jazz2love

Album:  Dearly Beloved Artist:  Naama Gheber Label:  Cellar Live Websites:  https://www.naamagheber.com https://cellarlive.com/collections/all/products/naama-gheber-dearly-beloved The dreamy sonorous of vocalist Naama Gheber wrap listeners in downy atmospherics on her debut release Dearly Beloved from Cellar Live music label.  This introductory endeavor establishes Gheber as a torch song vocalist endowed with a sultry persuasion.  Her flare for swing demonstrates the melodicism of this vocal style, exposing it to contemporary generations. The caressing glide of her vocals imbue her delivery of "Since I Fell For You" with a penetrative lure, and spark a jazz noir flicker in the bluesy lamentation of "Get Out of Town."  Her performance of the heavenly serenade "What's New" amplifies the elating sensations, which move into a perky, swinging, sashaying disposition along "Just Squeeze Me" and "Sometimes I'm Happy."  She closes the r...

Single:  Old Mother Hubbard Artist:  Naama Gheber Release Date:  April 22, 2022 Websites:  https://www.naamagheber.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/1KObvUW72IGgUzVi9oe60n A veritable newcomer to swing, vocalist Naama Gheber demonstrates a keen instinct for cabaret blues and ragtime jazz.  Her melodic sensibilities are reminiscent of vintage Café Society's staples like Bessie Smith and Connie Haines.  Her forthcoming recording If I Knew Then , due out on November 4, 2022, is led by her single "Old Mother Hubbard" due to be released on April 22, 2022. "Old Mother Hubbard," an old nursery rhyme from the 19th century, was tweaked by Ella Fitzgerald in the 1940's.  Resurfaced rarely since then, Gheber exhumed the tune from the coffers of the past and polished it with her glimmering timbres.  Her adaptation of the melody gives the track a 21st century luster, laden with a natural fluidity and zesty, swinging rhythmic pulse.  Her smooth versing s...

Album:  The View From The Top Artist:  Gemma Farrell Quintet Label:  Self-Released Website:  http://gemmafarrellmusic.com Gemma Farrell Quintet's second endeavor, The View From The Top , is a modern jazz-leaning recording filled with easy listening scores that complement people's lifestyles.  Based in Australia, saxophonist Gemma Farrell leads her quintet through original works composed by her, showcasing a penchant for hard bop hydraulics, straight-ahead jazz motifs, and improvised spins.  Supported by Sam Hadlow on trombone, Dan Garner on guitar, Kate Pass on bass, and Ryan Daunt on drums, the Gemma Farrell Quintet create a pleasant listening experience. The harmonious communication formed by Farrell and her crew on "Every Year" is reminiscent of luminary voices familiar to audiences like David Brubeck and Thelonious Monk.  The meandering tweets of Farrell's sax infuse bends and curves which keep the track advancing, acting as a thickening agent that...

Album:  Veneta Artist:  Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Fusion Label: Self-Released Website:  https://www.meflamencofusion.com Elements of flamenco dance, folkloric jazz, and chamber music come together in Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Fusion's newly self-released Veneta .  From festive ambiences to contemplative moods and requiem-like hymms, the recording speaks to audiences on many levels.  Led by guitarist Miguel Espinoza, Veneta celebrates life and puts a positive slant on all of its experiences. The rippling beats of the percussion set the foundation for the title track as Espinoza's guitar strings nestle beside the soaring yowls of  Dianne Betkowski's cello and then circle around the undulating billows of Lynn Baker's saxophone.  The multiple tiers in the track is a sonic feast for the listener.  The melodic sensibilities of the quintet bathe the listener in soothing effects along the wavy riffs of "Cayendo," producing an arrangement rife with balmy ae...

