Elba Ramalho, the Brazilian singer, performer, and songwriter, who is sometimes called the “Queen of Forró”, has announced a European tour for next spring. Forró, the popular genre with its origin coming from the Northeastern part of Brazil, mixes various styles into a highly contagious, dance-laden pulse. Elba, who celebrates her 75th birthday next month,…
23 year old Brazilian singer Marie Froes opened the third day of this year’s festival for me. From her early Youtube videos to a track on Tik Tok which went viral (“Figa de Guiné”), she is about to release her debut album sometime later this year. She delivered a sympathetic mix of MPB, Pop, Jazz,…
I’m writing this piece on this beautiful hotel ship and outside on deck they are currently playing “That’s The Way Of The World” by Earth, Wind & Fire, which was preceded by “Minute By Minute” by Michael McDonald. A perfect sequel to what was going on yesterday at this year’s 50th anniversary edition of North…
There is a lot to celebrate this year for the 50th edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival, like an interactive journey through time with music, images, archive material from the golden years at the Congress Centre in The Hague up to the present. And there are indeed a lot of great memories since we’ve…
The next Rockit Festival in beautiful Groningen is coming up this November. By the way, Groningen is one of the top 5 cities in Europe where the quality of life, education, social care and healthcare are well taken care of. Groningen is also known for its progressive city policy, no-nonsense character, non-stop nightlife and the…
A new generation of jazz meets hip-hop, soul, funk, r&b, and electronics musicians gather together as Fathers and release their self-titled debut album on Blue Note on July 10th. Producer Kenny Beats, keyboardist Kiefer, who was recently signed to Blue Note and who will come up with his first album for the label later this…
The celebrated vocalist Lizz Wright just announced the release of a new duo album with her longtime pianist Kenny Banks, Sr. “Nearness” is an 11-track, intimate LP of standards and spirituals and will be released on September 25th on Lizz’ own Blues and Greens label. The first single, the spiritual “Soon I Will Be Done”,…
Legendary South African musician Abdullah Ibrahim, who changed his name from Dollar Brand in 1968 when he converted to Islam and whose “Mannenberg” composition is often dubbed the unofficial South African anthem, died yesterday in Priem am Chiemsee, Germany. His performances often seemed like meditations in recent years. The last time I saw him perform…
John Carroll Kirby, the Los Angeles-based keyboardist, composer, and producer, just released the second single off his upcoming solo project “Piano Works 2016-2026”, due August 28th on Stones Throw Records. The album collects 14 impromptu pieces, composed and recorded whenever he had the opportunity to sit at a piano while on tour. The pieces on…
For this year’s Kunstfest Pankow, promoter Gesobau has come up with yet another great line-up again. Jazz & Soul award winner Savannah Hauskeller will perform later this afternoon. Also, top guitarist Torsten Goods will feature singer Kim Sanders. Highlights for today are UK singer Omar who released his brilliant new album “Brighter The Days” last…