Love songs from jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald are a very good idea, especially when the tracks were previously unreleased, as is the case here. We hear Fitzgerald in the company of Count Basie and his Orchestra (”Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone”) and the London Symphony Orchestra (”Cry Me a River,” “My […]
For the first time in his seven-album career, Common has made a record that follows the same formula as its predecessor. Not a bad move considering the success of the four-time Grammy Award-nominated “Be.” Still delivering genuine rhymes, and reteaming with mentor/producer Kanye West, the Chi-town wordsmith might just be the best equipped to […]
Soulive began life in 1999 as a funk-jazz trio of considerable power and inventiveness. Even when it took partial detours into hip-hop and Hendrix, or indulged its rock-collaborative influences as the band did on 2005’s “Break Out,” the members’ feet were never far from their jazz foundations. As such, “No Place Like Soul” sounds […]
Cochran initially made a splash in 2001 with the poignant hit “Angels in Waiting,” a tribute to the two brothers she lost to cystic fibrosis. After two albums on Sony, she makes her debut on Shanachie with a compelling collection that shows off not only her heart-in-the-throat vocals, but also her skill as a […]
On his self-titled debut, 17-year-old Kingston creates a world where hip-hop, reggae and a touch of doo-wop come together for something fresh. The Jamaica-bred artist is poised to be an unlikely pop-culture phenomenon. The hit “Beautiful Girls” balances idealistic love with the perils of relationships, while “Me Love” laments an absent girlfriend with reggae-style […]
