Album Review: “Letters To George” – John Hollenbeck. Words: Sammy Stein

https://johnhollenbeck.bandcamp.com/album/letters-to-george   John Hollenbeck is a genre-fluid composer/percussionist, renowned in both the jazz and new-music worlds. He gained widespread recognition as the driving force behind the unclassifiable Claudia Quintet, and the ambitious John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, groups with roots in jazz, world music, and contemporary composition. He has earned six GRAMMY nominations and has worked …

Single Review: “Sugar Pie” – Dakota Jones

Drums! Bass! Guitar! Hammond! Horns!Loooooooord the Hammond!!!!! And the star of this song that voice. This is so soulful, I can just imagine Dakota Jones rocking up to Jimmy Fallon’s looking at The Roots, uses the Force to connect with Questlove and then him counting this off like his Afrocomb is on fire and then …

Single Review: “Married By Elvis” – Begonia

The title of this song is what got my attention. That and the Bossa nova groove, this is a pretty sweet track, acoustic guitar over a latin groove, the claves haven’t gone unnoticed by the way, and Begonia’s vocals are gorgeous on this, very soulful and playful at the same time. This song is about …

Single Review: “Into The Groove” – Madonna

For me Madonna was part of the big three along with Prince and Michael Jackson. The 80s was full of their music, and everyone knew their songs, if they weren’t touring they’d be releasing music and they were iconic. They set stages around the world alight.  So, it’s weird for me to be saying Madonna …

Single Review: “Without” – Tiger Mendoza ft. Emma Hunter

This track caught my ear because of the lush string arrangement and also Emma’s strong vocal on top. She sits right in the mix. I love the lyrics:  “I am like a tree without its leaves I am like a river without its water And nothing will ever be the same…” The beat is four …