tinyways / Did Anybody Say Nina Simone?

indie, jazz, live, vocal-jazz

I have always read about unforgettable concerts. The kind of live shows that etch your heart and you will always carry with you. My dad has a bunch of them and it’s always fun to hear, although I have to say it leaves me a bit envious and with a feeling of a golden age that is now gone and I have missed. However, gems still exist nowadays and I got to see exactly this kind of live performance a few days ago. Ruth Dolores Weiss’ music is amazing, her records are superb, but nothing compares to the energy she displays in her live gigs. I have never seen an artist that gives himself in such a way. I can only wonder how she still has the energy to do it, I would have been burnt out after once or twice. I know that video won’t really relay the feeling (especially in such poor quality), but it’s the only thing left that can be displayed out in the open.

It’s possible to buy Ruth’s music (in MP3 form as well as in more classical media) on Anova Music.

Links:
Ruth’s MySpace profile
Some of NYC recordings for download
Another old post

alternative, indie, vocal-jazz

Michal Lotan – If You Wanted Me Once [MP3]
Michal Lotan – I Feel That You Need Me [MP3]
Rotem Or – Sniff [MP3]
Rotem Or – Suzzane [MP3]
lotan by ronen hirsch, taken at Hagada Hasmalit 2005 Michal Lotan
Lotan does a sweet combination between Jazz and Folk. There’s no other words that come to mind, while I am sitting here trying to describe her voice, it’s just sweet. Such a short and trivial word, but yet so accurate. If ’sweet’ was created to describe only one thing, it would be Michal’s voice.
Sweet & Soft: Michal Lotan and Rotem Or Rotem Or
If I am into the business of single-worded-tagging, then I have to tag this one as well. ‘Soft’ is the word Rotem’s music will get. This word was not created for her, and her music has much more, and much less, into it, but this is that tag of choice. I think I hear in her music what I want to hear – memories. She reminds me of the early works of Heather Nova, a personal favorite of mine during my high school days. Still when browsing my CDs, the most records I have by a single artist is R.E.M and Heather Nova, both from that time. It seems that when my listening habits widened, they swallowed my ability to really concentrate on single artist. Soft, that’s what she gets, and memories is what she wakes in me. We all find what we want in music, I find softness. We all hear what we want, I hear memories.
Links:
Michal Lotan @ Birdsong [MP3s]
Rotem Or @ MySpace
Rotem Or’s CD for download @ Hashart (scroll down a bit, Hebrew site) [MP3s]

Did Anybody Say Nina Simone? — Ruth Dolores Weiss

Sweet & Soft: Michal Lotan and Rotem Or