He sang and co-wrote Motown’s first hit in 1960: “Money (That’s What I Want)” went to Number 2 on the Pop Charts. He later wrote unforgettable tunes for Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye. “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”. “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. “I Wish It Would Rain”. Written…
Canadian-American saxophonist and composer Ben Wendel releases “All One” on April 21st on the UK-based Edition Records label. The album features a guest musician on each track, like José James, Elena Pinderhughes, Tigran Hamasyan, Bill Frisell, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Terence Blanchard. Of the six tunes on the album, three are written by Ben, one…
This year’s North Sea Jazz Festival, scheduled for the weekend of July 7th-9th, has announced the first round of artists coming over to Rotterdam. Among the acts of the first day, July 7th, are the Kenny Barron Quartet, Bill Frisell FOUR with Gerald Clayton, Jonathan Blake and Greg Tardy, Terri Lyne Carrington with her New…
Cécile McLorin Salvant wil release her next Nonsesuch Records album “Mélusine” on March 24th. It’s a mixture of five original songs and nine pieces sung in French, Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyòl. Some of the songs date back to the 12th century. “Mélusine” tells the story of a woman who turns into a half-snake each…
Happy Birthday to The Songstress. Late last year, her tour dates were announced. She will be joined on tour by Babyface. Earlier this year, she released a short clip on Twitter with a snippet of new music, supposed to come out later this year. The last time I saw her was in 2019 at North…
Carol Sloane, one of the greatest singers of classic songs, has sailed on. She suffered a stroke about two years ago and lived in a senior care center in Stoneham, Massachusetts, where she passed away on Monday. Her timbre, phrasing, and overall style was one of a kind. I’m so glad that I could see…
“Killing Me Softly With His Song”, Roberta Flack‘s smash hit soul single, written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, turns 50 this year. Atlantic Records, her label since her debut in 1969, turns 75 this year. To celebrate, they have both come up with a remix of the song, which spent five weeks at number…
Sámi-Norwegian saxophonist and composer Mette Henriette was the first artist to release a double debut album on ECM Records. Back in 2015 when “Mette Henriette” came out, she worked with her trio plus brass and string section and bandoneon. She is now back with “Drifting”, which finds her again with pianist Johan Lindvall and Judith…
They have performed together for more than twenty years and finally team up now for a record on the briliant Edition Records from the UK. Both have individually released their latest records on Edition, too: Gretchen with “Flor” in 2021, and Lionel with his Herbie Hancock solo tribute “HH” in 2020, with its 6-track remix…
Brooklyn-based fusion band Snarky Puppy is led by bassist, composer, and producer Michael League. It’s a collective of almost 40 musicians, with pianist, keyboardist and composer Bill Laurance being one of them. Michael League has recently moved to Spain where this duo album was recorded. He’s playing fretless acoustic guitar bass, fretless baritone electric guitar,…