The long-awaited Blue Note debut by drummer, composer, vocalist, and producer Chris Dave sounds like a planetary invasion. In the liner notes, he thanks a bunch of people with the introductory line: “this mission from earth to the abyss wouldn’t be complete without giving appreciation”. And so, the album begins with a sort of Parliament/Funkadelic…
Three CDs, 35 tracks – the 2018 edition of the Luxury Soul compilation is among us and it is full of fantastic soul grooves again, like its predecessors reviewed here in 2017, 2016, and 2015. From the very cool cover version of Keni Burke’s classic “Risin’ To The Top” by Tristan featuring Heston right on…
He played drums on Michael Jackson‘s “Billie Jean”, “P.Y.T.” and “Baby Be Mine” and on a thousand more sessions. An album with Leon “Ndugu” Chancler on the drums was always worth checking out. In his early career, he played with the Gerald Wilson Big Band, Herbie Hancock, Willie Bobo, Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard. He…
“Don’t Look Any Further” was one of the big numbers in 1984. No, it wasn’t big. It was huge. My original 12″ is pretty worn out. The singer on this particular track was Dennis Edwards, who joined The Temptations in 1968 and sang on classic cuts such as “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”, “Cloud Nine”,…
I know it really feels like a circus, but North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam as one of the biggest jazz festivals is always good to get a proper overview of what’s going on in the jazz world and beyond. Plus, there is always something new and unknown to explore. To be honest, I just can’t…
Contemporary artist Christian Marclay has created the poster for the 52nd edition of the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. For the first time on a festival poster, the cyanotype process has been used, a printing process which produces a cyan-blue print. Marclay is a Swiss artist, performer, and composer. He works in a multitude of media including…
An amazing storyteller, wonderful person, sublime artist. She is able to let you hear new twists and turns in songs you thought you’ve already heard a million times. Her otherworldly melancholic voice, connected with her wittiness, makes her one-of-a-kind. And she always added some rarely heard tunes and oddities in her repertoire on her records….
You could really feel the joy singer Stacey Kent had when she was sharing the stage with a 30-piece orchestra, the Hamburg-based Ensemble Resonanz under the direction of Francesco Bossaglia. The 18 strings and four flutes built a very harmonious, lush and concentrated cushion last night at Berlin’s smaller Philharmonie venue, the Kammermusiksaal. Mostly playing…
Gina is in heat again. We urge you to put your (male) dogs on the leash whenever she’s roaming outside. Thank you for your cooperation.
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…