Keith Spera for NOLA.com Walter “Wolfman” Washington closed out 2013 at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, far from the New Orleans music clubs that are his natural habitat. But, he happily reports, his Roadmasters had no trouble translating his…
Amelia Mason for 90.9FM WBUR Red Baraat does not aim to mimic Indian baraat bands so much as harness their energy and allow other influences to permeate. When he founded the band, Jain purposefully recruited a group of players with…
Stanley Abraham for Elmore Magazine The combination of wisdom and experience enhances anyone’s ability to perform. On a beautiful summer night at the Blue Note in NYC, Roy Haynes displayed those qualities, touching the hearts and souls of the audience…
Joann D. Ball for Grateful Web Bettye LaVette and bandmates; Alan Hill (music director, keyboards), Darryl Pierce (drums), James Simonson (bass), and, Brett Lucas (guitar) treated the packed house to a deep and thorough exploration of her new album. She…
Adrian Chamberlain for The Times Colonist The casual listener knows Bobby McFerrin mostly for his lighter-than-air ditty, Don’t Worry, Be Happy. However, it was the spiritual side — well, the lighthearted spiritual side — of the American singer that we…
Agah Bahari for LIVE IN LIMBO Roy Thomson Hall, the home to Toronto Symphony Orchestra, has seen many great legends and talents performing on it’s stellar stage. On Saturday, it hosted Bobby Mcferrin, the man whose instrument is his voice…
Review by Michael J. West for THE WASHINGTON POST Roy Haynes, who turned 90 in March, is surely the world’s greatest living jazz drummer. He’s also astonishingly exuberant and spry for a nonagenarian: At his most sluggish, he still seems…
Review by Jack Lynch for TONE DEAF A long way from their home in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Soul Rebels brought some heavy brass to the Melbourne Recital Centre ahead of their Bluesfest performance. As musicians, they were near perfect,…
Review by Alix Cohen for Broadway World Watching Stacey Kent perform Portuguese music has got to be the next best thing to actually being in Brazil. As she exhibited last night at Birdland for two shows, Kent gets this genre perhaps…
Review by Andrew Velez (The New York City Jazz Record) Stacey Kent is a skillful and multilingual mood builder with a particular affinity for making happy things happen with Brazilian music. She begins her latest album in the mood of…