jazz2love

Album:  My Funny Valentine Artist:  Grace Haggerty Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.gracehaggerty.com My Funny Valentine , the new solo offering from vocalist Grace Haggerty, is pristinely put together.  An assortment of jazz standards from the perky swinging thrusts of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" to the Brazilian smoothness of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Quiet Nights, Quiet Stars," Haggerty whisks listeners along a pleasing voyage that elevates the senses and stirs elation. The repetitive tossing motion of Mauro Refosco's percussion contours Haggerty's vocals in a soft kindle along "You Go To My Head," giving the track a cocktail shaker trope.  Artfully, "Quiet Nights, Quiet Stars" is seasoned in Calpyso-hued flickers as Angelo DiPippo's accordion moves in and out of the track with whirling figures that stimulates the listener's pulse.   Endowed with a whispery vocalese reminiscent of Judy Collins,...

Album:  This Way Artist:  Tom Ranier Website:  https://tomranier.com This Way , the latest release from Tom Ranier is a balm on the listener's senses.  He composed six of the eight tunes on the recording and plays the piano and synthesizer, as well as soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes. His music tells stories through images projected in the instrumentation.   Joined by Trey Henry on acoustic and electric basses, Ralph Humphrey on drums, and Thom Rotella on guitar, Ranier's music is easy listening jazz imbuing audiences with a natural high. The pensive strokes of his keys coasting along "Yes, Kloose" move at a languid pace transitioning into the melodic wisps of Randy Brecker’s signature piece "Secret Heart," trelised in the tender crimping of Rotella's guitar strings.  Ranier creates a introspective-style monologue along "Trio Vision" that gives audiences insight into the thoughts roaming through his mind, then conveys a somber mood in ...

Album:  Listen Here Artist:  Roseanna Vitro Label: Skyline Productions  Website:  https://roseannavitrojazz.squarespace.com Cabaret vocalist Roseanna Vitro has re-released her 1984 classic recording Listen Here to be available for streaming and CD formats.  With arrangements by Fred Hersch, Vitro is supported by a stunning ensemble of jazz practitioners that include Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, Ben Riley on drums, Arnett Cobb on saxophone, Duduka da Fonseca on percussion, and Scott Hardy on guitar.  Vitro takes swing music into the 21st century with captivating renditions of tunes from the Great American Songbook. "No More Blues (Chega de Saudade)," written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, and Jon Hendricks, starts off the recording, setting the listening experience on a swing blues axle.  Progressing forward, the album turns to a bossa nova coloring with  "You Go to My Head" penned by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gilles...

Album:  Uncommon Measures Artist:  Lyle Workman Label: Blue Canoe Records Website:  www.bluecanoerecords.com/lyle_workman Guitarist Lyle Workman's latest release Uncommon Measures mixes elements of jazz fusion, power pop rock, and romantic symphonies.  Joined by a 63-piece orchestra of multiple instruments conducted by John Ashton Thomas that includes glockenspiel and a choir led by Aleta Braxton, Workman combines cinematic soundscapes with power rock surges.  Recorded at Abbey Road Studio in London, England, Workman's arrangements capture the musicians ever-changing state of flux, continually moving and extending, pluming and spiraling, immersing listeners in a cauldron of swirling figures and emanations. "North Star" starts off the recording with a menagerie of jazz fusion expressions, power pop rock riffs and romantic symphonies, forming multiple streams traveling parallel and sporadically crisscrossing.  Soaring strings are layered in blazing guitar ch...

Album:  Collecting Things Artist:  Mike Scott Website:  https://www.guitaristmikescott.com A jazz guitarist with classical training, Mike Scott plays with the expressive quality of his notes, making conversation with his audience.  His latest CD Collecting Things is a collection of melodic patterns that travel at a leisurely pace. His arrangement on "Jack’s Dilemma" features the whimsical strolls of his guitar as Darek Oles's bass and Jake Reed's drums come up alongside him, buffering the impromptu jaunts.  The track is named after his dog and is an homage to traditional blues.  Following is "Boom Diddle It," a jazz-inspired romp that is cradled by Reed's hi-hat cymbals and produces a lull for pianist Joe Bagg to scroll statements freely. "On a Clear Day" is a swinging tune that highlights Scott's bowing phrases and Bagg's rustling notes, which turns drowsy and emulsifying along “Dark Bossa" with notes roaming languidly.  “Rondo” ...

