Out of 78 Awards to be handed out, Adele took home most at this year’s Grammys, winning six out of six nominations. Not the least, the categories in which she won: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best (Short Form) Music Video. Foo Fighters came in second scooping 5. Amy Winehouse was also awarded, winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, for her duet with Tony Bennett.
Performances came courtesy of Katy Perry, Jennifer Hudson, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna – solo and with Coldplay, David Guetta, Chris Brown, Sir Paul McCartney, the reunited Beach Boys – teaming up with Maroon 5 and Foster the People, Taylor Swift, Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen, Foo Fighters, and Adele. Tension was running high as this was Adele’s return since her surgery. Initially she intended to save her come back performance for the BRIT Awards later this month. But after her performance at the Brits 2011, record sales and popularity reached incredible status. Thus Grammy night could not be skipped. The audience really digged the impeccable performance, showering everyone’s fave singer with a standing ovation.
Well done girlie!
Category Jazz
Re:generated
The first new Doors track of the 21st century may turn out to be an odd combination. The remaining members recorded a new song with popular DJ/producer Skrillex (Sonny Moore). The recording session and its music are part of a new documentary film, RE:GENERATION. The project brings together five popular DJs/producers to work with artists from five different genres of music. Pretty Lights teamed up with country stars Leann Rimes and Ralph Stanley, The Crystal Method worked with Soul sensation Martha Reeves, DJ Premier produced a song for Nas and the Berklee School of Music Orchestra, and members of the Dap Kings got together with Mark Ronson, Erykah Badu and Trombone Shorty on a jazz song. Catch a glimpse of the results in the world premiere of the trailer.
Jef Neve shines on Synrise
Belgian radio station Studio Brussels regularly has artists drop by and strip down or play in unusual collaborations. Last week they invited Jazz pianist Jef Neve to play his rendition of electro-punk band Goose’s song Synrise. Goose formed at the beginning of the millennium and took part in Humo’s Rock Rally in 2002, allowing them to record their debut album Bring It On a year later. Synrise is the title track to their second album, released end of 2010. Neve never shys from letting jazz meet pop. This piece showcase the piano virtuoso’s talent. Sit through the clip and feel the energy build.
Sofie & So Four
Last Thursday singer Sofie joined a few friends for jazzy jam session. In an intimate setting they brought classics such as Wonderful World and Bluesette. Highlights of the evening included Billie Holiday’s God Bless The Child and the encore You’ve Changed. Coming Friday Sofie is opening for Toots (Thielemans) in Leuven, Belgium.
Sofie (Verbruggen) is what you would call one of those powerhouse vocals, comparable to Tina Turner or Taylor Dayne. She started out as a member of disco-band Trinity. Going solo she scored her first hit in 1982 with the beautiful ballad I Love You. It wasn’t until ’93 when Sofie got her band So Four together, that she repeated that success with the albums So Far So Good and especially Love Loops (1995). The latter included a duet with Bobby Womack, a powerful rendition of I Wanna Know What Love Is and the groovy Play It Cool. Take a listen here to some of her material recorded over the years.
audioaudacity 