I know that the Grammy Awards are not as important today as they used to be and I also know that I’m not the only one who thinks that Adele is unbelievably overrated with her pretty blood-, soul-, and lifeless singing that leaves me totally cold, but still, a Grammy nomination and a Grammy win…
One of my all-time favorite vocalists, Carol Sloane, returns to New York for a one-night only duo performance with her longtime pianist Bill Charlap on January 11th. Carol started her professional work as early as 1951 (she turns 80 next March) and worked with the Les and Larry Elgart Orchestra before she occasionally stood in…
The cozy little club on Broadway and 106th Street had singer Lezlie Harrison on Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving when 243 million turkeys that had been raised in the US this year, will be prepared by millions of chefs and wanna-be chefs around the country. And yes, we are treated to a Turkey dinner,…
As part of a 2-month residency at the Blue Note, Chick Corea and Gary Burton opened last night’s set with a couple of tracks from their “Hot House” album which they recorded back in 2007. You could immediately feel from the start that both artists have been playing together for a long time (since 1971, said…
It was during Antonio Carlos Jobim‘s “Vivo Sonhando” where the full palette of Roz Corral‘s artistry came full circle: hers is a wonderfully vibrant and warm alto voice, her diction comes across as something pure and natural and her choice of repertoire is always a joy to experience. During her Sunday Brunch set at North…
Daryl Sherman had the crowd at Pangea in her hands during yesterday’s Jazz Brunch performance at this lovely East Village club. She interacted in her typically cheerful, satirical manners with her audience, which she charmingly called her boite. As usual, her repertoire consisted of standards and songs from the Great American songbook, but of the…
The Splitter Music Festival is a new festival in Berlin for contemporary orchestral music. I’ve seen the Splitter Orchester with George Lewis at last year’s Berlin Jazzfest and the group will present the release “Creative Construction Set” during the festival, which will run from November 24th to 27th. The opening concert at Berlin’s Wabe will…
My first encounter with a Leon Russell song was on George Benson’s “Breezin’” LP. The 8-minute “This Masquerade” was, and still is, one of Benson’s most fulfilling and satisfying recordings. Chances are that you have more than one album in your record collection with a Leon Russell song on it, since he also wrote the…
We missed a lot of shows in Berlin this week fighting a cold. First, there was saxophonist Donny McCaslin whose latest album, “Beyond Now”, will be reviewed here as soon as possible. Michael Kiwanuka also presented his new album “Love + Hate” (how appropriate a title at this time) and Terrace Martin & The Polly…
The first artists for next January’s Winter Jazzfest in New York have been announced and tickets went on sale for one of the most progessive, versatile, and innovative festivals the world over. And more so than ever, there is a heavy dose of socio-politics involved with several of the groups performing. We get Nicole Mitchell’s…