There is this special beauty, the Scandinavian mythic touch on “Kristallen”, the new duo disc by Swedish trombonist and singer Nils Landgren and pianist Jan Lundgren, also from Sweden. “It’s very much a matter of leaving notes out, of making space”, Nils told me recently during an interview at his label’s offices. ACT Music is…
Think about a mixture of George Duke and Lonnie Liston Smith. Jarrod Lawson is behind this project called Orpheus and has played almost all instruments on this instrumental album which is now also available on beautiful orange vinyl. The opening track, “Arrival”, really reminds me of some of the meditative Lonnie Liston Smith stuff on…
Amber Navran, Andris Mattson, and Max Bryk, collectively known as Moonchild, have released their fourth LP “Little Ghost” last September. Staying true to their pretty unique neo-soul sound, the trio will head to Europe in February, with just one show in Berlin (Privatclub, February 10th). After their wonderful “Voyager” double-LP (2017), “Little Ghost” is also…
I was visiting the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival regularly starting in the late 80s all through the 90s and the early part of the new century. The people I have met during those years, the interviews, walks, parties, get-togethers at the chalet of founder Claude Nobs watching footage of the festival from the 70s, countless…
His sound on the sax always seemed to echo his wit and joy that he was able to spread around in person. Legendary saxophonist, bandleader, composer Jimmy Heath died at his home in Georgia on Sunday. He was 93. Jimmy’s sound on the sax was influenced by Charlie Parker and he soon became “Little Bird”…
Berlin’s ZigZag club, in the heart of Schöneberg and one of the nicest jazz clubs around town, has started a new monthly jazz series, curated by singer Jacobien Vlasman, herself one of the most wonderful jazz singers in this city. The series presents a monthly artist-in-residence each Monday, coming from the present avantgarde scene. This…
As there are millions and millions of new releases, it is sometimes hard to keep track on everything that’s being released over the year. I didn’t review a lot of stuff but am still listening to a lot of 2019 releases and I wanted to give at least a quick mention on a few records…
Even though we’ve been listening to a lot of 70s and 80s records recently, we couldn’t resist and check out this year’s holiday releases, too. Not as many records as in previous years have come out, but a lot of singles instead. There’s an especially rewarding Kimberly Brewer with her sultry vocals on “Everyday Feels…
Gina wishes everybody a Happy Thanksgiving. She won’t be able to help in the kitchen today since we’re part of the annual Christmas market celebrations which will take place this upcoming weekend at our beer garden site. We would like to take this opportunity and give thanks to all our regular and new customers who…
I think I have lived long enough now with New York-based singer, pianist, and songwriter Jon Regen‘s new album “Higher Ground” and the good thing about it is that I have returned to listening to the eleven tracks over and over again. This is not one of those albums you listen to just once and…