Shenole Latimer.com

WELCOME! - You have entered the official site to learn about saxophonist Shenole Latimer and his musical activities.

September 1 , 2008 (Latest News!) - You will surely enjoy the new video of the Shenole Latimer Quartet that has made it's way to this website's media page. The video depicts the quartet performing one of Shenole Latimer's favorite ballads, John Coltrane's "Naima", and comes from a post that Shenole himself made on YouTube.com. If you have an account with YouTube.com, please feel free to leave a comment regarding that or any of the other videos featuring Shenole Latimer.

On a sad note, Shenole Latimer will be forced to cancel his October 4th concert at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, there were a problem with a key financial backer which has resulted in a lack of funding for the production. Ticket holders are asked to please contact the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts at (631) 207-1313 for refunds on their tickets. For those who have already purchased tickets, you have also been placed on a list to receive discounted tickets at Shenole Latimer's next ticket selling event.

July 1, 2008 - This past Saturday, June 21st (Shenole Latimer's birthday) he and his wife Renee welcomed their first child into the world. Alyssa Lee Latimer was born at 8:47pm and weighed in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces.

A number of fans had already known about the Latimers' pending arrival due to some performances that Shenole had, leading up to Renee's due date, where Shenole had informed the audiences that they were expecting their first child.

Shenole states, "I would like to thank everyone who has sent me well wishes and congratulations. I truly have the greatest fans!"

On the more musical side of news, Shenole Latimer was the guest speaker for the 8th annual Versatility and Image Award held by an organization known as Healthy Music Matters. The event took pace in Elkin's Park, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Philadelphia. The award is given to musicians who have reached great achievements in their careers, and who are also Philadelphia, Pennsylvania natives. As the honored speaker of the event, Shenole gave a speech about how to make a living as a full time musician and the importance of treating music like a business. The speech was very well received and some valuable contacts were made.

Lastly, there are plans being made to film Shenole Latimer's October 4th concert at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts in Patchogue, New York in order to produce a live DVD of the concert event. Currently, plans are for a Summer, 2009 release of the concert DVD. Stay tuned for more details!

May 22 , 2008 - Shenole Latimer has become worried because he has developed a problem in his left hand. In a fashion that seems random at this time, the pinky and ring fingers of his left hand will go numb for several seconds and he is unable to control their actions. As one could imagine, that is not something that you want to have happen when you play a musical instrument for a living!

An appointment has been made to see a specialist and Shenole hopes that it is something that can be taken care of simply without the need for surgery. Visit back later to find out more.

On a lighter note, there is news that Shenole Latimer will be joining Blues sensation Gail Storm and her quartet for a concert performance at the Five Towns College Performing Arts Center in Dix Hills, New York for a date in November, 2008. Blues guitarist Joe Vacino is also a member of Gail Storm's quartet and is the one who Shenole says "taught me that the blues isn't about how many notes you can play, but how much heart and guts you have."

April 7, 2008 - Tickets for Shenole Latimer's concert at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts are now available to the open public. Initially, only the subscribers to Shenole Latimer's email newsletter "On the Inside" were alerted to the tickets being available, because Shenole wanted to give his closest fans a chance to get the seats that they wanted.

For information on how you can obtain your tickets to Shenole Latimer's concert dubbed "In the Key of Live!", click on the link provided and you will be brought to the Patchogue Theatre's box office information page, where you can either find out about their hours of operation in order to get your tickets in person, receive the box office phone number so that you may obtain your tickets by phone, or purchase tickets online. CLICK HERE!

March 2, 2008 - If you tried to visit Shenole Latimer's website between the dates of Saturday, February 23rd and Thursday, February 28th you probably noticed that the website was gone and there was a page up that said "Domain available for purchase".

This was due to Shenole not receiving the renewal notice for his domain name "shenolelatimer.com" and the subsequent auctioning off of his domain name to a third party located in Texas. Fortunately, Shenole was able to track down the person who had purchased his domain name and managed to buy it back from the individual.

Both Shenole Latimer and Rici Music, Inc. would like to extend their deepest regrets for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Measures have been taken to prevent this from happening again.

On a somewhat lighter note, planning for the Shenole Latimer Quartet concert at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts is going very well. Dianne Fleming, Shenole's artistic director, has drawn up creative visuals for the concert and a coalition of organizations that Shenole has close ties with has been formed to help with the sale of tickets. Speaking of tickets, a formal announcement about ticket availability shall be made soon.

