Fellow Canadian Bria Skonberg has been on a tear as of late. In the last year alone, she paid tribute to Aretha Franklin alongside Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, played with U2 at the legendary Apollo, sat in with the Dave Matthews Band, was a featured guest with Jon Batiste, performed as part of The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour, and sang the National Anthem at Madison … [Read more...]
BIGYUKI, Nate Smith’s KINFOLK, and Butcher Brown Perform at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival
July 2nd was a busy albeit fulfilling evening at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival, beginning with a BIGYUKI and Nate Smith + KINFOLK double-bill at the Monument National and extending to the Gesù for Butcher Brown's late-night set without the slightest opportunity for us to catch our breath in between. But this is exactly the kind of nights we've come to expect … [Read more...]
Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band’s Brand New Single “Broken Leg Days”
Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band are set to drop their fifth album, Body and Shadow, November 10th marking their 20th anniversary as a unit. Formed in 1997, the Fellowship released their Blue Note debut in 1998, but the bond among the musicians goes back even further. Brian Blade, the band’s namesake and drummer, first met pianist Jon Cowherd in 1988 while attending Loyola … [Read more...]
Introducing Nate Smith Kinfolk
Drummer extraordinaire Nate Smith is getting set to release his Postcards From Everywhere album this February 3 with his group Kinfolk. To get ready for that release, Smith has released the first single from the album, "Skipstep", and performed with Kinfolk at Winter Jazzfest. NPR recorded a brief trio show with Nate Smith on drums, Fima Ephron on bass, and Jon Cowherd on … [Read more...]
Gregoire Maret – ‘Wanted’
Taking the lead on harmonica is tricky. The instrument is prone to a chirpiness that doesn't typically sustain for a whole album. However in the right hands (and with the right lungs), it can be more than a special featured player. Grégoire Maret has often been that special featured player in assorted works, but here on his latest album on Sunnyside, Wanted, his second in front … [Read more...]