Michael Kiwanuka‘s absolutely stunning album “Small Changes”, his fourth and clearly his best to date, came out in late November in the middle of all the holiday buzz and chaos. It almost went unnoticed, but once the LP arrived, it made its way onto our turntables time and time again. I think the overall mood…
The World Music Showcase, the international showcase for emerging artists in world music, has called for applications until February 16th. The International World Music Showcase will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, on July 3rd and 4th. Each accepted application will be evaluated by a 5-member international jury. 12 participants will be selected to participate in the showcase…
Two independent Jazz labels, Mack Avenue from Detroit and Strata-East from New York, just announced a partnership with the release of “Strata-East: The Legacy Begins”, a digital-only anthology of some of the label’s pivotal recordings. Strata-East was launched in 1970 by trumpet player Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell. Charles, now 82, just played at…
We’re back from the holidays and witnessing the devastating news from Los Angeles. We just hope that all our friends and contacts in SoCal, and of course all of the residents of this beautiful city, are safe and taken care of, one way or the other. It is really hard to see so many structures…
2.“Te Amar Eterno” – Bruno Berle Brazilian singer, songwriter, poet, and musician Bruno Berle‘s second full-length album, “No Reino Dos Afetos 2”, came out in early April on the London-based Far Out Recordings label. His unique songwriting and singing skills, always veering towards a certain tenderness, was already alive and well on his debut release…
4.“Peaceful Place” – Leon Bridges Leon Bridges has come a long way since his 2015 debut album “Coming Home”. His fourth LP “Leon”, which came out in early October, is clearly his most intimate, very personal and simply his best work to date. My favorite cut from the album is “Peaceful Place”, a song Leon…
5.“State Of Mind” – Jordan Rakei “What’s a love language to meLet’s get to the roots of the treeFeel the love in different waysComfort in different taste”Jordan Rakei‘s “State Of Mind” is the third song from his “The Loop” LP to have made it onto our list of top songs of the year. It celebrates…
7.“Freedom” – Jordan Rakei The second track off Jordan’s brilliant new album “The Loop”, “Freedom” came out in late January as the second single after “Flowers”. The loop (no pun intended) which is running in the back of the track comes full force in the highly energetic vocals, complete with a stunning background vocal arrangement….
8.“Curbs” – Jake & Abe It was during this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival when I witnessed a musician who seemed to really excel as a drummer, percussionist, and vocalist for Meshell Nedegeocello. Meshell was Artist in Residence this year and showed three very different sides of her: her latest album dedicated to James Baldwin,…
13.“Learning” – Jordan Rakei Our Album of the Year is “The Loop” by Jordan Rakei. Three songs from his best LP to date are among our favorites. “Learning” with its amazing background choir and “As”-like ending (yes, as in Stevie Wonder), is still absolutely cracking. Just this one drum beat behind the groove towards the…