The hip hop-flavored “Sunrise In Beijing” opens the new “Stretch Music” album by trumpeter Christian Scott who is one of the most important young musicians around at the moment. Flutist Elena Pinderhughes gives this track, which lives from the drum pad backbeat of Corey Fonville, an exotic twist. Christian also plays the sirenette and reverse…
Singer Lizz Wright waited until the third song last night at Neukölln’s Heimathafen before she started to feature a song from her recently-released new album, “Freedom & Surrender”. As if she wanted to make sure that the audience recalled her signature, thick and dark and powerful vocals. So after her “Old Man” interpretation, one of the…
The themes of night/moon/blue serve as the backdrop for pianist Michael Wollny‘s new album. The much talked-about musician ranks among the most important and imaginative young musicians in Germany. The melancholy of “Questions In A World Of Blue” from “Twin Peaks” is like a common thread that reappears here more than once. But the trio with Christian…
Even on his first sides, recorded for Decca in 1956 with the Ralph Burns Orchestra, you can hear traces of the typical Mark Murphy characteristics that would define his long career: On “Fascinating Rhythm”, done at fast tempo, you can clearly hear and understand every single word; Mark has the ability to delve so deep…
FAVO is a project that was founded in 2009 by soprano saxophonist Volker Schlott as a chamber music “group” with bass clarinetist Falk Breitkreuz. They interpret music by Astor Piazzolla, the Beatles, or Puccini and easily morph from classical to jazz and back. For their latest endeavor, the two get together with one of the…
Founding member of the New York Voices, singer Kim Nazarian finally releases her first solo album, produced by her husband Jay Ashby, who is also featured on trombone throughout. “Some Morning” opens with a lively, swinging “Robbin’s Nest/Boneology” where Jay can be heard prominently and efficiently. As can be Sean Jones on trumpet. The Linda…
It was a full hour after the scheduled time that the five-piece band of Saun & Starr, singers Saundra Williams and Starr Duncan Lowe, entered the stage at Bi Nuu to play a couple of soul tracks harking back to the 70s, circa early Philadelphia International Records. Trumpet and sax guaranteed some crisp and tight harmonic…
I was positively surprised when I received the latest album by saxophonist Tim Garland, who turns 49 today, on vinyl. “Return To The Fire” is the sequel to Tim’s “Enter The Fire” album and, like he says in the liner notes, “a heartfelt homage to the music that stops me in my tracks…”. The new compositions were written while…
Pianist Sullivan Fortner, who also works in Roy Hargrove‘s band, just had to be recorded one day. Not only because he is a brilliant pianist, but also a prolific composer as well. Five of the songs from his debut album are original compositions, with the title track being the first movement of a six-part suite,…
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…