On December 17, 2024, Alfa Anderson died aged 78. She was singer and educator, founding member (together with her husband Eruliel Barfield) of the band “Voices of Shalom”, but was best known as the lead singer of the band Chic. She recorded with many famous musicians, among them with Luther Vandross, Lou Rawls, The B-52’s, Jaheim, Roberta Flack, The Roches, Marvin Sease, Odyssey, Doc Powell, Martha Wash, Debbie Gibson, Jennifer Holliday, Ashford and Simpson, Nat Adderley, Roy Buchanan and Dionne Warwick. In 2014, Anderson received the “Global Entertainment Media Arts (G.E.M.A.) Foundation’s Golden Mic Award”, and Citation from the City of Philadelphia for her contributions to music “Le Freak” (song by Chis) featuring Anderson on the lead vocals, was inducted into the 2015 “Grammy Hall of Fame”. In 2018, the song was added to the “National Recording Registry” by the “Library of Congress”. In 2018, Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. of Augusta, Georgia gave Anderson the Keys to the City and declared May 5 as “Alfa Anderson Day”.
Tag Archives: 2015
Quincy Jones
On November 3, 2024, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. died aged 91. He was musician (trumpet), music producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer, with career spanned over 70 years. He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by magazine “Time”.
For his work he received the following awards and honors:
- Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music (1983)
- Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Ray Charles in 1984.
- Grammy Legend Award in 1992
- Garfield High School in Seattle named a performing arts center after him.
- Quincy Jones Elementary School, located in South Central Los Angeles, is named after him.
- Humanitarian Award at the BET Awards in 2008.
- John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.
- National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama on March 2, 2011.
- Los Angeles Press Club Visionary Award in 2014.
- Honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music, London, in 2015.
- Ahmet Ertegun Award in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
- In 2021, Jones was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame as a “foundational inductee”.
- He won 28 Grammy Awards (third in the list of all-time Grammy award wins).
Quincy Jones was producer of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson (1982), the best sold album in music history (more than 51.3 million copies sold).
As leader, Quincy Jones released 40 albums.
Van Morrison: Keep Me Singing
On September 30, 2016, “Caroline” label released “Keep Me Singing”, the 36th Van Morrison studio album. It was recorded 2015 – 2016, and was produced by Van Morrison.
Personnel:
- Van Morrison – vocals, guitar, drums, piano, alto saxophone, blues harp
- Dave Keary – acoustic and electric guitar
- Johnny Scott – electric guitar
- Nigel Price – acoustic and electric guitar
- John Platania – acoustic guitar
- Paul Moore – bass
- Nicky Scott – bass
- Jez Brown – bass
- Laurence Cottle – bass, trombone
- Paul Moran – keyboards, trumpet
- Fiachra Trench – keyboards, strings arrangements
- Enda Walsh – keyboards, percussion
- Robbie Ruggiero – drums
- Liam Bradley – drums, percussion
- Paul Robinson – drums
- Neal Wilkinson – drums
- Kate St John – English horn
- Anthony Kerr – vibraphone
- Tony Fitzgibbon – fiddle
- Ange Grant, Dana Masters, Lance Ellington – backing vocals.
Track listing:
All tracks by Van Morrison.
- Let It Rhyme
- Every Time I See a River
- Keep Me Singing
- Out in the Cold Again
- Memory Lane
- The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword
- Holy Guardian Angel
- Shere Your Love with Me
- In Tiburon
- Look Beyond the Hill
- Going Down to Bangor
- Too Late
- Caledonia Swing
Christian Scott: Stretch Music
On September 18, 2015, “Ropeadope” label released “Stretch Music” (Introducing Elena Pinderhughes), the tenth Christian Scott album. It was recorded in December 2014, at “The Berklee College of Music’s”, “Shames Family Scoring Stage” in Boston, MA,
“The Parlor” in New Orleans, LA, and was produced by Chris Dunn.
