It was the perfect start to the 40th anniversary edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival last night. Jarrod Lawson & The Good People opened the night at Congo with their unbelievably funky, soulful, and intense set. Like in previous concerts I saw in Paris and Berlin, here’s a future Soul star with a mesmerizing…
After a smooth flight into Amsterdam and an enjoyable train ride to Rotterdam, I finally reached my apartment and to my surprise, it is even closer to the Ahoy location where the festival takes place than I expected. My host Mike was kind enough to give me his bike for the weekend and it only…
Earlier today, I went to the press conference for this year’s Jazzfest Berlin which is the first one with Richard Williams as artistic director. Richard attended the first Berlin Festival back in 1969 and has written for Melody Maker, the Times, and Time Out and has also written several biographies. So as it turned out,…
Earlier this month, the Luther Vandross Estate, Hidden Beach Experiences, and Marcus Miller have announced plans for a semi-biographical musical which will star a who is who of artists. The Power of Love Experience – A Tribute to the Life of Luther Vandross is the exact title of the musical narrative which will tour through…
Happy 4th of July! It seems that everyone is talking about Kamasi Washington and his album “The Epic” since its release in early May. He has now announced his tour dates for the US and Europe. Kamasi opens the American leg of his tour in Seattle on July 30th and the final gig will be…
It was the perfect weather for the open-air concert of Gregory Porter and the Metropole Orchestra last night during the Citadel Music Festival. After the 60-piece orchestra took their seats, Gregory entered the stage and started out his majestic set with three of his mellower numbers which actually was a very pleasant start for the…
This upcoming week, Berlin has several top live acts as guests. Starting on Monday, Roy Hargrove and his Quintet will grace the stage at A-Trane for three consecutive nights. Roy is bringing his current group with Justin Robinson (sax), Sullivan Fortner (p), Ameen Saleem (b), and Quincy Phillips (dr). Everybody’s darling Gregory Porter returns to…
According to an article in the New York Times, the Blue Note Jazz Club is expanding. Opening new clubs in early 2016 in Hawaii and Beijing, the brand will then have seven outlets: its original club in Manhattan’s East Village, three clubs in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), and its only location in Europe in Milan,…
The Kansas City-born singer with the strong baritone voice and versatile scat singing style is performing in Munich this week. Kevin will perform tracks from his brand-new album “The Vienna Affair”, which includes eight songs written by himself and the Hoagy Carmichael/Ned Washington standard “The Nearness Of You” plus a Joe Williams-penned blues number based…
The grooving, much faster than usual version of “My Funny Valentine” very well describes singer Chris Bennett‘s artistry: she is not settling for the tried and tested American Songbook and change, like she said, is the only constant in life. After a pretty quick, Las Vegas-style “All Of You” as the opener to her first…