“Fresh Horizons” is the theme for the Jazz Connect Conference in New York next month. Held at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan on January 14th and 15th, it once again brings together the international jazz community for workshops, sessions, and get-togethers. I was on a panel titled “Spolight on Germany” in 2014 and the 2016…
Independent soul singer and songwriter Trish Andrews from Charlotte, North Carolina, has come up with her second album after her 2008 debut “These Five Words”. Her new one “Love Story” continues her sexy melange of Jazz, Soul, and R&B, wrapped in silky smooth, sometimes stunning performances. The solid 11-track collection starts off with the catchy “Feed…
We’re back from our annual Xmas holiday and enjoying the sunny weather here in Berlin where the city is preparing for its grand 2015 finale. Over a million visitors are expected to join the major festivities at the Brandenburg Gate on New Year’s eve. Gina will make sure not to even come close to the party,…
On her special day, Gina underwent a great wellness treatment and she was treated to some pig’s ear. Thank you all for your wonderful messages and greetings – she woofs back at cha!
Kashif, responsible for dozens of timeless soul songs of the 80s (Evelyn “Champagne” King, Melba Moore, Dionne Warwick, George Benson, Howard Johnson, Meli’sa Morgan, Whitney Houston) releases an expanded version of his “Who Loves You” CD which originally came out in 1998. The new disc comes with five bonus tracks, three of which had been…
Gina thinks that the posters for next year’s Berlinale are especially beautiful. And it promises to be another exciting affair, with “Hail, Caesar!”, the new Ethan and Joel Cohen movie opening the festival. It features a stellar cast, with Ralph Fiennes, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Scarlett Johannsen, among others. Jury president Meryl Streep won’t have an…
Are you listening to the same old Christmas songs again? Even though I have to admit that I return to the tried and tested Xmas records year after year (Herb Alpert, Bert Kaempfert, Erin Bode, Rosemary Clooney, June Christy, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, etc), it is always refreshing and highly appreciated to receive original songs which have…
Philadelphia-based singer M’Balia Singley opens her debut album “Halfway There” with a witty, at times sarcastic story about financial struggles, backed by the sometimes bluesy, sometimes free-flowing piano by producer Orrin Evans. You wouldn’t guess that the song turns out like this after hearing the opening, pretty free improvisational moments. M’Balia’s thick, strong voice with…
Even though she was clearly beyond her peak at nearly 57, when Peggy Lee recorded her album “Peggy” in 1977, there are some moments that were intensely accurate and convincing, as author James Gavin also states in his biography “Is That All There Is? The Strange Life Of Peggy Lee” when he says: “Lee sounded appropriately heavy…
She is an expert of brutally slowing down well-known songs and standards which can be a drag, but never in her case. Solveig Slettahjell‘s voice has simply too much to offer, like the sympathetic crack in her voice on “Borrowed Time”, the opening track of her new album “Trail Of Souls”, recorded with the trio…