Blues and jazz saxophonist Ed Wiley Jr. died on Monday in North Carolina at the age of 80. Wiley, who scored the 1950 hit “Cry, Cry Baby” and went on to work with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Teddy Pendergrass, was leaving church on Sunday when he fell and struck his head, slipping into a coma. Wiley’s funeral will be held Friday in Raleigh, NC. [AOLNews.com]

Detroit house producer and Wallshaker Music founder Aaron-Carl Ragland died in Detroit on Thursday of cancer, just a few days after canceling his European tour and confirming his diagnosis on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Best known as just Aaron-Carl, his critically acclaimed brand of soulful house was released on labels such as Ovum and Soul City before he launched Wallshaker Music in 2002. [ResidentAdvisor.net]

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Another week, another batch of 100% free music.

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West Coast jazz musician Buddy Collette died on September 19th in Los Angeles. He was 89. Although considered one of the finest saxophonists of his era, Collette first came to prominence on the flute as a founding member of drummer Chico Hamilton’s quintet during the ’50s, and helped popularize the use of the instrument in jazz. After a stroke in 1998 ended his performing career, Collette continued to teach and mentor music students at the university level. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2001 for the concert album Live From the Nation’s Capital. [NYTimes.com]

Jazz pianist Jason Moran has been awarded the 2010 MacArthur Foundation Grant. One of 23 individuals recognized by the foundation, Moran will receive $500,000 over the next five years to pursue his music. The grant arrives on the heels of Moran’s 2010 Blue Note Records album, Ten, which was recently released. [WallStreetJournal.com]

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Oprah will host the entire reunited cast of 1965’s “The Sound of Music” during an episode in late October. The actors will answer questions about the movie, while the Von Trapp Children — a singing group whose members include several Von Trapp descendants — will perform. Julie Andrews, her voice still damaged from a throat operation in 1997, won’t be singing with the group. [Guardian.co.uk]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its newest round of nominees this morning. Many of them — Darlene Love, LL Cool J, Donna Summer, the Beastie Boys, the J. Geils Band, Tom Waits, Chuck Willis, Chic, and Joe Tex — have been up for induction before. Others are nominated for the first time, including Bon Jovi, Donovan, Dr. John, Alice Cooper, and Neil Diamond. [Spinner.com]

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Some days there’s really nothing to say … about anything. Days like that, you just need some dudes (especially one in a ridiculous fur cap) covering the Alan Parsons Project to get you through. Take it away, Gayngs! And thanks for the harmonies…

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Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong will make his Broadway debut starting on Tuesday, when he will play St. Jimmy in the American Idiot musical. Armstrong will perform the role for eight performances, tickets for which are on sale now. As St. Jimmy, Armstrong will sing lead on songs including “Know Your Enemy,” “Homecoming” and “St. Jimmy.” Tony Vincent, the actor who normally fills the role, will return to the show on October 12. Armstrong reunites with Green Day on the 8th, joining the band for a tour of South America. [RollingStone.com]

Wyclef Jean has been hospitalized in New Jersey for “stress and fatigue” after weeks of suffering severe headaches. The former Fugee officially withdrew from the race for Haiti’s presidency last week after failing to gain eligibility to run. Jean has also been working on a new album and meeting with heads of state during the General Assembly Session at the United Nations. [Billboard.com]

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By late 2009 Comet Gain had been a band for over fifteen years, so it made perfect sense for the group’s leader David Christian to head off in search of a new format for his songs. Setting off for Brooklyn (with keyboardist Anne Laure Guillain in tow), he met up with members of the Ladybug Transistor and Crystal Stilts (and original Gain drummer Phil Sutton) to make a record under the name Cinema Red and Blue. Not surprisingly perhaps, given Christian’s strong vision and inimitable style, the record sounds mostly like a Comet Gain record and has none of the echo-y psychedelics or rich arrangements you might think members of Crystal Stilts and Ladybug Transistor would provide respectively. Apart from a few covers on side two, Christian wrote the bulk of the songs and they sound like Comet Gain songs, rife with seething emotions, finely detailed observations, punk rock myths and pop dreams.

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Eddie Fisher, one of the first teen heartthrobs of the 1950s, died Wednesday at 82 years old. A mainstream pop crooner who charted 15 Top 50 hits in 1952 alone, Fisher later hosted a pair of NBC variety shows and attracted a good deal of attention for his high-profile marriages, one of which resulted in the birth of his daughter, future “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher. [EW.com]

Who’s the next Justin Beiber? To figure out which adolescent popstar will be the talk of your daughter’s elementary school in two months, take a look at Billboard’s “21 Under 21″ list, which includes profiles on up-and-coming stars like Cody Simpson and Filipina star/Glee newcomer Charice. [Billboard.com]

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