If you would like to be the first to know in order to secure the best seating possible, join Shenole Latimer's email list by clicking HERE...

February 1, 2008 - Always happy to show his gratitude towards supporters of jazz, Shenole Latimer took the time to visit some new fans of his at the Kings Park Heritage Museum in Kings Park, New York. Shenole was enthusiastically greeted by Steve, Leo, and King, the caretakers of the museum. The three gentlemen honored Shenole by taking photos with him and even laminating and hanging up a promotional poster that he had brought and autographed for them.

The Kings Park Heritage Museum will be the host of a jazz festival on February 29th that will feature a few Long Island jazz performers, including Long Island staple Ranny Reeves. Part of Shenole Latimer's visit was to thank Steve, Leo, and King for providing such a wonderful forum as their auditorium to showcase jazz to the community. Clearly, the attention garnered by such devoted supporters of America's classical music are what will help jazz to, as Steve so eloquently put it, "Rock on!".

January 11 , 2008 - The contract for Shenole Latimer's return concert at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts has been completed and signed. The official date is Saturday, October 4th at 8:00pm. Tickets will actually go on sale in the near future.

Speaking of performance dates, Shenole Latimer's itinerary listing on the events page has been updated with over 20 new appearances that have been added to his 2008 schedule. Aside from a number of educational lecture dates at libraries in the Tri-State area, several jazz club performances have been booked in Connecticut, Washington DC, and South Carolina.

December 1, 2007 - Shenole Latimer's return to the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts is all but assured. The final thing left to do is for him to sign the contracts. There may, however, be a correction made to the original October 11, 2008 date to October 4, 2008. In the 11 months that exists between now and the concert's date, much time will be dedicated towards courting sponsors and promotion.

On the topic of 2008 performance dates, Shenole Latimer has already secured over a dozen appearances for next year. Many of the scheduled dates are for his educational presentations "What's All That Jazz About?" and "Our Music, Our Culture". There is even a Master Class that is being held at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts for several Long Island high school jazz bands that Shenole Latimer is to be the guest clinician for.

One other news item is the positive reviews and strong radio air play for "Closer to the Day", the CD effort by the talented jazz pianist Kenny MacKenzie. Kenny MacKenzie is the first call pianist for Shenole's concert performances, and is also the leader of his own ensemble known as the Kenny MacKenzie Trio. Shenole was the featured artist on Kenny's album and extremely flattered that he was given the opportunity. To learn more about Kenny Mackenzie's album "Closer to the Day", visit his website at www.kmtrio.com.

November 5, 2007 - Shenole Latimer will be making his return to the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts even sooner than originally thought. On Saturday, April 12th, 2008, Shenole will be the guest artist at a high school jazz festival that will include several local high schools. During the day, Latimer will be giving a master class to the kids in the various jazz bands. Then, that evening during the event's concerts, Shenole Latimer will be participating with each band as a guest soloist.

"This is a great opportunity to introduce some talented young people to some of the rich history and fundamentals of jazz," said Shenole Latimer of the event. "I can't wait for the event, because years ago that was me sitting were the kids are. I can remember how exciting it was to have a guest artist sit in with our jazz band."

More information about the event will be given on this website as the time draws nearer, including when the tickets will be going on sale and which high schools will be participating.

October 3 , 2007 - This past Sunday, September 30th, Shenole Latimer made a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a guest of Clayton "Big Trigger" Corley (depicted on the right in the photograph above) to attend the 7th annual "Versatility Entertainment and Image Awards".

Mr. Corley was a recipient of the award for his ground breaking internet radio program "Spotlight on Jazz and Poetry". The awards featured special performances by some talented Philadelphia natives and guest speaker De-De Sharp (depicted at the center of the photograph above), who had a number of top hits in her career including "Mashed Potatoe Time". Shenole Latimer also made several new contacts including two wonderfully talented poets, Lamont "Napalm" Dixon and Safiyyah Amina Muhammad.

"All in all it was a great evening! Brother Clayton received a well deserved award, I got to listen to some words of wisdom from a veteran of the music industry in De-De Sharp, I met some great people, and had some really good food," commented Shenole when asked to sum up the awards night. Shenole also said that he hopes to attend the awards next year as well.

