CD Reviews
Speaking to trumpet player and Manager Peter W. Kehl last February, the good news after the band’s super show at Bonn Harmonie was that a new Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado disc was on its way. The bad news, that it wasn’t going to hit the shops/internet until much, much later in the year. Recorded at Viktoria studios Copenhagen between January and October, ‘Come On In’ has indeed been a long time coming – but well worth the wait.
Sometime in the ’70’s I found myself at a local Folk Club in Portsmouth sitting next to a man in dusty clothes with a battered suitcase and even more battered hat who looked like he’d come in out of the rain. I didn’t think he would be sitting in the lounge bar long once the concert had started but I was wrong. He stayed for all the floor-spots and the guest stars appearance too. He only stood up when the star guest was announced – at which point he opened that battered case, took out an even more battered guitar, and proceeded to blow us all away with his songs and guitar playing.
Now, I’m not at all sure why anyone would try and sell new versions of some of the best Rock and Roll songs ever put down on plastic. But if anyone is going to be that crazy, then it might as well be someone that is doing it for the fun rather than the money. In which case, Mr Mike Zito gets away with the ‘blasphemy’ of re-playing already perfect Rock n Roll songs with perfection on his new release A Tribute To Chuck Berry
Stéphane Avellaneda will be familiar to many readers. I remember first seeing him as the new drummer behind Ana Popovic some years ago now. My thoughts then were that he was a rock drummer and that he was LOUD too!. After a couple of shows though, it became apparent that Stéphane could also play subtle accompaniments too, and was a man always ready to experiment a little with the sound. Of course, within the confines of the Ana Popovic Band, it was the lady in charge who dictated the shots. Fair enough, it’s her band and her songs. Fast forward to 2019, and with Ana Popovic now ripping it up a storm Stateside for much of the year with her band, Stéphane has taken the opportunity to team up with French vocalist/flautist Rachel Ombredane to make an intriguing debut disc via Kickstarter donations. The result is a duo named RosaWay and an excellent Jazz/Synthpop EP named ‘Stranger’
The last French rock band to catch my ears was Shakin’ Street in the late 70’s. It’s been a while then, but here are Rosedale to get me musically excited by a band from Francaise once again. A band also led by a fiery young lady on vocals it should be noted. Their second disc ‘Wide Awake’ is just out, and its excellence makes me hope that the band will be coming Bonn’s way next year.
“Music is known to make you feel a little bit better” sings Marion Lenfant-Preus on ‘Till a quarter to three’. That is certainly true of the Marion & Sobo Band with their new release ‘Esprit Manouche, recorded right here in Bonn. This is very definitely a Band affair, featuring timeless songs impeccably sung, played by talented musicians and painstakingly produced. Don’t worry about dipping your toes in the perhaps uncharted musical waters of Gypsy Jazz – you will certainly be glad you got your feet wet after hearing Esprit Manouche (Gypsy Spirit)!
As you can see above, the new CD by Layla Zoe has a stunning cover (shot by Jacques Clérin). Having heard whats on the two silver discs inside, I can safely say that the contents are equally stunning. If there’s any justice, then ‘Gemini’ (released on October 5), should put Layla up there with the very best Blues/Rock vocalists of this, or any other Age, for that matter. Gemini, the sign of the twins, is fittingly a double pack. One disc acoustic, and one very much electric (we’re into Led Zeppelin territory here at times). Whilst it is very much Layla’s album, Bonn guitarist Jan Laacks shines too on here, and this disc was also produced right here in Bonn.
In 2013 a new young band entered Bonn’s Jazz Tube competition. In the following year, the Jin Jim quartet triumphed over a field of nearly 200 entrants to win the „Future Sounds“ competition at the Leverkusener Jazztage festival. At the Baltic Jazz Festival in 2017 Jin Jim received standing ovations and a contract from the the ACT Jazz label, who are Committed to promoting new bands with great potential. The result is ‘Weisse Schatten‘.
