We went on a three-hour walk with Gina last night through the illuminated city. It was the final night of Berlin’s now very popular annual Festival of Lights. Gina was one of the stars with her red, twinkling collar and the eerie shining eyes……
There will be all the naysayers again complaining about why artists such as Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, or Alicia Keys are part of a jazz festival programme when in fact, the vast majority of the line-up clearly is jazz and also, what’s the real problem behind it? There is nothing wrong if a huge festival…
Los Angeles-based singer Sy Smith, who released her five-paw reviewed album “Until We Meet Again” about a year ago, will come to Europe for a few select dates. So far, only three gigs are confirmed in the UK and Germany. Sy will also play with trumpeter Chris Botti on his Caribbean Sea cruise on February…
It was back in 1985 when I first heard the music of pianist Erroll Garner on an album called “That’s My Kick”, recorded in 1966. It was somehow a new sound for him, which I found out later of course, since he had recorded primarily in trio format up until that time and was now…
“Love Letter”, the final album of one of the greatest saxophonists and composers in jazz, Jimmy Heath, was finished shortly before he passed away in January of this year. It features three original compositions in addition to five songs from Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday & Mal Waldron, Gordon Parks, and Billie Holiday and…
The much anticipated Diana Ross LP “Thank You” was finally released last Friday. 15 years after her last album “Blue” came out, she’s back with a songbook of love, as stated in the notes on the album. Notes by the way are the first major disappointment: at a time where vinyl is back in full…
He was part of the Pat Metheny Group for 27 years, not only playing all kinds of synths and keyboards, but also co-composing with Pat, orchestrating and arranging, like the unforgettable, timeless “James”, “Au Lait”, and “Are You Going With Me?” from the group’s 1982 “Offramp” LP. His 1988 album “Street Dreams” on Geffen Records,…