jazz2love

Album:  Looking For Light Artists:  Shiri Zorn and George Muscatello Label Name: Self-Released Website: shirizorn.com Facebook (artist page): https://www.facebook.com/shirizornvocalist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirizornband YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqGtlBdNSGUR-dDH_tYin2w Bandcamp Link: https://shirizorn.bandcamp.com/album/into-another-land Looking for the Light is the second offering from Israeli-born vocalist Shiri Zorn, accompanied by guitarist George Muscatello and Brazilian percussionist Mauricio Zottarelli.  The effort is a sequel to Zorn's debut album Into Another Land .   Both albums share a penchant for warm aesthetics and a luxurious sonic landscape, bringing together various musical cultures from American torchsong to Latin smooth swing and Middle Eastern folklore.  The trio is a congregation of voice, guitar, and percussion, rising to the level of an inviting global luau or scintillating fiesta. The Latin trimmings of "Nothi...

Album:  The Silent Wish Artist:  Michelle Nicolle Label:  Self-Released Website:  Michellenicolle.com Facebook.com/jazzsingeraustralia IG: @michellenicollejazz Bandcamp: https://michellenicolle.bandcamp.com/ Relishing a career as a vocalist-composer that has spanned more than 30 years singing with a multi-piece band, Australian based performer Michelle Nicolle strove to leap into unknown vocal territory with her recording The Silent Wish .  Backed by Southern Californian native, guitarist Larry Koonse, Nicolle found the inspiration she was looking for, performing eight standards plus one song from a New Zealand pop band, and one song penned by Nicolle.   The recording is her 11th release and her first release in the USA.  The warm intimacy she emotes in her delivery, the tenderness she applies to the lyrics, the nuanced layers of her timbres, the depth of her vocal inflections all demonstrate her talent and charisma to breathe life into a song. The sou...

Album:  Self-Titled Artist:  Woodsliders Collective Label:  Self-Released Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/woodsiderscollective Website:  https://woodsiderscollective.com/#ABOUT Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@woodsiderscollective7810 Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/3GWsbX6rA41kjhrhCP0Wqx Based in New York City's Woodside, Queens neighborhood, the Woodsiders Collective is a collaboration of saxophonist Luis Sigüenza from Ecuador, trombonist Justus Heher from Germany, pianist Andrew McGowan from New Orleans, Louisiana, guitarist Yuto Kanazawa from Japan, and Russian/Belgian drummer Ilya Dynov.  Together, the quintet takes harmonious aesthetics and melodic sensibilities, relatable to icons like Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and John Coltrane, to the next level of adult contemporary jazz.   Their self-titled recording from 2021 shows a flare for straight-ahead jazz improvising and cool Bohemian jazz stylizing, propagating a r...

Album:  Dream With Me Artist:  Naama Gheber Label:  La Reserve Records Website:  https://www.naamasings.com/ Endowed with a vocal depth reminiscent of CeCe Gable enhanced by a smooth vocalese reflective of Donna Singer topped in a sprightly youthfulness recalling of Fleur Seule, vocalist Naama Gheber's talent is vast and multi-layered.  She demonstrates an unwavering command of nuancing her phrasing with impromptu punctuation and interpolating poignant inflections, spiking the tracks on her latest recording Dream With Me with a liveliness that compels the listener's attention and holds each one spellbound. From the rhapsodic scatting she unleashes across "Weaver of Dreams" to the dulcet vocal swells wistfully ruminating through "Street of Dreams," Gheber keeps her audience enthralled.  Her focus to detail and staying true to the traditional swing ethos is applaudable.  Her talent to hold the listener magnetized makes her an alluring songstress, as her ...

Album:  New York Now & Then Artist:  Omer Avital Websites:  https://www.omeravital.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/omeravitalmusic https://music.apple.com/us/artist/omer-avital/7423061 Swing jazz through the ages can be discerned in bassist-leader Omer Avital's 2025 contribution New York Now & Then .  Spirited and fluent in the language of cabaret blues, the music recharges the soul with an uplifting trajectory and animated musings that are aesthetically pleasing to the ear.  Joined by Edo Gur on trumpet and flugelhorn, Yonathan Guedj on alto saxophone, Alexander Levin on tenor saxophone, Evan Amoroso on trombone, and alternating Eviatar Slivnik and Itay Morchi on drums, Avital leads the sextet, with himself on bass, into an assortment of energetic romps, cozy strides and reflective ballads.  Clutching the idyllic idioms of tradtional swing and incorporating modern jazz sensibilities, Avital blends the past with the p...

Album:   Hidden Gems Artist:   Brent Laidler Label:   BEL Records LLC Website: https://brentlaidler.com/ https://www.facebook.com/BrentLaidlerMusic/ https://brentlaidler.bandcamp.com/album/hidden-gems   Hidden Gems  is the third project from composer-arranger-guitarist-bandleader Brent Laidler and features arrangements inspired by such jazz luminaries as Dave Brubeck and Cannonball Adderly.  Some listeners will consider the compositions as contrafacts, creating improvisations based on original material.  And some listeners will consider Laidler's works as completely original, being adaptations of original works with new melodies and new chord reharmonizations.  However people wish to view Laidler's material, there is no denying that the compositions are easy on the ears, promoting sleek improvisations and harmonious collaborations among his sextet. Accompanying Laidler in his adventure are Mark Buselli on trumpet, Ned Boyd on saxophone a...