Patti Labelle

He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, won a Grammy and collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra. Yet saxophonist Kenny G still approaches his craft like an "A" student who insists on nothing shy of "A" plus. "I've put in two to three hours [of practice] a day for the last 30 years. I figure that over time, this stuff is going to sink in and I'm going to keep getting better and better," said the instrumentalist, who is scheduled to perform at this weekend's 18th annual Capital Jazz Fest at Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Septimius somehow remains mysterious even though he puts a lot of himself out there. First, he goes by Septimius the Great, a Roman emperor who conquered the Parthian Empire, which, we assume, is a lot to live up to. Septimius (the singer, not the emperor) says he is influenced most by "diversity and adversity," which is simulatenously confusing and intriguing. A few minutes spent on his website, septimiusthegreat.com , and you're deeply immersed in striking fashion, tunes such as "Iam Fashion" and "Zodiac Lover," and a photo of him sitting on a "human throne" (pictured here in all its glory)

Everything about Patti LaBelle is Big.She has Big Hair that cascades all over her face, and Big Fingernails that could screech a blackboard from a mile away. Even her heels, six inches off the Pier Six Music Pavilion floor, are Big.And, LaBelle's voice?What else? Huge. Cavernous. Resounding.Large enough to be heard from the back of the pavilion last night.Without a microphone.That voice and all that surrounds it can be both blessing and curse, but most of last night's performance, the second of two this weekend, were more than enough to please the enthusiastic throng.

He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, won a Grammy and collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra. Yet saxophonist Kenny G still approaches his craft like an "A" student who insists on nothing shy of "A" plus. "I've put in two to three hours [of practice] a day for the last 30 years. I figure that over time, this stuff is going to sink in and I'm going to keep getting better and better," said the instrumentalist, who is scheduled to perform at this weekend's 18th annual Capital Jazz Fest at Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion.

ALTHOUGH POP SINGER Patti LaBelle wowed the audiences at the new Pier Six Concert Pavilion this weekend, she surely didn't "wow" Mayor Kurt Schmoke Saturday night.The singer, in fact, stood up Hizzoner, who waited about 45 minutes to present her with a key to the city.When she finally appeared on stage to acknowledge his presence and was told the mayor had gone, an unabashed LaBelle turned to the audience and exclaimed: "I'm scared of that man!"SPEAKING OF SINGERS, don't forget to catch former Oriole turned Milwaukee Brewer Rick Dempsey tonight at Christopher's Timonium.

Patti LaBelle thought the magic was gone, so she didn't want to do it at first. Besides, too much time had passed. More than 30 years ago, the soul diva and her longtime girlfriends Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash - collectively known as Labelle - were among the hottest, strangest groups in pop. They were three black women dressed in outrageous drag (feathers galore, mile-high platforms, even metal breastplates) belting full-throttle, in-your-face songs about sex and politics. The trio's biggest hit was 1975's "Lady Marmalade," a funky ditty with a memorable French chorus about a New Orleans prostitute.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine unveiled plans yesterday for a splashy, yearlong celebration to mark the institution's bicentennial. The school, founded in 1807, is the oldest public medical school in the country. Highlights of the anniversary celebration, which are scheduled to kick off in January, include: A series of free public lectures at the Hippodrome Theatre with singer Patti LaBelle, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and retired Oriole Cal Ripken. A live radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Ashanti, Mario and more perform in An All-Star Salute to Patti LaBelle (above, 9 p.m.-10 p.m., WUTB, Channel 24).

Patti LaBelle Patti LaBelle first made it big with the Bluebells in 1974 with "Lady Marmalade." Although the Bluebells disbanded in 1976, LaBelle has kept going as a solo artist, and hopes to release a gospel CD next month. She performs Saturday at Constitution Hall, 18th and D streets, Northwest Washington, with R&B and soul singer Charlie Wilson. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $77. Call 410-547-SEAT or visit ticketmaster.com.

MIAMI -- I wasn't scared. Let's get that straight from the get-go.If you want to call it anything, call it concerned. Or, at most, apprehensive.Hey, you'd be apprehensive, too, if you were 30-something thousand feet up and your plane suddenly started emitting a noise like this: "EEEEEEEE." Like the dental drill from hell. Like a 12-ton mosquito. Like Patti Labelle being tortured.And then a passenger decided to land the plane. But I'm getting ahead of myself.Let's begin at the beginning: I'm on a flight to Miami, sitting in the back row. Just unpacked my laptop and placed it on the tray table.

