Focusing on albums we more or less overlooked in the last quarter, this is the first one we want to review: singer Carmen Lundy‘s 16th album “Fade To Black” was released in late September and right from the start, with “Shine A Light”, she proves once again why she rates among the most innovative, important…
French funky Afropean duo DjeuhDjoah and Lieutenant Nicholson are back with their third album “2+”. This is a monstrous boogie-filled 15-tracker released just in time for the gray and cold season, bringing a lot of warmth and sun to your home studio or wherever you prefer to listen to your music. We get a fantastically…
Mumbai-based bassist, producer, and DJ Nate08 (Nathan Thomas) just released his debut album “Furaha” on London-based Needwant Records. The music has been our weekend companion for the past couple of weeks, beginning with warm keys and George Benson-styled guitar on the otherwise pretty Louie Vega-sounding title track. The percussive Latin jam is the perfect opener…
A much deserved celebration of the genius of Webster Lewis. I first came across his name on Merry Clayton‘s 1980 LP “Emotion”, where the sort-of title track, “Give Me Some Emotion”, immediately hit me with its utterly deep soul and jazzy Rhodes playing. Finding one of his solo albums was a pretty hard task, even…
Singer Eddie Chacon and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby made a stop in Berlin last night. They are currently on a European tour and played Kreuzberg’s Gretchen for a good hour or so. John started the proceedings with a track from his five-paw reviewed LP “Septet” before Eddie took the stage to perform “Wicked World” from…
Now more so than ever, don’t we all want to go to the land of Shangri-La? It seems as if Young Gun Silver Fox have come up with the perfect soundtrack for the trip. Andy Platts (Mamas Gun) and Shawn Lee are back with their fourth studio album, to be released this Friday on Légère…
Zee Desmondes and Teddy Powell are back for good. And more than that. Imagine Kashif, Quincy Jones, and Leon Sylvers getting together in the early to mid 80s. Out comes “Lionel Richie”, the first cut on the brilliant new album “Cruiserweight” by The Jack Moves. Wonderful string arrangements, “Off The Wall”-style vocals and a thick,…
This performance was worth the trip alone: Lisa Fischer and Ledisi perform the music of Nina Simone accompanied by the Metropole Orkest with Jules Buckley conducting. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that both Ledisi and Lisa Fischer are among the most amazing vocalists around today. What they brought to the table last…
It is a new experience waiting in the hallway with literally hundreds of other people, waiting to get in to the Amazon hall at Ahoy during North Sea Jazz 2022. This happened yesterday at Herbie Hancock‘s performance. I finally got my way in during the very last minutes. And once again, nobody was wearing a…
I still remember the year when Gregory Porter performed on the tiny roof terrace where usually some local and other DJs were spinning records. Nobody really seemed to take notice. Yesterday, he played the biggest hall of the Ahoy festival complex, the Nile. A solid set, totally deserving all the accolades. Earlier that day on…