
http://www.myspace.com/patronrecordsinc
http://www.patronrecords.com
http://www.shop.patronrecords.com
P.O. Box 8803 Phoenix, AZ 85066
Bookings/General info, via email at: info@patronrecords.com

The JUNE edition of Bandit has just been published to my strictly limited number of subscribers world-wide.

Another brand new batch of world-wide labels, publishers, managers, producers, etc all eager to get involved with new music and artists. This month we have a top producer looking for a female singer for a major label project, a studio based label looking for a band that plays “real” music, more labels looking to sign acts in the PUNK, ROCK, SOUL, DANCE, POP and HIP HOP areas and some managers and publishers looking to discover brand new talent - and more, All kinds of stuff!!

Look through this latest issue by clicking through to
http://www.banditnewsletter.com
and see all those people in there who want to review your type of music. Send them your demo and who knows, they may be knocked out by it!

Get to the front of the queue by starting to proactively interact with people ready to invest in you!

Try Bandit’s great service for just $2 / 1 ukp and get the current JUNE issue, the JULY issue, the 3 latest back issues, PLUS 2 FREE REPORTS - “The Bandit Guide to sending demos” AND ” How to get noticed by the Music Business”, by signing up for the intro subscription deal at

http://www.banditnewsletter.com

If you agree that Bandit will bring you solid, useful, up to the minute information for you to use to get your music heard by the right people, do nothing more and enjoy your monthly issues,
If not just cancel in the next 30 days and pay nothing more!!

Regards
John Waterman Editor

Artist development and marketing firm MusicDish LLC has been selected by Canadian label Soundcheck Entertainment Records to support the development of The 7-Time JUNO Nominated Lorraine Reid and her new album “Lessons Learned.” The album represents significant soul searching on the part of the powerhouse vocalist of Temperance by establishing a more mature sound and reflecting the various challenges and changes Lorraine has endured to make this record a reality.

MusicDish will roll out a full online marketing campaign in support of the album and single “How Do I Keep Him,” while developing brand identity and creatives that reflects Lorraine’s new musical direction and growth. The mutli-pronged campaign will coordinate efforts on a variety of platforms, from MP3 blogs and webradio stations to social networking sites and genre-specific communities, combined with syndicated marketing and street teaming.

Lorraine Reid is perhaps best known as the former powerhouse vocalist of Temprance. Temperance fared extremely well in both the dance and mainstream markets, and can now boast more Juno nominations than any other dance group to date.

As the lead vocalist of Temperance, Lorraine earned 7 Juno Award nominations. Their first album, Virtues of Life, released in 1995, attained these incredible feats and much more. In 1996, the Canadian Euro dance group released a cover version of the song, “Forever Young,” which reached number 8 on the Canadian Dance Chart. The single, “Forever Young,” was also released in the United States in the summer of 1997, and immediately won the hearts of many new fans and critics south of the border. Their debut album featured 6 consecutive National Top Ten charting dance singles, and 4 MuchMusic Video Award nominations, which resulted in a 1994 MuchMusic Video Award. Along with a feature in Billboard Magazine in June 1998, their import follow-up single, “Lost In Love,” created immense anticipation for their second follow-up album release titled, If Yu Don’t Know.

Recording for the majority of 1999 yielded Temperance’s stronger sophomore album entitled, If You Don’t Know. This new album gained admiration from new fans, while maintaining a loyal pre-existing fan base who was excited to grow with Lorraine. Even before the release of the album title track, “If You Don’t Know,” Temperance had already garnered acclaim for their first single, “Hands of Time,” as it won a SOCAN Award for climbing to #1 on RPM’s Dance Chart. Its success continued and it cracked the Top 40 Radio Charts. The video for Hands of Time received nominations for both a Juno Award and a MuchMusic Video Award in 2001.

In the fall of 2005, Lorraine suffered a lengthy and extensive bout with hoarseness, including throat pain, which ultimately became complete laryngitis. She was diagnosed with vocal nodules and was advised to undergo the procedure to have them removed. The resulting nodule surgery meant learning to retrain her muscles for use, compensating for some loss in range, as well as the use of an amplification system when speaking publicly.

It is with great anticipation therefore that Lorraine’s new album, Lessons Learned is slated for release this spring. Listeners are sure to hear a more soulful and established Lorraine, as she provides a window into her heart by sharing her experiences that have made her the talented vocalist she is today.

MusicDish Network is the artist development department of MusicDish LLC, a leading music magazine publisher and marketing firm. Launched in 2001 as a marketing service for independent artists, MusicDish Network has grown into a complete artist development program, leveraging brand development, saturated and relationship marketing, digital distribution, event planning and industry outreach to support emerging artists and bands careers.

Website Music Player Joins Forces With LicenseQuote.com To Offer Licensing Integration To Its Artists, Bands, Publishers And Record Label Customers

LicenseQuote.com and WebsiteMusicPlayer.com have teamed up to provide an easy-to-manage solution that helps independent artists, bands, publishers and record labels license their songs, recordings and related assets directly from their own web sites.

