Gina just fell in love with Lucas Arruda. We first heard of Lucas Arruda in 2015 when he teamed up with the legendary Leon Ware on an incredibly soulful tune called “Melt The Night”. It was featured on Lucas’ second album “Solar”, but I only heard it on some compilation at the time. Lucas has…
I was listening to a lot of specialist soul shows on BFBS and Radio Luxemburg in the early to mid 80s. There was also a weekly show on Tuesdays (or Thursdays) out of Brussels called “Funky Town”. The reception was pretty bad but I remember trying to soak up every note, every groove since this…
Berlin, 1996. I was working in a Mexican restaurant in Kreuzberg until 1 AM. Closed the place and went to another bar to see friends. On some weekends, I started to DJ afterwards in various venues and often came home late mornings or around noon. Sleep was not an option, but Down To The Bone…
It’s his first full-length album since 1985 can you imagine! The man who gave us the immortal “You And Me” in 1980 only released a handful of singles afther his 1985 MCA Records album, among them the UK-based Debut 12″ “Are You Ready” in 1991. Rockie played London’s Jazz Café last weekend and is now…
Vanessa Rubin, one of my favorite singers, has finally released her tribute album to Tadd Dameron, “The Dream Is You: Vanessa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron”, the pianist, composer, and arranger who was a pivotal figure in the bop scene of the 40s and 50s. Dameron composed several songs which became standards, like “If You Could…
Who knows if it’s really her Farewell Tour. Anyway, Anita Baker has just been added to the roster of this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam’s Ahoy, July 12-14. Anita will play five nights at the Venetian Theater in Las Vegas between May 31st and June 8th and she’ll also play the Capital Jazz…
The last album by guitarist Dominic Miller, his first for ECM in 2017 called “Silent Light“, had us raving because of its tenderness and elegantly soft touch. Changing from an almost solo atmosphere to a full band on his new ECM opus “Absinthe”, Dominic now includes keyboards, bass, drums, and bandoneon on his ten new…
The immortal 1982 “It Should Have Been You” by the equally immortal Gwen Guthrie has been reworked in a pretty cool and stylish fashion. At first almost not recognizable, the tune is extremely slowed-down, has a strong horn part, very subtle and effective percussion work and ultra strong vocals from Izzy Chase. The project under…
Singer Alicia Olatuja has tackled the songs of female composers for her latest album, which was produced by Kamau Kenyatta, responsible for successful records by Gregory Porter and Kathy Kosins lately. I have written about Alicia several times here, having seen her showcasing during APAP in early 2016 and also reviewing her last album “Timeless”…
She was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition in 2010, the year when Cécile McLorin Salvant won. Her debut Mack Avenue album “It’s A Good Day” featured “One Way Ticket” which ended up on my iphone playlist and stayed there for a couple of years. How I wish that more tunes like…