Gossip: Royal baby bonanza


News and rumours of royal babies have sent the gossip mags into a flutter.

It was reported the Duchess of Cambridge left New Zealand with a baby on board, perhaps even twins, while the Princess of Monaco confirmed she was expecting her first child.

Both Woman’s Day and New Idea featured Kate on the cover, with WD declaring the princess may have conceived on the New Zealand leg of the couple’s April tour.

Royal “insiders” told WD that Kate looked a little off colour in recent times and this surely meant she was pregnant.

“All the signs are there,” a so-called friend said.

“Kate has made no secret of the fact that she and William are ready for another baby and they want to have at least three children before she’s 35, so she’s on a strict time schedule.”

Meanwhile NI featured a misleading cover stating “Kate’s shock — it’s twins”, before going on to say that while she was not pregnant, she had a good chance of conceiving twins if she did happen to become pregnant.

One royal pregnancy that had actually happened was that of Their Serene Highnesses, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

The couple have been married for three years and suffered through near constant rumours of a royal baby during that time but confirmed last week they were finally expecting.

“Prince Albert and Princess Charlene have the immense joy to announce they are expecting a happy event,” a statement from the couple in Woman’s Weekly said.

“The birth is due at the end of the year.”

Meanwhile in the weird and wonderful world of American celebrities, Jennifer Lopez was reported to be devastated her toyboy Casper Smart had been exchanging racy photos with a transsexual swimsuit model.

The relationship was not over, as Lopez was about to release her new album and did not want negative publicity, but a friend told NI it would not last much longer after that.

WD reported Katie Holmes was looking to adopt a new child to give her daughter, Suri, a sister.

She would be going solo this time as there were no plans for a reconciliation with ex-husband Tom Cruise.

Closer to home, comedian Mike King opened up to WD about how his 10-month-old daughter Charlie had saved his life and made him a better man.

Former All Blacks hard man Michael Jones also spoke to NI about how he was trying to be the best father possible.

After losing his dad to a heart attack when he was four, Jones said he was trying to stay on top of his health so he could be there for his kids as they grow up.

Ad Feedback

It was reported the Duchess of Cambridge left New Zealand with a baby on board, perhaps even twins, while the Princess of Monaco confirmed she was expecting her first child.

Both Woman’s Day and New Idea featured Kate on the cover, with WD declaring the princess may have conceived on the New Zealand leg of the couple’s April tour.

Royal “insiders” told WD that Kate looked a little off colour in recent times and this surely meant she was pregnant.

“All the signs are there,” a so-called friend said.

“Kate has made no secret of the fact that she and William are ready for another baby and they want to have at least three children before she’s 35, so she’s on a strict time schedule.”

Meanwhile NI featured a misleading cover stating “Kate’s shock — it’s twins”, before going on to say that while she was not pregnant, she had a good chance of conceiving twins if she did happen to become pregnant.

One royal pregnancy that had actually happened was that of Their Serene Highnesses, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

The couple have been married for three years and suffered through near constant rumours of a royal baby during that time but confirmed last week they were finally expecting.

“Prince Albert and Princess Charlene have the immense joy to announce they are expecting a happy event,” a statement from the couple in Woman’s Weekly said.

“The birth is due at the end of the year.”

Meanwhile in the weird and wonderful world of American celebrities, Jennifer Lopez was reported to be devastated her toyboy Casper Smart had been exchanging racy photos with a transsexual swimsuit model.

The relationship was not over, as Lopez was about to release her new album and did not want negative publicity, but a friend told NI it would not last much longer after that.

WD reported Katie Holmes was looking to adopt a new child to give her daughter, Suri, a sister.

She would be going it solo this time as there were no plans for a reconciliation with ex-husband Tom Cruise.

Closer to home, comedian Mike King opened up to WD about how his 10-month-old daughter Charlie had saved his life and made him a better man.

Former All Blacks hard man Michael Jones also spoke to NI about how he was trying to be the best father possible.

After losing his dad to a heart attack when he was four, Jones said he was trying to stay on top of his health so he could be there for his kids as they grow up.

– Stuff

JLo pulls out of World Cup opener in Brazil


Jennifer Lopez won’t perform the World Cup’s official song alongside fellow artists Pitbull and Claudia Leitte during the tournament’s opening ceremony in Brazil, Fifa officials said.

