Musicians including Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, and Herbie Hancock have signed a petition in protest of the recent Grammy category cuts, arguing that ethnic music will be unfairly and adversely affected. more ›

The Dodgers just acquired Cleveland Indians' third baseman Casey Blake for minor league pitcher Jon Meloan and catcher Carlos Santana. Blake, who turns 35 next month, is hitting .289 with an OPS of .830 and OPS+ of 119 (an OPS+ of 100 being average) and will be a free agent at the end of the season. He will be dressed in tonight's game against the Washington Nationals. more ›

Tonight at the Jazz Bakery is the The Alternative String Group, an ensemble of students from Robert Anderson and Jacob Szekely's music school in West Hollywood, The String Project | Los Angeles. Both studio musicians who have worked with the likes of the Dakah Hip-Hop Orchestra and SuperNova, the two have put together a conservatory that is pretty high tech with their interactive music lessons, recording and filming them for student's personal analysis... Finally, the viola gets some respect. The concert will feature solo and small group performances of music by legends such as The Grateful Dead, Jay-Z, Thelonious Monk, Carlos Santana, U2, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and more. Video above: Allie Performs Sunrise by Nora Jones withe the String Project Los Angeles Alternative String Group at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, November 2007. more ›

New Releases May 1, 2007 Dirty Dancing: 20th Anniversary Edition [Soundtrack] [Original Recording Remastered] [Extra Tracks] (RCA) Feist - The Reminder (Cherry Tree) Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position (Universal) Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (Fat Possum) Joan Armatrading - Into the Blues (429 Records) Nine Inch Nails - Survivalism, Pt. 2 [Enhanced] Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True (Hip-O) Angelique Kidjo - Djin Djin (featuring Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley,... more ›

It was Latin night on American Idol with coach Jennifer “don’t call me J-Lo” Lopez. But, unfortunately, like her movies of late, the music pretty much tanked. The songs that reflected the beats south of the border were not kind to our eight finalists. (And really, can’t we do a little better than picking boring Gloria Estefan or Carlos Santana songs?) >> Melinda Doolittle started off the show with “Sway,” and this was the... more ›

LAist is proud to offerer a weekly, chart roundup of Billboard Magazine’s most coveted rankings. Join us as we revel in the conventional standard of musical success. Let us cross our fingers, hoist our lighters, and dream together of the supreme resurrection of artist-driven recordings that will forever eclipse the dark cloud of big label greed, A&R sleaze and disposable audio. Amen. Here are this week’s chart toppers. Behold the #1s. __________________________________________________________________________________________ A selection... more ›

Sly Stone gets on stage for the first time in 19 years. That made the Grammy Awards worth watching. more ›