Everything has been said about Quincy Jones in the last couple of days. I was lucky to be able to interview him several years ago. He was a jovial, very humble, witty and outspoken interview partner, immediately called me brother, and yes, he was larger than life. So instead of telling his story here once…
Here are two must-haves on the German ACT Music label: “Arcs & Rivers”, an album by Swedish award-winning pianist and composer Joel Lyssarides and Greek bouzouki player Georgios Prokopiou, based in Sweden, came out in late September. And today sees the release of the second duo album by Bill Laurance and Michael League. Both albums…
Nø Førmat, the exceptional label which brought us the music of Lucas Santtana, Chilly Gonzales, or Nicolas Repac, celebrates its 20th anniversary with a concert in Berlin’s Emmauskirche on November 13th. The label, based in Paris and Johannesburg, will present some of its current artists: the Japanese pianist and composer Koki Nakano, now based in…
I’ve seen drummer/percussionist Abraham Rounds several times this year during Meshell Ndegeocello‘s residency at the North Sea Jazz Festival. He is not only a pretty energetic and emotional percussionist, but a great singer too. Which he proved on several occasions, like the night Meshell was celebrating the music of Gary Bartz and Eugene McDaniels. I…
With his signature falsetto voice and with his new, sophomore LP “Into The Blue” in tow, Aaron Frazer stopped by in Berlin last week during his Euro tour. His brilliant mix of old school soul and disco was presented at Columbia Theater with a perfect sound and a thrilling, 8-piece band, including brass and backing…
On the heels of his most recent solo release “MoonDial”, guitarist Pat Metheny made a stop last night at the Berlin Philharmonie. Over the course of two full hours, he divided his show into different parts, focusing on several of his most recent projects and one going back a bit further. Pat played various nylon…
We’ve just been to two pretty distinct shows in the past several days. Last Thursday, Brazilian guitar legend Guinga graced the tiny stage at Myer’s Hotel. The songs he played often drew on various Brazilian genres and had more than a note dedicated to the great Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was also a delight to…
One of our favorite soul singers, Jarrod Lawson, recently announced a few stops for an upcoming European tour. His latest single is the gorgeous “Next Move”, a duet with Raquel Rodriguez which came out this past July. It’s an incredible love ballad with a heavy heavy monster dose of soul. We have accompanied his amazing…
It’s a busy release week this time around. We’re currently enjoying the new and first album by Brazilian lo-fi artist batata boy who has worked with Bruno Berle in the past. Bruno can be heard as guest vocalist on “Tudo Pra Agora”. The 12 songs on the album “Magicleomixtape (Quando Vê, Já Foi”) fill up…
Berlin-Schöneberg’s Zig Zag Club, which has clearly developed into the city’s most important jazz club regarding international and local acts, is collaborating with two other major venues in order to bring in some more top-notch artists: on November 4th, both Quincy Jones-mentored artists Alfredo Rodriguez (piano) and Richard Bona (bass) will appear as a duo…