Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Matthew Halsall will release “An Ever Changing View” on September 8th on Gondwana Records. Composed in Wales and in Bridlington, he wanted to create a feeling of “openness and escapism”. If you check out his new single “Calder Shapes”, an homage to American sculptor Alexander Calder and one of the greatest…
Tom Findlay (of Groove Armada) and James Alexander Bright have finally released “Everything Is Slow” on Athens of the North, their debut album after teasing it with several singles in the past months. The ultra sexy “Slow Dance” is featured here as well (it already came out in late 2021). I think this is the…
Saxophonist Joshua Redman will release his Blue Note debut “Where Are We” on September 15th. It’s going to be his first-ever vocal album with singer Gabrielle Cavassa. Gabrielle, California-born vocalist with Italian descent who now lives in New Orleans, was co-winner at the 2021 International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition. She released her debut in…
One of our favorite pianists around, Kiefer, who studied with Kenny Burrell at UCLA, has come up with a new track “Dreamer”, released today. It sounds like a perfect addition and progression to his fantastic work on albums like “Superbloom” (2019) and “When There’s Love Around” (2021). Check it out here: https://kiefer.bandcamp.com/track/dreamer
It was during Samora Pinderhughes‘ set when the thunderstorm hit. You could hear the thunder inside the hall while he was just announcing his next song. Samora played tunes from his formidable album “Grief” and he had the pleasure of working with the North Sea String Quartet which happened to be special guest for several…
It was even hotter on Saturday than the day before and there were a lot of weather warnings on and off stage. But I had a good shot of freshly squeazed juice out of spinach, celery, fennel, lemon, and cucumber which easily got me through the day. Newcomer Jalen Ngonda opened the Congo tent in…
So here we are again. North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam has started on a sweltering day. My first show of the festival was a classic: pianist Kenny Barron, who recently turned 80 and who remembered the days at The Hague and couldn’t really tell when he first started to play at North Sea, played a…
Here is another artist to watch out for: singer Jalen Ngonda, originally from Maryland in the US and who moved to Liverpool in 2014, has already had headline shows in London and Geneva and supported Lauryn Hill, Martha Reeves, and Laura Mvula. His voice both rich and tender, with a falsetto sound reminiscent of Russell…
British keyboardist, vocalist and producer Reuben James, one of the UK’s most interesting soul/jazz artists to emerge on the scene in recent years (remember “So Cool” from 2020?), has just released his second album called “Champagne Kisses”. It came out on his own Rufio Records and even though it clocks in at less than 30…
British singer and songwriter Yazmin Lacey is on tour this fall. Earlier this year, she released her debut album “Voice Notes” on Own Your Own Records, a brilliant collection of neo-soul tunes. Her voice is like a combination of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. Check the gatefold double-vinyl! And don’t miss her live: 11/15 Warsaw…