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……
Let’s face it: sometimes you can only live through a movie because the main character just has the right charisma and look. Gina has chosen her top three male actors at this year’s festival. In all three cases though, the respective movies were pretty strong, too. In Panorama, the disturbing “Kislota” (“Acid”) by Russian director…
Coming from a Gospel and Soul background and singing backing vocals for Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, or Kirk Franklin, it seems fitting that Loren Oden collaborates with arranger, producer, and composer Adrian Younge, who has recently worked with Roy Ayers and Marcos Valle for his “Jazz Is Dead” series. It seems as if…
Let’s deal with some numbers today. The three record store days this past season, on August 29th, September 26th, and October 24th, combined to help generate 1.41 million album sales in the US, vinyl alone, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Record Store Day is usually celebrated in the spring, celebrating not only vinyl releases, but…
Here we go again. The 10th installment of Real Side Records’ soul compilation is upon us, with 20 tracks recorded between 1967 and 1981, including a lot of totally forgotten gems, unheard of material, and legends like Bobby Womack, Al Hudson, Willie Hutch, or Betty Lavette. Womack’s “Give It Up” from 1979 opens this wonderful…
So it’s been a while since my last post here, but I had to get started for the 2019 open air season at our cozy little beer garden in Berlin-Pankow. We opened the “Live On Terrace” season on Easter Sunday with a magnificent concert by the great Desney Bailey and her trio and last Sunday,…
Through its Competition and wide range of year-round programs, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is committed to identifying and training the world’s leading young jazz musicians who will preserve the traditions of jazz while expanding the music in new directions. That’s what is said on the Thelonious Monk Institute Organisation website and this past…