September 14, 2007 - A new CD has just been released by KMT Records. Talented jazz pianist Kenny MacKenzie leads his trio to the ears of music lovers with his latest recorded effort "Closer to the Day", which features Shenole Latimer on 6 of the 8 tracks. Kenny MacKenzie's regular line-up of Nathan Peck on bass and drummer Yoni Halevy was further augmented with the inclusion of bassist Jerry McDonald and drummer Ben Bynum sitting in on several tracks.

"I'm really flattered to have been a part of Kenny's project. It's an incredible feeling to have someone that you respect invite you to be a part of something that they're creating. Especially when it's someone as talented as Kenny," commented Shenole Latimer.

The songwriting style that Kenny MacKenzie displays possesses strong and intriguing developement within his melodies and themes. When it comes to his improvisational skill, anyone who has been fortunate enough to attend a performance by his trio, or to catch him as a member of Shenole Latimer's quartet, knows of Mackenzie's ability to paint a sonic picture that stimulates the imagination of his listeners.

To purchase this highly anticipated release, or to learn more about Kenny MacKenzie and his extraordinary trio, visit his website at www.kmtrio.com.

August 9, 2007 - A tentative date has been booked for Shenole Latimer's return to the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts. The pending date is August 16th, 2008, and will be made official as soon as Shenole finishes his exploratory probe to make certain that the event can be a successful follow up to his first concert at the Patchogue Theater, which took place in 2004. During that show, Shenole had special guest Dan Faulk (tenor saxophonist) and went on to out sell the Chuck Mangione concert that took place two weeks after his at the Patchogue Theater.

Clearly, one of the things that is high on Shenole Latimer's list of priorities is seeing how many sponsors he can attract to invest in the production. Funds from sponsors will aid in the rental of the venue and in the all important task of securing an agressive promotional campaign.

July 5, 2007 - A video from Shenole Latimer's past May, 2007 concert at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall was recorded, and Shenole hopes to be able to put clips on it on YouTube.com and also on this website. Because video from YouTube can be posted onto any website, Shenole hopes that he may be able to gain new fans from people who may enter the code for his video onto their own websites, which in turn would allow their visitors to learn about him and his music.

Tickets for Shenole Latimer's upcoming concert at the Port Jefferson Village Center, which is being sponsored by the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and is taking place on July 29th, 2007 at 3:00pm, are now available online at this website's online boxoffice , or by contacting the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council at (631)473-5220.

The Port Jefferson Village Center is a new facility that was completed in 2006, and is located only about a block away from the Port Jefferson Ferry Port in Port Jefferson, New York.

June 20, 2007 - As of June 13th, Shenole Latimer has made it to the "Top Picks" list of the revolutionary website and online record store known as CDBaby.com. Because of the impressive sales and reviews that his CD "Front And Center" has received, Shenole has been listed as number 5 in CDBaby's post-bop jazz listing. This ranking is out of more than 85 other jazz artists from around the world and is truly a testiment to the Shenole's talent and ability to reach his audience.

June 10, 2007 - Shenole Latimer is gearing up for his upcoming concert at the Port Jefferson Village Center, which is being sponsored by the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and is taking place on July 29th, 2007 at 3:00pm. The Port Jefferson Village Center is a new facility that was completed in 2006, and is located only about a block away from the Port Jefferson Ferry Port in Port Jefferson, New York.

Tickets for Shenole Latimer's concert are now available online at this website's online boxoffice , or by contacting the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council at (631)473-5220.

Another news item is that we have included some new images for the gallery page. The images are photos that were taken by Shenole Latimer's personal photographer Frank Cooper, during Shenole's concert at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead, New York this past May 29th, 2007.

May 7 , 2007 - Tickets for Shenole Latimer's concert at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead, New York can now be ordered over the phone by calling the East End Arts Council at (631)727-0900, or purchased by visiting the East Enders Coffee House located at 40 East Main Street in Riverhead, New York. Online tickets can still be obtained at the online box office of this website.

Be sure to visit the links section of this website in order to view some of the new sponsors who are providing either advertising space for Shenole Latimer's concert, or logistical support. Shenole Latimer asks that you please consider patronizing these fine businesses in the event that you find yourself in need of a good or service that they may supply.

