One of the most talked-about musicians of the past year certainly is Kamasi Washington. With his three-disc opus “The Epic”, also available on vinyl, he also released one of the most interesting sets of the year. Now, where exactly in Europe he broke is ankle only he knows and it’s not supposed to be the main…
He was one of the founding members of The “And The Beat Goes On” Whispers and died at only 71 years old after a long battle with cancer. A new Whispers LP was always something I looked forward to in the 80s and with albums like “Love Is Where You Find It” (1981, with gatefold…
Pianist Paul Bley leaves an amazing amount of work – from his 1953 debut record “Introducing Paul Bley” to his ethereal live solo recording “Play Blue”, recorded in Oslo in 2008, the stylistic diversity of this Montreal-born master is outstanding. Vanessa Bley, his daughter, released an official obituary that said he “died at home with…
And so the trend continues: HMV reports that they were selling up to one turntable a minute in the weeks before Christmas and now Amazon follows suit with news that their best selling audio product of last year was – drum roll – the turntable! Even though the seasonal hit was a relatively simple Jensen…
The angel on her shoulder must have been gone. In her autobiography, “Angel On My Shoulder”, released in 2000, Natalie Cole said that there had been several instances in her life where she thought she would die. “Each time, someone had intervened when I otherwise should have been dead. Make that Someone with a capital “S”….
She liked long walks in Central Park and was very proud of her “Cole Porter” view in her Manhattan apartment. A singer’s singer. Equally potent in the Great American Songbook as in contemporary material. Her love for Brazilian music was endless. The best songwriters were sending her their material so that she could give it her…
“Fresh Horizons” is the theme for the Jazz Connect Conference in New York next month. Held at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan on January 14th and 15th, it once again brings together the international jazz community for workshops, sessions, and get-togethers. I was on a panel titled “Spolight on Germany” in 2014 and the 2016…
We’re back from our annual Xmas holiday and enjoying the sunny weather here in Berlin where the city is preparing for its grand 2015 finale. Over a million visitors are expected to join the major festivities at the Brandenburg Gate on New Year’s eve. Gina will make sure not to even come close to the party,…
On her special day, Gina underwent a great wellness treatment and she was treated to some pig’s ear. Thank you all for your wonderful messages and greetings – she woofs back at cha!
Gina thinks that the posters for next year’s Berlinale are especially beautiful. And it promises to be another exciting affair, with “Hail, Caesar!”, the new Ethan and Joel Cohen movie opening the festival. It features a stellar cast, with Ralph Fiennes, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Scarlett Johannsen, among others. Jury president Meryl Streep won’t have an…