jazz2love

Album: This Could Be The Start Artist:  Linda Purl Label: Reaching Records Website:  https://www.lindapurl.com Vocalist Linda Purl and her music director Tedd Firth come together for their fourth album, This Could Be the Start .  The collection contains Purl's reimagination of a handful of jazz standards, tailored to her vocal specifications.  Supported by an intimate cadre of musicians that include bassist David Finck, drummer Ray Marchica and reed player Nelson Rangell, Purl finesses a selection of Great American Songbook jewels with a contemporary sheen. The playful merengue rhythm driving "Blue Moon," a swinging romp written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, is trussed in Ray Marchica's percolating percussion and a profusion of jutting keys performed by Ted Firth.  The track steps out of the customary schematics of swing jazz bolstered by blues vocals and articulates a Latin-imbued tremor.  The bossa nova curves shaping one of Cole Porter's signature ...

Album:  I Thought About You Artist:  Jan Cronin Label:  Scootermusic Website:  https://jancronin.com Sonically exquisite, singer-songwriter Jan Cronin delivers a panoply of dreamy melodies on her recording I Thought About You from Scootermusic.  Accompanied simply by guitarist Andy Reiss and bassist Jim Ferguson, Cronin hypnotizes the listener with a stream of sparsely layered melodies that showcase the warmth of her resonance and the clarion smoothness of her timbres.  The emotional depth in her delivery penetrates audiences, drawing attention to the lyrics and their meaning. Her rendition of Victor Young and Ned Washington's classic gem "My Foolish Heart" speaks of human sentiment as she muses, "The night like a lovely tune / beware my foolish heart / how white the ever crescent moon / take care my foolish heart / there's a line between love and fascination / that's hard to see."  Ferguson's bass pumps plume like a field of delicate pansies that c...

Album:  Commitment Artist:  Jae Sinnett’s Zero To 60 Quartet Label: J-Nett Music Website:  jaesinnett.com Commitment is drummer Jae Sinnett's 19th recording as a leader and his 15th recording with his Zero to 60 Quartet.  Performing are Sinnett on drums, Allen Farnham on piano, Steve Wilson on alto and soprano saxophones, and Terry Burrell on acoustic and electric bass forming the quartet.  The recording features Randy Brecker on trumpet and flugelhorn, who makes an indelible mark on several tracks.  Comprised of an assortment of straight-ahead jazz textures, swinging melodies, and improvised dynamics, the recording has three originals by Sinnett, two originals by his bandmate Allen Farnham, and attractive interpretations of five jazz standards. Brecker's trumpet melds harmoniously into the melodic formations of the quartet along "Simone," producing an amorous sonorous that engulfs the listener in winsome aesthetics.  The combination has a heavenly ef...