It would have been his 65th birthday today. While writing this, I am listening to his brilliant 1988 LP “Joy” which sums up the amazing artistry of Teddy Pendergrass. Eight classic tracks, mostly mid-tempo swayers with extraordinary background vocals and tight production. Even though the album was recorded in the late 80s when bizarre keyboard…
Copacabana and Greenwich Village are supposed to be feted in this 11-song collection of Brazilian music called “Copa Village” by singer Carol Saboya, harmonica player and vibraphonist Hendrik Meurkens, and pianist Antonio Adolfo. They even manage to come up with an interesting arrangement on the too worn-out “The Girl From Ipanema/Garota de Ipanema” with a…
Chicago-based house producer Vick Lavender has come up with a gorgeous new album called “Architect”. It’s an infectious deep house/vocal house album mixed with some incredible instrumentals. Singer RJ Green delivers a soulful vocal on the cut “Magic” which is a brilliantly produced opener to the album. Green continues with another sexy house swayer, “It’s…
The three band members walk up to the stage from the audience by singing an a cappella welcoming song before proceeding with the show. Norwegian singer Randi Tytingvåg presented her new album “Three” last night at Berlin’s b-flat club. The album was released at the end of last month and is a wonderful collection of…
Joanne Tatham started out as a performer of musical-comedies in New York and left the city to start a family in Los Angeles. “Out Of My Dreams” is her third album and was produced by Mark Winkler, himself a prominent jazz writer and singer whose last release was a classy duo recording with Cheryl Bentyne…
The last time I saw the amazing singer was in a duo setting with Raul Midón at New York’s Highline Ballroom. And her last album is the 2010 release “Fellowship”. It’s about time that Lizz Wright is coming up with something new don’t you think. Concord Records announced yesterday that she now has signed with…
“Break Stuff” is the latest album by pianist Vijay Iyer and his trio, the mesmerizing bassist Stephan Crump and the ebullient drummer Marcus Gilmore. It’s Vijay’s third album on the Munich-based ECM label and was produced by its founder, Manfred Eicher. “The stuff that happens in the breaks”, that’s what the album is about according…
I met Norwegian singer Silje Nergaard earlier today at the Sony HQ in Mitte where all the huge construction work won’t come to an end, so it seems. Silje has just released her new album “Chain Of Days” (her fifteenth!) and was delighted to talk about it. It’s a very intimate and quiet record with…
Multifaceted bassist Marcus Miller writes in the liner notes to his new album “Afrodeezia”, that he “was recently named the spokesperson for UNESCO’s “Slave Route Project”, a project aimed at raising awareness of the story of slavery…” and that “this music is a celebration of people’s ability to endure and overcome oppression, finding hope, meaning…
The Finnish trumpeter, son of famous bassist Pekka Pohjola, has come up with his new album “Bullhorn” on Edition Records. The ten self composed songs on the new album show the very lyrical side of Verneri and the undiluted way of improvising. He has ample help from his trio consisting of Aki Rissanen on piano…