jazz2love

Album:  Old Friends Artist:  Mark Winkler and David Benoit Label:  Café Pacific Records Website:  http://markwinklermusic.com http://facebook.com/mark.winkler.10 Blues crooner and lyricist Mark Winkler joins his friend pianist-composer David Benoit to record a nostalgic collection of timeless jazz standards interspersed with original tunes for their latest release Old Friends .  Produced by Barbara Brighton, the recording displays the duo's melodic sensibilities and easy repartee.  Their camaraderie is natural, instinctually carrying each other through the melancholic moods and the counter cheerful ones alike. The meandering reflections portrayed in the title track, written by Paul Simon, are penetrative as Winkler's vocals nuzzle the lyrics, ruminating thoughtfully, "old friends / sat on the park bench like bookends / newspaper blown through the grass... old friends / winter companions / the old men / lost in their overcoats / waiting for the sun / the sounds of the city

Album:  The Last Train to Desolation Pass  Artist:  Nick Peck Website: http://nickpeck.com https://nickpeck.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-train-through-desolation-pass The Last Train to Desolation Pass from composer/multi-instrumentalist Nick Peck is his second offering in a series of instrumental recordings that presents a story through a juxtaposition of orchestral, folkloric, and jazz styles. Each track depicts a phase in the journey of a steam locomotive through a network of hills and valleys.  Peck may have intended for audiences to picture his motivation to compose the music but whether the listener can picture the pre-conceived images is inconsequential as the music itself is descriptive of an epic voyage.  One that transcends the images Peck intended to convey. "Prelude to Cascadia" starts off the recording with gently tweezed guitar strings performed by Peck, imbuing a flamenco palette.  The beauty emanating from the guitar strings portray a bucolic vista that whisks

Album: Geminus Artist: Kane Mathis Label Name: Nyaato Website: www.kanemathis.com/music Reveling in the ancient art of making music from the string instruments of West Africa's kora and Turkey's oud, guitarist Kane Mathis embraces these instruments breed of folk-toned dances and ballads on his latest recording Geminus .  Composing new works for both instruments, Mathis widens the field of experimental jazz with provocative sequences and enchanting passages from the strings of the kora and oud.  His recording equally opens audiences minds about what they consider to be jazz, folk, soul, adult pop, and world music, each of which Mathis's music shows traits of that audiences can discern. Jangly figures embroidered by Mathis's strings are splayed across "Kaira," purveying the image of a Turkish dance while John Hadfield's percussion and Sam Minale's bass loop around the glittery sequences.  The entanglement stirs the senses, inciting enjoyment.  Other trac

Album:  I’ll Never Be the Same Artist:  Jack Brandfield Label:  Gut Strings Records Website:  www.jackbrandfield.com Cool jazz finds another recruit in saxophonist-interpreter Jack Brandfield.  His latest release I'll Never Be the Same is a pleasing elixir on the senses with reworkings of a handful of jazz standards.  Accompanied by Randy Napoleon on guitar and Rodney Whitaker on bass, the smooth strut of Brandfield's music purveys a succor effect.  Traditional bebop idioms can be heard in his verses in addition to his impulse to improvise, presenting ear-catching trajectories along the melodic progressions. "Nobody Else But Me," a music score written by Jerome Kern, brings out Brandfield's charismatic personality as his saxophone soars with vibrant swirls and twists that keep the melody active.  The silky tresses of Brandfield's sax trotting along "Vignette" produce a merriment that leaves fond impressions on listeners, which then slows to a slumb

Album:  Day Dream Artist:  Alan Pasqua Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://alanpasqua.com A Steinway Piano artist, Alan Pasqua's music flows with the ease of rolling waters cutting a stream along a rock's edge.  The delicacy of his playing on his latest CD Day Dream can quiet squawking doves, calm a hungry mountain lion, or soothe a savage beast.   The willowy resonance of his keys will put audiences in a trance, eager to be swept up by the lulling temperament of his performance. Day Dream is an appropriate title for the idyllic movements in his phrases.  Tracks like "Old Cape Cod" and "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning/Smile" are laden with caressing strokes in Pasqua's keys, seguing into the brooding petting of the keys along "Polka Dots And Moonbeams," pervading a sense of loneliness and loss in the atmosphere.  Conversely, the twinkling notes of Pasqua's keys on "Upper Manhattan Medical Group" radiate an elation that

