With a song in her heart and some sense in her head!

This evening I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the UK's most talented and underrated vocalists in a no-holds-barred interview on the state of jazz music today.

Gill Manly is a jazz artist who's just released her second album "With A Song In My Heart" to much critical acclaim. Having been in the industry for a couple of decades, Gill spoke honestly and refreshingly about her experiences in music and her thoughts on the industry, warts and all. After a sabbatical of a few years, Gill returned to the stage and the recording studio to find not much has changed since she exited the business and found spiritual enlightenment.

Look out for Gill and other talented women in jazz in a feature on the rise and rise of women in jazz in the next issue of Lucid Magazine, online on Monday, 4th May.

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, 19-27 March, London

From 19-27 March, the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival will take place in London for the 13th year with screenings and discussions focusing on some of the most pressing stories of the era.

The London festival this year premieres Youth Producing Change, a programme of youth-produced human rights films from around the world, in collaboration with founding presenter Adobe Youth Voices, the global initiative of the Adobe Foundation. Human Rights Watch will also present a photo exhibit, On the Frontlines, to coincide with the festival at the Frontline Club in Paddington from March 2 to March 27.

This year’s line-up includes 16 features and nine shorts from 21 countries, one world premiere, one European premiere, 10 UK premieres, and two London premieres. Thirteen of the 16 features focus on the following places: Afghanistan; Burma; Ecuador; Gujurat, India; Kashmir; Lebanon; Liberia; the Palestinian territories; Russia; Rwanda; South Africa; and Sudan. Other films take a global perspective, including the universal and poetically told story of an immigrant in the opening night screening on 19 March of Eden is West by the veteran filmmaker Costa Gavras (image above).

For the full programme of screenings visit the festival website at: http://www.hrw.org/iff

Lucid Magazine is launching next week!

Lucid is the place to find interesting, provocative articles that stimulate debate and inspire free thinking on everything from arts and culture to ideas and current affairs. Our tagline is “Clear Opinion, Sound Debate.” Interaction is key. Don’t be passive. Get involved in the discussions and leave your mark.

In the first issue, online on Monday, 2nd March:

· 15 years after the genocide in Rwanda what has the world learnt?
We speak to the authors of a new book on the plight of survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that saw one million people killed as the world looked away and left a nation physically and psychologically scarred. But there remains hope. Plus, we ask what can be done to help those in the neighbouring Congo from suffering a similar fate.
· In search of the essence of Japan
When you think of Japan, the world’s second largest economy, what do you think of? Neon, Manga and high-technology? Or Geisha, Buddhism and quiet contemplation? Paul Knipe finds the essence of Japan, a country with the longest life expectancy in the world, coexisting in the traditional buildings and modern skyscrapers of the mighty Honshu cities.
· Hidden Histories
Between 1838 and 1917 over half a million Indians were transported to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations. Promised wages and rights, 240,000 of these migrants were taken to Guyana and today, East Indians make up 44% of the Guyanese population. Athena Kugblenu examines the reality of indentured labour and uncovers the truth about Caribbean Indians.
· Almighty Meltdown
In the first installment of a new series, Francis Kaikumba writes that the world is going through unprecedented change, not just economic but social and political, and offers his perspective on what the legacy of this period of upheaval will mean. Major institutions will crumble, systems of governance will collapse but, ultimately, people power will prevail.
· London: Capital of Cool
Twelve years after Britpop, Britart and Britfashion dominated the world’s media Sylvia Arthur argues that London is still the capital of creativity with its music, arts and culture scenes thriving despite the onset of a recession. The UK’s image may be in decline but the current economic crisis will serve as a catalyst for an outpouring of creative expression similar to that of the mid-1990s.

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Lucid Magazine: Clear Opinion, Sound Debate