When I went to Bremen for the annual Jazzahead convention in 2015, there was this big hype about 12-year old pianist Joey Alexander who was about to release his debut album “My Favorite Things”. Alas, I wasn’t impressed and his showcase left me cold. But he wasn’t really to blame for it. After all, when…
Luxury Soul 2020, your reliable source for the best indie soul, has finally arrived and the three-disc collection is once again the best overview of quality modern-day soul that you can get. Lots of familiar names on this one, like Glenn Jones, featured with a 2009 recording by producer and writer Herb Middleton (“Better Man”)…
The last time Pat Metheny recorded with an orchestra was in 1993. Jeremy Lubbock’s arrangement were part of still amazing compositions like “Finding And Believing” (with Gil Goldstein on accordion), the outstanding “The Longest Summer”, or “Always And Forever”. Many albums and tours have gone by since then (and his own “Orchestrion” project of 2010)…
The years from 1978 up until 1983 are the most exciting years in soul and R&B I think. Not only because those were the years I started to seriously listen to and collect records, but it was such a rich and substantial period, with many legendary producers in their prime years, like Leon Sylvers, Nick…
Telling her Berlin audience that being in love is still the greatest feeling, put a smile on some of the faces of a relatively small crowd last night at Berlin’s Kantine am Berghain. Whether it was the current hysteria because of the corona virus or not, doesn’t really matter in the end. Those who were…
What a blessing and a relaxation this album is. Trumpet meister Jeremy Pelt, one of the most prolific artists on his instrument, has come up with a collection of ballads that is food for the soul. The modern jazz and bop intonation on his almost dozen albums on the HighNote and Savant labels makes way…
Norwegian-Bazilian singer Charlotte Dos Santos is going to release her new 5-track EP “Harvest Time” on March 13th. After her 2017 album “Cleo”, Charlotte, who has attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music for a Performance and Arranging Major, sounds a lot more self-contained and unique on her new songs. She is currently touring with…
“Some cats swing and some cats groove” – those are the words by Marcellus “Bassman” Shepard on vibraphonist Warren Wolf‘s new album on Mack Avenue, “Reincarnation”. The wonderful warm Rhodes sounds of Brett Williams on the “Smooth Intro” and “Smooth Outro” pieces are honey for the soul. It’s pretty obvious that Warren and his cohorts…
Electronic ambient sounds were part of the influence of Portuguese pianist and composer Rodrigo Leão for his new album “O Método”, which was released late last month. As was the music of Nils Frahm whose work ethos and moods sometimes pop up here as well. But this is no copy, no cheap cover of anything,…
The Rhodes on Stevie Wonder’s “Superwoman” at the beginning of pianist/keyboardist Theo Hill‘s interpretation of the Wonder classic is worth the trip alone. He also makes use of the piano and some synth touches, echoing the original, somewhat mystical composition. “Reality Check” is the third release for Theo on the LA-based Posi-Tone label and features…