Famous Blue Raincoat "flake"

After enjoying “The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie” in The New York Times Magazine, I’m encouraged to post more, and more, and then some – even if it be just a flake of Allison Crowe’s life, or, in this instance, a flake of her most recent concert tour: http://youtu.be/vGT3HRWKjF4

      

John Jeremiah Sullivan’s NYT mag essay tracking early blues recording artists L.V. Thomas and Lillie Mae ‘Geetchie’ Wiley and cultural field-worker Robert “Mack” McCormick is a reminder that we enrich the world by sharing: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/13/magazine/blues.html 

 

Here from beautiful Lindenpark Potsdam, Germany (and a decidedly off-kilter camera-style), is the opening of Allison Crowe’s performance of the Leonard Cohen classic “Famous Blue Raincoat”.

 

For a full recording of this song seek out “Famous Blue Raincoat - Allison Crowe - Teatro del Sale, Florence – live” @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or2iHTA9X9A Two different verasions – solo and choral – are heard on her “Heavy Graces” album @ http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/heavy-graces 

My Funny Valentine

On her most recent European tour, Allison Crowe's concert venues included several classic jazz joints.

 

Crowe, who started playing piano at age five, first sang publicly around that same time - belting out the Jazz Era-hit "Ja-Da Ja-Da (Jing Jing Jing)".

 

Making music her life full-time since age 16, the artist, now 32, is one of the great singers and musicians in popular music on-stage and on record this century. While she's known as a singular writer and performer of rock, folk, pop, Newfoundland, Celtic, and other sounds - her roots in jazz go deep, and she now includes some favourite standards in her many-hued repertoire.

Here, at Germany's Jazzhaus Freiburg, Allison Crowe sings Rogers & Hart's "My Funny Valentine" - accompanied by the always delightful Billie Woods on guitar.

 

Discerning culture blog Muruch says: “I never thought anyone could match, let alone surpass, the great Etta James on this song, but Allison’s gut-busting high notes take the melody to a whole 'nother level…”

http://www.muruch.com/2014/06/allison-crowe-my-funny-valentine-live-video.html

Allison Crowe video from Europe tour

In an courtyard tonight in Haarlem, Holland – there’s finally internet connection enough to upload a video from Allison Crowe’s “Heavy Graces” tour! Plenty more images – and, with any luck, more video – from the latest chapter in the musical story of one of the modern greats:

Musician Allison Crowe performs her song "Disease" -- before a rocking audience at Germany's Jazzhaus Freiburg on Muttertag -- Mother's Day -- 2014. This tune and Crowe's wildly impassioned performances have drawn her comparison in Europe to innovative Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky -- and the famed German singer-songwriter ("Liedermacher"), composer, author, and actor, Konstantin Wecker.

This hand-captured video is, obviously, lo-fi in sound+ -- still, it captures some of the excitement of this night -- representative of Crowe's triumphant May 2014 "Heavy Graces" tour of Germany and Italy. The Canadian artist enraptured audiences who called her back for two or three encores each night.

At Jazzhaus - Allison Crowe takes to a stage that's hosted: Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, Bill Evans, Sun Ra, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, BB King, Jimmy Cliff, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Maceo Parker, Betty Carter, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, Terry Callier, John Mayall, Spencer Davis, Nigel Kennedy und mehr greats.

Vielen dank! Grazie mille! Thank you, everyone!

Sie Liebt Dich

Super fun first show in Bernau! Amazing crowd, lovely room! Woot! (tweets Allison)

 

Bernau bei Berlin last night welcomed Allison Crowe und Billie Woods - with friends old and new in life's celebration of music and passion.

Part of Siebenklang 2014: Bernauer Musikfestspiele it's an extraordinarily well-presented, promoted, attended and received show - and so much more :)

Allison at the fleugel here in the Ausverkauft! (sold-out), beautiful, historic venue in Bernau.

Vielen dank, everyone!!! Feiern sie :) 

Following the sensational launch @ Siebenklang, here are upcoming concert dates on Allison Crowe's current "Heavy Graces" tournee:

07.05 - Frankfurt, Jazzlokal Mampf

11.05 - Freiburg, Jazzhaus

13.05 - Neunkirchen, Stummsche Reithalle

15.05 - Inning am Ammersee, Inninger Spectacel

17.05 - Florence, Circo-lo Teatro del Sale

20.05 - Münster, Hot Jazz Club

22.05 - Potsdam, Lindenpark

Full event calendar and info/links @ http://allisoncrowe.com/tour.html

Pray for Rain

Continuing with a series of some of Allison Crowe's songs that have not yet made it to video, here's "Pray For Rain", which has been a popular rock song in Crowe's repertoire for years - especially with fans in Europe.



This concert recording is from the "Live at Wood Hall" double-album/CD. Mobile recording captured by Larry Anschell of Turtle Recording. The accompanying image is by Canadian photographer Billie Woods.

Allison Crowe's seventh release, "Spiral", is out on March 17, 2010.

Pray for Rain - audio