Soccer’s governing body said Lopez cannot perform at the event this week as earlier planned because of unspecified “production issues.” The singer’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.

Fifa said in a news release that Cuban-American rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte will sing the official tune We Are One before Brazil takes on Croatia at the Thursday (local time) opener in Sao Paulo.

The song has let down many Brazilians who complain that it sounds too generic for the nation’s Bossa Nova-crazed audiences and that it features foreign musicians singing mostly in English and Spanish.

Leitte sings only a few seconds at the end of the song in her native Portuguese.

Ad Feedback

– AP

Robyn Malcolm punks house hunters


Robyn Malcolm, star of TVNZ’s real estate show Agent Anna, has punked unsuspecting house hunters.

Over the weekend the actress appeared as her fictitious character Anna Kingston to real life punters looking at properties in Auckland.

The punters were taken on her bumbling and chaotic ride through an open home filled with pranks.

The show with the tag line, real estate just got dodgier, is in its second season.

Ad Feedback

– Stuff

Tracy Morgan recovering after surgery


Tracy Morgan is recovering, but is expected to remain hospitalised for several weeks after having surgery on a broken leg suffered in a deadly chain-reaction crash on the New Jersey Turnpike that left two others critically injured and another man dead.

The 45-year-old actor and comedian, a former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock cast member, remained in critical condition but was “more responsive” on Sunday (local time) after having surgery for a broken leg, said Morgan’s spokesman, Lewis Kay.

Kay said that Morgan also sustained a broken femur, broken nose and several broken ribs and is expected to remain hospitalised for “several weeks.” He said that Morgan’s family is “tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans.”

A Wal-Mart truck driver from Georgia was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto. Authorities said 35-year-old Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead early Saturday in Cranbury Township and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash. Instead, his big rig smashed into the back of Morgan’s chauffeured Mercedes limo bus, killing comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair, authorities said.

Also critically injured were Morgan’s assistant, Jeffrey Millea, 36, of Shelton, Connecticut, and comedian Ardie Fuqua Jr., 43, of Jersey City. They remained in critical condition Sunday evening, said Zenaida Mendez, a spokeswoman for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick. Another passenger, comic Harris Stanton, was treated and released.

Tyrone Gale, who was driving the limo bus, told ABC News that he was disoriented after the vehicle flipped over and could hear Morgan yelling for help.

“I climbed around and heard Tracy screaming for help,” Gale said. “I climbed up on the body of the limo bus … but I couldn’t reach them.”

Roper, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in to state police. He was released on $50,000 bail Saturday night and has been placed on administrative leave, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said Sunday.

Wal-Mart President Bill Simon said in a statement that the company “will take full responsibility” if authorities determine its truck caused the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board is working with state police to look at any issues in the crash related to commercial trucking and limousine safety.

Ad Feedback

Morgan, a New York City native, was returning from a standup performance at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware when the crash occurred. In all, six vehicles were involved in the pileup, but no one from the other cars was injured.

At a press event Saturday in Los Angeles to promote the upcoming comedy film Think Like A Man Too, cast members, many of whom have worked and are friends with Morgan, wished him well.

Kevin Hart said he owes much of his success to Morgan, crediting him for paving the way for comics like himself to become successful.

“We just want him to get better and to get back to everyone that loves him and get back to doing what he does best, making people laugh,” Hart said.

Fuqua’s mother, Doris, said she visited him in the hospital on Saturday. The writer-comedian had toured with Morgan for nearly a year, she said, and had opened for him Friday night.

“We’re hoping for the best,” Doris Fuqua said, adding that she didn’t know how long he may be hospitalised. “It’s too early to tell.”

McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, was a close friend and mentor to Morgan, Morgan’s ex-wife, Sabina Morgan, told the New York Daily News. “He was one of the first comedians that took Tracy under his wing,” she said. “They were very close.”

Royale Watkins, a Los Angeles-based comedian who said he had performed in New York clubs with Morgan and McNair, described McNair as having a big personality.

“There may be guys like Tracy who get the fame and notoriety, but you have people like Jimmy Mack who have kind of energised and fueled cats like Tracy and kept them going on the road,” Watkins said.

– AP

Mixed reviews for Lorde in London


Lorde’s fresh new sound gets pretty old over the course of a concert, a review of a sold-out London show says.

