I went to the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on Friday. New artistic director Richard Williams talked to the press and the public about his first edition. But before he did, pianist Julia Kadel performed three outstanding solo pieces. The young German musician who was born in Berlin, released her first Blue Note Records album “Im…
Singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli opens his new album with songs written by Paul McCartney with “Silly Love Songs”, recorded for the 1976 Wings LP “Wings At The Speed Of Sound” and arranges it with a sweet and catchy background courtesy of Jessica Molaskey and Madeleine Pizzarelli. It reminds me of his equally poignant version…
Just shortly after the release of their new album “For Individuals Facing The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness”, Stein Urheim and Mari Kvien Brunvoll played a cute “living room” concert at Lieschen Müller in Prenzlauer Berg. The café is not only known for its delicious tartes and cakes, but also for its weekly live music. And…
Legendary singer Leny Andrade certainly belongs to the rare breed of singers who get better and better each year. Now at 72, her voice has become even deeper with an extra punch and at the same time more balmy than ever; the dark chocolate characteristics of her pipes perfectly suiting her fourteen hand-picked songs on…
It is hard to believe that 15 years have passed since the groundbreaking success of “Tourist”, the genre-defying album by Ludovic Navarre, better known as St. Germain. The eight new songs from his just-released album stay true to the deep house beats that we’ve known him for, but this time he focuses more on Afro…
The Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II standard “All The Things You Are” frames the new album by pianist Orrin Evans. The trio prelude version with Christian McBride on bass and Karriem Riggins on drums is a bubbly interpretation and so much different from the Springtime Feathers version which has Orrin and his wife on layered vocals…
Ever since the release of the 2008 album “I Learned The Hard Way” by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, vocalists Saundra Williams and Starr Duncan Lowe remained in the background. During the ensuing years, the two singers were featured as opening acts to Jones shows and now, earlier this year, their debut album “Look Closer”…
Pianist Kevin Hays, who has worked with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson, and Joe Henderson in the past and who recorded for Blue Note in the 90s, switches to Fender Rhodes, the omnipresent Wurlitzer, and vocals on his latest album “New Day”. After the very free-flowing opening Rhodes track, “Run To The Sun”, which also heavily…
I still remember buying Janet Jackson‘s first LP. It was actually on February 8th, 1983. The album had been released a few months prior to that. I instantly fell in love with the lush production of Rene Moore and Angela Winbush on “Say You Do”, “You’ll Never Find (A Love Like Mine)”, and “Young Love”….
Singer ESKA‘s family moved from Zimbabwe to South London when she was a small girl. Her father played a lot of records at home, like Bob James, the Crusaders, or Quincy Jones. When she started her singing career, she never had to look for a job; people always came to her. She sang with Grace…