It is not too late to be a sponsor. If you would like to give any form of finacial or logistical support towards the concert at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, or even any concerts in the future, please contact Shenole's management at Rici Music & Entertainment by calling (631)772-5290.

April 15 , 2007 - A new panel has been added to the right hand "features section" of this website. Fan submitted photos are now going to be placed on display. The first picture has already been posted, and features Shenole Latimer with a young man who expressed his eagerness to learn how to play the saxophone. The photo was taken by Mary Scott after a special presentation that Shenole Latimer gave at the Huntington Intermediate School in Huntington, New York. If you would like to submit a photo that you have taken of Shenole Latimer, please email it to events@ricimusic.com, along with your name and where the photo was taken.

Tierra Records, the german record label that has signed Shenole Latimer onto their roster during the Fall of 2006, has managed to secure Shenole with placement of his album "Front And Center" on the music downloading website known as Napster. Click HERE to visit Shenole Latimer at Napster!

Advance tickets are now available for Shenole Latimer's concert performance at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall on Saturday, May 26. The tickets may be purchased via Shenole's brand new online box office. A discounted rate is available for concert goers who would like to purchase 4 or more tickets. Visit the online box office for more information.

March 23, 2007 - Advance tickets are now available for Shenole Latimer's concert performance at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall on Saturday, May 26. The tickets may be purchased via Shenole's brand new online box office. A discounted rate is available for concert goers who would like to purchase 4 or more tickets. Visit the online box office for more information.

Some fans may remember Shenole Latimer's performance along side Jack Lacitra of "Jack's Waterfall" at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts in Bay Shore, New York last year. It looks as though Shenole will make another guest appearance at Lacitra's April 21, 2007 concert performance at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts. Stay tuned for details!

March 5, 2007 - Plans for the promotional campaign to get the word out about Shenole Latimer's late Spring concert performance at the historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead, NY are being finalized. Both Shenole and Rici Music & Entertainment are looking for computer savvy individuals to help with the process. The work is easy and can be done from home with a computer and access to the internet. Interested parties are asked to contact Rici Music & Entertainment by phone at (631)772-5290 or via email at info@ricimusic.com. Tickets for Shenole Latimers concert at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall will be made available within the next two weeks. The concert has been dubbed "Front And Center" after the title of his debut album released by Tierra Records, and will feature Kenny MacKenzie on piano, Thomson Kneeland on bass, and Kyle Struve on drums.

Shenole Latimer's first concert of 2007, which was held at the New York Institute of Technology, was a smashing success. The hall was filled to capacity with concert goers, who certainly seemed in awe of the performance given by Shenole's ensemble. There is no doubt that Shenole will be invited back for a return concert performance in 2008.

February 9, 2007 - Shenole Latimer has begun to book radio interviews in support of both his new album "Front And Center", and his future concerts at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall and the Port Jefferson Village Center. Shenole has already done a few interviews on internet radio for a station based out of Atlanta, Georgia and for one other station based in London, England. These interviews will be posted on Shenole Latimer's events calendar once they have been booked.

Speaking of Shenole Latimer's events calendar, a new design is being utilized to post Shenole's upcoming performances and special appearances courtesy of Google Calendar. Visit "Shenole's Events Page" to give it a test run!.

January 20, 2007 - Two concert dates have been confirmed by Rici Music & Entertainment. On May 26, 2007 Shenole Latimer will be making his return to the historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead, New York. Later, on July 29, 2007 Latimer will be giving a concert performance at the Port Jefferson Village Center in Port Jefferson, New York. Announcements will be made when tickets become available for both events.

Shenole Latimer and Rici Music & Entertainment are putting out a call for sponsors for these events and others that are currently being planned. If you are interested in being a sponsor for one of Shenole Latimer's concert events, please call (631)772-5290 or email sponsorship@ricimusic.com.

January 3, 2007 - Tierra Records has announced the debut of Shenole Latimer on Apple's iTunes! This is part of a negotiation that began nearly a month ago, and has now led to Shenole becoming available on what may be the industry's leading online store for music downloading. Between the popularity of MP3 players like the iPod, and both Shenole Latimer's and Tierra Records' belief that record stores are becoming obsolete, it is easy to see why a move has been made to get Latimer into iTunes. Now, fans can download Shenole's album "Front And Center" entirely, or they may download individual songs.

