The second album by bassist Ben Williams could also be called “State Of The Art Vol. 2” relating to the name of his first one. There is some Miles Davis/Lonnie Liston Smith vibe on the funky opener “Black Villain Music” (more of that!), finest modern jazz with some great guitar playing by Matthew Stevens (who…
It is really a spectacular location – in the middle of huge cranes and machine halls on the grounds of the Blohm & Voss shipyard. You can only get there by walking through the tunnel which connects the harbour with the dockyard and which runs under the Elbe river. Shuttle buses are connecting the different…
It was a smooth show last night at the Blohm & Voss shipyards in Hamburg. The ECHO Jazz Awards 2015 were hosted by Gregory Porter (who also won one trophy and performed “Liquid Spirit” and “Brown Grass”) and Roger Cicero. Entertaining, no awkward lenghts, very good live performances, and short acceptance speeches from all winners…
I’m travelling to Hamburg tomorrow for this year’s ECHO Jazz Award celebrations. Today, awardees Branford Marsalis and Johanna Borchert together with jury member Karsten Jahnke, announced those artists who will give the laudations during the ceremony tomorrow. Among them are Klaus Doldinger, Pepe Lienhard, who served as musical director for Udo Jürgens for many years,…
It was just last week at an industry convention BBQ when I was spinning a couple of tunes from the great Ramsey Lewis. Those two songs in question are timeless tracks from his productive 70s period: the Maurice White-produced “Sun Goddess” from the album of the same name (1974) and the equally legendary “Brazilica” from…
The title of Rebecca DuMaine‘s third album is from Antonio Carlos Jobim‘s lyric to “One Note Samba” which is featured here as one of two Brazilian flavored tunes. The other is “The Face That I Love” by Marcos Valle (actually known as “The Face I Love”) which was also recently covered by the brilliant Stacey…
It’s a new chapter for singer Melody Gardot with her new album “Currency Of Man”. If you’re an avid reader of liner notes and credits like I am, it was fascinating to read the name Jerry Hey for example doing all the horn arrangements on the record. It was Jerry who, in addition to millions…
His songs have this special quality of staying in your head for a long time. And he has the wit and humor in his songwriting that is something of a rare thing these days (“I’d Sleep With Your Cat But I’m Scared He Might Bite”). Add to this his virtuosity as a pianist. And voilà…
Trombonist Jeff Bradshaw, who has worked with Patti LaBelle, Kindred The Family Soul, or Jill Scott, and who released the wittily entitled “Bone Appetit” a couple of years ago to great acclaim (the album featured Maysa, Raheem DeVaughn, and Marsha Ambrosius), has assembled an all-star cast for one special night at the Kimmel Center for…
It is an incredibly sad week with so many of our good ones leaving us. Louis Johnson, one half of the Brothers Johnson, passed away yesterday at only 60 years old. My first encounter with his amazing slapping technique was with their hit song “Stomp”. But that wasn’t the only one of course. “Strawberry Letter…