jazz2love

Jazz Congress 2020 January 14, 2020 @ Jazz at Lincoln Center Broadway @ 60th  Street, Manhattan, New York Improv segment at the Appel Room featuring guitarists (from left to right):  Russell Malone , Kevin Eubanks , Mark Whitfield , and Nir Felder

Album:  Kayleidoscope Artist:  Kaylé Brecher Label:  Penchant Four Music Website:  www.brecherjazz.com Part spicy, part sublime, and part exotic sounding, singer-songwriter Kaylé Brecher displays the many facets of her vocals on her 8th release Kayleidoscope from Penchant Four Music label.  A collection of classic pop standards and original tunes, the release gives Brecher a platform to enchant audiences with bursts of scatting, an art form that is rarely exercised.  Accompanying Brecher on the recording are a variety of musicians who contour her vocals, bringing out the firm grip that her timbres have on the lyrics. The elegant inflections in her vocals create an amorous mood in "Something About You" as she whirls into a salsa rhythm, nuzzling the lyrics while she calls out, "There's something about you / Something that puts the magic in a song / You are the colors of the sunset... You are love and you are grace / And you are everything that i...

Album:  The Sphinx Artist:  Jonathan Ng Label:  Self-Released Website:  http://jonathanngmusic.com Old-time ragtime and swing are coalesced with contemporary jazz trimmings on violinist-vocalist-bandleader Jonathan Ng's new CD The Sphinx .  Fun and refined, the music is laden in the jaunty beats of drummer Josh Collazo and upright bassist Seth Ford-Young, and fringed in the perky swivels and swirls of Ng's violin and Albert Alva's tenor saxophone.  Their melodic patterns are augmented by a spritz of Chris Dawson's bubbly piano keys and Luca Pino's breezy guitar chords.  Comprised of snazzy covers that re-fashion timeless jazz standards along with Ng's own original composition in the title track, the recording is a fresh look on swing themes and ragtime motifs. Starting from the close of the recording, Ng's version of Hoagy Carmichael's reflective piece "Stardust" is mesmerizing as Ng's violin trades solos with Dawson's keys, each...

Album:  Pocketful of Cool Artist:  Ginetta Vendetta Label:  Kickin Wiccan Music Website:  http://ginettasvendetta.com/ A connoisseur of straight-ahead jazz and bop with a Latin flare, trumpet player Ginetta Vendetta reimagines standards wrapped in sleek arrangements on her latest CD Pocketful of Cool.   Playful, warm, and seamless, Vendetta's music entertains and tranquilizes the listener.   Supported by tenor saxophonist Danny Walsh, pianist Jon Davis, drummer Eric Halvorson, and bass player Belden Bullock, Vendetta's rendition of jazz covers shows instruments grazing in a lounging stride, knitting balsam-enriched harmonies. ' The balladry swells of "Corcovado," penned by Antonio Carlos Jobim engulf the listener in cushiony consonance.  Switching gears to the bopping grooves of "Work Song," written by Nat Adderly, Vendetta demonstrates the smooth flexing motions of her playing accentuated by Bullock's pumping bass lines.   Vende...

Album:  The Ripple Artists:  Jeff Rupert and George Garzone Label:  RUPE MEDIA Website:   https://georgegarzone.com/bio Saxophonists Jeff Rupert and George Garzone let loose on their new release The Ripple , offering balmy instrumentals mixed with bopping jaunts.  Supported by pianist Richard Drexler, drummer Marty Morell, and bassist Jeremy Allen, the duo of Rupert and Garzone make music that soothes the soul and jumpstarts one's motor.  The silky treads of their saxophones cruising along "Stardust" snugly cradle the listener in clouds of comfort.   Their music is affable, putting the listener in a reclining position while displaying an appealing enthusiasm.  Music made for the intimate setting of jazz clubs, their delivery of "Without a Song," written by Vincent Youmans and Billy Rose, wafts a tapping bebop pulse as Drexler's pouncing keys craft a glittering vamp.  It is precisely what audiences expect to hear in supper clubs ...