jazz2love

CD:  Awakening Artist:  Gary Dean Smith Project Label:  MFRecordz Website:  https://www.gdspmusic.com/ Groove-oriented, the music of the Gary Dean Smith Project elevates and ligthens up the darkest of moods.  The quintet's latest release Awakening is purely feel good music.   From the dance-funk swivels of Jeff Lorber's keys augmented by the vaunting pumps of Jimmy Haslip's bass in "Lucky" to the smooth scoring of Gary Dean Smith's guitar chords crimping "This Yearning," GDSP takes their cues from an innate sense of rhythm liken to the R&B masters before them. "Lenny's Lament" is an easy listening tune with the soft tremors of Donald Young's trumpet alternating with the buoyant bubbles of Smith's guitar notes. Moving in a seamless flow, the music has a contemporary glint. The earthy texture in Mer Sal's vocals are robust, suspended above the syncopated thrusts of Steve Fitzgerald's drums and silhouette in the j...

News Release from www.outreach.navy.mil and Facebook.com/NavyOutreach NAVY BAND COMMODORES PRESENT EDUCATIONAL WEBCAST “JAZZ ORIGINS” U.S. Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble “Jazz Origins,” an interactive educational webcast Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at 1 p.m. EST Live-streamed from Defense Media Activity in Fort Meade, Md. The United States Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble presents "Jazz Origins," episode two of the Navy Band’s “Origins” series. A jazz combo will explore Ragtime, Harlem Stride, Blues, Second Line, Dixieland and other musical styles that led to the formation of jazz, the great American art form. The live webcast will take place Tuesday, Jan.22, 2019, at 1 p.m. EST and can be viewed at https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/17594 The webcast will be archived at the same link for those unable to watch live.      Jazz is America’s music and the U.S. Navy Band Commodores, the Navy’s premier jazz ensemble, have been performing the very best of big ban...

Album:  Yazz Band Artist:  Greg Yasinitsky Label:  Yazz Recordings Website:  www.gregyasinitsky.com                 www.karigaffney.com The big band orchestra led by saxophonist Greg Yasinitsky celebrates the art of composing original works by employing the tools of bebop, blues, swing, and harmonic forms that make the assembly of horns blaze during poignant intervals.  Yasinitsky's latest effort Yazz Band features him accompanied by his orchestra.  Inside the recording, the musicians exhibit the exuberance of free-thinking players; yet, the tracks are much more refined than an ad-hoc jam session.  The collection is an example of American jazz, showing influences that marked decades of jazz from the 1930's to the 21st century.   For listeners who have experienced the music of big bands from previous decades, Yasinitsky's compositions will evoke those fond memories, p...

Album:  Intimate Journey Artist:  Michael C. Lewis Label: Cybervision websites:  www.michaelclewis.com                  www.karigaffney.com Creamy jazz isn't technically a genre on the music spectrum but listeners know it when they hear it, and it is indisputable that trumpet player/vocalist Michael C. Lewis has made a mold for it on his sophomore offering Intimate Journey .  A fusion of soul, soft funk, R&B, adult contemporary pop, and cool jazz, the recording finds diversity in the simple pleasure of staying within the confines of its single mission.  A mission to make music that soothes the soul, caresses the body's rattled nerves, and relaxes the overactive mind. The music is richer than the style of smooth jazz that is heard over the intercoms of coffee houses, shopping malls, casino rooms, or cabarets.  It is music that is conducive to intimate moments, being alone with a spe...

