NEW YORK (AP) ― Aretha Franklin has a lot more than her 70th birthday to celebrate: She’s reuniting with one of her musical mentors, Clive Davis, for a new album.In an interview at her swanky birthday party on Saturday, Franklin said she and Davis, who helped engineer her comeback in the 1980s, would be working on new music.“I have re-signed with Clive Davis, so I’m recording with Clive again,’’ said Franklin of the music mogul, who is associated with Sony Music Entertainment.Franklin said that

VIENNA (AP) ― A piano work experts attribute to Mozart as a child prodigy was performed for the first time Friday since it was found last year after apparently being left in an attic for centuries.The lively 84-bar passage ― marked “allegro molto,’’ or “very quick’’ ― was played Friday on the composer’s piano in a room of his Salzburg home by virtuoso Florian Birsak.The Mozarteum Salzburg Foundation, which staged the event, said the manuscript was found last summer as part of a 160-page book of

PARIS (AFP) ― Jostling for space with younger rivals like Lady Gaga, Madonna brings a grown woman’s voice to her new album “MDNA,” out on Monday, on which the 53-year-old Queen of Pop evokes the pain of her divorce.Since her last album, the dance-flavoured “Hard Candy” in 2008, new faces have crowded into the space long ruled by the Material Girl: Rihanna for sexiness, Lana Del Rey for edgy glamour, and the ever-theatrical Lady Gaga.So when Madonna announced she was working on a new album, the m

Fans of the three-member group that reshaped Korea’s music scene in 90s celebrate the 20th anniversary of its debutDebuting on March 23, 1992, Seo Taiji & Boys ruled the Korean pop world with a string of hit songs including “Nan Arayo (I Know)” and “Come Back Home.” Exactly 20 years have passed, and interest in the legendary group is still very much alive. Seo’s music, which included elements of heavy metal, hard rock and hip-hop in a dramatic departure from mainstream K-pop, was a sensation in

Whitney Houston was a chronic cocaine user who had the drug in her system when she drowned in a hotel bathtub, coroner‘s officials said Thursday after releasing autopsy findings that also noted heart disease contributed to her death.The disclosure ended weeks of speculation about what killed the Grammy-winning singer on Feb. 11 on the eve of the Grammy Awards.Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and her death was ruled accidental. Several bottles of

Whitney Houston was a chronic cocaine user who had the drug in her system when she drowned in a hotel bathtub, coroner’s officials said Thursday after releasing autopsy findings that also noted heart disease contributed to her death.The disclosure ended weeks of speculation about what killed the Gra

NEW YORK (AP) ― Ambassador Herbie Hancock believes what the world needs is a little jazz diplomacy.The renowned jazz pianist’s first major initiative since being named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador last July is to establish International Jazz Day to be held on April 30 of every year. That date coincides with the last day of what has been celebrated as Jazz Appreciation Month in the U.S.This year’s inaugural event ― organized by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in partner

OSLO (AP) ― German composer and music director Heiner Goebbels has won the International Ibsen Award for creating new insights in theater that have influenced producers and musicians.The awarding jury describes the 59-year-old as “one of the great creative personalities of today,’’ who has produced “an astounding body of work in disparate disciplines.’’Goebbels will be presented the 2.5 million-kroner ($450,000) prize in Oslo in September as part of the Ibsen Festival at the National Theater.The