jazz2love

Christmas is a holiday that is oftentimes geared for kids.  Designed to encourage children to create a list of gifts they would like Santa Claus to give them on Christmas day.  It is a special time of the year that inspires hope and good cheer towards one another.  Stoking the belief in the legendary tales of the patron saint of children St. Nicholas and the birth of the baby Jesus Christ.   American vocalist Jonathan Karrant, however, illustrates Christmas as a time of year for grown ups, choosing songs for his album Christmas Wish that appeal to a sophisticated palate.  Portraying the holiday as a period of maturity that enables adults to look in retrospect at what transpired in the past year, and finding hope in the year to come.   It is no wonder that David Foster's 1989 tune "Grown Up Christmas List" is the first song Karrant had in mind for the setlist on his Christmas album.  He recalls, "I've wanted to make a holiday album for years...

As a composer, saxophonist, improviser, collaborator, and educator, Jane Ira Bloom's career spans over 50 years.  Some of her accolades over this time have included garnering the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award for lifetime service in jazz, the Charlie Parker Fellowship for Jazz Innovation, and being the first musician ever commissioned by the NASA Art Program in which she was honored by having an asteroid named after her by the International Astronomical Union, given the appellation asteroid 6083janeirabloom.   Reaching deeper into collaborating, creating, and improvising, Bloom has teemed up with drummer-percussionist-composer-improviser Brian Shanker Adler for a series of acoustic duets on their present release Once Like A Spark .  After years of rehearsing and performing together, Bloom and Adler decided to go into Acadia Studios in Portland, Maine in July 2025, where they recorded 14 tracks laden with sonic adventures, abstract soundscapes, and improvised...

  New Release:  Moonshine from Marc Ciprut Label: White Label Release Date: July 11, 2024 Website: www.marcciprut.com Jazz fusion guitarist Marc Ciprut has a pint of bluesy Bayou mixed in with a dollop of funky Detroit City soul while flexing southern rock muscles.  Ciprut stirs the listener's aural senses with his original material on his recording Moonshine , where he performs with Jon Cowherd, Jeremy Manasia and Etienne Lytle on keyboards, James Genus, Jimmy Haslip, Akos Forgacs on bass, Tommi Rautiainen, Tobias Ralph, Charles Ruggiero on drums, and Danny Sadownick on percussion.  The smoking fumes emanating from Ciprut's guitar on "Who Got Next" are bolted to Jimmy Haslip's funky bass lines and Tobias Ralph's crisp drumbeats, turning to cool frothy licks along "Cutie" with Lytle's simmering organ padding the underbelly of the track.  Ciprut's octane-loaded extemporizing on guitar produce craters through "No Mas Blues," cresting ...

  New Release:  Under the Covers from Steve Luciano Label: Self-Released Add Date: June 3, 2024 Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAwUyesVye9EYWYJMNDlj4w Straight-ahead jazz guitarist and bebop impresario Steve Luciano has a style of playing that allows his notes to move seamlessly, articulating each phrase with a pristine tone, resembling the evocative playing of George Benson and Charlie Christian.  Supporting Luciano on his release Under the Covers are: Mike Avila on percussion, Charlie Siva on bass, Walt Hubbard on drums, and Dan Jordan on tenor saxophone and flute. The quintet swings with a classic swag on Duke Pearson's iconic “Chant," shifting to the laid-back strokes of "I'll Take Romance," a notable work by Oscar Hammerstein II and Ben Oakland, resonating a swell of glistening twinkles.  Luciano's tender playing on Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's number “Like Someone In Love” is cradled in a warm bebop rhythm, ballooning into a lofty...

  New Release:  Suns of the Heart from Colin Fisher  Label:  We Are Busy Bodies imprint Release Date:  July 12, 2024 Website:  https://colinalexanderfisher.bandcamp.com/album/suns-of-the-heart Sonic imagery and atmospheric emanations are aspects of multi-instrumentalist/composer Colin Fisher's recording Suns of the Heart .   A staple of Toronto's experimental music community, Fisher is a visionary sculptor, bridging the esoteric plane with ambient sound passages and abstract constructs.   The sonic spectacular seams shards of synth-embodied effects and ethereal textures, rippling, gliding, shimmering, and screeching in waves.  Tumbling and soaring randomly along fractured paths.  Surging and sprouting, pelting and gushing, rising and receding in spontaneous patterns, producing an illusion moving through fluxing dynamics.  The tiers of effects resonate a subliminal tone, ebbing and flowing, twisting and releasing with phant...

  New Release  Found in Space:  The Music of Gregg Hill from Michael Dease Label: Origin Records Release Date: September 20, 2024 Website:  https://www.michaeldease.com https://www.gregghilljazz.com Balancing lyricism with dynamic harmonic formations, trombonist-saxophonist Michael Dease pays homage to the work of Gregg Hill with his project Found in Space:  The Music of Gregg Hill.  His reimagination of a handful of Hill's material keeps the basic motifs in tact while encouraging spirited explorations in the open spaces.  The sci-fi motifs opening "The Last Pop Tune" are filled with circling woodwinds and brass instruments as trumpeter/arranger Matt White incorporates frilly counterpoints by Bill Cunliffe on piano keys, and soft flails from Sharel Cassity's flute.  The band sails tightly, maneuverimg through various turns, rhythmic changes and chord dynamics along the course, keeping the track in a continued flux of motion.  "One for Rodney,...

