jazz2love

Album:  Wind of the Hudson Artist:  Bill O'Connell Label:  Savant Records, Inc. Website:  http://www.billoconnell.net Brimming with a potpourri of Latin flavors, Wind of the Hudson from Bill O'Connell and the Afro Caribbean Ensemble is a light-heart mixture that is placating on the ears.  From the swirling saxophone toots to the fluid whips of the percussive beats, each track is finely groomed and skillfully constructed. "Got Cha" is a cheerful arrangement, brandishing a flotilla of feathery horns and bubbly beats that turn sultry and heated as they form blazing streaks across "Transition."  Indulging in a playful exchange between the horns and conga thrusts rippling along "C Jam Blues," the nimble movements of O'Connell's piano keys inject percolating waves that enhance the jovial mood.  Infusing a dash of bluesy jazz, the leisurely amble of the horns billowing softly along "Gospel 6" produce a smooth glide across the melodic...

Album:  Somewhere There's Music Artist:  Voctave Label:  Jamey Ray Music Website:  www.voctave.com Featuring an euphoric assortment of theme songs from popular films, favorite jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, and famous sing-alongs known around the world, the 11-piece a cappella group Voctave present their latest release Somewhere There's Music , delivering each number with poise and pure elegance.  Their vocal harmonies are magnetizing, displaying a timing that is sharp and pristine charming audiences with the enthusiasm of barbershop quartets and the stunning brilliance of chorale groups. Their rendition of theme songs like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" are delightful, capturing the gleeful optimism inherent in the tunes.  The unison exhibited in the members vocals along "Moon River" ambles at a wistful pace, moving into the jumping blues rhythm of "Andrews Sisters Medley" with ease.   The medl...

Album:  Moonflower Code Artist:  Andrei Lanes Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://www.andreilanes.com/ Electronica-infused soundscapes meet experimental jazz-inspired improvisations on Andrei Lanes's new self-released recording Moonflower Code .   The sonic passages are a welcoming massage on the aural senses while they enthrall the mind.  Bright, glittering notes dazzle the listener like a kaleidoscope of hues on the opening track "Laissez-Faire," transitioning into the sci-fi imbued escapes of "Darlene."  Track after track, the listener is mesmerized by the sonic clusters whose cosmic jaunts are so finely orchestrated and choreographed that they manifest into a breathtaking landscape.  Like a Monet painting whose finely painted dots produce an eye-catching image, Lanes's use of computer generated music crafts ear-catching figments. A master at forming galactic-like silhouettes that move with the ease of ghostly figures, Lanes once a...

Album:  Life in the Modern World Artist:  Lauren White Label:  Cafe Pacific Website:  www.laurenwhitejazz.com The pretty vocals of Lauren White give a fresh take on modern standards like 1985's "In a New York Minute" and classics like 1944's "How Little We Know," written by the great songwriting team of Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer.  Her latest release Life in the Modern World recaptures several finds that she discovered while scavenging through the music archives of the 20th century and adding a handful of post millennial numbers like "Till I Get It Right," penned by Stuart Elster and Mark Winkler.   From intimate cabarets to casino lounges, White's music is sleek and tuneful with hints of jazz greats gone-by.  The airy atmosphere of "American Tune" is powdered in sparkling synth effects as the shimmering guitar chords of Grant Geissman show a flare for picturesque soundscapes, producing fluctuating shadows around White...

Album:  Crowded Heart Artist:  Judy Wexler Label:  Jewel City Jazz Website:  facebook.com/judywexler.music Vocalist Judy Wexler presents a warm and lasting rendition of 10 modern jazz compositions written by contemporary songwriters on her recording Crowded Heart.  Co-produced and arranged by Alan Pasqua, the music shines with a moonlight glow complemented by Wexler's caressing vocal strokes that brand a balmy luster in the tracks.  Her treatment of Gregory Porter's "Painted on Canvas" is gurneyed in a slow simmering beat with the lacy curls of Josh Johnson's alto sax adding depth and texture to the number.  Her interaction with the rhythmic pumps of bassist Darek Oles and drummer Steve Hass make for a smooth ride.  "Stars," written by Fred Hersch and Norma Winstone is a silky serenade that brings out Wexler's sensuous vocal inflections, which turn to a sultry purr in "Take My Breath Away," brimming with feline lure.  The storytime tone...

Album:  Skeleton Artist:  Wayne Alpern Label: Self-Released Website:  www.waynealpern.com From the fancy-free musings of the horns trotting along "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," penned by Joe Zawinul, to the smooth serenade of the horns illuminating Frank Loesser's number "I've Never Been in Love Before," composer-arranger Wayne Alpern's latest release Skeleton displays reverence for classic straight-ahead jazz idioms.  Treated with valor and esteem, Alpern's cover of popular jazz standards along with his original composition "Blue Bones" takes audiences back to the foundation of jazz. Alpern's original work "Blue Bones" may have been written a century after many of the other works on his CD but listening through the recording, no one could detect the generation gap.  The well-scripted bopping of the trombones recalls of vaudeville style minstrels that entertained and amused audiences across the globe, and so too does Alpern's...

Album: The Curtis Session Artist:  The Dover Quartet Label:  Bimperl Entertainment & Media website:  www.doverquartet.com The elevating ride that string instruments produce is taken to a new level of creativity by the Dover Quartet whose latest release The Curtis Session features compositions that the quartet composed while riffing ideas at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  Comprised of violinists Joel Link and Bryan Lee, viola player Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and cellist Camden Shaw, the Dover Quartet create four movements based on the theme of "Dreams from Life Awake."  The foursome demonstrate their ingenuity to play irregular meters while countering each other's performance, creating sonic formations that resemble a Jenga tower as each member builds on the other's notes and phrases. Like a glade of spires and valleys, abstract figures along "Dreams from life awake: I. reverberation-exploration-flow" rise and dissolve spontaneousl...

Album:  Vitality Artist:  Matt Skellenger Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.mattskellenger.com The first striking quality about bassist Matt Skellenger's music, which is quickly discerned, is the complementing textures of his music.  On his latest release Vitality , Skellenger sows together wonderfully vibrant textures from the blades of electrically infusd effects to the brassy sounds of the trumpet, the rustic whining of the pedal steel guitar, and the tribal beats of the cajon.  The listener can detect many different and distinct textures, intertwining and co-mingling, reflective of a family made up of many different personalities and natures all working in harmony. The relaxed, ambling rhythm of "Fibre" has a folksy feel in Glenn Taylor's pedal steel guitar combined with the soft billows of  Matt Reid's coronet and Adam Bartczak's trombone.  The lullaby-like strokes of Skellenger's bass produce a gentle rocking paired with Andy Skellenge...