Drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross, winner of the 2012 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, has released his sophomore album after his Grammy-nominated “Jamison” debut in 2015. The dozen tracks span the range from jazz to gospel, from r&b to soul and back. “All For One” starts with the feel-good New Orleans groove of Allen Toussaint‘s…
The Berlinale has ended, but just in time for the Berlin Film Festival this new album by Norma Winstone had been released. I always had mixed feelings listening to the Norma Winstone discography. Her excursions into avantgarde or experimental music never really resonated with me, but she recorded some excellent albums, too, like her first…
As the backing vocalists for Jarrod Lawson, I’ve seen both Tahirah Memory and Molly Tentarelli on various stages in Berlin, Paris, Rotterdam, and New York. And maybe because Jarrod is still busy with the production of his own next album, it was the perfect timing to come out with her debut. Molly Tentarelli‘s family was…
Tokunbo was the lead singer of the group TokTokTok which won five German Jazz Awards and recorded a total of 13 albums. After her 2014 solo debut, she is now back with “The Swan”, a wonderful collection of 11 songs and stories, wrapped up in silky soul and satin, sometimes going the folk route, sometimes…
I’ve been listening to a lot of records lately where I thought that there is always something missing. Like an album of 12 songs where only about 3 or 4 of them were actually pretty good and the rest mediocre, to put it mildly. Others had great production, arranging, and craftsmanship but the lead singer…
And here is another wonderful compilation, this time around again from the Outta Sight Soul Essentials team. 20 tracks recorded between 1969 and 2017 and what can you do wrong after starting with “Overdose Of Joy”, the 1977 solo record by the Chi-Lites’ Eugene Record. As usual, some of the songs on offer are already…
“The Subject Tonight Is Love” is a jazz love letter to a hopeful 2018″, says singer Kate McGarry in the press release to her new album, out last Friday. It’s a trio record with her partner, guitarist and bassist Keith Ganz, and pianist, keyboardist and accordionist Gary Versace. The three have been working together on…
The long-awaited Blue Note debut by drummer, composer, vocalist, and producer Chris Dave sounds like a planetary invasion. In the liner notes, he thanks a bunch of people with the introductory line: “this mission from earth to the abyss wouldn’t be complete without giving appreciation”. And so, the album begins with a sort of Parliament/Funkadelic…
Three CDs, 35 tracks – the 2018 edition of the Luxury Soul compilation is among us and it is full of fantastic soul grooves again, like its predecessors reviewed here in 2017, 2016, and 2015. From the very cool cover version of Keni Burke’s classic “Risin’ To The Top” by Tristan featuring Heston right on…
My first encounter with the music of saxophonist and clarinetist John Surman was in 1985 when I bought his ECM LP “Withholding Pattern”. Its deep lyrical passages, very intense soprano and baritone sax and bass clarinet playing was extremely fascinating and fulfilling. Still is! John was mostly recording on his own at the time with…