The extended 2017 edition of Berlin’s Jazzfest is also the third and final one for artistic director Richard Williams who has opened up the program to a much younger audience by taking its first four acts into Kreuzberg’s Lido club which isn’t necessarily known for live jazz, but if there’s some jazz action going on…
It was during his first encore, a long solo piece incorporating various tunes from his vast catalogue, when he set an exclamation mark after one of his signature tunes, “This Is Not America”, and proved that it is currently at least as valid as back in 1985 when it was originally released. For over two…
Saint Petersburg is not only the host city of the 2018 International Jazz Day, celebrated annually on April 30th in more than 190 countries, but also hosts the first international jazz forum and festival in Russia. Jazz Across Borders (JAB) will be held on November 17th and 18th in the State Academic Capella. JAB will…
It is now the most important Jazzfest in New York and for its 14th edition, the Winter Jazzfest extends a bit and will run January 10th to 17th. The main ingredient will be the Marathon weekend again, to be held on numerous stages throughout downtown Manhattan, mainly in the Village. I have seen tons of…
It was during the set of Charlottas Burnin’ Trio when I thought that I was at a hard rock concert. Electric guitarist Charlotta Andersson from Sweden led her psychedelic trio with a lot of long, unwinding psycho solos where rock was king and jazz just an aide. Earlier that night during the official opening of…
The Scandinavia-oriented Scope Festival will start its second year tomorrow here in Berlin. From October 18th to October 30th, people will get an extensive overview of the Scandinavian Jazz and beyond scene. The Helsinki-based We Jazz label will present a few bands of its artist roster on October 27th at Monarch, Skalitzer Straße 134. Drummer…
Ever since their debut “Be Free” album in 2012 and the title track from that particular disc, we’ve become a fan of this neo-soul and jazz indie trio from Los Angeles. With their third album “Voyager”, reviewed here a few weeks ago, they are currently on tour and stopped in Berlin last Tuesday. Singer Amber…
On Wednesday, Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic, the extremely popular concert series at Berlin’s prestigious venue, already starts into its sixth season. Saxophonist, flutist, and clarinetist Magnus Lindgren will play music in memory of Herbie Mann and has dubbed his concert “Stockholm Undergound”, similar to Mister Mann’s groundbreaking “Memphis Underground” LP from 1969. Among his bandmates…
The second Scope Festival will take place again in various locations throughout Berlin-Kreuzberg October 18th to 30th. In its second year, Scandinavian artists will perform anything from Jazz to Electronic, from Folk to Singer-Songwriter. And there is a lot to explore again. Jazz from Scandinavia in all its various genres and with all kinds of…
His love for the music of Stevie Wonder was on display last night at Loci Loft in Berlin: Frank McComb opened his unscripted, one-man solo show with “Golden Lady”, a song that truly sums up his forte when he easily managed to soar through the verses without ever losing grip, style, and power. His permeating voice…