jazz2love

S inger, songwriter, guitarist, and leader, Shelly Bhushan continues to discover new elements in her creativity.  Exploring deeper into the flexibility and range of her vocals.  Traveling further into her musical sensibilities and her appreciation for all types of musicians outside of her comfort zone.   The more she allows herself to tinker and experiment with her voice and ability to create music, the more she opens herself up to learn from other musicians and their creative process.  Opening herself up to embarking on new adventures, charting new parameters, and pioneering new journeys for herself. She imparts, "It’s not simply focused on my vocal takes and performance. I want to experiment more, I want to do more interesting musical projects that make me feel uncomfortable." Reaching beyond her solo projects, which encompass her 2005 EP The Shelly Show , 2007 LP Picking Daisies , 2010 EP Make Believe , 2013 LP Something Out of Nothing , 2020 single When Will...

T his Was Then is the ninth full-length album by pianist-composer Erik Deutsch.  Its contents take audiences through picturesque dreamscapes filled with psychedelic effects, funky grooves, and quixotic imagery personified in Deutsch's ruminating piano keys.   Audiences are given a glance into Deutsch's imagination, idyllic and multi-dimensional with his nimble keys layered by a pumping bass line played by Jeff HIll, simmering horns performed by reed player Mike McGinnis and trombonist Brian Drye, a soothing and rootsy slide guitar supplied by Avi Bortnick, and bolstered by the pounding drumbeats of Tony Mason.  Adding more layers to the music is percussionist Mauro Refosco and Deutsch's wife Victoria Reed on vocals, giving Deutsch's music greater definition nestled beside a rhythmic stride. Deutsch cheers, "These fine musicians are all friends from my years in Brooklyn!" Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Deutsch's journey into becoming a solo artist and leade...

  New Release:  Modern Music from Wayne Alpern Label: Henri Elkan Music Release Date: June 27, 2025 Website: https://www.waynealpern.com Composer Wayne Alpern has compiled tracks that are performed by pianist Steven Beck for his release Modern Music, a collection of music for solo piano with a modern perspective.  Produced by Judith Sherman, the recording showcases various musical styles, forms, and expressions.  For instance, the track "Gigue" demonstrates the tempo and style that defines gigue, a Baroque dance form performed on piano.  "Prelude" and "March" all do the same, performing traditional chord patterns for each, infused with Beck's perspective.  Track after track is a lesson in standard musical form from the nimble movements of "Partita," stringing together various patterns that travel from fast and dynamic to slow and pensive, followed by the dreamy soundscape of "Reverie," as Beck intermittently plays one sequence with ...

  New Release:  Waking Dream from Randy Napoleon Label:  OA2 Records Release Date:  August 15, 2025 Website:  www.RandyNapoleon.com An amalgam of modern bebop, meditative blues, and straight-ahead jazz, composer, guitarist, and leader Randy Napoleon teamed up with four additional guitarists, who are all former students of his:  Luke Sittard, Chris Minami, Jocelyn Gould, and Ben Turner for his recording Waking Dream .  Consisting of original tracks written by Napoleon and Gregg Hill, the recording explores diversity in syncopation, melodic phrasing, and harmonic forms.  The atmospheric serenity shrouding the title track exudes a tenderness, which is contrasted by the complex intricacies of "The Speckled Frog," as each instrument moves to a different beat between Quincy Davis' syncopated drumming to the streaking flare of Anthony Stanco's trumpet and the curt bopping pulse of Rodney Whitaker's bass.  "The Singer" displays a Latin accent in the ...

  New Release:  Apple Candy by Domenic Cicchetti Label:  Nyack Records Release Date: February 28, 2025  Website:  http://domcicchetti.com Pianist, composer, leader, and author of Memories of Places and Times (Alfred Publisher), Domenic Cicchetti blends adult contemporary pop with smooth jazz and classic R&B/soul on his new recording Apple Candy .  Comprised of all original material, Cicchetti's project shares the upbeat tone and artistic finesse reminiscent of theme songs that made TV programs and films memorable to audiences.  Cicchetti's background in making music for TV and film projects, which included NBC Sports, All My Children , and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous , is evident in the tracks.  His material is music that once played through the speakers of cruise ships and cultivated the dance club culture.  Salient of connoisseurs with a mature taste, Cicchetti's tunes are imbibed on dolce vita or the good life.  Supporting ...

  New Release:  A Celebration of Maurice Hines, Tappin’ Thru Life from the DIVA Jazz Orchestra Label: DIVA Jazz Release Date: May 15, 2025 Website: https://divajazz.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divajazzorch YouTube: https://youtu.be/IYvmtKvMVHI Capturing the glitz, pomp, and merrymaking of Prohibition Era jazz and the Golden Age of jazz, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, accompanied by a cadre of special guests, sizzle, shuffle, sway, swoon, and strut their way across their new release A Celebration of Maurice Hines, Tappin' Thru Life .  The recording is a tribute to the life and times of Maurice Hines, the award-winning singer, dancer, actor, choreographer, writer, director, and the older brother of iconic actor and dancer Gregory Hines.  Born in 1943, Maurice Hines passed away in 2023, leaving a legacy that holds the harbingers of vintage swing in reverence.  The recording revisits tunes featured in Maurice Hines's award winning show Tappin' Thru Life , a soundt...

  New Release:  Overlook from Ben Clifton Label: BCM Street Date: July 11, 2025 Website: https://www.ben-clifton.com Pianist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Clifton documents pieces of his life, transcribed into music for his debut release Overlook as a leader.  The recording is, according to the press release, "a celebration of Clifton honoring his father’s legacy while also telling the story of his journey from grief to acceptance, carrying his father’s spirit within himself and into the music. It is no coincidence that the album release date is July 11, 2025, the anniversary of his father’s birthday."  Ambient and soothing on the senses, Clifton's music is adult contemporary jazz at its finest.  Music for audiences that seek to escape to a sonic paradise.  He is accompanied by bassist Chad Wesselkamper and drummer Gavin Moolchan alongside many other featured artists on individual tracks.  Each track has multiple layers and detailing that p...

An American saxophonist and composer, Sean Imboden has released three albums as a leader, and continues to cultivate new discoveries using the jazz form.  The language of jazz is Imboden's chosen musical expression, enabling him to design abstract landscapes that he envisions in his mind, giving voice to the sounds in his head. "I like the freedom of jazz music," he professes, "and that as a jazz musician you are encouraged to be yourself. When you learn the music, you study other players and their musical personalities, but only as a means to an end, which is to fully embrace your personal, unique sound and style."  He considers, "I like that the term 'jazz' now encompasses a broad range of sound and styles, and I like that the term has become more difficult to define. We need artists to think outside the box and not be scared to sound different than what has come before."  "I like that by studying jazz music intensely," he precipita...