Personnel:
- Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – trumpet, sirenette, reverse flugelhorn
- Braxton Cook – alto, straight alto
- Elena Pinderhughes – flute
- Corey King – trombone
- Cliff Hines – guitar
- Lawrence Fields – piano
- Kris Funn – bass
- Corey Fonville – drums, SPD-SX pad
- Joe Dyson Jr. – pan-African drums, SPD-SX
- Warren Wolf – vibraphone
Track listing:
All tracks by Christian Scott, except where noted.
- Sunrise in Beijing
- Twin
- Perspectives
- West of the West
- Liberation Over Gangsterism
- The Corner
- Of a New Cool
- Runnin 7s (For Fig Chief Donald Harrison)
- Tantric
- The Last Chieftain
- The Horizon
Oh Wonder: Same
On September 4, 2015, “Island” label released the self-titled, debut Oh Wonder album. It was recorded 2014 – 2015, and was produced by Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht.
Personnel:
- Anthony West – instrumentation, recording, mixing
- Josephine Vander Gucht – instrumentation, recording
- William Vander Gucht – saxophone
- Clifton Harrison, Miles Brett, Nerys Richards, Thomas Greed – strings
- Antony Ryan – mastering
- Casey Roarty – artwork, layout
Track listing:
All tracks by Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht.
- Livewire
- Body Gold
- Technicolour Beat
- Drive
- Lose It
- Landslide
- White Blood
- Without You
- The Rain
- Dazzle
- All We Do
- Midnight Moon
- Shark
- Heart Hope
- Plans
Enrico Rava Quartet with Gianluca Petrella: Wild Dance
On August 28, 2015., “ECM” label released “Wild Dance”, album by Enrico Rava Quartet with Gianluca Petrella (the 44th Enrico Rava album overall). It was recorded in January 2015, at “Artesuono Recording Studios” in Udine, Italy, and was produced by Manfred Eicher.
Personnel:
- Enrico Rava – trumpet
- Gianluca Petrella – trombone
- Francesco Diodati – guitar
- Gabriele Evangelista – double bass
- Enrico Morello – drums
- Stefano Amerio – engineer
- Sascha Kleis – design
- Jean–Guy Lathuilière – cover photography
- Luca D’Agostino – liner photography
Track listing:
All tracks by Enrico Rava, except where noted.
- Diva
- Space Girl
- Don’t
- Infant
- Sola
- Not Funny
- Wild Dance
- F. Express
- Cornette
- Overboard
- Happy Shades
- Monkitos
- Improvisation – Enrico Rava, Francesco Diodati, Gabriele Evangelista, Enrico Morello
- Frogs
FKA Twigs: M3LL155X
On August 13, 2015, “Young Turks” label released “M3LL155X” (pronounced “Melissa”), the third FKA Twigs (Tahliah Debrett Barnett) EP. It was recorded in 2015, and was produced by Boots, FKA Twigs and Tic.
Personnel:
- FKA Twigs – vocals, drums, keyboards, synthesizer, programming, vocal arrangements
- Jordan “Boots” Asher – percussion, drums, programming, keyboards, synthesizer, vocal arrangements
- Cy An – vocals, additional keyboards, drums, programming, edits
- Happa – additional programming
- Marco Pasquariello – additional engineering
- Mark “Spike” Stent – mixing
- David Wrench – mixing, vocal mixing
- Stuart Write – mixing
- Geoff Swan – additional mixing
- John Davis – mastering
- Matthew Stone – photography
Track listing:
All tracks by FKA Twigs, except where noted.
- Figure 8
- I’m Your Doll – FKA Twigs, Seiji, Tic
- In Time – FKA Twigs, Tic, Joel Compass
- Glass & Patron
- Mothercreep
Mac DeMarco: Another One
On August 7, 2015, “Captured Tracks” label released “Another One”, the second Mac DeMarco mini-LP. It was recorded in March 2015, at “Jizz Jazz Studios” in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, and was produced by Mac DeMarco.
