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 …

Album Review: “Cabin 19 Fever” – Wild Card. Words: Sammy Stein.

Wild Card is a London-based jazz combo led by French guitarist Clement Regert with British drummer Sophie Alloway and Australian organist/keyboardist Andrew Noble. Formed in 2011 and with five album releases to their name, the trio is popular on the UK jazz scene and performs regularly, with residencies at prestigious venues including The 606 Club and Ronnie …

Blog interview: Courtney Pine. Words: Sammy Stein.

Courtney Pine has been part of the global music scene for decades. His constantly evolving approach to music, and jazz music, in particular, has made him an endearing and engaging musician. I have seen him perform with artists in different settings, from school halls to large fabled concert venues. Every time, Pine brings to the …

Single Review: “How Can You Sit There?” Kael Alden

Wow.  That first sung note is glorious! Such power, it made me sit up and take note that this wasn’t just any ordinary track. The song starts off with a line that’s sung so powerfully you just can’t help but want to hear more to see where it’s going.  “How can you sit there and …

Single Review: “Shadow” – Marie Keane

Marie Keane – “Shadow”  WHOAH. The funk is strong with this one.  This is Marie Keane’s lead single from her upcoming album “MNÁ”.  And you know what?  It’s INCENDIO. That’s fire in Portuguese. Why? Well, the Latin percussion with claps that ring takes you from Marie’s native Ireland to the streets of Brazil with the …

Single Review: “Know Me” – Days Of Rome

The thing I like about this song is its quirkiness, the intro makes you think it’s a soulful slow jam, but when the beat drops, it’s anything but. What do I mean?  Well at around 0:10 a trumpet comes in, and then we get treated to a scratch, straight into the drums, bass, and guitar …

Album Review: “Battle Lines” – Cable Street Collective

It’s been a strange kind of day.  I have watched the first two episodes of the new Obi Wan tv series, Stranger Things season 4 just dropped…  And Cable Street Collective sent me their album to review.  I’m blessed right now and it’s not even 9am yet.  So what did they send me?  Well, it’s …