For his 60-minute set on Tuesday night at Berlin’s Frannz Club in the bubbling Prenzlauer Berg area, singer, songwriter and guitarist Jalen Ngonda basically played the tracks from his brilliant 2023 Daptone Records LP “Come Around And Love Me”. His 60s/70s soul sound with tight and crisp arrangements and short 3-minute stories worked explicity well…
We know that Detroit is not only the city with the best record shops, but its artists and music has been and always is something special. Now, Detroit based singer and songwriter Kathy Kosins and singer, songwriter, bassist, and producer Paul Randolph have formed DetroitCentriX. First single from DetroitCentriX® is called “What We Want”. Paul…
Pianist Sullivan Fortner wrapped up his European tour last night at Berlin’s cozy Zig Zag club. Playing two sets before a highly attentive sold-out crowd, he mastered the piano in a lot of different ways. There was the more or less classic piano style which he probably took over from his mentor Barry Harris and…
The German Jazz Price 2024 is upon us. The award ceremony will take place on April 18th at the E-Werk in Cologne. You can find the list of nominees below. Live acts during the ceremony are Kenny Barron, Cologne-based saxophonist Angelika Niescier in a duo performance with Alexander Hawkins, and the Omer Klein Trio. The…
Gina wants to congratulate Diana Ross on her 80th birthday! The diva, one of the very few who actually deserves this moniker, will be out on the road this year for her “Beautiful Love Performances – Legacy” tour which also includes two stops in Europe (most certainly more to be added). See you on the…
Gina has just finished her weekly 60-minute playlist of songs we’ve come back to more than once during this past week. It features a track from the brilliant new EP “Brazilian Indie Hippie Retro” by Haroldo Bontempo, new music by Pat Metheny from his upcoming solo album due in July, another great new track by…
Guitarist Pat Metheny has just announced the release of his new album “MoonDial”. It will be out on July 26th on BMG. The music on the album was composed while on tour and it is going to be another solo album without overdubs. Metheny, who turns 70 later this year, plays the baritone guitar, made…
Gina has just published her weekly playlist on Spotify. It features another hour of newly released tracks such as the third single from José James‘s upcoming album “1978”, a new single from Madeleine Peyroux, the title track from the new album “Bloom” by Bill Laurance and The Untold Orchestra from Manchester, a new piece from…
Lizz Wright was in town yesterday. She is currently on tour promoting her new album “Shadow”, which will be released on her own Blues And Greens Records on April 12th. She opened her 80-minute set with “Sweet Feeling”, the first single off the album which came out last fall. It was wonderful to hear her…
We have returned to Berlin yesterday. Just in time to see Lizz Wright tonight at Columbia Theater where she will perform songs from her new album “Shadow”, to be released on her own Blue & Greens label on April 12th. Last Saturday, singer Cécile McLorin Salvant graced the stage at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Joined…