Personnel:
- Mac DeMarco – all instruments, recording, mixing
- Josh Bonati – mastering
- Kiera McNally – cover art
- Yuki Kikuchi – cover art
- Stefan Marx – typography
Track listing:
- The Way You’d Love Her
- Another One
- No Other Heart
- Just to Put Me Down
- A Heart Like Hers
- I’ve Been Waiting for Her
- Without Me
- My House by the Water
Letlive: If I’m The Devil…
On June 10, 2016, “Epitaph” label released “If I’m the Devil…”, the fourth and final Letlive studio album. It was recorded 2014 – 2015, in Los Angeles, and was produced by Justin Pilbrow, Jason Aalon Butler, Jeff Sahyoun, Ryan Jay Johnson and Loniel Robinson.
Personnel:
- Jason Aalon Butler – lead vocals
- Jeff Sahyoun – guitars, keyboard, backing vocals
- Ryan Jay Johnson – bass, backing vocals
- Loniel Robinson – drums, percussion
- Carson Rick – strings
- Andrew Tholl – strings
- Paul Cartwright – strings
- Robert Allaire – strings
- Derek Stein – strings
- Cheyenne Wright – additional vocals
- Courtney Jackson – additional vocals
- Janelle Ioimo – additional vocals
- Hannah Marshall – additional vocals
- Justine Zimbron – additional vocals
- Yvonne Marder – additional vocals
- Nikki Simmons – additional vocals
- Benjamin Knapp – engineer
- Neil Baldock – engineer
- Dan Korneff – mixing, mastering
- Jason Link – layout, design
- Jonathan Weiner – photography
Track listing:
All tracks by Jason Aalon Butler, Jeff Sahyoun, Ryan Jay Johnson and Loniel Robinson.
- I’ve Learned to Love Myself
- Nü Romantics
- Good Mourning, America
- Who You Are Not
- A Weel Ago
- Foreign Cab Rides
- Reluctantly Dead
- Elephant
- Another Offensive Song
- If I’m the Devil…
- Copper Colored Quiet
China Crisis: Autumn In The Neighborhood
On June 3, 2015, China Crisis self-released “Autumn in the Neighborhood”, bands seventh album. It was recorded 2014 – 2015, at “The Lab Studio”, “Whitewood Studios”, and “LIPA” in Liverpool, “Bryn Derwen Studios” in Bethesda, Wales, “Rocket Science Studios” in Glasgow, Scotland, “Jan Kisjes Studios” in Dalfsen, Holland.
Personnel:
- Eddie Lundon – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar
- Gary Daly – vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, synths
- Brian McNeil – keyboards, programming
- Gary Gazza Johnson – bass guitar
- Thomas McConnell – acoustic guitar, bouzouki
- Colin Hinds – electric guitar
- Stuart Nisbet – guitar, pedal steel guitar
- Carl Brown – keyboards, electric guitar
- Andy Steele – synth
- Chloe Mullett – saxophone, flute, electric piano, tin whistle, arrangements
- Chris Hutchinson – bass guitar
- Chris Nicholls – bass guitar
- Sian Monaghan – drums, percussion
- Steve Barney – drums
- Kate Walker – oboe
- Moly Daly – backing vocals
- Maggie Reilly – backing vocals
- Nina Jones – backing vocals
- Laura Campbell – backing vocals
- Sophie Cooke – backing vocals
- Paul Mitchell-Davidson – brass arrangements
- Steve Parker – recording
- Carl Brown – recording
- Daniel Woodward – engineer
- David Wrench – engineer
- James Walsh – engineer
- Lance Thomas – engineer
- Rob Whiteley – engineer
- Tom Ignatius – engineer
- Mark Phythian – mixing
- Shawn Joseph – mastering
Track listing:
All tracks by Gary Daly, except where noted.
- Smile (What Kind of Love Is This)
- Down Here on Earth
- Autumn in the Neighbourhood
- Because My Heart – Gary Daly, Gary Gazza Johnson
- Bernard
- Joy and the Spark
- Being in Love – Brian McNeil, Chris Barlow, Eddie Lundon, Gary Daly, Gary Gazza Johnson
- Fool – Eddie Lundon
- My Sweet Delight
- Tell Tale Signs
- Wonderful New World
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