Pianist and composer Achim Kaufmann is the recipient of this year’s Albert Mangelsdorff Award which was given to him during a little ceremony at this year’s Jazzfest Berlin on Friday afternoon. The pianist, who has studied at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, visited Gina’s place a couple of months ago for a little interview….
The 24-piece Splitter Orchester opened this year’s Jazzfest Berlin last night before a sold-out audience. The 45-minute piece “Creative Construction Set” was written by trombonist George Lewis and featured a strange, if somewhat entertaining mélange of several electronics and prepared field recordings with more traditional instruments like clarinet and violin, but played in alienated fashion, uncharacteristically,…
It is going to be the first edition for Richard Williams, the new artistic director for the prestigious festival for the next three years. Like he says in the welcome notes, he wanted to present performers “…who have one thing in common: the desire to move forward.” So we’re moving again to the Haus der…
He opened with a blues (“Ray Blues”) and from the very first notes, you could tell that 83 year old Michel Legrand still has the guts and the ability to play the piano and lead a classic jazz trio with just bass and drums. On stage at Berlin’s Konzerthaus last night, the maestro also added…
Here’s a singer from Sweden who released two albums in Europe before she left the continent and settled in New York in 2011. “Sing To The Sky” is Emma Larsson‘s first record in the US and features seven originals plus two covers. Her voice is wonderfully pure and her intonation and timing just perfect. But it…
Singer Brenna Whitaker is the first artist that veteran producer David Foster has agreed to produce since Michael Bublé and so, yes, you get a female version of Mr. Bublé, complete with big-sounding orchestral productions and horns and strings arranged by Chris Walden. At times, singer Caro Emerald shines through like on the opening track “Black And…
Esperanza Spalding presented her alter ego Emily last night at Berlin’s UdK main hall. Her new show, called “Emily’s D+Evolution”, is part theater, part musical, and autobiographical. Emily is Esperanza’s middle name and D+Evolution refers to, according to an interview she did earlier this year with the Village Voice, “the nonsense notion that organized education is…
Matthew Halsall is a trumpeter, composer, producer, arranger and leader of the Gondwana Orchestra, based in Manchester. The vocals by Josephine Oniyama on the ethereal opening track “Only A Woman”, which has added, celestial harp courtesy of Rachael Gladwin, reminds me of the 60s recordings by Alice Coltrane. The esoteric atmosphere continues with the equally…
Yes it’s time again for “Soul Togetherness”, the brilliant indie-soul compilation which comes out once a year ever since 2000, usually in October and this year perfect for blowing the Berlin fog away. And it starts with a bang: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis are back again with producing the latest Janet Jackson, but let’s…
The musicians on Luciana Souza‘s new album come from all parts of the world and create a fascinating melange of sounds and styles, probably best described in the opening track “At The Fair”, a joyous and playful tune with intensive conversations between harmonica player Grégoire Maret and guitarist Lionel Loueke. Her wordless vocals enhance the…