jazz
CD: Santiago Latorre - EcliptícaWednesday, 22 February 2012
There's a whole world of music out there that floats in the zone somewhere between jazz, club music, sound art, contemporary classical and meditative new age background sound – so much of it that it all too easily blurs together. But there are... Read more... |
CD: Gregory Porter - Be GoodSaturday, 11 February 2012
Just how good is Gregory Porter's Be Good? Put it this way, over the course of a single song Porter can deliver an emotional payload which some jazz wannabes fail to achieve over an entire career. Combining the tropes of jazz and soul in an entirely... Read more... |
Naturally 7, BarbicanWednesday, 08 February 2012
Naturally 7 represent the point where close-harmony singing, beatboxing and spookily accurate instrumental imitation meet. The US septet call it "vocal play" - the voice as instrument - and last night they sent dopamine levels soaring in the... Read more... |
CD: Paul McCartney - Kisses on the BottomSunday, 05 February 2012
Come on, the cheeky title is endearing. So it’s not the Fats Waller lyric that John Lennon would have lifted onto the album cover, but Paul McCartney has often sung of frogs and little lambs, of blackbirds and bluebirds, and even at 69 is still in... Read more... |
Soweto Kinch, Kings PlaceSaturday, 28 January 2012
Soweto Kinch's set last night as part of the eXplorations mini-series featured gluttony, envy and a host of other vices. No, not A Life in the Day of an Investment Banker, but a tantalising glimpse of Kinch's take on the Seven Deadly Sins.... Read more... |
CD: Portico Quartet – Portico QuartetWednesday, 25 January 2012
Although they’ll still be filed under jazz, Portico Quartet’s third album takes them even closer to the ambient and trance they’ve been edging towards since they attracted attention in 2007 after the release of their Mercury-nominated debut, Knee... Read more... |
CD: Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, Paul Motian - Further ExplorationsThursday, 19 January 2012
Recorded live at New York's Blue Note during a two-week residency, this double CD celebrating the music and legacy of the jazz pianist and composer, Bill Evans (1929-80), stirs the soul even as it breaks your heart a little. Drummer Paul Motian, a... Read more... |
The Correspondents, Café de ParisSaturday, 14 January 2012
“He’s a praying mantis,” said the girl next to me, “but sexy.” True enough, even if Mr Bruce is a gangly long-limbed performer rather than an actual insect. I’ve seen him twice this year already, and he’s completely compelling on stage and as a... Read more... |
The Boxettes, Kings PlaceFriday, 13 January 2012
The band's Facebook page states “Dirty Soulful Groovin Dancey Sweet” under genre. To which I'd add “Dramatic Playful Intense Voluptuous Transporting”. Performing last night as part of the London A Cappella Festival, The Boxettes swept away any... Read more... |
Strictly Gershwin, English National Ballet, London ColiseumFriday, 06 January 2012
Craig Hassall, English National Ballet’s managing director, apologised ironically at theartsdesk’s Dance Question Time in November for putting on popular work at ENB, meaning Strictly Gershwin, a song-and-dance entertainment to follow the music-and-... Read more... |
2011: Parlato, Porter and the Power of the Human VoiceSunday, 01 January 2012
2011 can only be described as a banner year for vocal jazz. Gretchen Parlato is blessed with one of the most mellifluous timbres in jazz, but it's her highly developed rhythmic concept that really marks her out. Like some of the great Brazilian... Read more... |
Christmas with the Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas, Wyndham’s TheatreThursday, 22 December 2011
Frank Sinatra might have come to dislike being branded as part of the Rat Pack, but the phrase stuck and still sticks. Judging by last night’s Christmas-slanted show, just as he, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr live forever, so will that phrase.... Read more... |
