Last Sunday, Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators played a damn fine show at the Gentse Feesten although I think live-wise, she would benefit much more from a soulful black backing band than from a bunch of ice-cold Finns, with all respect due.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators
One of the main reasons why I’m not keen on making personal year end lists as far as music is concerned, is that most of the time, I discover the real gems months after their initial release date. A few weeks ago for example, I finally decided to check out Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators’ ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ album from 2006. The record floored me immediately: I could hardly believe that I was listening to a contemporary album! The combination of an awesome northern soul groove, ace song writing and wonderful vocals make ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ one of the best albums in recent times. The funny thing is: Willis is American-born; the Soul Investigators are Finnish! Nicole Willis used to perform with early incarnations of the Brand New Heavies and Deee-Lite before leading the NYC-based band the Repercussions in the early ‘90s. A couple of years ago, she relocated to Finland (the homeland of her husband Jimi Tenor) where ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ was released in 2005 on a tiny Finnish label. A couple of weeks ago, the album has finally been released in Europe by Rough Trade while Lights in the Attic will release the album in the States in late-July. Get it now and get down!
Last Sunday, Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators played a damn fine show at the Gentse Feesten although I think live-wise, she would benefit much more from a soulful black backing band than from a bunch of ice-cold Finns, with all respect due.
Last Sunday, Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators played a damn fine show at the Gentse Feesten although I think live-wise, she would benefit much more from a soulful black backing band than from a bunch of ice-cold Finns, with all respect due.
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Hier ook naar de Coltrane-dag geweest op Blue Note. Persoonlijk vond ik Shepp & Co. (met een geweldige Roswell Rudd) beter dan Rashied ALi, maar het kan er ook mee te maken hebben gehad dat ik niet wakker genoeg was om de lange solo's te verwerken. Zelf ook enorm genoeten van the San Francisco Jazz Collective, die blijkbaar verdeelde reacties hebben opgeroepen.
Ik kan me ook enkel aansluiten bij de vermelding van Nicole WIllis; Helaas heb ik haar moeten missen in Gent. Dan maar naar Sharon Jones in de AB
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