The Queen of Samba, one of the most important Brazilian singers, the voice of the millenium, and countless other superlatives described Elza Gomes da Conceição, or Elza Soares, who died yesterday in Rio de Janeiro at age 91. Ismael Corrêa, the producer of her second LP “A Bossa Negra”, released in 1962, wanted to tag…
Stacey’s new album finally arrived on vinyl after its initial release last fall. It’s an album which was recorded with pianist Art Hirahara and occasional flute by husband Jim Tomlinson, who also produced the album. Some of the songs have been released as singles since last summer and were recorded during lockdown. So it is…
One of the records that got lost in the pre-Xmas shuffle was this debut EP by 24-year old Chicago-based Silas Short. His brilliant lo-fi indie album “Drawing” came out on the equally fancy Stones Throw label (Kiefer, Peyton, John Carroll Kirby, etc) and features seven invigoratingly subdued, sometimes tender neo-soul pieces, all pretty unique and…
Another compilation out now: the 5th installment of “The Wants List” on Soul Brother Records, the London-based Soul and Jazz record shop which turned into a veritable music label in 1997, first as Passion Music, later as Soul Brother Records. They have come up with an incredible amount of compilations, artist anthologies and a total…
Every new year starts with a 3-CD compilation of the finest indie soul tracks, courtesy of Ralph Tee who compiles the songs for the ever so reliable Expansion Records. This time around, 34 tracks have found the way onto the latest edition. Very few have been mentioned here before, like the wonderful “Gotta Have You”…
Another genius has made his transition. Or how do you call someone who played on the freaky 1972 Miles Davis LP “On The Corner” and then five years later started an amazingly successful and productive career in soul music circles, being responsible for co-writing and producing some of the most precious tunes in soul music…
Marilyn Bergman, who wrote a bunch of classic and unforgettable lyrics to melodies by Michel Legrand or Marvin Hamlisch, Dave Grusin or Johnny Mandel, died yesterday at her home in L.A. She was 93. Here is a list of personal favorites of her numerous songs. In no particular order. And certainly not complete. Most of…
Many of last year’s LP releases had to be postponed due to too few vinyl manufacturers, but the new Nate Smith LP, his first for Edition Records, just came through in time for Christmas. Five years after “Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere” on Ropeadope, the drummer, composer, keyboardist follows up with a fascinating new album which…
Happy New Year! Returning from our holiday trip after being on the Dutch and German highways for over six hours, the first thing I did yesterday was putting on the new Blue Note vinyl by pianist Bill Charlap called “Street Of Dreams”. And boy what a relief this album is. It somehow almost got overlooked…
Lots of great new music out there these days. We just received the new LP “Apart” by Allen Stone. It’s his own personal lockdown album, so to say. Arrangements of tracks from his previous three albums totally stripped down, down to their core. Mostly highly vulnerable, tender, and oh so deep. From the grand opening…