Labelle [Verve Records] *** CDS Well, it's better late than never. The last time Labelle, the legendary trio of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, recorded an album together was in 1976. The year before, after toiling on the rock and R&B circuits for more than a decade, the powerhouse threesome topped the pop charts with the disco-funk classic "Lady Marmalade." But the sudden success proved to be too much. So the longtime friends hung up their famed space-cadet get-ups and went their separate ways.

Patti LaBelle thought the magic was gone, so she didn't want to do it at first. Besides, too much time had passed. More than 30 years ago, the soul diva and her longtime girlfriends Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash - collectively known as Labelle - were among the hottest, strangest groups in pop. They were three black women dressed in outrageous drag (feathers galore, mile-high platforms, even metal breastplates) belting full-throttle, in-your-face songs about sex and politics. The trio's biggest hit was 1975's "Lady Marmalade," a funky ditty with a memorable French chorus about a New Orleans prostitute.

Just announced Patti LaBelle -- Pier Six Pavilion on Sept. 6. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Rick Ross & Friends -- 1st Mariner Arena on June 20. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Deanna Bogart Band -- Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis on July 26. 410-268-4545 or ramsheadtavern.com. All Time Low -- Rams Head Live on July 18. 410-244-1131 or ramsheadlive.com. emmet swimming -- The 9:30 Club in Washington on June 28. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. Still available Kenny G -- Wolf Trap Barns in Vienna, Va., on June 12. 410-481-6500 or 800-955-5566.

IN A way he is a modern breed of film star. A man as interested in the business of show as he is in performance. An amalgam of magnetism and marketing savvy. Talented and shameless. A charming control freak. George Clooney minus the smugness. Arnold minus the skeeve. Tom Cruise minus the crazy. Ryan Seacrest, if Seacrest were a man." That's Alison Glock writing in Men's Journal about Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as pro wrestling's "The Rock" and later as a tight-jawed, heavily muscled action hero in over-the-top projects such as The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King.

On the playlist this week, I check out two new compilations: one from an early muse for the Neptunes, the other from the architects of the Philly Soul sound. Kelis, The Hits: --When this Harlem native broke onto the pop scene in '99, I dug her right away. Her music -- anchored by the noisy rock textures and propulsive, ricocheting beats of the Neptunes -- was a sonic bag of Skittles. Kelis' first hit single, "Caught Out There," stood out on urban radio at the time with its screaming chorus: "I hate you so much right now."

Where do you go to find out about the history of gospel music? You can try the Internet. However, Bil Carpenter, who has done promotions work for such artists as Baltimore's Jonathan Nelson, the Staple Singers and Shirley Ceaser, has put together Uncloudy Days (Backbeat), a gospel music encyclopedia about more than 650 artists and personalities from 1900 to the present. Carpenter, a Washington resident, says he began the project because of his interest in history. He got into gospel music as a youth and started to collect information about the artists.

Kenneth L. Moore, who as a child performed gospel music in Baltimore churches with his sisters as part of the Moore Singers and later played with the Tina Turner band, died March 25 of undetermined causes while on tour in Australia. He was 45.Mr. Moore, who lived in Los Angeles in recent years, had been the musical director, a background vocalist and keyboard player for Ms. Turner's band since 1977."He was always the boss as far as the musical arrangements went," said Janet Arlington, a longtime friend who is associated with the group.

Where do you go to find out about the history of gospel music? You can try the Internet. However, Bil Carpenter, who has done promotions work for such artists as Baltimore's Jonathan Nelson, the Staple Singers and Shirley Ceaser, has put together Uncloudy Days (Backbeat), a gospel music encyclopedia about more than 650 artists and personalities from 1900 to the present. Carpenter, a Washington resident, says he began the project because of his interest in history. He got into gospel music as a youth and started to collect information about the artists.

"It's the show according to Patti LaBelle," the down-home Philadelphia soul legend told the huge crowd Saturday night at the African American Heritage Festival. If anybody in pop has earned the right to play the diva role, it's "Miss Patti," as she frequently called herself during the fun, hourlong set. Over the course of her 45-year career, the two-time Grammy winner has never enjoyed the critical kudos or record sales of some of her peers, namely Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine unveiled plans yesterday for a splashy, yearlong celebration to mark the institution's bicentennial. The school, founded in 1807, is the oldest public medical school in the country. Highlights of the anniversary celebration, which are scheduled to kick off in January, include: A series of free public lectures at the Hippodrome Theatre with singer Patti LaBelle, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and retired Oriole Cal Ripken. A live radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.