U.S. musician Marcus Miller hurt in Swiss bus crash

U.S. jazz bassist Marcus Miller performs onstage during the tribute to Miles Davis evening at the 45th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux July 13, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Valentin Flauraud

ZURICH | Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:30am EST

ZURICH (Reuters) - U.S. jazz musician Marcus Miller was injured on Sunday along with members of his band when their bus crashed in Switzerland, killing the driver, police said.

The two-time Grammy winner was travelling with 10 members of his band from Monte Carlo in Monaco to Hengelo in the Netherlands when the bus crashed on the highway near the town of Schattdorf in central Switzerland.

A Swiss police spokesman said the driver died from his injuries. The reserve driver, Miller and the members of his band were all injured but not seriously, he said, declining to give further details.

Miller, who plays keyboard and clarinet as well as electric bass, has collaborated with Miles Davis and Luther Vandross and was on tour to promote his album Renaissance.

Earlier this year, 22 children and six adults returning from on a ski trip organized by a Belgian school were killed in a bus crash in Switzerland.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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Rapper Mac Miller straight to No.1 in indie victory (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rapper Mac Miller became the first indie artist since 1995 to debut at the top of the Billboard Top 200 album charts on Wednesday, with his first album "Blue Slide Park."

Selling 144,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, Miller's No. 1 debut beat out Michael Buble's "Christmas" album, which climbed to No. 2 on the chart from last week's No. 8 position.

Miller, 19, has quickly established a fan base of more than one million followers on Twitter and Facebook and recently appeared on the VH1 television series "Single Ladies."

Jon Garcia at AllHipHop.com praised Miller for the album's production, "and the fact that he doesn't do too much to mess up the groove." MTV's Rob Markman called the album a "homegrown compilation...from a youngster whose rap appeal stretches way beyond his native Pittsburgh borders."

The last time an independently distributed artist's debut album reached No. 1 was rap group Tha Dogg Pound's "Dogg Food" in 1995. Miller's album "Blue Slide Park" is a Rostrum Records release, independently distributed by INgrooves and Fontana Distribution.

"Rostrum and Mac are proof that a digitally-focused independent effort works in today's dynamic music marketplace, by engaging fans directly," Dave Zierler, executive vice president at INgrooves, said in a statement.

Miller and Buble are followed by the "Now 40" music compilation, entering the Billboard album chart at No. 3 this week, with "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" soundtrack at No. 4, ahead of the film's release on Friday.

Adele's "21" holds steady at No. 5 after more than 35 weeks in the charts.

Justin Bieber's holiday album "Under The Mistletoe," which knocked Coldplay's "Mylo Xyloto" from the top position last week, fell to No. 6, while Susan Boyle's "Someone To Watch Over Me," fell to No. 7, edging out "Mylo Xyoloto" at No. 8.

On the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, Rihanna's "We Found Love" held onto the top spot, with LMFAO's "Sexy And I Know It" at No. 2.

Taylor Swift, who received the coveted entertainer of the year honor at last week's Country Music Awards, achieved two top ten debut singles this week, with "If This Was A Movie" at No. 3 and "Ours" at No. 5. A third single, "Superman," entered the chart at No. 13, after all three songs were released digitally for the first time last week.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

View the original article here

Rapper Mac Miller straight to No.1 in indie victory

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES | Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:12pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Mac Miller became the first indie artist since 1995 to debut at the top of the Billboard Top 200 album charts on Wednesday, with his first album "Blue Slide Park."

Selling 144,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, Miller's No. 1 debut beat out Michael Buble's "Christmas" album, which climbed to No. 2 on the chart from last week's No. 8 position.

Miller, 19, has quickly established a fan base of more than one million followers on Twitter and Facebook and recently appeared on the VH1 television series "Single Ladies."

Jon Garcia at AllHipHop.com praised Miller for the album's production, "and the fact that he doesn't do too much to mess up the groove." MTV's Rob Markman called the album a "homegrown compilation...from a youngster whose rap appeal stretches way beyond his native Pittsburgh borders."

The last time an independently distributed artist's debut album reached No. 1 was rap group Tha Dogg Pound's "Dogg Food" in 1995. Miller's album "Blue Slide Park" is a Rostrum Records release, independently distributed by INgrooves and Fontana Distribution.

"Rostrum and Mac are proof that a digitally-focused independent effort works in today's dynamic music marketplace, by engaging fans directly," Dave Zierler, executive vice president at INgrooves, said in a statement.

Miller and Buble are followed by the "Now 40" music compilation, entering the Billboard album chart at No. 3 this week, with "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" soundtrack at No. 4, ahead of the film's release on Friday.

Adele's "21" holds steady at No. 5 after more than 35 weeks in the charts.

Justin Bieber's holiday album "Under The Mistletoe," which knocked Coldplay's "Mylo Xyloto" from the top position last week, fell to No. 6, while Susan Boyle's "Someone To Watch Over Me," fell to No. 7, edging out "Mylo Xyoloto" at No. 8.

On the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, Rihanna's "We Found Love" held onto the top spot, with LMFAO's "Sexy And I Know It" at No. 2.

Taylor Swift, who received the coveted entertainer of the year honor at last week's Country Music Awards, achieved two top ten debut singles this week, with "If This Was A Movie" at No. 3 and "Ours" at No. 5. A third single, "Superman," entered the chart at No. 13, after all three songs were released digitally for the first time last week.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

View the original article here