Rebecca Parris R.I.P.

It’s been two months now since my last post here – summer season is incredibly busy at our beautiful beer garden. Nevertheless, I’m constantly listening to new music and I also discovered a wonderful soul station on the web (thank you Frank). Please check out www.soulradio.nl which features a lot of the music I grew up on in the early 80s.

Coming up are reviews of the new albums by Michael Franks, Citrus Sun, Basia, a Lou Courtney re-release and lots more. Meanwhile, there is a new Change song circulating on the internet, produced by original Change producers Mauro Malavasi and Davide Romani. The track is called “Hit And Miss” and really goes back to those glory days of “The Glow Of Love” or “You Are My Melody”.

It is with a heavy heavy heart that I have to report the death of singer Rebecca Parris, a wonderful human being and one of my alltime favorite vocalists. I first encountered her magnificent artistry in the mid 90s when she performed the music of the album she recorded with Gary Burton at the Northsea Jazz Festival. Ever since that particular performance, I have followed her career and the last time I saw her was at the Peggy Lee tribute evening at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York in early 2016, hosted by James Gavin. Her ability to go deep into a lyric and transform a song into a veritable story was truly amazing and really unique. Her incredible voice never ceases to amaze me. Rest In Paradise Rebecca. Your talent and your warm personality live on forever.