She got all dressed up yesterday for her birthday celebration at one of Berlin’s Christmas markets. She also had an extra sausage and a slice of meat from an organic corn chicken. Earlier that day, she met a lot of her friends while she went for an extensive walk.
Bert Noglik, the artistic director for the Berlin Jazzfest, now in his third year, loves irritations, as he said last night during the press conference where the anniversary edition was presented. And so, there actually are a lot of irritating moments, at least on paper, but I’m sure on stage as well, when you look…
Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series had Vanessa Williams last night at the incredible Appel Room. I do find myself watching the long stretch of 59th Street and the dark Central Park drama on the left vs the bustling Midtown to the right instead of what’s going on on the stage. But with Vanessa Williams, it…
Before he started his immensely successful career as Luther Vandross in 1981 with “Never Too Much”, the one-of-a-kind singer released two albums with his group simply called Luther, a vocal quintet which also included Christine Wiltshire, Diane G. Sumler, Anthony Hinton, and Theresa V. Reed. In 1976, the first LP came out featuring Nat Adderley…
That’s this year’s slogan, according to musical director Richard Williams. And the art of conversation was perfectly executed by inviting Kulturstaatssekretärin (state secretary of culture) Monika Grütters to deliver the opening speech (more later). Music-wise, the first act at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele was Germany’s own Julia Hülsmann. The pianist and ECM recording artist…
Dutch singer, songwriter, and producer Benny Sings is back with a new single called “Rolled Up”. He wrote the song together with Mac DeMarco: “The song is about being in the dumps without a particular reason. Things can be pretty good, but still you feel like shit. Sometimes leaving it all can be a cure.”…
Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Matthew Halsall will release “An Ever Changing View” on September 8th on Gondwana Records. Composed in Wales and in Bridlington, he wanted to create a feeling of “openness and escapism”. If you check out his new single “Calder Shapes”, an homage to American sculptor Alexander Calder and one of the greatest…