Review and photographs by John Stevenson Virtuoso singer, DJ, actor and composer, Cleveland Watkiss, treated his appreciative audience to a vocal tour de force at London’s St James Theatre Studio on October 26th. The occasion was the launch of the CD, Song Diasporas, co–created by himself, pianist Jonathan Gee and acoustic bassist, …
Review by John Stevenson Originally from Sao Paulo but now making her home in the US, Luciana Souza displays tremendous vocal dexterity on her 2015 CD, Speaking in Tongues. Most of the tracks are worldless, after a scatty and jazz-influenced fashion. However, Souza speaks the jazz lingo fluently, using her …
New England Conservatory celebrates the artistic vision of NEC’s founding Contemporary Improvisation Department Chair Ran Blake, and the evolution of his music in Realization of a Dream: An 80th Birthday Tribute to Ran Blake at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 13. The concert takes place at NEC’s Jordan Hall, 290 …
Release Date: October 30, 2015 From Resonance Records LOS ANGELES – For more than 20 years, renowned violinist/composer Christian Howes has been powerfully moving audiences all over the world as an artist with a distinctly American voice, forging ground at the intersections of jazz, classical, and world music. But when …
Lionel Loueke: Gaia (Blue Note) Review by John Stevenson With Gaia, Beninois guitarist Lionel Loueke follows up on his well-received Blue Note CDs, Karibou and Mwaliko. Accompanied by long-time bandmates Massimo Biolcati (bass) and Ferenc Nemeth (drums), Gaia is a Don Was production recorded live in the studio with an …
Stefano Bollani: arrivano gli alieni (Decca/Universal) Review by John Stevenson Stefano Bollani is a virtuoso jazz pianist and singer from Milan with a mischievous sense of humour. This eclectic program of originals, popular Italian tunes, jazz standards, folk songs and a Brazilian pop anthem, provide evidence of a truly variegated …
Rayford Griffin: Reflections of Brownie (RazorEdge) Review by John Stevenson Ace drummer and Clifford Brown’s nephew, Rayford Griffin, imaginatively updates a brace of selections associated with the legendary trumpeter. The funk and smooth jazz inflected arrangements are abundantly tasteful and chock full of infectious grooves. ‘Daahoud’ comes in on the …
Samuel Torres Group: Forced Displacement (Zoho) Review by John Stevenson With unprecedented levels of forced migration and internal displacement due to natural disasters and civil wars around the world, the Columbian master percussionist’s CD comes as a welcome and timely musical commentary. Commissioned by the Chamber Music America in 2012, …
Aaron Diehl: Space Time Continuum (Mack Avenue) Review by John Stevenson Like his contemporaries, Gerald Clayton and Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Diehl represents a younger generation of jazz pianists whose playing style shows a healthy respect for tradition. With Diehl, Ellingtonian elegance is twinned with the compositional clarity and economy of …
By John Stevenson The double bassist Coleridge Goode, who has died aged 100, distinguished himself on the British jazz scene for more than 60 years, playing with some of the most innovative musicians of the postwar period. Thanks to his finesse and sophistication, not to mention his technical gifts and …
