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Results for "Esther Berlanga-Ryan"
Herbie Hancock: One World, One Music
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
The world today is in big trouble. We might think that we have learned our lesson and opted for togetherness--after all, centuries of wars, misunderstanding, miscommunication and misinterpretation have brought nothing of value to the human race. Today we are told to frown upon our neighbors across the border; yesterday, neighbors from all over the world ...
Jeremy Pelt: A Man of Honor
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
For the younger generation of jazz musicians, those in their thirties today, the path is not always as smooth and easy as we may think it is. Nobody likes to live in anybody's shadow. Jazz is populated with giants who left their mark and those who look up to them in order to be able to ...
Dee Dee Bridgewater: Dee Dee on Billie
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
It is almost inevitable for most people to think of Billie Holiday as a wounded human being who suffered, struggled and eased her pain with drugs and song lyrics on her way to self destruction in 1959. In her greatness, Billie was as devastating and as devastated as a summer with no water. And yet her ...
Christian McBride: Getting the Inside Straight
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
If we think about it for a little while, it's possible to believe that there is something almost mystic and undeniably powerful about jazz. The way it developed through the years and its constant ignition-like energy; the creativity of those who lead the way and those who continue the journey today; the improvisation that takes over ...
Matt Cusson: Going Along
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
When Matt Cusson was barely three years old something was already starting to unfold within the little corners of his young heart. Genius usually visits early in life, and never leaves those who have been pampered by its delicate spell. It watches them grow. It teaches them how to walk, and laugh and create pure magic ...
Nicole Henry: Giving It All
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
Inspiration usually comes by surprise. Jazz vocalist Nicole Henry can tell us all about it. Sometimes we know there is a certain direction we want to go, but can't figure out what the road looks like. And for a brief, terrifying and always meaningful minute of our lives, we stand in a crossroad to nowhere, wondering ...
Aaron Akins: Thinking Love
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
Aaron Akins' music is something out of the ordinary. After all, a certain reminiscence of the voice of Nat “King" Cole wrapped up in the arms of a sophisticated Urban beat is not something heard every day. Jazz is an alive music. Its rawness leaves an open door for pure artistry to grow and ...
Lainie Cooke: Speaking to the Heart
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
When Lainie Cooke sings, the heart sinks in poetry made music; air seems to stop to avoid interrupting the flowing of such a magical, beautiful voice. She fills the barely-noticeable silence between notes with a voice that caresses the heart. Her life has been a jazz-bound adventure inspired by an early need to entertain others, landing ...
Faith Gibson: Shooting for the Big Moon
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
Jazz vocalists have struggled through the years to make room for their contributions to the art of improvisation that appear effortless. Their voices are their instrument, an instrument that has to compete with tenor saxophones, drum kits or trumpets; an instrument whose strength rests in the necessity humanity has to communicate with others. To ...
Melody Gardot: Perspective
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
Sometimes life just has the overwhelming ability to throw some rough tests your way, and a person can find oneself dealing in silence with the aching certainty of an unfinished journey, where life seems to have ended with you and with all the marvelous possibilities that used to lie before your feet. This is as far ...
