Blog
Aug 03, 2017
Upward Spiral concert review: Warsaw Summer Jazz
Warsaw Summer Jazz, which ran from 6 - 9 July, is a fairly recent offshoot of the much longer-established Warsaw Jazz Jamboree held each November by the same promoters The venue was a converted factory in a large arts complex just outside...
Aug 02, 2017
Upward Spiral concert review: Anything but standard
Grammy-award winner Branford Marsalis and his Branford Marsalis Quintet were originally scheduled to appear at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts back in May, but due to flight difficulties, this performance was rescheduled to July...
Jul 17, 2017
Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling, Barbican, London: Charisma and lyricism
When Branford Marsalis invited Kurt Elling to record the album Upward Spiral with his long-running quartet, he gained a front-line partner as well as a charismatic vocal lead Elling doesn't just interpret a song, he inhabits it, drawing...
Jul 12, 2017
CD Review: The Passion of Charlie Parker
This intriguing and highly original project seeks to do several things at once: first, and rather belatedly, to mark the 60th anniversary of Bird's death (which fell in 2015); second, to weave his best-known tunes together into a...
Jul 06, 2017
The Passion of Charlie Parker review: An unexpected triumph
On paper, this doesn't sound promising: a series of Charlie Parker compositions sung by today's best-selling jazz vocalists, with lyrics based on Parker's life story It's a tribute to the personnel involved that it works so...
Jun 22, 2017
International Jazz Extravaganza: memorable shows, haphazard production
International Jazz Extravaganza chief executive Sindile Xulu loves to differentiate between the terms "extravaganza" and "festival" At a Durban press conference to welcome musicians to the second annual event, she again makes the...
Jun 09, 2017
Goldenhair: Brian Byrne sets up Close encounter with James Joyce
James Joyce, in a letter to his brother Stanislaus, discussing his yet to be published volume of poems, Chamber Music, wrote: "It is a young man's book I felt like that It is not a book of love-verses at all, I perceive But some of them...
May 05, 2017
The 2017 International Jazz Day Global Concert
Art, people before politics at this all-star show in Havana, Cuba Despite taking place in Havana, Cuba, one of the most inspiring but politically complex nations on the planet, this year's International Jazz Day Global Concert, which...
May 04, 2017
Review: Branford Marsalis Quartet with special guest Kurt Elling at Troy Savings Bank Hall Gala
Sax-master Branford Marsalis has played so well, for so long, some take him for granted At the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall last Thursday, his artistry in skill and feel, as bandleader and soloist, earned awe at the Hall's 37th Gala He...
Apr 25, 2017
International Jazz Extravaganza returns to Durban, South Africa in June
The International Jazz Extravaganza (IJE) will be returning to Durban International Convention Centre for the second time on 17 June this year The line-up includes award winning American classic, Monty Alexander, Kurt Elling, Nduduzo Makhatini,...
Apr 25, 2017
Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling: Band, singer teamed for lauded album Upward Spiral
Each year, there seems be a group in the world of music that creates a buzz of anticipation among fans It could be the reuniting of a popular band Sometimes it's a combination of musicians that, because of their own individual popularity,...
Apr 20, 2017
Concert Review: Marsalis, Elling mesh in Kutztown concert
When saxophonist Branford Marsalis and vocalist Kurt Elling discovered each other, the world of jazz received an immense gift - they fit together so well musically they could be siblings The Kutztown University Presents! series finished its...