The man who got me started into music turns 70 today. Happy birthday Stevie Wonder! Another essential artist for this writer is Roy Ayers. A new track has been found while digging through his older material for the re-release of the 2003 album “Virgin Ubiquity”, which featured unreleased material from his amazingly fruitful period 1976-1981…
One of the highlights of last year’s North Sea Jazz Festival, which will not take place this year due to the corona crisis, was a duo concert by two brilliant improvisers: Edmar Castaneda (harp) and Grégoire Maret (harmonica). What they both delivered on stage in terms of musicianship, teamwork, improvisation, and the creation of a…
Nina Simone‘s “Fodder On My Wings” was recorded in 1982 for the French Carrere label and has now been released on hi-res audio on LP and CD on Verve. The album was re-released in 1988 on the French Cy label and included three additional tracks, also included here. Nina had already moved to Paris and…
Vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Grace finally had won me over while singing “I can see it in your eyes” from “The Thrill Is Gone”, the famous Ray Henderson/Lew Brown classic which has become a standard. Her heartfelt, very subtle and vulnerable performance, backed only by pianist Larry Goldings, is one of the highlights of her…
Saxophonist Jimmy Greene opens his new Mack Avenue album “While Looking Up” with the Cole Porter classic “So In Love”. And once again, from the very start of the disc, his lyricism and intense and emotional playing becomes the main force, like on his previous projects. Aided by guitarist Lage Lund and pianist Aaron Goldberg,…
Saxophonist Mike Phillips has come up with the perfect combination of soul, jazz, and contemporary groove. With the help of several guest artists, his new album “Pulling Off The Covers” soothes the soul and simply brings a lot of joy to these ears. Singer Brian McKnight shines on a funky and smooth cover of Slave’s…
We’ve already reported on the deaths of Manu Dibango, Sandy Anderson, and Wallace Roney, all due of complications from the corona virus. But the list goes on: Ellis Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Longo, Vaughan Mason, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Hal Willner. May they all rest in peace. We have moved out to our garden house last…
Hello like beforeI’d never come hereIf I’d known that you were hereI must admit thoughThat’s it’s nice to see you, dearYou look like you’ve been doing well Hello like beforeI hope we’ve grown‘Cause we were only children thenFor laughs I guess we both can say‘I knew You when’But then again, that’s kiss and tell Hello…
When Anita Baker released “Rapture” in 1986, she started a whole new genre of so-called Quiet Storm soul music. I like to compare Lindsey Webster‘s career to Miss Baker’s because ever since her debut album came out in 2013, it seems that she too has come up with a new sound, style and sophistication. Yes,…
Ever wondered at that miraculous bass on Odyssey’s “Inside Out” from 1982? Sandy Anderson, member of the New York based post disco group Unlimited Touch, succumbed to the Corona virus. Unlimited Touch, formed by Raymond Reid and William Anderson of Crown Heights Affair, recorded only two LPs: “Unlimited Touch” in 1980 and “Yes, We’re Ready”…