Sometimes it’s easier to understand something by learning where it came from. In the case of the remixes of several songs from the already iconic Black Panther film score, context is indispensable. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler requested Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson to do the score based on their collaboration on two other highly …
Phillipe Cohen Solal, one of the co-founders of the exciting and innovative Gotan Project joins forces with longtime collaborator Christophe Chassol to produce a marvelous summer ode to flirtatious love. Building the song in layers that has hip hop rolling in perfect provocative harmony with the kind rat pack cool Dean Martin would find imminently …
Fans may still tsk-tsk Chaka Khan’s live performances for their lack of verve but her latest studio project, Like Sugar, unleashes that old funktified black magic with a vengeance. Produced by veteran mix master Switch, the “exuberant” clarion call to the dance floor is a peek into the album he and the doyenne of funk …
Spiritual, majestic and grand, Terence Blanchard’s music is often meant for listeners to peer into themselves. Expanding on his Grammy nominated 2015 album Breathless, Blanchard continues to score music that delves into the inexplicable and seemingly perpetual cycle of gun violence that ends in the death of (primarily) black men. Indeed, the album’s title, Live, …
Terence Blanchard and the E Collective Live – Expands on a Theme Read More »
Lots of people who adore jazz have only a passing appreciation of how other cultures contribute to the form. The impact of two small islands in the Caribbean Sea are especially noteworthy. For decades, American jazz musicians have both sought inspiration from these cultures and cultivated an eager audience for jazz originating from the United …
Confidence, charisma, a nice voice and angelic good looks can converge to become a phenomenon. If you have any doubts about that just ask Trinidad Cardona. After posting a playful video of himself singing in a public bathroom, the 18-year-old ended up with 7 million Facebook views last year and a self-proclaimed mission to produce …
A lot of people were there Thursday night to make up for last year. That’s when René Marie was originally scheduled for a show at the Logan Center with Freddie Cole and cancelled due to illness. As she and her trio walked on stage and prepared to begin, a woman in the audience exclaimed, “We …
The draw was three-fold. First, it was one of the few high-profile tributes to Dr. King. Second, it featured an important and obscure work by a literary giant, Langston Hughes. Finally, music performed by Chicago Sinfonietta would form the performances core. Reconnecting with their sound would be exciting. They all converged to create something unexpected, …
Throughout her thriving four decades long career of impressing the world with her singing talents, Carmen Lundy has also proven that her gifts extend far beyond her voice. A multi- instrumentalist who writes virtually all of the songs that she performs (she can boast scores to her credit), her inner muse has also allowed her …
If you’re approaching or firmly entrenched in your teens; or just have an acute weakness for romance, you’ll probably dig Gladius James’ upcoming release Revelation. Although the promo cut, Too Bad, has something of the rouge injected into its soul as he taunts his girl about not following through on a date, the other tracks …