Carl Palmer is on tour with his solo band this Fall in Europe and the UK. Dates are as follows:

Europe Tour

October 5, 2007 -BARI- Italy
October 6, 2007 -Rockhouse, Pescara, Italy
October 7, 2007 -Venice- Italy
October 12, 2007 - Stazione Birra, Rome, Italy
October 14, 2007 - A38, Budapest, Hungary
October 20, 2007 - De Noot, Hoogland, Holland
October 22, 2007 -Uhlenspiegel, Leonberg, Germany
October 26, 2007 -Blue Note - Biel/Bienne-Switzerland

UK TOUR

November 2ND, 2007 -Beaufort Theatre, Ebbw Vale
November 3RD, 2007 -Swindon Arts Centre, Swindon
November 4TH, 2007 -Cellars, Eastney, (nr Portsmouth)
November 8TH, 2007 -Islington Academy, London
November 9TH, 2007 -Queens Hall, Nuneaton
November 10TH, 2007 - Oakwood Centre, Rotherham
November 15 TH, 2007 -Robin 2, Wolverhampton
November 16TH, 2007 - The Ferry, Glasgow
November 17 TH, 2007 - Huntington Halls, Worcester
November 23RD, 2007 - Mr Kyps, Poole
November 24TH, 2007 - Central Studio, Basingstoke

Chris is currently working on an album of traditional Christmas carols arranged for drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and choir. He hopes to have the album finished in early October.

Chris will continue recording tracks for his long awaited solo album in November, hopefully to be finished early in the new year.

Steve will be appearing with the Yes tribute band Fragile for a handful of dates in October. Listed below are the shows where Steve is scheduled to appear.

October 21 - Academy, Basingstoke, Hants
October 23 - Robin 2, Bilston, Wolverhampton, W Midlands
October 25 - Brook, Southampton
October 26 - Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford, Kent
October 29 - Spirit of 66, Verviers, Belgium
October 30 - 013, Tilburg, Holland

Keyboardist/composer/bandleader Joe Zawinul, who rose to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion, died on Tuesday, September 11, 2007, of Merkel cell carcinoma. He was 75. Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month.

Zawinul won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Miles Davis albums such as In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and is credited with bringing the electric piano and synthesizer into the jazz mainstream.

In 1970, Zawinul founded the band Weather Report and produced a series of albums including Heavy Weather, Black Market and I Sing the Body Electric. After Weather Report’s breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987. This past spring, he toured Europe to mark the 20th anniversary of the Zawinul Syndicate.

Zawinul’s last album, Brown Street, was released by Heads Up International on February 27, 2007. The two-disc set captured Zawinul, a few of his longtime friends and collaborators, and the 15-piece WDR Big Band in an electrifying live performance. Recorded in October 2005 at Zawinul’s own Birdland Club in Vienna, Brown Street showcased Zawinul, Syndicate drummer Nathaniel Townsley, Weather Report and Syndicate bassist Victor Bailey and Weather Report drummer/percussionist Alex Acuna in expanded, orchestral renditions of some of the finest Zawinul compositions from the highly influential Weather Report oeuvre.

“Joe Zawinul was a true jazz pioneer,” says Dave Love, President of Heads Up. “He was an artist who was always looking forward. He was respected for his innovative style, and the jazz fusion community will be indebted to him forever for his contributions.”

Merkel cell carcinoma, also called neuroendocrine cancer of the skin, is a rare disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found on or just beneath the skin and in hair follicles. Merkel cell carcinoma usually appears as firm, painless, shiny lumps of skin. These lumps or tumors can be red, pink, or blue in color and vary in size from less than a quarter of an inch to more than two inches. Merkel cell carcinoma is usually found on the sun-exposed areas of the head, neck, arms, and legs.

Zawinul’s wife, Maxine, had died earlier this year. He is survived by his sons Eric, Ivan and Anthony.

It gives us extreme pleasure to announce Ambrosia as our Friday night headliner for 2008 but first a little band history.

Ambrosia formed in 1970, in the South Bay/San Pedro area of Southern California. The musicians were inspired by the progressive rock era, and developed a large regional following for their inventive musicianship and skillful arranging. Ambrosia came to national prominence in 1975 with the release of their self-titled debut album on 20th Century Fox Records. Ambrosia was produced and engineered by the legendary Alan Parsons, and featured the top ten hit “Holdin’ on to yesterday”, as well as the FM classic “Nice nice, very nice”. After lengthy touring, the band returned in 1976 with Somewhere I’ve never traveled, also produced and engineered by Parsons. The Album yielded the title song, which quickly became an FM favorite. Both Ambrosia and Somewhere I’ve never traveled received Grammy nominations, and set the stage for the band’s signing to Warner Bros. Records. During that time the group also scored a top 40 hit with a cover of the Beatles classic “Magical mystery tour”, from the motion picture All this and WW11.

