My first encounter with the music of saxophonist and clarinetist John Surman was in 1985 when I bought his ECM LP “Withholding Pattern”. Its deep lyrical passages, very intense soprano and baritone sax and bass clarinet playing was extremely fascinating and fulfilling. Still is! John was mostly recording on his own at the time with…
We have published our reviews of the first Ethereal Magic compilation on November 16th, 2015 and of the second installment on December 2nd, 2016 and have eagerly awaited the third edition. Well, here it is. And it starts off with the most sensitive and the sexiest cut The Jones Girls ever recorded. “Children Of The…
Pianist Nils Frahm releases his seventh album “All Melody”, which he recorded (mainly) in a new studio that he built himself at the historic Funkhaus Berlin, developed in the 50s. He installed a mixing console and an organ at the venue’s Saal 3 and is currently performing there. His fourth and final show is going…
It’s the fifth release for Augusta, Georgia-born trombonist Michael Dease for the Posi-Tone label and as much as I like the current mash-up of all kinds of styles in Jazz, it is always good to hear the straight-up, traditional, swingin’ old school type, hand-crafted and honed over the years by this brilliant musician who started…
We’ve already lost Marlene VerPlanck, Wilbert Longmire, and Edwin Hawkins this year. The father of South African Jazz, Hugh Masekela, has joined them now. He died peacefully in Johannesburg today at age 78. There is a statement from his family which says, “Hugh’s global and activist contribution to and participation in the areas of music,…
It’s that time of year again next month. The 68th Berlin Film Festival runs from February 15th to February 25th. And Gina will report again from the Berlinale. 23 of the 24 movies of this year’s Competition have now been announced. Among them: the International Premiere of Gus van Sant‘s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get…
Camille Bertault comes flying in like a breath of fresh air. She doesn’t seem to want to sound like any other artist and clearly has her own sound. Plus, she sings in French. And she has put words to John Coltrane‘s “Giant Steps” – almost three years ago she came up with a video on…
The songs of Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim are the topic of singer Cheryl Bentyne‘s latest album. Almost 40 years with The Manhattan Transfer, she always found the time to release several solo albums in between touring and recording. You can find my review of her “Lost Love Songs” album on these pages. The disc features…
The programme for the 36th Cully Jazz Festival has been announced today. Located southeast of Lausanne and close to Montreux, the Swiss village will host some great artists again in April. From April 13th to April 21st, several venues will turn into jazz havens. The three locations are: Next Step, Chapiteau, and Temple. Among the…
Almost. I almost overlooked part four of this incredible look into remix legend John Morales‘ work. Edition four again has previously unreleased remixes and a total of 40 tracks, spread over four CDs. It’s a trip down memory lane, especially for someone who grew up in the 80s and started to DJ later that decade….