December 19, 2006 - Tierra Records has announced that negotiations are currently taking place to have Shenole Latimer's full album and individual tracks available for download at iTunes, Napster, and a host of other popular sites that feature MP3 downloading. Efforts have been made to make Shenole's album available in this manner since its release. However, the process for getting onto these digital audio downloading websites is long and drawn out. Best estimates place the first MP3s becoming available sometime between New Years and March. Since the desired websites do not yet offer Shenole Latimer's songs or album for download, Tierra Records made the digital EP version of the CD available. The EP contains the 5 original compositions by Shenole Latimer that can be found on the full length (LP) album, and EP can be purchased at our online store.

November 22, 2006 - Though Shenole Latimer's performance schedule is clear for the remainder of the year, he has still kept an intense routine up when it comes to things like session work and preparing for dates that have already been booked for 2007. In regards to session work, Shenole has recently recorded tracks for adult contemporary artists such as Janira and Thomas Osborne. Of the Thomas Osborne session, Shenole had this to say:

"There were a couple of challenges involved with recording tracks for Thomas Osborne. The first had to do with learning the parts. He did not write any of them down as standard music notation, so I had to learn them by ear. Learning the parts were not the difficult part, it was remembering them! The lines were long and I started confusing which line went with which song. The other challenge delt with the style that he wanted me to play in. He was looking for a sort of Clarence Clemmings style, a la Bruce Springstein. I managed to pull it off to his statisfaction, and in the end he loved it! I was proud of that work, because I was able to successfully step outside of my confort zone, in terms of playing style, and deliver what was asked of me out side of anything dealing with jazz."

Clearly, Shenole Latimer considers himself a jazz musician. However, he has often stated that he wishes to be a "Chameleon" when it comes to doing session work for other artists. In other words, Shenole looks to blend into whatever genre of music he is hired for. By the sounds of it, he was certainly successful in doing so with the Tom Osborne project.

"So far things are going great with Janira," commented Shenole when asked about the project with vocalist Janira Campos. Though that project had hit a few scheduling delays (Janira took time of to film her part in an upcoming movie starring Denzel Washington, called "American Gangster"), the recording has again resumed. It is hoped by the producers of the Janira project, that recording can be completed by Spring of 2007, in order for post production to begin. This would allow for a summer 2007 release.

November 10, 2006 - The upgrades to Shenole Latimer's website continue. As minor problems are addressed, we hope to have the website completed within the next few weeks. Among the pages that need to be competed are the "lessons" page, which will allow visitors to subscribe to and download online music lessons from Shenole Latimer, and also the "links" page. Also, in our next round of updates, we plan to begin the rotation schedule for the "Fan Spotlight" section. Every week, there after, will feature a fan's photo with a quote from them regarding Shenole Latimer.

So far, "Front and Center" has received rave reviews and has been selling well. It seems that the majority of people purchasing Shenole's debut album are doing so through this website. Although, there have been a number of sales at CDBaby.com. The larger number of sales through this website can undoubtedly be explained by fans wanting to avoid shipping fees, as this website offers free shipping.

October 17, 2006 - Today is the big day! Shenole Latimer's long awaited debut CD is being released. As of today, "Front and Center" is available for purchase via this website and at Shenole's live performances. Other online outlets will be following soon. One of these outlets is CDBaby.com, which is considered by many to be one of the most well known and respected online CD stores around.

Shenole Latimer's debute CD effort contains 9 tracks and is priced at $15.00. The price advertised on this website includes sales tax as well as shipping and handling. Other online outlets may charge slightly more due to their method of shipping. Rici Music & Entertainment uses the United States Postal Service's ground service, which means that the postage costs are as low as they can possibly be, and that the package will arrive within 2 - 5 business days.

You may have noticed that this website's design looks very different. The webpage has gone through several upgrades, whhich were all designed to give you a better browsing experience. For example, the webpage now expands and contracts to fit the size of the visitor's monitor screen. Also, there is more convenient navigation between the site's various sections. Additionally, in an effort to make the website more fun, there is a panel to the right of the screen that is called "Fan Spotlight". This is where we will place a picture and a quote of various fans of Shenole Latimer. The 1st and 15th of every month will feature a new fan. Anyone who is interested in appearing on the "Fan Spotlight" panel may email a picture and a quote to the following address: bookings@ricimusic.com, with a subject heading of "Fan Spotlight". We will disregard any inappropriate images or language.