By Tom Schnabel, Rhythm Planet It’s once again time to showcase choice new releases. We begin by reprising French singer Lou Tavano’scool version of the Mongo Santamaria classic, “Afro Blue.” Then we check out the Haitian band LakouMizik’s new CD on the Cumbancha label, a reliable curator and purveyor of good world music. A new … Read More
ZCO/Dance Project premieres “Progression” and dancing beyond disability by Cheryl Green, whoamitostopit.com Listen to this post: Back in 2013, you got to meet longtime dancer, actress, model, and disability activist Zazel-Chavah O’Garra when she shared a guest blog about her experience becoming disabled from a brain tumor. That same year, Zazel founded ZCO/Dance Project. Her brain … Read More
Those strings. That voice. These songs. On Jackie Gage’s debut album Siren Songs, she establishes herself firmly as one of the most vital artists in the jazz world. It’s soulful, inventive, playful, and powerful. It’s a truly rare work of art. By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor Building from a haunting ethereal marimba solo, Gage and … Read More
By Phil Freeman, Burning Ambulance Jazz has a new harpist: Brandee Younger. Following in the footsteps of Alice Coltrane and particularly Dorothy Ashby, she’s blending classical technique with an appreciation for—and creative use of—hip-hop, R&B and funk grooves. Her studio debut as a leader, Wax & Wane, is out now. (Get it from Amazon.) It features flautist … Read More
What We’re Listening To by Peter Boehi, Sooth Jazz Vibes Jackie Gage – Siren Songs (2016) Singer Jackie Gage is a truly great discovery, her debut album is one of the very best albums to come my way in a long time. Jazzy, soulful, interesting, entertaining, original… I could go on. There is also a … Read More
By Nate Chinen, The New York Times Brandee Younger was a teenager — an aspiring classical harpist, growing up on Long Island — when she came across an eye-opening issue of Harp Column magazine. A trade bimonthly with a loyal constituency (motto: “practical news, for practical harpists”) had published a readers poll celebrating the instrument’s most influential … Read More
By Rian Nurse, Large Up Caribbean jazz is enjoying a burgeoning Renaissance buttressed by young, up-and-coming talent as well as a growing demand for alternatives to seasonal festival music. The St. Lucia Jazz Festival celebrates its 25th edition this April through May, and Tobago Jazz, also in April, has become a marked event on the … Read More
By D Money, SoulBounce When most people think about jazz, they think of instruments like the saxophone, trumpet or piano, but rarely, if ever, do they think of the harp — but perhaps they should. One of the most innovative jazz performers was harpist Alice Coltrane, whose masterful and experimental style took the genre to new … Read More
WOMAN OF THE MONTH: JACKIE GAGE Our Woman of the Month for February is Jackie Gage! She’s a singer with a velvety rich voice, a musician who mixes elements of soul, jazz, and R&B, and a woman who believes wholeheartedly in her art and, most importantly, herself. She recently relocated from the Bay Area to … Read More
by Rahdu Mahdi Over the past decade-plus, the on-going surge of live jazz & instrumentation has gradually made its’ presence both heard & felt within the pulse of contemporary music in the urban fold. Artists such as Roy Hargrove, Esperanza Spaulding & Robert Glasper have really re-energized the appetite for the listeners’ ears of today … Read More
