After her successful tribute to Nina Simone (“Ledisi Sings Nina”, 2021), singer Ledisi returns with a nod to the great Dinah Washington. Produced by Christian McBride and her longtime production partner Rex Rideout, she has come up with eight pieces more or less associated with the singer from Alabama. And she opens her set with…
Mac Ayres, the self-taught singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Long Island, known for his unique blend of soul, r&b, jazz, and hip-hop, is currently on a solo tour. It’s just him and a piano. And it’s a perfect showcase to highlight his songwriting prowess. Alas, Berlin didn’t show up for last night’s concert at Lido…
Nala Sinephro, the London based Caribbean-Belgian producer, composer, and musician, has recorded her debut film soundtrack. It is for the movie “The Smashing Machine” which features Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson. The Benny Safdie-directed movie tells the story of the successful UFC wrestler Mark Kerr. It premiered last month at the Venice Film Festival and…
Gary Bartz, the legendary alto saxophonist who turns 85 today, releases his first studio album in a dozen years. On “Damage Control”, the sax maestro and his group NTU Troop start a trilogy called “The Eternal Tenure Of Sound” where they cover ten songs from the vast songbook of soul, pop, and Black American music….
The Dutch jazz scene has always been a pretty vibrant one, as documented over the past decades at the North Sea Jazz Festival, which begins next week Friday. So it is only reasonable to also have a festival which exclusively dedicates its programme to jazz artists from the Netherlands. The Orange Jazz Days, staged at…
It’s been four long years since the release of “Private Space”, the brilliant, five-paw rated LP by Durand Jones & The Indications. Singer and drummer Aaron Frazer also released his second solo album during this period, the wonderful “Into The Blue”, in 2024. And so here are the “Flowers”, ten new tracks plus a short…
Concert and Festival season is in full swing. Here is an update of shows where you can say hello to the Gina crew. Check back later for additional dates. aron! – 6/23 @ Universal HQ, BerlinLedisi – 7/09 @ Gretchen, BerlinNorth Sea Jazz Festival – 7/11-13 @ Ahoy, RotterdamJosé James – 7/14 @ Paradiso, AmsterdamDana…
The iconic S.O.S. Band, one of the most important Soul, R&B, electro Funk band of the 80s, will come to Paradiso in Amsterdam on August 6th. I first heard them back in 1982 when their third LP “S.O.S. III” came out. It included two timeless masterpieces which I still spin up to this day: the…
Durand Jones & The Indications, who received a five-paw review from Gina back in 2021 for their still highly resonating album “Private Space” and who topped our list of best live shows for their brilliant stop at Berlin’s Hole44 in September, 2022, are back with a new album called “Flowers”, to be released on June…
I had a lot of admiration and good things to say when Macy Gray released her 2016 album “Stripped”. And I still go back to her debut album “On How Life Is”, which came out in 1999. Macy is currently on a big tour celebrating 25 years since her debut. But yesterday, some things went…