In 1980, Warner Bros. released One Eighty, a smash LP that produced two of the year’s biggest hits, “You’re the only woman” and “Biggest part of me.” Though a headlining world tour and three Grammy nominations followed, one of the biggest honors bestowed upon them was Quincy Jones’ declaration that “Biggest part of me” was one of his all time favorite songs.

Ambrosia released their fifth and final album, Road Island, in 1982. From the Ralph Steadman cover illustration, to the James Guthrie (Pink Floyd’s the Wall) production, to the album’s dark central themes, Road Island was a conceptual, adventurous work of art that brought forward Ambrosia’s exceptional talents. It also marked the end of an era for the band.

Well, 30+ some odd years after their splash onto the scene and a brief cessation of activity from the mid-’80s to the mid-’90s, the band is STILL kicking tunes and taking names. Three of the original quartet of Joe Puerta, Burleigh Drummond & Christopher North remain, as they and frontman David Pack had differences of opinion over musical direction and sought different paths. The newest iteration of Ambrosia boasts the edgy, youthful shredding of Doug Jackson on lead axe, the seasoned jazz ‘n’ jam-tinged stylings of long-time band collaborator David Lewis (Shadowfax) on second keys and making another return with the band is 12 year vet and vocalist Shem Von Schroeck rounding out this six piece band.

Upon speaking with Burleigh Drummond & Christopher North they agreed to give something special to the RoSfesters and perform music from their more progressive albums Ambrosia, Somewhere I’ve never traveled and their fifth album Road Island.

This promises to be a very special show so make your plans to catch Ambrosia on the RoSfest stage on May 2nd as our Friday night headliner.

Thanks!
George Roldan & Tom Smith
www.rosfest.com

The ascension continues for Chicago’s Umphrey’s McGee, not only in terms of their commercial success but in creative accomplishment and instrumental achievement as well. Their performance on Live at the Murat (SCI Fidelity), their first official live release, is as impressive as anything they’ve recorded to date, with the power and finesse, the yin and the yang, that have come to characterize their by-now classic material.

Recorded in Indianapolis in April 2007 and produced by longtime “sound caresser” / honorary seventh member Kevin Browning, the two-disc set features fan favorites like “Push the Pig,” “The Triple Wide,” “In the Kitchen,” and “Nothing Too Fancy” along with rare tunes like the set-ending “Padgett’s Profile” and the brief but torrid “Angular Momentum,” centered on the combo of drummer Kris Myers and guitarist Jake Cinninger. The band also dusts off tunes like “Hajimemashite” from ’98s Songs for Older Women, and the Yes meets Little Feat-influenced “40’s Theme,” a live favorite for the band and its fans.

Throughout the show, UM’s invention brings the progressive instrumental chops of Zappa and the stylistic savvy of Steely Dan. It is innovative without being indulgent, exhilarating without losing control, and there are plenty of improv passages that keep the band and their fans off-balance. Clearly, logging 120 gigs a year, “live” is where UM lives.

The current list of confirmed tour dates is as follows:

September 13 Orpheum Theatre Madison WI
September 14 Canopy Club Urbana IL
September 15 Taft Theatre Cincinnati OH
October 04 Liberty Hall Lawrence KS
October 05 Granada Theater Dallas TX
October 06 Stubb’s BBQ Austin TX
October 14 The Echo Project Fairburn GA
October 16 Toad’s Place - Lady Byrd Hat Building Richmond VA
October 17 Nightclub 9:30 Washington DC
October 18 Magic City Music Hall Johnson City NY
October 19-20 Nokia Theater Times Square New York NY
October 22 Harro East Ballroom Rochester NY
October 24-25 Higher Ground Ballroom Burlington VT
October 26 Orpheum Theatre Boston MA
October 27 House of Blues Las Vegas NV
October 28 Vegoose Las Vegas NV
October 31 Fillmore Auditorium Denver CO
November 15 Amos’ South End Charlotte NC
November 16 City Hall Nashville TN
November 17 Work Play Soundstage Birmingham AL
November 18 Bear Creek Music Festival Quincy FL
November 29 Orbit Room Grand Rapids MI
December 01 Michigan Theatre Ann Arbor MI
December 13-17 Caribbean Holidaze Runaway Jamaica
December 29-31 The Aragon Ballroom Chicago IL
March 16-18 Jam in the Dam Amsterdam Netherlands

More dates to be announced.

Live at the Murat is the latest feather in the cap of the dazzling sextet. They followed their highly touted spring 2006 studio release Safety In Numbers with the magical odds and sods The Bottom Half in the spring of this year. The album, with its outtakes, alternate versions, and other nifty bits, reached #26 on Billboard’s coveted “Heatseakers” Chart and received high marks from the music press. HARP magazine recently noted “…[The Bottom Half delivers] creamy studio work infused by diabolical skill.” Also in 2006, Umphrey’s McGee sold out shows in theaters coast to coast, appeared at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and made their late night TV debut on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Booked by the Monterey Peninsula Booking Agency, the band recently sold out three nights at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, two nights at Irving Plaza, San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, and the list goes on, as does Umphrey’s McGee.