The immortal 1982 “It Should Have Been You” by the equally immortal Gwen Guthrie has been reworked in a pretty cool and stylish fashion. At first almost not recognizable, the tune is extremely slowed-down, has a strong horn part, very subtle and effective percussion work and ultra strong vocals from Izzy Chase. The project under…
Singer Alicia Olatuja has tackled the songs of female composers for her latest album, which was produced by Kamau Kenyatta, responsible for successful records by Gregory Porter and Kathy Kosins lately. I have written about Alicia several times here, having seen her showcasing during APAP in early 2016 and also reviewing her last album “Timeless”…
She was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition in 2010, the year when Cécile McLorin Salvant won. Her debut Mack Avenue album “It’s A Good Day” featured “One Way Ticket” which ended up on my iphone playlist and stayed there for a couple of years. How I wish that more tunes like…
Six years after his Nat King Cole tribute album called “Inspiration”, George Benson returns with “Walking To New Orleans”, an album of music by Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and early rock’n’roll, to be released on April 26th. The first single, “Nadine”, originally by Chuck Berry and recorded in 1964, finds Mister Benson, who turns 76…
When drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. was asked in 2016 to take part in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “100 Years Of Song” celebration, he came up with the idea of interpreting the music of female icons Abbey Lincoln, Joni Mitchell, and Nina Simone (it would have been Nina’s 86th birthday yesterday). The press releases is quoting…
When I read the current New York Times article about Chaka Khan on artistic freedom, her side hustles and Joni Mitchell, I came across this quote which maybe best describes her first new album in 12 years, “Hello Happiness”: “For this album, “no deep thoughts were necessary. It was a lot of fun.”” This mini-album…
One of the most underrated singers and composers around, Dutch artist Benny Sings releases his new album “City Pop” on Stones Throw Records. Ever since his 2005 album “I Love You”, featuring the immortal “Make A Rainbow” which has become one of my alltime favorite pieces, Benny Sings has consistently delivered little album gems over…
Let’s face it: sometimes you can only live through a movie because the main character just has the right charisma and look. Gina has chosen her top three male actors at this year’s festival. In all three cases though, the respective movies were pretty strong, too. In Panorama, the disturbing “Kislota” (“Acid”) by Russian director…
I’m usually sitting at Berlinale Palast or CinemaxX 7 about half an hour before the screening starts. Enough time to watch other people. I realized a strange, funny, awkward, at least interesting thing about men and women looking for a free seat. So I started my own gender studies during the festival: almost 90% of…
The sexual assault accusations in an ultraconservertive Catholic church diocese in Lyon is the topic of Francois Ozon‘s new movie “Grace A Dieu”. It portrays a current criminal conviction that is still being negotiated and where a verdict, at least one of many, will possibly be announced in March of this year. But a pastor…