Album:  Connections Artist:  Steve Hunt Label:  Spice Rack Records Website:  http://stevehuntjazzpiano.com The esoteric mixture, which keyboardist-composer Steve Hunt whips up on his latest release Connections , has a multi-cultural flavor from Asian and Middle Eastern folk to western pop/rock.  Performing with an array of musicians, Hunt's creation offers listeners a panoramic listening experience, continuously moving forward and kneading new threads into the content. Hunt's meandering keys on "Carry On" are supported by the soft throbbing beats of bassist Jimmy Johnson and drummer Gary Husband as the chanting vocals of Nando Lauria infuse the track with ethereal wisps.  Dedicated to guitarist-composer Allan Holdsworth, the track has a spiritual vibe that is palpable.  Indisputably, the Asian-infused chimes opening "Now's The Time" have a playful jaunt that invites the listener along a passage filled with vignettes of frolicking horns and keys. Proceedi

Album:  Future Shock Artist:  Michael Whalen Label: Spout/MWM Website:  https://www.michaelwhalen.com Jazz fusion meets progressive rock and electronica on Michael Whalen's new release Future Shock .  Comprised of all original compositions arranged and written by Whalen, the recording sizzles, sambas, and plumes, continuously delighting listeners. The Latin facets in Bob Magnuson's flute and shehnai coruscate gracefully across "La Hermosa Noche" while laced in Whalen's spangled synth effects, filament by a samba rhythm played by bassist Tony Levin and drummer Simon Phillips.  The toasty warm atmosphere continues with Magnuson's silky saxophone twirls cruising along "Lights of Home," projecting a vibe reminiscent of Kenny G's sensual furls, as Whalen's glittering synths swaddle the melody in beads of starlight.  Displaying a flare for creating romantic moods, Whalen's arrangement  for "Morning Song" shines with a love story luste

Album:  The Mulligan Chronicles Artist:  David Larsen Label:  David Larsen Productions   Website:  http://larsenjazz.com Twentieth century saxophonist-composer-clarinet player Gerry Mulligan led a long and prolific livelihood as a professional musician.  His passing in 1996 was followed by a legacy that continues to live on through 21st century musicians like saxophonist-composer David Larsen.  Larsen's latest offering The Mulligan Chronicles is tailored to capture the breadth of Mulligan's catalog and his jazz-imbued styles, having written for Big Bands, jazz combos, film scores, and symphonies.  Joined by Dave Glenn on trombone, Bill Mays on piano, Dean Johnson on bass, and Ron Vincent on drums, Larsen stays true to Mulligan's language and phrasing. The familiar motifs of "Festive Minor" are sewn with diligence as Larsen and his bandmates tightly string along graceful steps that form an elegant dance.  Johnson's plucking on the bass strings are layered in t

Album:  Colors of Brazil Artist:  Kenney Polson Label:  Rosetta Records Website:  www.kenneypolson.com Exotic, playful and romantic, the music of saxophonist-composer-arranger Kenney Polson is entirely uplifting.  His latest release Colors of Brazil brings the merriment of Latin rhythms to audiences.  Working with a fleet of musicians that play as one, Polson makes composing, arranging and performing look easy and effortless. Polson's own contribution "Hipnotizado" seams the sparkling twinkles of Mariea Antoinette's harp tucked into the melodic crevices, adding an ethereal texture to the bubbly toots of the horns performed by Bidinho on trumpet, Paulinho Trompete on trumpet, Marcello Martins on tenor saxophone, and Vittor Santos on trombone.  Drummer Christian Oyens, bassist Nico Assumpção, and percussionist Cidinho Moreira provide a solid support in the rhythm section, boosting the festive mood.  Intensifying the party vibe, Polson's reworking of Duke Ellington&#