Millions of people are out on the streets this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. Gina of course was among the crowd – she walked all the way through Mauerpark and back trying to catch the balloons….
When “From Paris With Love” was released by Melody Gardot in the summer, it almost brought me to tears. The heartbreakingly beautiful melody, written by Pierre Aderne, accompanying video and the sweet sweet lyrics were a match made in heaven and somehow became the unofficial hymn of the lockdown. And still is. But the big…
Michael Kiwanuka‘s absolutely stunning album “Small Changes”, his fourth and clearly his best to date, came out in late November in the middle of all the holiday buzz and chaos. It almost went unnoticed, but once the LP arrived, it made its way onto our turntables time and time again. I think the overall mood…
Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick releases his fifth album for ECM as a leader. We reviewed his still beautiful album “Midwest“, a collection of songs about the voyage of Norway coming to America, on these pages in 2015. He also released “Ravensburg” in between. The album and its protagonists, including two drummers, is the backing again…
A much deserved celebration of the genius of Webster Lewis. I first came across his name on Merry Clayton‘s 1980 LP “Emotion”, where the sort-of title track, “Give Me Some Emotion”, immediately hit me with its utterly deep soul and jazzy Rhodes playing. Finding one of his solo albums was a pretty hard task, even…
What would the world sound like without the compositions of the great Billy Strayhorn? Celebrating his centennial, New York’s public transport organization, the MTA, will run a special A train for this occasion, in remembrance to one of his most powerful and long-lasting songs, “Take The A Train”. The train’s passengers will get a free…
Retro soul and disco in perfect harmony. “Witchoo” is late 70s disco transported to 2021. An irresistible track with a Chic-like beat and great vocals by Durand and drummer Aaron Frazer. The dreamy vocals of Aaron, already cherished on his solo album, are the pitch-perfect backdrop for the soul ballad and title track “Private Space”,…