Lots of new music to make the new lockdown a bit more bearable. Since I have to close my business as early as Monday until November 30th (hopefully not longer), there is more time to listen to new music. One of Stevie Wonder’s background vocalists of late, Kimberly Brewer, who gave us the wonderful original…
Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Wynton Marsalis will be next up for the Living Jazz Call & Response series, a unique series of intimate conversations with interesting jazz musicians. Those icons speak candidly about the inspiration behind their music, but also about their struggles and triumphs, about the current climate for musicians during these difficult times,…
Both of my turntables with belt drives quit their work in the course of a few days recently. The only alternative: a direct drive turntable. Throughout my years in the clubs of 90s Berlin, the standard was, and I guess still is, the Technics 1210. The next best bet clearly is the Audio-Technica 140 XP…
An outdoor concert, filmed live onstage on October 15th at City Winery in the Hudson Valley, New York, will support Joe Biden during this extremely important presidential race, which will certainly have an impact on this side of the pond, too. The concert will be hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater and will be streamed at…
Coming from a Gospel and Soul background and singing backing vocals for Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, or Kirk Franklin, it seems fitting that Loren Oden collaborates with arranger, producer, and composer Adrian Younge, who has recently worked with Roy Ayers and Marcos Valle for his “Jazz Is Dead” series. It seems as if…
It was back in March, just days before the Corona lockdown in Germany, when Sam Gendel‘s “Satin Doll” album came out. He totally destroyed a dozen or so standards and put them back together in a hilariously unique, fantastic way. Now he comes up with a space-age sounding follow-up. “DRM”, named after the Electro Harmonix…
“Love Letter”, the final album of one of the greatest saxophonists and composers in jazz, Jimmy Heath, was finished shortly before he passed away in January of this year. It features three original compositions in addition to five songs from Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday & Mal Waldron, Gordon Parks, and Billie Holiday and…
Growing up in the late 70s and early 80s with lots of listening to BFBS radio, I came into contact with British Funk and Soul music early on. The group Light Of The World was one of the father groups of this scene, with members like Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick who late formed Incognito, Paul “Tubbs”…
A new star in the making? He is only 13 years old and sounds like a seasoned pro on his forthcoming debut “Gruv Kid” (Shanachie), coming out on November 13th. His keyboard skills remind me of some of the groovier, funkier cuts that Bob James recorded in the 70s and 80s, mixed in with some…
We are almost done with this season which as you are all aware, has been an incredibly strange and difficult one. We were not able to stage a single concert this year. However, since our opening in mid May, daily business has been pretty good. So thanks to all who came out for a visit….