Focusing on albums we more or less overlooked in the last quarter, this is the first one we want to review: singer Carmen Lundy‘s 16th album “Fade To Black” was released in late September and right from the start, with “Shine A Light”, she proves once again why she rates among the most innovative, important…
French funky Afropean duo DjeuhDjoah and Lieutenant Nicholson are back with their third album “2+”. This is a monstrous boogie-filled 15-tracker released just in time for the gray and cold season, bringing a lot of warmth and sun to your home studio or wherever you prefer to listen to your music. We get a fantastically…
She wrote many of Fleetwood Mac‘s 70s and 80s hits. Stevie Nicks, the Mac’s other female singer and songwriter, wrote on Twitter yesterday: “See you on the other side, my love. Don’t forget me. A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975,…
Mumbai-based bassist, producer, and DJ Nate08 (Nathan Thomas) just released his debut album “Furaha” on London-based Needwant Records. The music has been our weekend companion for the past couple of weeks, beginning with warm keys and George Benson-styled guitar on the otherwise pretty Louie Vega-sounding title track. The percussive Latin jam is the perfect opener…
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…
I bet you remember the first time you listened to “Talking Book” (1972), one of Stevie Wonder‘s pivotal albums of that decade. It is fascinating to come back to the album, listening to the ten tracks again and actually finding something new, something you didn’t hear the first time around. The New York Times just…
Over 80 concerts, 500 musicians from 30 countries, 23 different locations, and around 40.000 visitors. Jazztage Dresden start today with the opening concert by the Klazz Brothers, Dresden Bigband, Trio Balkan Strings, and more. Coming up during the next four weeks: concerts by Nina Attal, Maceo Parker, Iiro Rantala Quartet, Max Mutzke and the Landesjugend…
Now more so than ever, don’t we all want to go to the land of Shangri-La? It seems as if Young Gun Silver Fox have come up with the perfect soundtrack for the trip. Andy Platts (Mamas Gun) and Shawn Lee are back with their fourth studio album, to be released this Friday on Légère…
Zee Desmondes and Teddy Powell are back for good. And more than that. Imagine Kashif, Quincy Jones, and Leon Sylvers getting together in the early to mid 80s. Out comes “Lionel Richie”, the first cut on the brilliant new album “Cruiserweight” by The Jack Moves. Wonderful string arrangements, “Off The Wall”-style vocals and a thick,…
This performance was worth the trip alone: Lisa Fischer and Ledisi perform the music of Nina Simone accompanied by the Metropole Orkest with Jules Buckley conducting. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that both Ledisi and Lisa Fischer are among the most amazing vocalists around today. What they brought to the table last…