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New Release: Live at Blue Llama from the David Janeway Trio

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  New Release:  Live at Blue Llama from the David Janeway Trio Label: Steeplechase Release Date: May 4, 2026 Artist Website: davidjaneway.com Label Website: steeplechase.dk Recorded live on June 15, 2024 at the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the David Janeway Trio demonstrates a collaborative engagement on their release Live at Blue Llama that is nimble, spontaneous, and lyrical.  Featuring David Janeway on piano, Robert Hurst on bass, and Billy Hart on drums, the album showcases a handful of jazz standards mixed in with a number of original compositions.   Their original work “Sweet and Lovely” draws from Latin influences in the rhythmic grooves, in addition to traces of bop in the melodic phrasing of Janeway's cantoring keys.  The trio's respond and exchange creates a dynamic dialogue.  The reflective mood of Gary Peacock's piece "Gardenia" is comfortably paced, displaying a warm interplay between Janeway's languid keys and Hurst's slo...
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New Release: Girl Talk from Jennifer Madsen

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  New Release:  Girl Talk from Jennifer Madsen Label: SingBaby Productions, LLC Release Date: June 26, 2026 Website:  https://www.jennifermadsen.com A sleek and beguiling crooner, Jennifer Madsen radiates a lively persona on her latest project Girl Talk .   Sowing big band zest with the opulence of swing, Madsen is a galvanizing storyteller, illustrating an intimacy with her audience that is entrancing.  The classic orchestration honors jazz tradition while tweaking the tunes with Madsen's own personalized touch.  Her rendition of Cy Coleman's sultry number "You Turn Me On, Baby" enlivens the romantic ambience while her nuanced vocals throb with anticipation, promising an enchanting interlude along "You and the Night and the Music," anchored by a slow burning mambo rhythm.  "Misty" accentuates her smooth, crooning vocalese, highlighting the emotional depth of the lyrics as she purrs wistfully, "Look at me / I'm as helpless as a kitten up a...
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Single Release: "It Can't Rain All The Time" from Sarah Harralson

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  Single Release:  "It Can't Rain All The Time" from Sarah Harralson Label:  Synapse Publishing & Entertainment, LLC Release Date:  April 10, 2026 Website:  https://sarahharralson.com/home Vocalist Sarah Harralson twines country, pop, blues, and soul with youthful agility and emotive phrasing.  Her single "It Can't Rain All The Time" is a calling card to her distinct style.  Her eerily reflective vocals are silhouette in rollicking keys and a moaning harmonica, carriaged by a slow, steady beat.  The chorus touts, "It can't rain all the time / all that gray up in the sky / it's just a flip side of blue / It's got to make a little room / for a new beginning to a happy ending / pretty soon we will be soaking up the sunshine / it can't rain all the time."  The single's title is extracted from a phrase made famous in the '90s film The Crow.  Harralson co-produced the song with Dale Penner (Nickelback, Loverboy), and penned th...
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New Release: Uncharted Realms from Sean Imboden Large Ensemble

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    New Release:  Uncharted Realms from Sean Imboden Large Ensemble Label:  Self-Released Release Date:  May 1, 2026 Website:  https://www.seanimboden.com/ Indianapolis-based saxophonist, composer and leader Sean Imboden returns with his 17-piece big band for his second recording with his orchestra entitled Uncharted Realms .  Their program reimagines traditional big band instrumentation with contemporary perspectives, multi-faceted improvisations, dynamic interplay, and harmonious phrasing.   Opening with "Flowing Currents," the arrangement moves steadily, seaming bulging horns that fluctuate from silky gliding to refined twirling, billowing and flaring.  The recording cruises into a melodic phrasing binding "When You Look Beyond," layering a marching cadence with blazing horns and piercing guitar patterns that transition into the serpentine curves of "Balcony," stringing tangoesque musings and a comfy rhythmic beat.  The album clo...
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Aaron Jensen: Creator of the Countermeasure Songbook

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  Audiences  are acquainted with the the Great American Songbook, the Disney Songbook, the Reader's Digest Songbook, even the SongbookPro app that categorizes collections of songs to make them easily accessible to listeners.  Now, Toronto-based indie-soul artist, composer, vocalist, and producer Aaron Jensen has established the Countermeasure Songbook, a vast collection of songs he has written, co-written, and arranged for the 12-piece Canadian-based vocal group Countermeasure, of which he is also one of the vocalists. He asserts, "Countermeasure is first and foremost, a family. We've been making music together for sixteen years. We've seen each other through good times and bad. We've lived in the same house for five weeks at a time on tour. The music I write for the group is often inspired by experiences we've shared, or by major personal life events of group members." "In effect," he describes, "this means that we sing the soundtrack of ou...
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New Release: Shifty Paradigms from Dave Slonaker

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    New Release:  Shifty Paradigms from Dave Slonaker Label:  Origin Records Release Date:  February 20, 2026 Website:  https://daveslonaker.com   Bandleader, arranger and composer Dave Slonaker presents his third recording, Shifty Paradigms , expanding on his perception of big band arrangements remaining true to tradition while exploring uncharted terrain.  He composed seven of the eight arrangements on the album, highlighting his extensive influences in the field of swing and writing for large jazz ensembles.  He opens the album with “Dash Cam,” structuring the composition to mirror the diverse flow among the instruments, moving between peaceful and bustling.  On the 1925 standard “Bye Bye Blues,” written by Fred Hamm, Dave Bennett, Bert Lown, and Chauncey Gray, Slonaker weaves a jazz waltz for baritone saxophonist, Adam Schroeder, traveling into a straight-ahead up-tempo section for Ron Stout on trumpet.  The title track is a che...
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Album Review: Guest Sessions Vol II from Countermeasure

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  Album:  Guest Sessions Vol II Artist:  Countermeasure Label:  Self-Released Release Date:  February 26, 2026 Website:  https://www.countermeasuremusic.com Guest Sessions Vol II   is the fifth studio album from 12-piece Canadian-based vocal group Countermeasure.  A cache of original works composed by Aaron Jensen, the arrangements fuse soul, R&B, smooth jazz, coffeehouse folk, choral vocals, and sonic pop into a rich blend that attracts a broad range of listeners.  Each track features one solo instrumentalist, supporting Countermeasure’s vocals, clasped in catchy hooks, soaring vocal harmonies, and personalized messages.  Each piece is tailor-made to compliment the sound and aesthetic of the guest artist.  "Half Way from Home" is spoked by Angela Schwarzkopf's floating harp strings paired with the ethereal timbres of vocalist Tara Park, drifting into the reflective musings of "My Way Back To You," featuring the soulful vocalese...
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