The Jazz honoree will be Blue Note Records. Blue Note is also beginning an all-out live invasion of New York City jazz clubs and music halls on January 27 in honor of the 70th anniversary of the label’s founding by Alfred Lion. Some of the artists performing will be Eliane Elias, Curtis Fuller, Lou Donaldson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Charlap, Terrence Blanchard, Jason Moran and The Blue Note 7.
Last Major Supplier of VHS Tapes Wraps It Up January 1 – Distribution Video Audio Inc., a company devoted to fading pop culture, is throwing in the towel on VHS tapes with the end of this year. The company’s president estimates that about two million tapes still sit on the shelves of his clients’ stores across the country, but he says “I’m not sure a lot of people are going to miss VHS.” He now does most of his business with big box retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Sears, setting up displays of discounted DVDs.
In the 1980s VHS provided a remarkable opportunity for American consumers. For the first time Hollywood classics and new movies could be rented or bought and watched at home. (I remember in the early 70s visiting a showing at someone’s home who had a 16 mm projector and a print of Juliette of the Spirits. Boy, was I impressed and envious!) BetaMax was there first and with a slightly better image, though VHS soon took over. But VHS never had a chance once DVD arrived in 1997 with its much better image, nimble and easy navigation, no need to rewind or clean heads, and all the bonus content. The last major movie released on VHS was “A History of Violence” in 2006. It’s interesting that “Be Kind Rewind,” the recent feature about a VHS rental shop in a depressed area which holds out against DVDs, is available on Blu-ray and DVD, but was never released on VHS. One observer of the business said that unlike vinyl records, he knows of no one clinging to VHS for romantic reasons (as even some fans of 8-Track tapes are doing!)
Changes at LG Electronics – LG Electronics – South Korea’s No. 2 electronics company after Samsung – has shuffled its top management and reorganized its operations, placing more emphasis on appliances sold to businesses.
