The concert series for contemporary jazz in Berlin is in its sixth season and has started yesterday with concerts from Michael Moore & Achim Kaufmann, Michael Abramovich, and Filter Bubble. The series continues on September 24th with three more concerts: the Sugar Quartet consists of Grégoire Simon on viola, Paul Valikoski on violin, Boram Lie…
Fourplay are celebrating their 25th anniversary with the new album “Silver”. It is the third album which features guitarist Chuck Loeb in addition to the original members Bob James, Nathan East, and Harvey Mason. Chuck wrote the very Pat Metheny-like opener “Quicksilver” with its light and breezy vocals. Many of the tracks have a silver…
Coming straight out of the Dave Frishberg/Mark Murphy school if you want any comparison, but with his own inimitable and highly original style, singer and lyricist Mark Winkler releases his 14th album to date. This comes a couple of years after his successful duet album with Manhattan Transfer singer Cheryl Bentyne (“West Coast Cool”) and…
Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala refers in the notes to his John Lennon tribute album to Lennon’s honesty in his songwriting and that he really believed the things he sings about. Iiro has tackled different topics and collaborations in the past; the most intriguing probably his “Lost Heroes” album. His new solo project opens with the…
Cécile has made quiet a jump in the past years: from studying in Aix-en-Provence to receiving a Grammy nomination for her album “Woman Child”. She sings in French and English and has been the voice of various Chanel ad campaigns. The last time I saw her perform live was at New York’s Lycée Francais on…
Savoy Jazz will release a 10-LP set of Charlie Parker recordings in November. “The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948” was nominated for a Grammy and produced by Orrin Keepnews. The 180g vinyl set not only showcases the legendary saxophonist during his career beginnings, but also includes performances from artists like Miles Davis, Erroll…
The SFJAZZ Collective, the famous octet which has released a great body of work since their debut in 2004, has announced a new member: trumpeter Sean Jones joins the group and replaces trumpeter Avishai Cohen. Also on the horizon: a new album which will be the first with Sean and which will explore the music…
Danish Jazz singer Sinne Eeg releases her 7th album, a vocal-bass duet with Thomas Fonnesbaek on acoustic and electric bass. Her last album “Face The Music” has won the Jazz Vocal Album of the Year award from the Académie du Jazz in France. Obviously, you can’t help but compare this new effort with the master…
This is only the third album this year that receives a five-paw rating from Gina. It finds exactly the right balance between Jazz and Soul or, as drummer, producer, arranger, and composer Terri Lyne Carrington says in her liner notes, highlights the Soul in Jazz and vice versa. The album is the latest with her all-women…
I had a lunch meeting yesterday with a good friend and colleague and we were talking music, of course. When we talked about the upcoming fall concert season, I mentioned to him that Michel Legrand would come to town. Since he wasn’t aware of that concert highlight, I thought I publish Michel’s tour dates here…