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Music Reviews: Maria Bethania –‘The Essential Maria Bethania: Love...
With some 50 albums to her credit over a career of more than 45 years, Maria Bethania is a Brazilian songstress who deserves greater attention in the United States. And now with the DRG Brazil’s...
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Music Review: Sergio Mendes –‘Magic’
Sergio Mendes, arguably the man most responsible creating the groundswell for Brazilian pop music and jazz in the U.S. back in the day (certainly one of the prime movers), makes his debut recording for...
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Music Reviews: Phil Bowler & Pocket Jungle, Tim Ferguson Inside/Out, and...
Phil Bowler & Pocket Jungle – Phil Bowler & Pocket Jungle After a lapse of some 20 years Pocket Jungle, which began as a project for veteran bassist Phil Bowler, is back with a new album...
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Music Review: Gabriel Espinosa and Hendrik Meurkens –‘Samba Little Samba’
Demonstrating yet once more after their initial successful collaboration on Celebrando that you don’t need to be a Brazilian to have an authentic feel for Brazilian jazz, Mexican bassist Gabriel...
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Music Review: Jane Bunnett and Maqueque –‘Jane Bunnett and Maqueque’
Canadian mistress of the flute and saxophone, Jane Bunnett, continues her long love affair with Afro-Cuban music when she joins with Maqueque, an all-female Cuban sextet, in their self-titled September...
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Music Review: Diego El Cigala –‘Romance de la Luna Tucumana’
Having already established himself as one of the shining lights among contemporary flamenco vocalists, Diego El Cigala (The Prawn), in concert with the legendary Bebo Valdes, expanded his horizons with...
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Are You Listening? 2014 in Music [Lenny Kravitz, Kimbra, Shakira, Chris...
For me, 2014 was all about Food (Ninja Tune)―the kind one-time hook girl turned chameleonic chanteuse Kelis was serving. Her sixth record to date, Food built on the lyrical strength found in the...
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Music Reviews: Jazz Albums from Ranee Lee, Rodney Whitaker, and Gian-Carla...
Ranee Lee – What’s Going On What’s Going On, a September release from Montreal-based diva Ranee Lee, is a 10-song collection of classic pieces spiced with a trio of originals. After 13 successful...
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Music Review: Ann Hobson Pilot, Lucia Lin and J.P. Jofre –‘Astor Piazzolla:...
Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango compositions continue to inspire new interpretations and tributes more than 20 years after the death of the great Argentine composer. One of the latest is the lovely album...
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Jazz Potpourri: Music from Joe Henderson, The Jiggs Whigham International...
The recent spate of remastered recordings from the MPS back catalog includes the 1980 release Mirror, Mirror, a six-track set from an all-star quartet led by Joe Henderson on tenor sax, with Chick...
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Music Reviews: Brazilian and Cuban Jazz from Minas, Antonio Adolfo, and Nils...
Polished is the word to describe Symphony in Bossa, the April release from the husband and wife duo known as Minas. Orlando Haddad plays guitar and Patricia King performs on the piano. Both handle...
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Music Review: Tony Succar –‘Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson’
Turns out that all you have to do is listen to the opening track of Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson to recognize that the idea of combining the songbook of the American pop genius with the...
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Music Review: Tangos by Roger Davidson –‘Te Extraño Buenos Aires’
Perhaps it’s my imagination, ignorance, or both, but it seems to me that of all the Latin American dance genres—the bossa nova, the rhumba, and the samba—the tango has never really captured the...
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Music Reviews: Edsel Gomez, Alex Conde, Pat Bianchi Trio, and Carol Saboya,...
It’s time to catch up with some albums that may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Edsel Gomez: Road to Udaipur On his May release from Zoho Records, Road to Udaipur, pianist Edsel Gomez works with a...
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Are You Listening? 2015 in Music: Lianne La Havas, Mika, Carly Rae Jepsen,...
Lianne La Havas – Blood (Warner Brothers) Expansion is eyed with Blood, Lianne La Havas’ second record; fearlessly pushing her musical range to new heights, the album is revitalizing. Said...
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Music Review: ‘Getz/Gilberto 76’ and ‘Moments in Time’
Come February 19, Resonance Records will be releasing two albums of previously unreleased live recordings culled from a May 1976 Stan Getz gig at the famed San Francisco jazz club, the Keystone Korner....
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Music Review: Robby Ameen –‘Days in the Night’
While drummer Robby Ameen is probably best known as an Afro-Cuban powerhouse, Days in the Night, his November 2015 release, is an eclectic set of musical moments that has him working in a varied set of...
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Music Review: Socrates Garcia Latin Jazz Orchestra –‘Back Home’
Socrates Garcia explains in the liner notes to his group’s February release, Back Home, that the album has him “arriving to a place where I could combine my heritage with the aesthetics of jazz” and...
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Music Reviews: Brazilian Jazz from Antonio Adolfo and Carol Saboya
Brilliant Brazilian pianist/composer/arranger Antonio Adolfo has been busy. Witness next month’s release of Tropical Infinito, a new album that has him fronting an octet enhanced with a horn section....
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Can’t Turn It Off: The Nu Shooz Interview, Part 1
Thirty years have passed since “I Can’t Wait” sprung from the radio airwaves to charm listeners and climb the charts. More importantly, the song was a piece of a larger paradigm shift in popular music...
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