Fleetwood Mac surprised by Sheryl Crow claim

By Gary Graff

DETROIT (Billboard) -
Sheryl Crow's recent claim that she
would be working with Fleetwood Mac

Crow, 46, who's friendly with Mac's Stevie Nicks, told the
AOL music website Spinner earlier this month that she and
the band "definitely have plans for collaborating in the
future, and we'll see what happens."

"I think we were all a little surprised (Crow) was
announcing that to the world with such certainty," Fleetwood
Mac principal Lindsey Buckingham, 58, told Billboard with a
laugh.

"We have talked about the possibility of bringing another
woman into the scene to kind of give Stevie a sort of foil and
shake it up a little bit. (Crow) was certainly a name that has
come up. We'll have to see."

Nicks, 59, has been the group's sole female member since
Christine McVie, now 64, retired from the band in the late
'90s.

Buckingham said the group, which last toured in 2004, is
considering returning to the road in the first half of 2009,
possibly with some new material. He said that he has "a ton of
new stuff" that could be used for a new Fleetwood Mac album,
its first since 2003's "Say You Will."

Recorded with members of his touring band as well as
Fleetwood Mac co-founders Mick Fleetwood, 60, and John McVie,
62, he said it "has a little more of a rock feel to it" than
his most recent effort, 2006's "Under the Skin."

"It's just another group of tunes that hopefully will
translate to stage, and hopefully we can get some more (solo)
dates this summer."

Reuters/Billboard

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Mostly Mozart Festival includes Mahler

NEW YORK - At the upcoming Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Mozart will share the spotlight with other old masters and living artists from Finland to the South Pacific.

Peter Sellars is to direct Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's new work, "Passion de Simone." Soprano Dawn Upshaw has the title role as French philosopher Simone Weil, who died of tuberculosis in 1943 as a member of the anti-Nazi resistance.

The festival's 42nd season, running July 29 to Aug. 23, encompasses 60 events, including orchestral and chamber concerts, recitals, dance, film, lectures and video art installations.

The July 29 opening concert is to be conducted by the festival's music director, Louis Langree, featuring Mostly Mozart's first Mahler, "Das Lied von der Erde" ("The Song of the Earth") for two singers and orchestra, and Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor.

Langree also will lead the Aug. 23 performance of Richard Strauss's "Metamorphosen" for 23 solo strings and Mozart's Mass in C minor.

Another Saariaho work, "Terra Memoria," is to be performed by the Grammy-winning Emerson String Quartet as part of the festival's Finnish focus, which also will feature music by Jan Sibelius and Fredrik Lithander played by Finnish musicians.

The South Pacific is represented by choreographer Lemi Ponifasio, a native of the island of Samoa who has reinterpreted Mozart's "Requiem" as a dance incorporating the ancient rituals of a Samoan tribal chief. The work is to receive its U.S. premiere at the festival Aug. 6.

___

On the Net:

http://www.lincolncenter.org/

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Judge denies prejudice against Spector

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent 1 hour, 29 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - The judge who presided over Phil Spector's first murder trial has rejected a defense motion to disqualify him from the retrial because of alleged prejudice against the legendary rock music producer

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler signed a declaration that he was not biased or prejudiced against any party in the case, according to court papers released Tuesday.

Spector's first trial ended in a jury deadlock last September. Spector, famed for his "Wall of Sound" recording technique, is accused of killing actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion on Feb. 3, 2003.

In the statement the judge signed March 19, Fidler also said the motion filed by Spector attorney Doron Weinberg was untimely and any protests of the judge's actions should have been filed when they occurred during the trial.

Weinberg said he was preparing to file a writ with the state court of appeals seeking a hearing before a neutral judge.

Weinberg filed a 44-page motion last week listing numerous alleged acts of bias by the judge. They included: the imposition of a gag order limited to Spector's wife and a potential defense witness as well as his decision to withdraw a jury instruction and craft a new one after jurors first announced they were deadlocked.

The defense alleged that Fidler wanted to counter public perceptions that celebrities were given special treatment and could not be convicted in California courts.

Clarkson, 40, was working as a hostess at the House of Blues when she met Spector and went home with him. The actress best known for her role in "Barbarian Queen" died of a gunshot fired inside her mouth while she was seated in a foyer of Spector's mansion.

The prosecution claimed Spector, 68, shot her and that had a history of threatening women with guns; the defense argued Clarkson shot herself, either accidentally or by suicide.

No date has been set for the retrial and a hearing on that issue was scheduled for Friday.

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