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Jazz Articles about Melanie Scholtz
Melanie Scholtz: Seven
by Dan Bilawsky
Seven years is both an eternity and the blink of an eye. Enough of a stretch for individual circumstances to turn on countless dimes, it's also just a brief moment in the sea of existence and the greater, grander scheme. Seven is life itself...yet it's also one of its component cycles. South African-born vocalist Melanie Scholtz is well aware of these contradictions and truths, and, more importantly, the spiritual charge, gifts toward personal growth, well-placed challenges and overall wonder embedded ...
Continue ReadingMelanie Scholtz & Jo Skaansar: Kindred
by Dan Bilawsky
It only takes a few seconds to recognize the strong musical bonds linking South African-born, New York-based vocalist Melanie Scholtz and Norwegian bassist Jo Skaansar. Having worked together for years, these two tend to operate on a higher plane. That's been made perfectly clear on stages throughout the world and with Skaansar's appearances on Scholtz's Connected (Loudberry, 2010) and Living Standards (Loudberry, 2010), and it's equally apparent on this spellbinding duo EP. Opening on “I'm Old Fashioned," ...
Continue ReadingMelanie Scholtz: Zillion Miles
by Seton Hawkins
On her debut album, Zillion Miles, vocalist Melanie Scholtz spends a great deal of time demonstrating her chops in multiple genres--deliberately avoiding classification in any sort of mold. It's a daunting style of album to make, though several other South African jazz musicians have been doing it lately, notably Gloria Bosman and Concord Nkabinde. Like these musicians, Scholtz's effort results in some transcendent moments as well as some rough and inconsistent moments, but overall a successful album and an enjoyable ...
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