But the Kiwi singer got credit for her unique stage presence, which was compared to the zombies in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

Following Lorde’s performance at Academy Brixton, London, The Guardian’s Michael Hann gave the 17-year-old three stars out of five, painting the Kiwi pop star as talented, but lacking “musical imagination”.

“Her show is, literally, a little monotonous: the songs are of almost uniform pace and tone,” The Guardian said.

There was a “sag” between the big songs – Tennis Court, Royals, and Team – as Lorde’s voice, combined with that light, mid-paced drum pattern, washes of synth, and a “tinkly” melody line, lacked variety.

Although a “compelling performer”, especially given (or perhaps because of) her age, her “musical imagination” hadn’t yet caught up with her natural talent, the reviewer said.

The Guardian also called out the double-Grammy winner on some false modesty in her in-between-song patter.

“I played Madame Jojo’s and the reporters were only there because their bosses told them to be,” Lorde told the crowd.

The Guardian disagreed: “She’s being a little disingenuous – her London debut last year had the entire music industry clamouring to get in; she’s anything but an outsider.”

The Guardian gave Lorde credit for eschewing the flesh-baring path other young singers took.

Wearing a black trouser suit and white shirt, she was “a world away from the flesh-baring tropes of so much teenage pop, in a manner that clearly resonates with the younger end of her audience: there are screams when she patrols the lip of the stage”.

Her dancing, although “oddly reminiscent of the zombies in the Thriller video, and the unexpected jerks and pops”, were refreshingly unselfconscious.

NME reported Lorde rarely spoke to the crowd during the show, but before bringing the gig to a close she talked “at length” about shows she’d played, and her experiences around the world since her breakthrough.

But another Guardian review, this one of her show at Shepherd’s Bush in London, said Lorde was “nothing short of awesome”.

“She plays the album, but in a way that refreshes it, toning up the strangeness while still providing spectacle and singalongs,” wrote Kitty Empire.

After the show, Lorde tweeted “THANKYOUBRIXXXXXX”, with a photo of herself on stage facing a tightly-packed standing audience.

THANKYOUBRIXXXXXX pic.twitter.com/v4UmD8nZnj

— Lorde (@lordemusic) June 6, 2014

Ad Feedback

– Stuff

Review: Pablo Ziegler and Chick Corea


REVIEW:

Jazz Festival: Pablo Ziegler

Opera House, June 6

Chick Corea and Gary Burton

Michael Fowler Centre, June 6

On the surface it might seem incongruous to have a concert of tango music in the middle of a jazz festival but, tenuous or not, there is a perceptible umbilical cord at play here.

Astor Piazzolla, the father of Nuevo Tango, left Argentina to study composition in France. In Paris he saw the Gerry Mulligan Octet and was so impressed with the group’s artistic harmony and rhythmic structure it drove him to change his musical path. Now the emphasis was less on the dance but more on the classical form or as Piazzolla would later say: “To me, the tango was always about the ear rather than the feet.”

Even though he received death threats and had a gun pressed against his head for daring to mess with the music, Piazzola would go on to record not only with Gerry Mulligan but with the night’s other star – playing less than an hour after Pablo Ziegler’s concert – Gary Burton.

Ziegler, who performed with Piazzolla over a period of many years, is a world class pianist and wrote many of the tunes played in the set. Many of the pieces resembled movie scores, rich and atmospheric they jumped effortlessly from dark and sonorous to light and frothy.

With over 20 members of the NZSO – including flute, French horn and bassoon and with a rhythm section of double bass and percussion, all of whom it must be said were given ample room to shine – it was a stunning success. It was a shame that the bandoneon was played only once.

Chick Corea had flown in from Lisbon and Burton from Miami, and the air conditioning of the venue unsettled them for a few numbers. But the vibraphone took us dancing in our minds, the sonic dimensions quite mesmerising, sometimes flashy, Burton often caressing while being imaginative, forever searching, seemingly coaxing notes out of thin air. In his hands the mallets were like flying chopsticks and a perfect foil for the piano. Corea has his own style, so much so that he inhabits the tune rather than the style of the pianists associated with the pieces.

We hear nothing of Brubeck (Strange Meadow Lark), Tatum (Can’t We Be Friends) or Bill Evans (Waltz For Debby) in these songs, just a consummate pianist. Once again the festival organisers got it right.

Ad Feedback

– The Dominion Post