Album:  It's Alright With Me Artist:  Liz Terrell Label: Westmont Records Website: www.lizterrell.com The rich sonorous of Liz Terrell's vocals make listeners turn their heads in her direction.  Her 2022 release It's Alright With Me is a compilation of classic pop and jazz standards that she treats with her distinctive stylizing. A stylizing that audiences will relate to the soulful inflections of Thelma Houston and the arresting luster of torchlight crooner Nina Simone, augmented by a dreamy, bluesy vocalese that lingers in the mind long after the recording comes to a close. Her treatment of Cole Porter's trademark melody "Night and Day" highlights the swing jazz elements of the track, turning the balladry verses into a simmering burner with bopping traction.  Her phrasing adjusts to the soars and inclines along the chord movements, as though knowing when to emphasize a lyric and when to let her resonance drift off.  Her vocal inflections certainly heighten ...

Album:  DIVA Swings Broadway Artist: The DIVA Jazz Orchestra Label: DIVA Jazz Website:  https://divajazz.com/ The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, a 15-piece all female ensemble, is comprised of versatile musicians seasoned in reed, woodwind and brass instruments as well as rhythmic and percussive tools.  The group's latest CD entitled DIVA Swings Broadway is an assortment of covers showcasing nostalgic Broadway musicals personalized by these innovative musicians.  Led by drummer Sherrie Maricle, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra are torchbearers of swing jazz and big band romps.  Bursting with merriment from start to finish, the recording leaves elation and mirth in its wake. Noriko Ueda's bass solo opening George and Ira Gershwin's ageless tune "The Man I Love" sets the momentum along a course of rolling crests and ebbs through the melodic progressions.  Horns take flight intermittently, catapulted by the knolls crafted by the bass line.  Turning reflective, the languid ...

Album:  The Vienna Sessions Artist:  Markus Burger Label:  Challenge Records Website: www.markusburger.com An ardent storyteller on the piano, Markus Burger strings together harmonious tales in his piano arrangements enlivening his latest release The Vienna Sessions from Challenge Records.  His recent trip to Vienna, Austria proved to be an inspiring sojourn that ignited creative impulses and sparked a surge of poetic prose on the piano keys.  Burger's meanderings form intertwining rings of melodic swirls, darting flickers, searing soars, and protracted lobes. The babbling brook personified by Burger's keys trickling across "Along the Creek" infuse a meditative atmosphere in the track, and embodies a Baroque-imbued vibe along the frolicking flicker of his keys ambling along "A Knight's Tale."  Each unfold into a harmonious arrangement that keeps the listener spellbound.  The dulcet strokes of Burger's keys evolve into glittery swells along "Caf...

Album:  Guitar & Me Artist:  Aleksi Glick Website:  https://www.aleksiglick.com/ Guitar and Me , the debut release from jazz guitarist Aleksi Glick features six original compositions written by him and seven covers.   Glick recorded  the solo arrangements for guitar while in isolation at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  A mixture of hard bop, blues, improvised jazz, and adult contemporary, the arrangements roll along like a cool breeze ruminating across the aural senses.  His fretwork is nimble and graceful, stringing together a series of soothing and sizzling chord patterns reminiscent of the dexterity and expressive versing of Gene Bertoncini. Launching the recording with the hard bop grooves propelling "With Ease," Glick's deft performance radiates a modern jazz glint that modulates a bluesy whisper across the title track.  His graceful maneuvers induce a dreamy state that wraps the listener in emulsifying verses.  The misty ...

Album:  Love for Connoisseurs Artist:  Angela Verbrugge Label:  Gut String Records Websites:  www.angelasjazz.com www.facebook.com/AngelasJazz Fun and flirty, native Canadian vocalist Angela Verbrugge has a flare for making the listening experience delightful.  Her sophomore release Love for Connoisseurs is a compilation of three original works penned by Verbrugge alongside nine jazz-inspired songbook standards with lyrics written by Verbrugge.  She demonstrates a showtunes-tinted perkiness reflective of The Manhattan Transfer's crooner Cheryl Bentyne, complimented by a magnetic voicing liken to Fleur Seule's vocalist Allyson Briggs.  Supported by pianist Miles Black, bassist Jodi Proznick, drummer Joel Fountain, and saxophonist Dave Say, Verbrugge offers audiences an escape into a world laden with merriment and solace. Opening the recording with a smooth cabaret stylizing reminiscent of Sarah Vaughan, the  title track is driven by a slow simmer ...