The Website Music Player (WMP) service is designed to easily turn websites, blogs, Myspace profiles, Facebook accounts and other pages into a private chain of retail music stores where the music sellers set their own pricing and collect 100% of their music sales income. The included music player widget lets fans and music shoppers preview the songs and then purchase them using a credit card or free PayPal account. The songs are automatically delivered to the customer after successful purchase.

Along with the many other Gold and Platinum features the Website Music Player service provides, it now offers easy integration of a custom edited LicenseQuote.com button which appears directly below the player when embedded into the seller’s website and other pages. This creates yet another stream of revenue from the artist’s and publisher’s music by licensing it for various standard and/or custom commercial uses.

The free LicenseQuote Music Licensing Solution embed widget is available to all music artists, labels and publishers who have authority to license their copyrighted music materials. LicenseQuote does not charge any sales commission fee to the sellers and is also completely free to all music licensing buyers.

The LicenseQuote Free calculator and Open Bid/Quote request widget option features include: 17 standard licensing types, standard pricing profile, description and usage details shown for each selected license type, instant price calculations, captcha protected email sending, print out feature and option for custom bid or price negotiation inquiry.

Now independent artists, bands, record labels and publishers can manage the marketing and sales of their song tracks and licensing with one integrated solution which helps them maintain full control over the sales and licensing of their copyrighted music materials.

The Website Music Player can be used to sell direct downloads to the artist’s fan base while the integrated LicenseQuote button gives media industry buyers direct access to the same sellers (artists, bands, labels and publishers) who are offering music licensing sales over the internet directly from their own websites, blogs, emails or other sales pages.

About WebsiteMusicPlayer.com
Based in British Columbia, Canada, Website Music Player is changing the way independent artists, bands, publishers and record labels are able to market their digital music directly from their own websites, social networks, blogs and other pages. The Website Music Player service continues to rapidly grow adding features and functionally keeping up with the needs of music industry users.
http://www.WebsiteMusicPlayer.com

About LicenseQuote.com
Based in Lake Elsinore, California, LicenseQuote.com is revolutionizing the way music is licensed. LicenseQuote is positioned to take a leading role in providing advanced licensing tools for artists, producers and labels, publishers as well as for music supervisors and media industry licensing buyers in general.
http://www.LicenseQuote.com

The new deal with Napster will allow Hudson Entertainment’s music division to offer full-length music tracks from top independent music labels and artists through Napster’s on-demand music subscription service, which boasts more than 760,000 subscribers. Hudson Entertainment’s extensive catalog offers over 10,000 tracks from well known and up-and-coming artists across all music genres including Kirsten Proffit, Gene and Jezebel, Omar Torrez, Del Bombers, Cloud Eleven, Alan Smithee, Punsapaya, Alan Reid, The J Band, Paperback Hero, Denny Earnest, Lastonedone, Caution Cat, Conrizzle, and more.

“The partnership with Napster allows us to tap into a strong, loyal and very educated music audience,” said John Greiner, President of Hudson Entertainment. “Napster’s subscribers are intelligent connoisseurs of music, and we know that our eclectic and extensive catalog will be something they will appreciate and enjoy.”

“We are very pleased to be bringing Kirsten Proffit and the rest of the Hudson stable of acts to Napster’s subscribers all over the world,” said Matthew Adell, Vice President of Music Services at Napster.

This new partnership follows on the heels of Hudson’s recent announcement of a similar deal with eMusic, further strengthening its position as one of the largest digital music distributors in the US.

For more information on Hudson Entertainment’s music division visit http://music.hudsonent.com/about/index.html

About Napster
Napster, the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate in interactive music experiences, creating better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music — anytime, anywhere. The Company’s offerings include “Napster” (www.Napster.com) — the most popular on-demand music subscription service in the world; “Freenapster” (www.freenapster.com) — a unique Web experience offering free on demand music legally; and “Napster Mobile” — one of the industry’s fastest growing mobile music platforms. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Napster’s services are available in markets across the Americas, Europe and Japan.

About Hudson Entertainment
Hudson Entertainment is the North American publishing arm of Hudson Soft, an international provider of games and entertainment content founded in 1973. Hudson introduced best-selling videogame franchises including Bomberman, Bonk, and Super Adventure Island. Hudson Entertainment focuses on four key businesses: Console games, digital download content, mobile games, and music.

About Hudson Entertainment’s Music Division
Founded in June 2003, Hudson Entertainment’s music division has become an industry leader in the marketing, promotion and distribution of digital music. Hudson’s extensive catalog features well known and up and coming artists across all music genres, including Hip Hop, Pop, Alternative Rock, Rock, Dance, Latin, and World Music. Recognizing a growing demand for independent artists, Hudson Entertainment Music Group continually sources and develops relationships with new artists and labels. Hudson’s catalog is available on all major wireless carriers in the U.S. as well as online merchants including iTunes, eMusic, Napster and Amazon.
http://music.hudsonent.com

According to Squires the store will serve as a platform from which independent artists and musicians can market their music in a different way than most of the other online stores. The label/store debuts with six independent artist products and also serves as a portal to Amazon.com’s mainstream music downloads in addition to movies, videos, books, and e-books. Squires’ daughter Sarah, a 10-year Nashville advertising and marketing executive, is also a partner in the venture.

