She just finished her European tour. I was lucky to catch up with her in Vienna. I’m still going back to her 1985 LP “Good Morning Kiss”. Her new one, “Soul To Soul”, is her best so far and one of the best recordings of 2014. Happy Birthday Carmen and many more to come!
For us, everyday is a Dog Day of course. But today, Gina is celebrating with some extra paunch, dried beef lung, salmon oil and vegetables. Who knows, maybe she’ll catch another mouse or rat when we’re walking her to the green market or to the garden later. But anyway, it seems that she has accustomed…
“Music Is Our Healing. It’s our spiritual language”, said legendary pianist Randy Weston during his duo appearance with the equally impressive Billy Harper at last night’s performance in the Madeira hall at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Randy Weston, now 89, very early in his career incorporated the rhythms of Africa, most prominently those of…
It is going to be a change of directions in more ways than one for singer Sachal Vasandani. Not only has he officially dropped his second name, he has changed record companies and has more or less re-invented his sound and approach. And it was a good move to do so. His three records on…
He is best known as a songwriter for timeless songs by The Chi-Lites like “Oh Girl” or “Have You Seen Her” or the successful “Soulful Strut” for Young-Holt Unlimited which later became a hit for his wife Barbara Acklin as “Am I The Same Girl”. Eugene Record left The Chi-Lites in 1976 to record three…
His career spanned over seven decades, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and he entered hospice care about a week ago. His wife Gwen wrote on his Facebook page: “He left us peacefully, surrounded by his family, students and friends.” Two of my favorite Clark Terry albums are very different affairs and…
Dire times indeed. Jazzahead in Bremen, due April 23rd to 26th, has been postponed to April 29th to May 2nd, 2021. The wonderful XJazz Festival in Berlin, May 6th to 10th, has been cancelled. The 21st Capetown International Jazz Festival, which was scheduled to run this upcoming weekend and usually draws over 40.000 attendees, will…