You wanted an evening of Jazz? Then if you went to see the Wayne Shorter Quartet in concert recently, then you would’ve gotten exactly what you wanted. It is a really nice jazz group and they have played a really great show. Their program consisted of about 45 minutes of continuous playing, including about 4 distinct songs, according to the review, and it is a great amount of fun. Good jazz shows are always enjoyed and we would love to have seen it. Wayne Shorter is one of the big names in jazz at the moment and so it’s no surprise that it was a great performance.

Long known for his piano prowess and talented songwriting abilities, it’s no wonder that Elton John was picked up to write the music for the stage production of Billy Elliot in England. After it won multiple awards and received rave reviews by critics, it was decided that both Australia and New York would be privy to this magical experience. It’s even planned to be put up in Seoul, South Korea in 2010. Click here to see Elton John talking about Billy Elliot.

The Smashing Pumpkins’s most recent concerts aren’t as good as they used to be. One of the lead musicians, Billy Corgan, seems to be kind of bragging about it and there isn’t much interesting to back him up. He claims that his show is the Best Show on Earth, but the reviewer in Variety disagrees. He says that the tunes get less interesting quickly and that the show lasts about 45 minutes longer than it should. It’s not too bad for a big group like that to stick around for more than 45 minutes anyway, what with some bands in former times staying around for just a few minutes and leaving their fans sad at the end. But this group apparently has little reason to stick around that long. Not a bad show, but not great either.

As this old year draws towards its end, so does the tour for pop country sensation Taylor Swift. Though she’s not even left her teenage years, Swift has already left an indelible mark on the country music world. Her breakout, eponymously named album went triple platinum and produced five chart topping singles. Since then, she’s been at the top of the game and has shown no signs of slowing down. Keep up to date with her tour dates, pictures, and news by visiting her official website.

Zakir Hussein has a show coming up in March. That’s the first one I can find on the internet. Perhaps there’s more available. This guy is the best tabla player I’ve ever seen and it is always very interesting to see a guy play this unusual instrument really well. He teaches to students in California and Mumbai also, he participates in a lot of different projects, like Silk Road Project and Global Drum Project. He is smart and works hard to give people an idea of what the tabla is about and that it’s not just some strange instrument, but actually a pretty interesting and fun one.

The album that pretty much launched Pearl Jam into the mainstream and etched their spot in the grunge movement is going to be re-released in March of 2009. “Ten” will be re-released as part of a deluxe box set that includes remastered songs, variations, bonus tracks, demos, and much much more. If you a diehard Pearl Jam fan, this box set is a must own.

Jacknife Lee is a famous producer, who has recorded many albums with a lot of different famous artists this decade. He has worked with The Hives, Weezer, U2 and REM on some of their best albums. Recently, he was with Weezer and they intimated that there was an upcoming single being made and possibly even a full album. It will be great to see if that does happen, as the combination of producer and artist in this case has been great in the past and will remain good, I’m sure.

The Killers have just released a new album (Day & Age) and are back on the road again. Their multi month, multi state, multi country tour will take them from America to Britain to Australia, playing in front of millions of fans in the process. They’re also ready to release a new Christmas single (featuring Elton John) that will help support the HIV/AIDS problem in Africa.

Rhett Miller is an alt-country musician who was born in 1970. Alt-country is not all that well defined as a term, but it is an interesting idea. It seems that alt-country can be a mix of different musical styles, most of which aren’t too far off from country, but they differ from regular country music in quite a few ways. The lyrics, for example, can be bleak or socially aware, whereas normal country music tends to be love songs or other kinds of typical themes. Rhett Miller has worked with several other musicians over his 20 year career and his music has been heard on several TV shows and in other places. Read more about him here.