Jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist Benny Carter [ tickets ]--who performed with or wrote for swing-era jazz legends Glenn Miller Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman, among many others--died on Saturday (7/12) in Los Angeles. He was 95.

"Benny Carter died peacefully early Saturday morning at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles after a brief illness," said a statement posted on Carter's website. "Although physically weak, he remained completely lucid and enjoyed speaking with many of his friends worldwide over the past few weeks."

Carter's alto-sax style and his arrangements created much of the foundation for the swing music of the late '30s and early '40s.

Ozzy Osbourne [ tickets ], who didn't show for Ozzfest's July 9 show in the Sacramento area, missed his second straight Ozzfest appearance--this time in the Seattle region--on Saturday (7/12). Despite the absence of the tour's namesake, the show went on as planned in each city.

According to the official Ozzfest website, Osbourne is suffering from severe laryngitis, and was ordered to rest his vocal cords for a few days.

Rob Zombie [ tickets ] has signed on with comic-book companies MVCreations and CrossGen Entertainment to create the six-issue comic series "Rob Zombie's Spook Show International."

According to a press release, the first story "begins as the evil Zombie is freed from his eternal slumber." The second "is based on the chilling back stories behind the Zombie hit movie 'House of 1000 Corpses,'" and the third "entails espionage, kidnapping, strip clubs and monsters galore."

Former Hole leader Courtney Love [ tickets ] has signed with Virgin Records, and is now completing work on an album to be titled "America's Sweetheart."

The album, due sometime this fall, features several songs written in collaboration with Linda Perry, who has worked in recent years with Pink and Christina Aguilera.

The Eagles [ tickets ] have opened a series of charity auctions in conjunction with the band's current summer tour. Fans can bid on auction packages of front-row concert tickets, autographed guitars and copies of The Eagles' Box Set, "Selected Works 1972-1999" at www.eagles.yahoo.com.

Proceeds from the auctions will benefit charities and organizations that the band supports, including Mountain Restoration, Caddo Lake, Aspen Grassroots and The Joe Walsh Foundation.