By Steve Keogh, London Jazz News Cleveland-born singer VANESSA RUBIN has been a fixture in New York since the 1980s. She made several albums for RCA/Novus in the 1990s, has a new album of songs by Tadd Dameron, but this is quite probably her debut in the UK. Ahead of concerts in London (21-23 November … Read More
By Rita Charleston, The Philadephia Tribune “Whatever you want to call it, it’s Black music,” says renowned drummer Ralph Peterson describing his feelings about jazz. “But it belongs to the world now, and all people of all races and creeds and colors play it. Nevertheless it remains an African-American music form.” And he should know. … Read More
By Michael Bourne, WBGO LaTanya Hall owns a variegated curriculum vitae. She’s worked all around show biz. She was a Miss America finalist. She played the young Lena Horne in the workshop of a bio-musical. She starred on the road in the musical Dreamgirls. She was a backup singer with Harry Belafonte early on, and for years … Read More
By Leah Williams, London Jazz News Launched in 2015, the Dot Time Records Legends series has so far given the world a whole range of incredible, unreleased music from greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Webster and Wolfgang Lackerschmid with Chet Baker. There have been four Louis Armstrong releases to date with the latest – … Read More
By George Harris, Jazz Weekly For much of his career, Louis Armstrong was denigrated for not “changing with the times” and embracing modern sounds of bebop and hard bop. What these critics and musicians didn’t understand is that, like Mozart, once you perfect a sound and style, why change directions? The broadcasts performances recorded on … Read More
By Shaun Brady, The Philadelphia Inquirer Ralph Peterson has been thinking a lot about legacy. That’s somewhat inevitable in jazz, where tradition and history always loom large. Last month marked the centennial anniversary of the birth of Peterson’s mentor, the iconic drummer Art Blakey. The music composed under Blakey’s guidance by such legends as Wayne … Read More
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz Aside from being a multi-award-winning trumpeter and composer, Brian Lynch appears to be an avid reader and social arbiter as well. His twenty-third album as leader, a two-CD set whose protracted and austere name, The Omni-American Book Club / My Journey Through Literature in Music, belies its bold and free-hearted nature, is dedicated … Read More
Critically Acclaimed flutist Andrea Brachfeld Announces her Debut Release for Origin Records, Brazilian Whispers, out on January 17th. “… Her marvelous tone and technique are astonishing… She is definitely among those who deserves recognition not only among her peers, but the public in general.” – Hubert Laws “One of the most important voices … Read More
By delarue, New York Music Daily Brandee Younger has already made a lot of waves as a rarity in the jazz world, a concert harpist. Even with amplification, it’s hard to hear that instrument’s pointillistic (most would probably say celestial) tones over drums, piano or blazing brass. That undoubtedly explains why, beyond Dorothy Ashby and … Read More
Charles Waring, Record Collector Louis Armstrong was a trailblazing jazz innovator and is still regarded as the idiom’s greatest, most influential trumpeter of all time. Despite its rather unprepossessing title, Louis Armstrong Live in Europe (4 Stars, Dot Time) is a significant release that has been sanctioned by Armstrong’s estate and is sourced from the … Read More
