jazz2love

Album:  Sway Artist:  Patrick Barnett Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.patrickbarnitt.com Sway , the new full length recording from vocalist Patrick Barnitt celebrates swing music with tunes from the Great American Songbook and classic pop/rock archives.  Supported by the Paul McDonald Big Band, Barnitt not only brings back memories of the swing era from the 1950's and '60s but he takes swing music into the 21st century.  Ballads like "The Truth" and "Quando Quando Quando" are canvassed in glistening keys that produce a romantic coloring.  Both tracks  feature Laura Pursell on harmony vocals whose warm timbres imbue the songs with a feminine lilt.  The shooting horns in "The Truth" garnish the tune in fiery trimmings splayed along elegant swells.  The silky strings lining "Quando Quando Quando" are contoured by rolls of breathy guitar silhouettes that frame Pursell and Barnitt's vocals snugly. The record features an original co...

Album:  Brasil Artist:  Scott Wilkie Label:  Beach Music Studios Website:  https://scottwilkie.com Keyboardist Scott Wilkie and his crew, consisting of Jimmy Haslip on electric bass, Kleber Jorge on guitar and vocals, and Jeff Olson on drums and shakers, craft flattering interpretations of a handful of traditional Brazilian songs on his latest CD Brasil .  Recorded in two and a half days, the recording is produced by Wilkie with Haslip serving as the associate producer.  Wherever the musicians take their interpretations, one common factor shared in each track is that the music is fluid and elevating, making for a collection that has mass appeal and demonstrates the musicians keen rapport. The romantic lure inherent in Latin-imbued rhythms is well pronounced in the flowing instrumentation of "Aindo Lembro," enhanced by intervals of  twinkling notes in Wilkie's piano keys.  Meanwhile, the dance rhythm propelling "Mais Que Nada" is festooned in c...

Album:  Tiny Lights Artist:  Romain Collin Label:  XM Records Website:  www.romaincollin.com Keyboardist Romain Collin produces cinematic-size soundscapes on his latest release Tiny Lights from XM Records.  Track after track demonstrates his skills as a master creator and artistic manipulator of soundwaves.  Fusing power rock style guitar riffs with expressive jazz piano improvisations and electro-pop laden soundscapes, Collin's synthesis of diverse types of music comes together into a cohesive collective of eloquent phrasing and humanistic expressions. The dialogue transposed between the synth-textured notes and pumping beats in "Overflow" give the track an electro-pop-rock vibe, shifting to a haunting tone in "There Will Be Blood" as the heavy timbre notes loop into one another.  The psychedelic rock tremors of "Follow" form kaleidoscopic beams, putting the soundscapes in a state of flux.  Moving on, "Reprise" paints dramatic streaks i...

Album:  Conspiracy Artist:  Rich Willey's Boptism Funk Band Label:  Wise Cat Records Website: www.boptism.com/conspiracy Big Band music with a tinge of R&B blended into the mixture, Rich Willey's Boptism Funk Band makes jolly good music on their new CD Conspiracy .  Track after track is layered in throbbing drumbeats, rotating guitar chords, and a variety of traipsing adventures paved by the medley of horns, which give the compositions multifaceted traits. Bobby Floyd's moaning Hammond B3 organ drives squiggling lines across "Clip Clop Mogul," which alternate with the bevy of horns scrolling a cluster of wiggling motions in a random fashion.  The jazz funk flapping produced by the musicians elevate the listener to that jolly place where the band wants their audiene to be.  Keeping up the merriment is the bopping toots of the horns piping "Adrenaline Rush," fringed in a tooling of twizzling guitar riffs from Dave Stryker. The sunny tone of the h...

Album: A Walk In The Woods Artist: Terrence Wintersmith Label: Addictive 2 Music Website:  https://terrencewintersmith.com Exotic and sensual, Terrence Wintersmith's compositions on his latest CD A Walk in the Woods are expressive and beautifully crafted.  With all songs written and produced by Wintersmith, the recording wafts of harmonious interludes and relaxing swells.  There are eighteen musicians featured on this debut collection of original jazz compositions by Wintersmith. Included are guest performances by legendary jazz drummer Chester Thompson, Brazilian guitarist Marcel Camargo, and Dave Matthews Band saxophone player, Jeff Coffin.  Marcel Camargo's storytelling-like guitar strings trot along "I'm Always Dreaming,'" whispering sweetly in the listener's ear while perched on the gentle kneading of Eivind Opsvik's bass and Brian Griffin's subdued rhythmic beats.  The sensual curves of Jeff Coffin's saxophone infuse junctures of soar...