The international jazz festival at Montréal began recently to the enjoyment of the fans. “I wanted to stick it to people,” the man born John Lyon said during a recent telephone interview. Lyon and bandmate Steven Van Zandt (now better known as Little Steven) were “very aggressive about that New Jersey being a joke state thing,” he said. “We thought ‘We’ll show you.’ We’d go onstage and the horns would hit that big chord. It was not like another band hitting two guitars. And I was a wild performer on stage. Iggy Pop was one of my heroes.

The fest Spotlight is undoubtedly on the Jazz and blues musical artists that is anticipated a lot. General admission is $3, with free admission for children under 12 and members of the military with identification.

Free admission will be offered from noon to 2 p.m. June 19 for each person who brings a nonperishable food donation for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

A number of Chicago artists are playing jazz music in order to raise money for the Japan relief fund. For starters, a standing-room-only audience jammed the Cultural Center's sprawling Sidney R. Yates Gallery for a "Japanese Earthquake Relief Fundraiser." With minimum suggested donations starting at $50, the event was poised to generate significant financial help for a traumatized nation.

The Catholic Institute will be seeing the presentation of Musicals 4 – Moulin Rouge and Pop Goes Gregorian at a musical concert. This will be the sixth concert in a series by the same company.

The first part consists of well-known pop numbers performed in Gregorian style. Among the songs are Eye In The Sky (Alan Parsons Project), Brothers In Arms (Dire Straights), Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton), Nothing Else Matters (Metallica), Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Where The Wild Roses Grow (Nick Cave and Kyle Minogue) and Angels (Robbie Williams).

The closing night of the annual Jazz Blues event was full of stars who entertained massively. After three nights of the 'Art of Music', the question of who was the best, is a toss-up between the sophisticated, elegant class act who goes by the name Natalie Cole and Jamaica's very own, Tarrus Riley.

Dazzling the audience in an exquisite dress, Cole, sparkled and so did the diamond microphone that she held in her hand.