Vocalist Norah Jones has been impressing listeners with her soft brand of jazz since her debut, Come Away With Me. Armed with a warm and technically gifted voice, Jones continues to bring us well-written tunes with longtime collaborator Jesse Harris. Jones is back with her seventh album titled Begin Again. The seven tracks are all on the mellow side, but Jones is an expert at drawing us into her world of intrigue and mystery. Begin Again continues to show how this wonderful vocalist is still growing and searching the depths of her musical soul.
The opening sounds of the album offer a swelling keyboard sound. The drums enter and have a pop [...]
Verena McBee was born and raised in Germany, her birthname was Verena Gemsa. Her journey in music began at age 7 with piano. Her studies included the addition of flute at age 14. In 1993, she studied classical music for teaching (piano & flute) and German language and literature at the University Osnabrueck and graduated in 1997. From 2000-2006 Verena appeared as actress and vocalist in Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Cologne, Brussels, Prisdina and NYC under her maiden name. In 2004, she met her now husband Cecil McBee and moved to NYC in 2007. Verena continued her tutelage in the states with Brianna Thomas and Roberta Gambarini. Verena McBee’s first [...]
Benjamin Harrison is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer originally from Australia, his primary instrument is saxophone, but on his album Nomad, he additionally plays, ewi, piano/keyboard, synth, bass guitar and programming. Harrison has performed and toured across five continents with the Cirque du Soleil’s touring productions of Quidam, KOOZA and VOLTA. Growing up in Adelaide, Australia Harrison received a scholarship from a special-interest music school where he had the opportunity to perform and tour nationally and internationally with several multi-award-winning classical, jazz and choral ensembles. During this period, Harrison [...]
Flutist Elsa Nilsson and pianist Jon Cowherd have brought forth a culmination of their performances in a beautifully composed and performed new album, titled After Us. A richly woven tapestry of creativity taken from both musician’s disparate musical backgrounds. The two formed their duo and have been playing around New York City since 2014. The unique setting of a duo allows for the exploration of space that opens up when instruments are paired down. Such is the case on their album as co-leaders. The two beautifully explore nine original compositions which are mainly Nilsson originals coupled with two Cowherd charts.
“Same Trees” begins with [...]