The store/label will pick and choose the best independents they can acquire either through purchase of the master or on a consignment basis, and will release, service, and promote each act to radio through Squires’ digital radio promotion company, 1617 Virtual. The company will also market the store and the music to consumers via the Internet and through conventional advertising.

So far, the roster includes country duo Thompson Square, alternative/blues artist Kristen Cothron, two projects from Delbert McClinton’s son, Clay McClinton, singer/songwriter Toni Catlin and a digital reissue of an Allen Reynolds-Mark Miller-produced album by 2007 Musicians Hall of Fame inductees, The Memphis Boys, comprised of Memphis/Nashville studio players Reggie Young, Bobby Wood, Gene Chrisman, Mike Leech and Bobby Emmons.

“All of these projects have been around awhile but because they didn’t fit any specific radio formats, they really haven’t seen the light of day,” Squires said. “Our quest for them is to expose the music because we believe if people hear what they have to offer, they’ll play it and buy it.”

Country husband/wife duo Thompson Square is the most recently recorded project and is a prime example, according to Squires, of the current condition of the music industry. Their self-written, self-produced and self-funded project has gotten little interest from Nashville’s major labels and publishers.

“These kids have the product, the music and the performance and they’ve done it all on their own. They have a story and they have the ‘it’ factor we’re all looking for, in my opinion,” Squires said. “But the majors are handcuffed. The whole business is in a state of flux and panic has kind of set in. Most of them seem to be waiting for the next axe to fall. The label mergers and consolidations have all their developmental projects waiting in line to get a shot at the multi-million dollar radio promotion conduit which automatically sets almost all of them up to fail because they have to be multi-platinum sellers to recoup the labels’ money. Now TV popularity contests, MySpace and iTunes are the determining factors as to what becomes a hit. Radio keeps getting the same old same old from them and outside of Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Kenny Chesney, there’s not a lot for anybody to be excited about.

“If the majors had done this kind of thing 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have turned the music business over to the Internet computer gurus,” Squires said in his announcement. “The business would be paying itself, the artists, the labels, and the publishers the same way it always had been instead of finding itself in an ongoing battle over royalties for artists, publishers, and writers. They thought they had to apply the same distribution principle to the Internet as they did to the physical brick and mortar locations which is a good example of how they’ve misunderstood what was happening. Now the master and copyright owners really control all the content and they really don’t have to give up control of their work.”

“Internet entrepreneurs saw how the Web was a huge advantage by digitally distributing music. Unfortunately, they saw it as a way to steal music instead of sell it so the industry fought it tooth-and-nail. Where we are now is anybody and everybody can put their music in every store out there and every site seems like a big car wreck. The music industry itself has pretty much lost control of the whole ball-of-wax. We’re very unconventional and we’ve decided we’re going to beat our heads against a different brick wall.”

Squires has primarily been an independent songplugger for the last five years since leaving The City Paper where he was the startup’s managing editor from its outset. His songplugging service, HitMenSongpluggers.com, was one of the first to utilize the Internet to pitch songs and his clients averaged over 12,000 mp3 clicks per year over the past three years. He had previously been involved in the Mel Tillis companies as a songwriter and plugger on and off for nearly 20 years.

For product samples, click below or cut and paste this address into your browser address window… http://www.virtualmusicmarket.com/VMMEFlyer.htm

The Incomparable and Legendary Saxophonist Alfonzo Blackwell is Releasing his 7^th CD “Dance To This” April 29, 2008 on Utopia Records

2008 is a defining year for Utopia Records executive and recording artist, saxophonist Alfonzo Blackwell. Alfonzo’s latest and 7^th CD entitled “Dance To This” is scheduled for release April 29^th and is the highest anticipated CD of his career. He is currently gearing up for a major performance tour this year, entitled the “Dance To This” Tour. He’ll be coming to a city near you soon.

2008 is a defining year for Utopia Records executive and recording artist, saxophonist Alfonzo Blackwell. Alfonzo’s latest and 7 CD entitled is scheduled for release April 29and is the highest anticipated CD of his career. He is currently gearing up for a major performance tour this year, entitled the . He’ll be coming to a city near you soon.

Alfonzo Blackwell is an electrifying recording artist veteran who has his sights set for a host of great accomplishments for this year. Alfonzo has garnered many successes in his long-standing career that surmounts to pure greatness as in what his latest new release serves up. You are invited into a world of music that gets all of your senses stimulated. Each track will have listeners grooving to the sizzling, seductive and smooth tunes.

Visit www.alfonzoblackwell.com to get the latest music news and more on Alfonzo Blackwell.