Most artists that perform at WOMADelaide travel a long way to get there. As Cuba’s young jazz sensation Daymé Arocena told the crowd during one of her festival sets, it was a 36 hour journey for her and her band. Despite those gruelling travel distances performing artists are inevitably seen on WOMADelaide stages smiling and speaking genuinely of… Continue reading WOMADelaide 2018 – Worth The Distance
Tag: australia
Anderson Paak Living His Greatness Down Under
If Anderson Paak “spent years…living under his greatness” like he tells us in ‘The Season/Carry Me’, then he’s definitely made up for it tenfold in recent times. New testament to that is the fact that he & The Free Nationals just achieved something I’ve rarely seen done by any performing artists in Australia. Without even… Continue reading Anderson Paak Living His Greatness Down Under
Bluesfest 2017 – An Awe Inspiring Wealth of Musical Experience
Byron Bay Bluesfest is all about the music. It’s not a festival you go to find a patch of luscious green grass to chill out on and catch up with friends. For starters you’re not likely to find such grass or any other festival spaces to chill out comfortably (unless you pay hundreds extra to… Continue reading Bluesfest 2017 – An Awe Inspiring Wealth of Musical Experience
Badbadnotgood Live – Immeasurably Above and Beyond
The members of Canadian quartet Badbadnotgood are young- and give me hope for the future of music. Each has stunning instrumental chops. Five studio albums on and they keep creating fresh, innovative music seamlessly and sublimely blending jazz with hip hop and subtle elements of funk, rock, Latin and more. And I’ve just discovered from one… Continue reading Badbadnotgood Live – Immeasurably Above and Beyond
Marcus Strickland – From Twi-Life To One Life
No music artist likes the constraints of genre-boxes or external expectations. And Marcus Strickland is no exception. For over 15 years he’s been known and respected as a “jazz” saxophonist and composer – not daring to step outside that box. Until recently. With his latest creation Nihil Novi, Strickland has moved beyond the expectations of… Continue reading Marcus Strickland – From Twi-Life To One Life
Bluesfest 2016 – Embracing Contemporary Hip Hop, Soul & Jazz Of The Highest Order
Blessed be lovers of innovative contemporary hip hop, R&B, funk and jazz music for the gift of consecutive live performances by Kendrick Lamar, D’Angelo, Kamasi Washington and Hiatus Kaiyote on the one stage at Byron Bay Bluesfest 2016. If you’re one of those music lovers you’ll know that every single one of the many musicians and… Continue reading Bluesfest 2016 – Embracing Contemporary Hip Hop, Soul & Jazz Of The Highest Order
D’Angelo Live In Australia – One, Two, Three, Four
After experiencing the first three of D’Angelo’s four incredible Australian shows, I was mysteriously left feeling less than fully satisfied. It didn’t make sense when D’Angelo and The mini Vanguard touring with him had just delivered flawless, stunning performances to Melbourne, Sydney and Byron Bay Bluesfest audiences. x D’Angelo, Every Time… Continue reading D’Angelo Live In Australia – One, Two, Three, Four
De La Soul – Bringing The Fresh To Hip Hop At Soulfest 2015
De La Soul has been bringing fresh and innovative beats, rhymes, skits and emerging artists to hip hop since its “Golden Age”. If you grew up in the late 80s, 90s or thereafter if you were switched on to the evolution of hip hop, there’s a good chance De La Soul’s music makes up an integral… Continue reading De La Soul – Bringing The Fresh To Hip Hop At Soulfest 2015
The Cactus Channel and Chet Faker – Kill The Doubt
The Cactus Channel‘s unique variety of instrumental funk-soul music wouldn’t get value-add with just any ol’ artist’s singing and songwriting talents in the mix. Many contemporary vocalists (I’d say most) would probably be a misfit for the music; do it an injustice. But with their new single “Kill The Doubt” and it’s B-side “Sleeping Alone”, it is Chet Faker who the group’s… Continue reading The Cactus Channel and Chet Faker – Kill The Doubt
Kamasi Washington: The Jazz 2015 In Soulfest 2015
“Australia’s First Annual Neo Soul, Jazz & Hip Hop Festival” needs some jazz, right? The inaugural Soulfest 2014 delivered a line-up of spectacular soul and hip hop artists to Australian and New Zealand shores. Best of all it included D’Angelo & The Vanguard afresh, not long before the release of Black Messiah and they got busy playing… Continue reading Kamasi Washington: The Jazz 2015 In Soulfest 2015