Album:  Say It Artist:  John Proulx Label:  Artist Share Website:  www.johnproulx.com   Say It , the 4th CD from pianist/vocalist John Proulx, is fraught with cool jazz tunes and easy listening brews.  From the bopping groove blues steering "I Don't Worry about a Thing" to the classic pop propulsion towing "Both Sides Now," the recording straps listeners in and takes them for an uplifting ride. The smooth jazz musings of Larry Koone's guitar strings saunter leisurely along the title track, putting listeners in a relaxing state of mind as Proulx's vocals elevate the track to a heavenly lilt. The peppy cantor in Proulx's vocals gives "Scatsville" a catchy dance beat that subsides along "Something To Live For," paddling along with ruminating strokes.  The candlelight ambience of "Stained Glass" highlights the vocal harmonies of Proulx and Melissa Manchester, penetrating audiences with their clarion sound. The delicate...

Album:  Love's Tango Artist:  June Bisantz & Alexander Nakhimovsky Label:  EH2U Websites:  https://www.junebisantz.com                   http://alexnakhimovsky.com Love's Tango' s repertoire is comprised of original jazz-inspired, Latin-induced melodies co-written by June Bisantz and Alexander Nakhimovsky.  From silky bossa nova arias to jamboree-style sambas, a compelling tango, and a steamy Rachmaninoff-influenced prelude, the recording revels in the joys of life, finding pleasure in the simple luxury of being surrounded by upbeat music. The romantic lure of the swirling strings woven swiftly along "Prelude To a Wish" is the recording's moment to pay homage to the classical composer Rachmaninoff.  Performed by Brunilda Myftaraj on violin, Lu San on viola and Kathy Schiano on cello, the tune is a garden bed of delightful sprigs, glimmering with an elegance that piques the ...

Album:  The Lonely Sailor Artist:  James Fernando Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.jamesfernando.com Pianist James Fernando tells a personal story on his solo debut recording The Lonely Sailor .  As listeners course through the recording, they discover a lone artist who embarks on a journey of personal growth.  At the start, the tracks illuminate melodic passages that are purely acoustic.  However, as the tracks progress, the music turns more sci-fi-like and electronically textured, exploring unknown territory as the subject of the story searches for what Fernando tells in the liner notes "for a better place." Starting off the recording, the title track and "Untold" are composed chiefly of classical paradigms and dramatic surges as though taken from the notebooks of such romantic pianists as Johannes Brahms or Franz Schubert. Moving on, "The Journey Within" is a macabre piece interceded by sprinkles of trickling notes propped by a noir landscape....

Album:  Self-Titled Artist:  Glen Boldman & The Philadelphia 5 Label:  Self-Released Website: http://glenboldman.com/ With a spoonful of blues and several dollops of groove-driven cycling, percussionist Ben Goldman leads his band The Philadelphia 5 on their self-titled debut release.  From the jaunty beats of"The Slizzard" to the languid serenade of "December 2017," Goldman and crew take audiences on a cruise through moods that compliment the listener's lifestyle.  The carefree prancing in the grooves of the former track shares traits with tribal-infused motifs, shifting to the smooth and relaxed tremors of the latter as Goldman demonstrates his aptitude to adapt to different mood swings, illustrating opposite facets of the human condition. A showroom of glittering tunage, the arrangement for "The Hip Dip" shines light on each individual member of Goldman's band.  The scintillating sounds of Ian Kurlan's solo on the vibraphone gives th...

Album:  Diversity Artist: Zlatko Kaučič Label:  Not Two Records Website:  http://www.kaucic-zk.si/discography.htm Pure, unadulterated self-expression is channeled into a stream of impromptu notes and improvised chord sequences on Diversity , a 5-CD compilation from percussionist Zlatko Kaučič.  Collaborating with Kaučič on the recording are Agustí Fernandez on piano, Evan Parker on tenor saxophone, Rafal Mazur on acoustic bass, Lotte Anker on tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, Johannes Bauer on trombone, and vocalist Phil Minton.  The material on the CD's was recorded at several jazz festivals from 2012 to 2016, providing audiences with an aural portrait of Kaučič's musical journey during this phase of his life. Known for his nonconformist tendencies when composing music, Kaučič invites his team of musicians to play from impulse, expressing their thoughts and emotions in their music, treating their instruments like a paintbrush that channels their individ...