Bill Murray will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2019 Rome Film Festival in October. Festival organizers announced Monday on Twitter that director Wes Anderson will present Murray with the award during the annual event, which takes place Oct. 17-27 in 2019. Deadline said Murray, 68, will take part in an "in conversation" event hosted by Anderson. Directors Hirokazu Kore-eda, Olivier Assayas, Bertrand Tavernier and writer Bret Easton Ellis will also speak during the festival. READ THE FULL UPI ARTICLE

Singer-songwriter Cécile McLorin Salvant was voted the winner in two categories of the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll: Jazz Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. Salvant, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Sullivan Fortner are among the dozens of winners in the 67th Annual Poll. Salvant topped two categories: Jazz Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. She generated tremendous acclaim for her 2018 duo album, The Window (Mack Avenue), which she recorded with Sullivan Fortner, who is the winner in two Critics Poll categories: Rising Star–Jazz Artist and Rising Star–Piano. Other winners in the Critics Poll include Kurt Elling (Male Vocalist), Kenny Barron (Piano), Mary Halvorson (Guitar), Jane Ira Bloom (Soprano Saxophone), Miguel Zenón (Alto Saxophone), Miles Okazaki (Rising Star–Guitar), Allison Miller (Rising Star–Drums) and Joel Ross (Rising Star–Vibraphone). The Historical Album of the Year is John Coltrane's Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album (Impulse!), which the saxophonist recorded with his quartet on March 6, 1963, in the studio of famed recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll WINNERS include; Jazz Artist: Cécile McLorin Salvant Historical Album: John Coltrane, Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album (Impulse!) Big Band: Maria Schneider Orchestra Soprano Saxophone: Jane Ira Bloom Piano: Kenny Barron Violin: Regina Carter Female Vocalist: Cécile McLorin Salvant Male Vocalist: Kurt Elling Composer: Maria Schneider Arranger: Maria Schneider Record Label: ECM Producer: Manfred Eicher Rising Star–Jazz Artist: Sullivan Fortner Rising Star–Jazz Group: Sons of Kemet Rising Star–Clarinet: Shabaka Hutchings Rising Star–Piano: Sullivan Fortner   p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} (Photo: Mark Fitton) READ THE FULL DOWNBEAT Critics Poll ARTICLE

And here's another gift and "lost" jazz album from the vaults in the manner of last year's Charlie Haden/Brad Mehldau live album, Coltrane's studio session and live recordings of Charles Mingus in Detroit and Errol Garner in Amsterdam. In 1961, the melodically fluid post-bop saxophonist Stan Getz – who had helped define the cool sound of West Coast jazz in the late Fifties (despite not being from there), and had played alongside his greatest equals (Gerry Mulligan, Herb Ellis, Dizzy, Oscar Peterson etc) – came back to the US after years away in Europe and Scandinavia. He teamed up again with the great and soon-to-be-late bassist Scott LaFaro, pianist Steve Kuhn (fresh from Coltrane's quartet) and drummer Pete LaRoca.     READ THE FULL Elsewhere REVIEW

The Libera Boys Choir 2019 US Tour includes stops in Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, California. The world needs Libera's message of harmony more than ever. Their performance in Saint Paul will be their first in the area since 2011; and their Oklahoma City concert will be their first ever. They will also be returning to venues in Saint Louis and California where they have impressed audiences for many years. Venues include; Minnesota: The Cathedral of Saint Paul, St Paul, Friday 26th July at 7:30pm Missouri: Cathedral Basilica of St Louis, St Louis, Monday 29th July at 8pm Oklahoma: First Southern Baptist Church, Oklahoma City Thursday 1st August at 7pm California: Calvary Community Church, Westlake Village (LA) Sunday 4th August at 7pm
Christ Cathedral, Garden Grove (LA) Tuesday 7th August at 7:30pm Libera is seeing an increased following in the United States with their compelling arrangements and moving performances of classical, sacred, and contemporary songs. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys said, "When I heard Libera sing it reminded me a lot of the Beach Boys – but actual boys - it actually brought me to tears." Discover this amazing boys choir. Hear Libera live this summer.  SEE THE Yahoo Finance PAGE

Jess Gillam is a 20-year-old British saxophonist, known for being one of the most exciting emerging artists in classical music. Her debut album, Rise, is an engaging mix of music originally composed for saxophone and arrangements, with composers ranging from the Baroque period to Michael Nyman and Darius Milhaud, from Britten to Bartok and even some Bowie. Performing on a soprano saxophone, Gillam made a big splash at the popular Proms Concerts in London for the past two years. Jess Gillam - Rise is the KDFC: San Francisco 'Album Of the Week' for June 24, 2019. SEE THE PAGE

Jess Gillam is a 20-year-old British saxophonist, known for being one of the most exciting emerging artists in classical music. Her debut album, Rise, is an engaging mix of music originally composed for saxophone and arrangements, with composers ranging from the Baroque period to Michael Nyman and Darius Milhaud, from Britten to Bartok and even some Bowie. Performing on a soprano saxophone, Gillam made a big splash at the popular Proms Concerts in London for the past two years. Jess Gillam - Rise is the KUSC: Los Angeles 'Album Of the Week' for June 24, 2019. SEE THE PAGE

Mandolinist Avi Avital has brought the music he loves into venues of every sort. But his nightclub Vivaldi and his Carnegie Hall Bach have the same loving approach – deeply felt, nuanced with sparkling precision, and phrased with the natural breathing of a singer. While he is one of those performers whose warm and humble presence can win an audience over before he even plays, his technique allows him to communicate with virtually every note. "When I play," he says, "I try to cancel everything. In a way, to disappear. To just become a channel to this music. " Now, Deutsche Grammophon has released a deluxe edition of Avi Avital's 2012 solo album Bach, with Avital and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra playing mandolin arrangements of concertos written for other instruments. New on the release is a gorgeous performance of Avital's arrangement of Bach's Solo Violin Partita No. 2 (which ends with one of Bach's most profound creations, the famous Chaconne). Also included is the opening prelude of Bach's first cello suite (see trailer below). There's also a DVD of two Bach concertos performed in concert. Avi Avital J.S. Bach is the WCRB: Boston 'CD Of the Week'