Sao Paulo-based singer and songwriter Tim Bernardes is currrently on a short European tour and stopped in Amsterdam last night where he plays two shows in two different venues at the Tolhuistuin. Yesterday’s larger club room was sold out (as is today’s smaller Zonzij) and you could tell from the audience participation that parts of…
Roberto Carlos Lange, better known as Helado Negro, is back with his eighth album, called “Phasor”, released today. The South Carolina native, son of Ecuadorian immigrants, has come up with a 35-minute avant-pop bliss. His voice at times rueful, almost always somewhat melancholic, and it is able to transport you to places you didn’t realize…
Vibraphonist Joel Ross releases his fourth Blue Note album “nublues” this Friday. We’re still playing his last one, “The Parable Of The Poet”, from 2022. Once again, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins is on board like on all his previous records. Plus Jeremy Corren (piano), Kanoa Mendenhall (bass), and Jeremy Dutton (drums), and special guest Gabrielle…
Last year, Italian DJ and recording artist Tommaso Garofalo, better known as Turbojazz, released the brilliant album “Whateverism” on the Japanese dance music label Eureka!, also home of Crackazat, Atjazz, and Kaidi Tatham. The vinyl version was released in Italy on Last Forever Records. On this highly entertaining and versatile album, he played around with…
Yes, here we go again. The best indie soul compilation you can find is back with its 2024 edition, compiled by Ralph Tee. 35 tracks in total, spread over three CDs, with some of the pieces already been mentioned on these pages, like new songs by Will Downing, Paulette McWilliams, Natasha Watts, Con Funk Shun,…
Edward W. Robbins, Jr., better known as Rockie Robbins, released his last album “Good Life” in 2019 on Expansion Records. The label, founded by Richard Tee, has released a ton of in-demand classic soul albums over the years and also specializes in quality new soul, often by artists who were successful and prolific in the…
This is not your typical guitar meets sax duo album. Both artists are hard to categorize. Both have released astoundingly rich and versatile albums in the past. Sam Gendel received five paws from Gina for his “DRM” album in 2020 and was praised again for “Cookup” in 2023. Fabiano do Nascimento had us raving with…
Singer, songwriter, producer, and musician Sy Smith, the underground queen of r&b and soul as she is often referred to, is back with her sixth album, following the 2018 release of “Sometimes A Rose Will Grow In Concrete”. “Until We Meet Again” just came out yesterday on the Foreign Exchange label +FE with Sy, Tall…
West coast jazz singer and lyricist Mark Winkler just released “The Rules Don’t Apply”, his follow-up album to the critically-acclaimed 2022 album “Late Bloomin’ Jazzman”. That’s indeed what he is now. It seems that his albums are getting better with each new release. He has always been a vocalist who comes up with the most…
This album almost got lost when it was released just a week before the holidays. Trumpet maestro Ambrose Akinmusire, clearly one of the most imaginative artists on his instrument, or any instrument, recorded his latest Nonesuch album with Bill Frisell on guitar and the almost legendary Herlin Riley on drums. It’s a quiet album, meditative,…