Results for "Kendrick Lamar"

Kendrick Lamar

Lift Every Voice And Sing: Twenty #BlackLives Albums That Matter

By CHRIS MAY

Jazz has been inextricably linked with social and political protest since at least the late 1930s, when Billie Holiday made famous the leftist songwriter and poet Abel Meeropol's “Strange Fruit." The song, which has a power to move that is undiminished by familiarity, likens the bodies of lynched African Americans to fruit hanging in trees.

Thundercat: It Is What It Is

By JOHN BRICKER

If you're looking for some dreamy neo-soul and jazz fusion with a charming sense of humor, no one can satisfy you like Thundercat. Released on April 3, his fourth studio album, It Is What It Is, demonstrates his seemingly limitless confidence and charm as a singer, songwriter and bassist, delivering a solid crop of gorgeous and ...

David Sanborn: The Curtain Rises on Sanborn Sessions

By JIM WORSLEY

Listed alphabetically, as opposed to first, second, and third place, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, and David Sanborn are as good as it gets when discussing the best and most influential alto saxophone players of all-time. Now before you say what about Phil Woods or Kenny Garrett or any number of others, let me qualify that this ...

Jazz, Zen, and Hip-Hop: The 2019 Montreal Jazz Festival

By MATT HOOKE

Exploring the grounds of the Montreal Jazz Festival is like going to all you can eat Las Vegas buffet. “Look over there at table four; there's Dixieland. Wait at table six, there's Latin jazz, supposedly the main table as a new head chef, let's go there." You can stuff yourself by going ...

Take Five with Statik Link

By JOSH ANDRES

About Statik Link Hello, all! I'm Statik Link. I'm a jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop musician and producer originally from Toledo, OH and now live in jny: New York City. I'm a teacher, multi-instrumentalist, and music connoisseur. Here is a little more about me from my bio.... Hailing from the Midwest, Statik ...

Take Five with Black Tie Brass

By RYAN MCNULTY

About Black Tie Brass: Black Tie Brass is a horn driven jazz funk band. Lead by Ryan McNulty, most of the band met at college in New York and have been playing together since 2008 and formed BTB is 2013. We released our first self-titled album after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. We ...

Swarvy: Anti-Anxiety

By JOHN BRICKER

Swarvy's Anti-Anxiety is a lo-fi jazz rap album that showcases talented indie rappers and packs plenty of fascinating instrumental ideas into its short runtime, despite a few underdeveloped and derivative tracks. Mark Sweeny, also known as Swarvy, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer from Philadelphia. He now contributes to the Los Angeles music scene ...

Flow Festival 2018

By ANTHONY SHAW

Flow Festival Helsinki, Finland August 10-12, 2018 Once the fizz and thud of a modern outdoor festival fades, in my case behind numerous trees and double glazing 1½ miles away, one wonders how much art has been expended with such a concentration of energy put out. Flow Festival, based in the steampunk ...

Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference

By PHIL BARNES

Being lauded as the “saviour of jazz" would weigh heavy on the shoulders of any young artist, even one so confident as to release a 170 minute treble CD as their 2015 debut. Yet Kamasi Washington pulled it off on the appropriately titled The Epic, with its ambitious, eclectic subject matter and surface similarities to spiritual ...