"Singing waitress" lands record deal

The British press is covering the story of Victoria Hart, an 18 year-old waitress who was chosen to sing at a George Clooney event at Cannes this year. Until recently, she was working at a London club that employs singing waitresses, but is now apparently looking at a number of record contracts. Hello magazine claims one of the deals is worth £1.5 million - which is surely pure speculation. Hart has a warm, playful voice and specialises in 40's style big band tunes. She will be appearing at the Glastonbury festival on June 24. Her debut album is being released in the UK and Japan.

To catch some of her music, visit Victoria Hart.

Midem: Some concerts to look out for

It's easy to get lost in the maze of concerts and events. Here is a short list of things I'd recommend. On Monday night at 6.30, I'd go for the Pascal Schumacher Quartet at the Hotel Majestic. Schumacher plays a sassy vibraphone that is "lyrical, stylish and yet still cool", according to Music-Wire. Check them here:

Later on Monday night, Salif Keita, Omar Pene and the delovely Mayra Andrade (photo) will be appearing at the Palais.

On Tuesday, Buika, billed as Afro-Flamenco jazz, caught me eye simply as it's an odd combination. But the main action will be the Jamaican night with a host of talent and Shaggy. I've seen him twice and he can be brilliant when he gets down to doing dancehall. Something else about him: he can actually sing!

I'm not really qualified to talk about Classical music. If anyone has a recommendation, throw it in here. Same goes for Finnish music (last year's surprise) and the British at Midem.

Montreux Jazz boss is Midem's Personality of the Year

For the outside world, Midem is most often associated with the global pop business. So it's nice to see that this year's personality of the year is Claude Nobs, founder and director of the Montreux Jazz festival in Switzerland.

Nobs began his career as an accountant for the Montreux Office de Tourisme where he also worked on promoting tourism for the town. In the ‘60s, during a trip to New York, he met Nesuhi Ertegun, who was the President of Atlantic Records at that time. Ertegun introduced him to the singer Roberta Flack, whom he immediately invited to perform at the Rose d’Or in Montreux.

Having successfully persuaded Aretha Franklin to sing for the first time in Europe, Claude Nobs founded the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967. The initial three-day event was an overnight hit and quickly became the international meeting place for jazz-lovers from around the world. It now welcomes some 250,000 people per year - an outstanding figure. The next event will be in July 2007. Details on the Montreux Jazz site.

Not everything at Montreux is strictly jazz - by a long shot. But it does nonetheless remain the pre-eminent world jazz event. Nobs will receive the award at a special invitation-only event.

Finland unveils pre-Midem mini-site

Originally posted Dec 7, 2005. This year's host for the opening party at Midem is Finland. If you're a little fuzzy on your musical geography, think Värttinä (yes, I checked the spelling), The Rasmus and Nightwish. According to the mini-site they have just unveiled, Finland will be represented by 50 companies in 2006 - the double of previous years. This includes local reps from EMI, Sony and Warner (who do not always advertise their presence in the Palais).

According to the latest figures, released on the October 21, the total market value of Finnish music exports is 21,7 million euros and it has grown an average of 26 % annually 1999-2004. Full report in English available at www.musex.fi

The choice of live music on the opening night looks very wide, with The Five Corners Quintet
playing competent "post-modern" jazz (which is actually what we used to call mainstream post-bop, or something), crossover rumba/ska/rap Don Johnson Big Band, accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen, punk/glam rock 69 Eyes and others. Wot, no Rasmus?

Inevitably, Nokia are in there doing their usual hi-tech thing. You'll also get a chance to catch a genuine curiosity: Laitila beer.

Visit Hear Finland from here.