jazz2love

  New Release:  Heart Music from George Crotty Label:  Self-Released Release Date:  June 6, 2025 Artist Websites:  https://www.georgecrotty.com/trio https://georgecrotty.bandcamp.com/album/heart-music The exotic aesthetics and melodic improvisations of the George Crotty Trio coalesce aspects rooted in multiple cultures from the tingling chimes of India to the Celtic-like tones steep in chamber music and the percussive throbbing of folkloric chants, all of which are found throughout their new recording Heart Music .  Led by Canadian cellist and composer George Crotty, his collaborators John Murchison on bass and Jeremy Smith on percussion move in synchronicity with his tender strokes and brisk rosining of the strings, bowing and lobbing, gliding and cascading across the rhythmic palpitations.  The music is a scintillating elixir for the ears, traversing across a lustrous prism of genres and the music of various cultures.

  New Release:  Alegre Menina from Masha Campagne Label Name: Impetus Records Release Date: May 30, 2025 Artist Website: www.mashacampagnemusic.com San Francisco-based vocalist, songwriter and producer Masha Campagne forges a simpatico that bridges Brazilian jazz, Latin dance and soul.  Her fourth studio album Alegre Menina offers infectious renditions of compositions by Tom Jobim, Duran Dolores, Guinga, Dori Caymmi, Jorge Amada, Aldir Blanc, Caetano Veloso, João Bosco, and Denis Brean, in addition to 2 original numbers written by Campagne.  The smooth texture of her vocals make the lyrics, all in Portuguese, comfy on the palate.  Supported by 13 musicians, Campagne's energy is electrifying.  Passionate, bold and luminous, she invites her audience to enjoy the shimmying rhythms and bubbly atmosphere.  The arrangements are vignettes of Latin culture, portraying the upbeat outlook on life and the positive approach to what lies along the journey.  H...

  New Release:  Prog vs. Fusion:  A War of the Ages from Ed Palermo Big Band Label: Sky Cat Records Street Date: April 18, 2025 Website:  www.palermobigband.com The music of Ed Palermo Big Band sow elements of experimental jazz merged with cinematic sound, theatrical intensity, piercing glam rock thunder, and high octane orchestrations to produce playful genre-bending mash-ups on the band's release Prog vs. Fusion .  Palermo's innovative pollination of musical styles creates a laser light show for the ears with horns layered into multi-tiered soundscapes, electro-pop effects that infuse explosive fireworks streaking across the melodic progressions, and scores that plunge into big band jazz tremors like their revamp of "Long Distance Runaround," written by Jon Anderson of the '70s rock band Yes.  Palermo's breed of jazz rock weaves Chick Corea's melodic motifs with Frank Zappa's prog rock fervor on "Spanish G-Spot Tornado," and stokes whirlwin...

  New Release:  Catalyst from Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet & Elden Kelly Label: Cold Plunge Records Release Date:  May 16, 2025 Website: https://davesharpworldsquartet.com Catalyst is the latest release from the Dave Sharp World Quartet joined by guitarist Elden Kelly.  Together, they fuse Afro-Middle Eastern rhythms combined with traditional Eastern European flavors, Far East textures, Cuban-Brazilian twine, world rock trimmings, and modern jazz-inspired harmonies, as the group partakes in interpreting compositions by Gregg Hill, the executive producer of Cold Plunge Records. The arrangements season Hill's jazz-oriented compositions with eastern hemisphere characteristics, giving them an exotic tint and rhythmic traction in the gypsy-draped twirls.  The group interlaces classic orchestral features with various cultural dance styles, interpreted through the lens of a modern perspective.  Comprised of violinist Henrik Karapetyan, oud player Igor Houwat, ba...

Album:  Dream Artist:  Nancy Newman Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://nancynmusic.com/ Vancouver, British Columbia jazz vocalist and songwriter, Nancy Newman has the effect of a nightingale's call, enshrouding the listener in wispy plumes of tranquility.  Her 2025 release Dream is her third endeavor as a solo artist and features 9 interpretations of classic jazz standards.  Her commanding vocalese as an intoxicating storyteller sweeps across the listener's ears like a gentle breeze, warm to the touch and tender on the soul. Newman projects an intimacy with her audience in her rendering of "Moonraker," helmed by her fluid sonorous and buttressed by the soft embers of Jennifer Scott's keys and Bill Buckingham's synth, supported by the steady beats of Rene Worst's bass and Buff Allen's percussion.  It is as though Newman knows instinctually how to reach into the depths of a dreamer's reflections.   From the torchlight flickers of "Over the...

  New Release:  Reflections from Deb Bowman Label:  Mama Bama Records Release Date:  April 11, 2025 Website:  www.debbowman.com Vocalist Deb Bowman dabbles in a myriad of styles including jazz, pop, gospel, Broadway showtunes, and Latin rhythms over the course of her career performing in cabarets and musicals.  Her thoughtful approach to interpreting lyrics shows a sensitivity that brings the words to life.  Channeling her experiences as a live performer into her recording Reflections scents the songs with her essence, giving the tracks depth accented by her chic flair.  Possessing the smooth glide liken to vintage Diana Ross blended with the warmth of CeCe Gable's timbres and the clarion resonance of Jane Monheit, Bowman balances elegance with impetuousness, classic versing with inventive vocal hooks, continually illustrating an appreciation for traditional idioms while experimenting with modern enhancements.  Bowman worked closely with her...