It was Jones’ voice that caught the attention of Danger Mouse as he began to conceptualize ROME, his homage to classic Italian film score music. He already had Jack White in mind for the male role, and he and his collaborator, Daniele Luppi, realized that Jones’ voice would give the project the balance it needed. Jones contributed three standout songs to ROME. Around the same time, she and Danger Mouse began working on some of the material that would eventually become Little Broken Hearts.

The duo reconvened in Danger Mouse’s Los Angeles studio this past fall to finish what they had begun. The songs were all built from the ground up in the studio, with Jones and Danger Mouse sharing all the songwriting credits and performing the majority of the instrumental parts: Jones on piano, keyboards, bass and guitar; and Danger Mouse contributing drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and string arrangements.

Jones will tour extensively in 2012, performing at various venues in the United States and abroad. On June 29, Jones will perform at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York. On August 10, the nine-time Grammy-winning singer will return to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. More dates will be announced in the coming months.

For more information, go to www.norahjones.com.

“The Hermitage is very excited to announce Vijay Iyer as the 2012 Greenfield Prize winner in music,” remarked Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage. “We look forward to April 1st, when we present Vijay with the prize, and begin the two-year process of working with him to provide whatever support he needs to realize his commission and goals.”

The Greenfield Prize was established in 2009 by longtime Sarasota residents Bob and Louise Greenfield, through the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation. The Prize consists of a $30,000 commission of an original work of art, a residency at the Hermitage (in Englewood, Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico) and a partnership with a professional arts organization to develop the work plus assistance in moving the work forward into the American arts world.

“I’m honored, delighted and surprised by this award,” said Iyer. “It’s rare and astonishing for my work to be embraced on such a scale, and it’s a particularly special honor coming from the Greenfield Prize’s interdisciplinary perspective. This award will make a tremendous difference in my life in the coming year. It enables me to focus less on ‘career’ and more on art and community—two powerful and interrelated forces that can nourish and sustain us all. For this opportunity I am tremendously grateful.”

“Vijay Iyer is a perfect recipient for the Greenfield Prize,” continued Rodgers. “The goal in creating the award was a means by which a groundbreaking, enduring work of art could be created. He has told us he is interested in bringing improvisation into a format where classically-trained musicians are empowered to make choices and real-time decisions but in a very structured way. The Greenfield Prize will buy him time to sit down and think about music. That is exactly what we want this gift to allow, and we look forward to April 2014, when the work will be premiered at La Musica Music Festival.”

Photo credit: Jimmy Katz

McCartney borrowed the album title from the lyrics to the opening track, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.” Originally made a big hit by Fats Waller in 1935, the song opens with the lines: “I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter and make believe it came from you/I’m gonna write words oh so sweet/They’re gonna knock me off of my feet/A lot of kisses on the bottom/I’ll be glad I got ’em.”

The album , which will also be available digitally, was recorded in Los Angeles, New York and London throughout 2011. Here’s the track listing:

1. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter
(Lyrics by Joseph Young, Music by Fred Ahlert)

2. Home (When Shadows Fall)
(Geoffrey Clarkson, Harry Clarkson, Peter Van Steeden)

3. It’s Only A Paper Moon
(Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and Billy Rose)

4. More I Cannot Wish You
(Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser)

5. The Glory of Love
(Music and Lyrics by Billy Hill)

6. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)
(Music and Lyrics by Dick Robertson, Nelson Cogane, Sammy Mysels)

7. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
(Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)

8. My Valentine
(Music and Lyrics by Paul McCartney)

9. Always
(Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin)

10. My Very Good Friend The Milkman
(Lyrics by Johnny Burke, Music by Harold Spina)

11. Bye Bye Blackbird
(Lyrics by Mort Dixon, Music by Ray Henderson)

12. Get Yourself Another Fool
(Music and Lyrics by Frank A. Haywood, Ernest Monroe Tucker)

13. The Inch Worm
(Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser)

14. Only Our Hearts
(Music and Lyrics by Paul McCartney)

The Deluxe CD will feature two bonus tracks plus longer liner notes and expanded packaging featuring three postcards.

15. Baby’s Request

(Music and Lyrics by Paul McCartney)

16. My One and Only Love

(Lyrics by Robert Mellin, Music by Guy B. Wood)

Snowy Egret is the evolution of one of her earlier ensembles, Happy Whistlings, which she created in 2008 to perform a book of original music inspired by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano’s Memory of Fire Trilogy. In this latest incarnation, with all new personnel, the original pieces are further developed, rearranged and augmented with more recent compositions.

In addition to her own projects, such as the acoustic sextet Be Bread (heard on her latest recording, The Whole Tree Gone) Melford currently co-leads a variety of ensembles including a duo with clarinetist Ben Goldberg and the all-star collective Trio M, which will release its second recording, The Guest House, in February on Enja/Yellowbird. She also serves on the faculty of the University of California Berkeley, where she develops and teaches courses about contemporary improvised music.

For more information, go to www.myramelford.com.

Ashes to Ashes is comprised of six tunes that span Bowie’s musical universe: “Battle For Britain” (from Earthling), “Queen Bitch” (from Hunky Dory), “The Man Who Sold the World” (from The Man Who Sold the World), “Ashes to Ashes” (from Scary Monsters), “1984” (from Diamond Dogs) and “Sunday” (from Heathen). On each, the Wee Trio—vibraphonist Westfall, bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Jared Schonig—manages to retain the spirit and energy of the original recordings while also demonstrating how nicely Bowie’s compositions transfer to the modern-jazz realm.

To support their new disc, The Wee Trio will commence their “Ashes to Ashes” tour in Stephenville, Texas, on January 18. Here’s the full itinerary:

January 18, Tarelton State University; Stephenville, Texas

January 19, University of North Texas; Denton, Texas

January 20, The Elephant Room; Austin, Texas

January 21, Cezanne’s; Houston, Texas

January 22, Snug Harbor; New Orleans, Louisiana

January 24, University of New Orleans; New Orleans, Louisiana

January 27 & 28, Jazz at the Bistro; St. Louis, Missouri

February 2, Nighttown; Cleveland, Ohio

February 3, The Green Mill; Chicago, Illinois

February 4, Becket’s; Osh Kosh, Wisconsin

February 8, Roberts Wesleyan University; Rochester, New York

February 9, Chris’ Jazz Café; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 11, The Lily Pad; Boston, Massachusetts

For more information, go to www.theweetrio.com.

Photo credit: Richard Thompson II