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Downbeat Diplomacy for Black Musicians at International Jazz Day
During the grand finale of the third annual International Jazz Day concert—held last week in Osaka, Japan—more than 35 jazz musicians stretched across an elaborate stage in Osaka Castle Park and performed John Lennon’s 1971 anthem, “Imagine.” Most of them hailed from the U.S., but the lineup also included the South African guitarist and singer…
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10 Hot Jazz and R&B Releases to Check Out
Soul Street date: Jan. 31 One of the finest trumpeters and composers on the scene today delivers a scintillating album in which the title says it all. Not only is it soulful, but the album’s improvisational zeal, provided by saxophonist JD Allen, pianist Danny Grissett and others, is superb. Choice songs: “The Ballad of Ichabod…
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Who Ever Said Jazz Had To Be Drab?
This Grammy-winning, Mississippi-born songstress always strives for red-carpet elegance when she graces the stage. Blessed with a curvaceous figure, radiant skin and smile, Wilson channels the glamour of divas such as Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson while topping it off with a modern twist with her signature sun-kissed dreadlocks. CAPTIONS BY JOHN MURPH David Sanchez…
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Q-Tip's Return to Grace
This decade, many a rap and R&B artist, from Missy Elliott to Mya, have seen their albums stalled or put on permanent hold. But Q-Tip’s Kamaal/The Abstract has the dubious distinction of being one of the most delayed hip-hop records in the history of rap, nearly done under by seven long years of corporate hemming…
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Meshell Ndegeocello Is Back With a New Album—‘Devil’s Halo’
Fearless. Naked. Meshell Ndegeocello always seems to leave herself exposed. Her latest disc, Devil’s Halo (Downtown/Mercer) picks up where the sonic assault of her previous album (2007’s The World Made Me The Man of My Dream) left off. Again Ndegeocello eschews the R&B art-funk that distinguished her ’90s material as a gripping ménage of rock,…
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Why We Should Celebrate Woodstock
This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. Hundreds of thousands of folks journeyed to Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm to hear 32 rock acts, withstanding interminable traffic jams, monsoon-like thunderstorms, mud for days, sub-par sanitary conditions and a dwindling food supply—without resorting to anarchy. It was—as is evidenced by the…
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When Jazz Meets Hip-Hop
When it comes to integrating hip-hop and jazz, Robert Glasper has raised the bar substantially. The pianist and composer focuses on the feel of hip-hop rather than the sound, often avoiding the easy route of dressing up his music with Hip-Hop 101 guideposts—turntable wizardry, digital beats and boastful raps. His collaborations with Mos Def, Q-Tip,…
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Remembering Billie Holiday
Born Eleanora Fagan, the illegitimate child of Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, in Philadelphia. Both of her parents were still their teens when she was born. Soon after her birth, Sadie Fagan returned to Baltimore’s Fells Point to raise her child alone. Captions by John D. Murph Billie’s childhood in Baltimore was rough. She was…
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Welcome Back, Maxwell!
Two weeks after the untimely death of Michael Jackson and the embarrassing coonery that became the 2009 BET Awards, which in part gave a cringe-inducing tribute to the King of Pop, and, to a lesser degree, the demise of Vibe magazine—all of which occurred eerily during Black Music Month—the R&B world is in great need…
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M. Nahadr's Eclectic Artistry
With her alabastrine skin and magnificent mane of dreadlocks, the performance artist M. Nahadr has a presence on stage that is hard to ignore and even harder to forget. Recently featured in Elle and Maxim magazines, the Maryland native combines music, poetry and theatre to create stage pieces such as MADWOMAN: A Contemporary Opera or…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