Album:  Mazel Tov Kocktail Artist:  Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine Label:  Tallman Productions Website:  https://www.bigbandjazzmachine.com https://theirablissbigbandjazzmachine.bandcamp.com Celebrating its 40 anniversary, The Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine's 6th CD Mazel Tov Kocktail projects warm and upbeat sensations from start to finish.  Conducted and produced by Liss, the release is comprised of original compositions by saxophonist Andrew Neu, arranger Dan Radlauer, pianist Scott Arcangel, trombonist Peter Herbozheimer, and composers/bandleaders Alan Baylock and George Stone.   The recording celebrates the liveliness and bliss that big band orchestrations.  The slate of tunes is a mix of jazz standards from both the 20th and 21st centuries polished to a clarion zest. Vocalist Carly Ines makes "High Wire" and "Love You Madly" pop with an infectious exuberance that the listener can't resist.  Her scatting vocalese gives the tracks ...

Album:  Jukebox Artist:  Wayne Alpern Label:  Henri Elkan Music Website:  https://www.waynealpern.com Part concerthall requiem, part classic chamber music, and part cafe jazz, Jukebox from producer-arranger Wayne Alpern is both delicate and lofty.  Savvy in making fluid movements, Alpern bonds shards of impromptu silhouettes into the tracks, finessing them to a ballroom polish.  Recomposing an assortment of favorite pop novelties and classic symphonies, Alpern's impulse to bring out supplemental nuances in a phrase and draw out new textures in a motif exhibit his affinity for music that is dear to him, all found in the passages of the world's collective memory. The frolicking toots of  Gretchen Pusch's flute, Gerard Reuter's oboe, Benjamin Fingland's clarinet, Karl Kramer-Johansen's horn, and Adrian Morejon's bassoon stroke gleefully across "Handel Allegro."  Their flights seem as though they are powered by the open air, displaying a fancyfree wh...

Album:  Landscape Artist:  Dimitri Monstein Ensemble Label:  Unit Records/Vertrieb UNIT/Membran Websites:  https://www.dimitri-monstein.com/bio.html https://www.monstein-ensemble.ch/about.html https://dimitrimonsteinensemble.bandcamp.com/releases Classical music meets jazz-inspired musings on Landscape from the Dimitri Monstein Ensemble led by drummer-composer Dimitri Monstein.  Track after track is special, tailored to a unique tale as the instrumental phrases roll in a fluid motion.  Every space on the melodic canvass is occupied by notes as they spread, layer and jump out at the listener, blazing a wide array of sensations that stimulate its receivers. The scattered musings of the strings coursing waves along "Walkin' in the Dirt" have an uplifting resonance, monogramming reflective expressions that turn to clasical musings through "Mr. Winter," tangling and branching out, sprouting in different directions from the fulcrum.  Staying on the course o...

Album:  And Then It Rained Artist:  Michael O'Neill Label:  Jazzmo Records Websites:  Mosax.com                   facebook.com/michael.oneill.505960 A collection of all original compositions by bandleader, reed player and saxophonist Michael O'Neill, And Then It Rained blends big band swing, straight-ahead jazz, and tuneful improvisation into a tight union.  Produced by O’Neill and co-produced by his bass player Dan Feiszli, the recording displays O'Neill's intrinsic understanding of earthy tones and warm atmospherics.  His repertoire canvasses multiple facets of cool jazz idioms from the frenzied squiggles of "One For Kenny Washington" to the balmy bliss of "Early Spring."  An easy listening program on first take, the tracks slowly seep deeper into its audience, revealing intricacies and maze-like chord patterns that demand more than a surface glance. The expressive voicing in O'Neill's saxophone curls and...

Album:  'Tis Autumn Artist:  Marty Elkins Label:  Elktone Records  Websites: www.martyelkins.com                   facebook.com/ocdivagirl/                    mikerichmondmusic.com                    facebook.com/mike.richmond.378                    jazzheads.com (distributor)    Jazz siren Marty Elkins demonstrates a heavenly sonorous on her latest release 'Tis Autumn .  Accompanied by Mike Richmond on bass and cello,  the pair weave bewitching interpretations of several standard jazz scores. From the emulsifying caress of Richmond's pluckings and strums to Elkins' magnetic elocution, the recording seduces the listener with its hypnotic  strut.  The spacious waddle of Richmond's playing gives Elkins the freedom to tool around with her phrasing a...