40 years into his career, singer, percussionist and guitarist Nanny Assis recently released “Rovanio” (which is his real first name) on In+Out Records. The St. Petersburg Orchestra and Randy Brecker on flugelhorn open up the subtly swinging “No Agora”, an excellent introduction to Nanny’s Brazilian-flavored influences. Ron Carter originally wrote the tune (as “Mr. Bow…
The man who gave us immortal songs like “A Rã”, “Lugar Comun”, “Café Com Pão”, or the unforgettable “E Menina”, has died yesterday. He was 88. Rest In Peace and Power Joao Donato. He wrote “Minha Saudade” with João Gilberto, was musical director for Gal Costa, recorded with lots of jazz greats like Ron Carter,…
Bossa Nova singer, pianist and composer Leila Pinheiro released her very first album in 1983. Simply called “Leila Pinheiro”, it features Ivan Lins, Joao Donato, Lincoln Olivetti, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Toninho Horta. Leila later worked with Roberto Menescal, collected numerous awards, did shows with partner and friend Ivan Lins, and a tribute show to…
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…
Tom Findlay (of Groove Armada) and James Alexander Bright have finally released “Everything Is Slow” on Athens of the North, their debut album after teasing it with several singles in the past months. The ultra sexy “Slow Dance” is featured here as well (it already came out in late 2021). I think this is the…
Saxophonist Joshua Redman will release his Blue Note debut “Where Are We” on September 15th. It’s going to be his first-ever vocal album with singer Gabrielle Cavassa. Gabrielle, California-born vocalist with Italian descent who now lives in New Orleans, was co-winner at the 2021 International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition. She released her debut in…
One of our favorite pianists around, Kiefer, who studied with Kenny Burrell at UCLA, has come up with a new track “Dreamer”, released today. It sounds like a perfect addition and progression to his fantastic work on albums like “Superbloom” (2019) and “When There’s Love Around” (2021). Check it out here: https://kiefer.bandcamp.com/track/dreamer
It was during Samora Pinderhughes‘ set when the thunderstorm hit. You could hear the thunder inside the hall while he was just announcing his next song. Samora played tunes from his formidable album “Grief” and he had the pleasure of working with the North Sea String Quartet which happened to be special guest for several…
It was even hotter on Saturday than the day before and there were a lot of weather warnings on and off stage. But I had a good shot of freshly squeazed juice out of spinach, celery, fennel, lemon, and cucumber which easily got me through the day. Newcomer Jalen Ngonda opened the Congo tent in…
So here we are again. North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam has started on a sweltering day. My first show of the festival was a classic: pianist Kenny Barron, who recently turned 80 and who remembered the days at The Hague and couldn’t really tell when he first started to play at North Sea, played a…