When the British singer Barb Jungr was growing up in Manchester, she recalled on Saturday evening, the images on an album cover of “South Pacific” gave her the illusion that a tropical island was a safe, paradisiacal refuge. At…

It is now four and a half years since the 18-year partnership between pianist LAURENCE HOBGOOD and vocalist Kurt Elling came to an end. The pianist has several new projects, and will be doing dates with his trio in…

MUSIC 
THE LAURENCE HOBGOOD TRIO ★★★★ 
The Jazzlab, Brunswick 

Laurence Hobgood: Precise musical vision

Australia isn’t exactly a new destination for Laurence Hobgood. The American pianist has toured here close to a dozen times, playing in clubs and…

HOWARD REICH | OCTOBER 10, 2015

Anyone who has heard Laurence Hobgood already knows that he's one of the most accomplished jazz pianists working today.  

But the melodic urgency, tonal sheen and improvisational creativity of his art…

BY PHIL JOHNSON | SUNDAY 26 APRIL 2009

Welcome to a new piano star. Better known as the long-standing musical partner of Kurt Elling, Hobgood arrives at the top jazz table with this atmospheric album of duets with bassist…

This is 25-year-old Arianna Neikrug’s debut album, and a startling experience it can be, if you’re unprepared for it. Instead of the customary glossy full orchestra there is a piano trio, and the pianist (also arranger and producer) is…

Arianna Neikrug has compressed a lot of success into a very short number of years. The Los Angeles-born, New York-based vocalist burst into public consciousness only three years ago, making a grand entrance with her win in the 2015 Sarah…

Arianna Neikrug’s August 24, 2018 “Changes” album
debuts a singer with enormous talents, which bodes well
for the future of jazz and pop music in America.

By Danny R. Johnson – Jazz and Pop Music Critic 

LOS…

As this listener awaited the dynamic duo to start their set, an employee informed us that the Winter Jazz Club was a “listening room”, and that they wanted to keep it that way. Dimly lit, with four grounding columns…

Laurence Hobgood Trio: "Honor Thy Fathers" (Circumstantial): 

Pianist Hobgood pays homage to his "musical fathers" — including Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans and Nat King Cole — and in so doing achieves some of the finest playing of an…

HOWARD REICH | OCT 10, 2015

Pianist Laurence Hobgood will be making a significant statement in 2016.  That's when his newest recording, "Honor Thy Fathers," will be released, but Chicago listeners who crowded the Green Mill Jazz Club…