  New Release:  Long As You're Living from Lisa Rich Label:  Tritone Records Release Date:  June 21, 2024 Website:  www.lisarich.com Bequeath with character, class and panache, vocalist Lisa Rich gives listeners the best she has to offer on her disc Long As You're Livin g , a collection of originals and jazz standards that share reflections about life's trials and tribulations.  Co-produced by Bob Dawson and the late Jay Clayton, the swinging tunes are fraught with lively vocal embellishments and a resiliency in her delivery that is penetrative.  Her thoughtful rendering of Abbey Lincoln's timeless melody "Throw It Away" hears Rich's glinting voice delving deeply into her register, resurfacing with the words held firmly by a clenching fist when she ruminates, "You can never lose a thing, if it belongs to you."  The haunting tone of Marc Copland's keys rustling tenderly across "When I Look Into Your Eyes" bathe Rich's lingering v...

  Christmas Wish from Jonathan Karrant Label:  Virtuoso  Music Release Date:  November 11, 2022 Website:  https://www.jonathankarrant.com Sung with a traditional swinging vibe, vocalist Jonathan Karrant's holiday album Christmas Wish   reacquaints audiences to the blissful atmosphere of classic jazz embers.  His adaptations are smooth and upbeat, eliciting a spiritual revival through "Silent Night O Holy Night" recalling of Elvis Presley's caressing vocals, and turning to a classic smooth jazz climate along "Last Christmas," a fan favorite by George Michael of Wham!   Karrant's duet with vocalist Diane Schuur on "Grown Up Christmas List" is a soothing balm for the ears, as the pair emote a warm affection towards humanity, switching to a slow funky groove along "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," a 1947 hit for Frank Loesser.  Karrant performs a mash up of "I Wander As I Wander/We Three Kings" with the first being a Chri...

  Storybook:  The Music of Mark Miller from Birdland Big Band Label Name: Birdland Records Release Date: August 29, 2025 Website: www.marktrombone.com New York-based trombonist, composer and arranger Mark Miller leads Birdland Big Band into a cornucopia of swing, blues, hardcore bop, and modern orchestral jazz with their recording Storybook .  The Birdland Big Band is the house band at the iconic Birdland Jazz Club in New York City.  Their performance is on a professional scale.  Running parallel voices and entering multiple participants interceding the dialogue intermittently with ease and sophistication, never losing the main thread of the discourse.  Culminating into organized mayhem like traffic at the intersection of a heavily congested New York City intersection. This is the image Birdland Big Band incites in their performance of originals and their adventurous interpretations of jazz standards. A fleet of horns, along with piano keys, vibrate bright...

  New Release:  It Gets Better from Jeff Rupert Release Date: September 6, 2024 Label: Rupe Media Website:  www.facebook.com/JeffRupertSax Saxophonist, composer, and leader Jeff Rupert has enjoyed four and a half decades of performing, producing, creating, and teaching jazz styles from swing to blues, from straight-ahead to smooth, from big band dancehall to post bop fervor.  His 2024 project It Gets Better contains 6 originals by Rupert and 3 jazz standards.  Taking a look at his original "Lana Turner," Rupert illustrates his forte for cool jazz atmospheres as the smooth furls of his sax float above the slow, steady, bopping swells of Peter Washington's bass and Joe Farnsworth's drums, while the paddling motions of Kenny Barron's piano keys sow harmonious formations, foddering the cushion-laden climate.  There is an overall amiable presence throughout the assortment of jazz styles on display, whispering gently in the listener's ear through his iteration o...

  Mood Ellington from Paul Marinaro Label:  Origin Records Release Date:  November 21, 2025  Website:  http://paulmarinaro.com Endowed with a clarion vocalese reflective of Michael Feinstein and a daydreamy sonorous liken to Johnny Mathis, singer and vocal stylist Paul Marinaro presents his fifth album Mood Ellington .  Compacted into a setlist of 25 songs written by Duke Ellington in addition to Billy Strayhorn, Marinaro packs vintage swing with a modern perspective for a tribute that revamps a period of nostalgic jazz.  Performing with Marinaro is a 12-piece violin section along with Tom Vaitsas on piano, Mike Allemana on guitar, John Tate on bass, Neil Hemphill on drums, Rich Moore on alto sax, clarinet and flute, John Wojciechowski on tenor and soprano saxophones and flute, Ted Hogarth on baritone sax and bass clarinet, Eric Jacobson on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Raphael Crawford on trombone.  Marinaro shapes vocal nuances and swagger with hi...

  New Release:  Beatitude from David Bixler Label:  Tiger Turn Release Date:  April 26, 2024 Website:  https://www.davidbixler.com Saxophonist, composer, and leader David Bixler approaches jazz as a means to disseminate hope for a better day to come.  His 2024 release Beatitude spreads this message proudly and tacitly through his eight original pieces.  He expresses in the press release, "I speak for myself when I say every time I approach the piano, the bandstand and my colleagues, I do so with the understanding that I am approaching an altar, fellow ministers, and a congregation that needs ministering too."  The prevalent theme throughout the recording is promoting solace in the music and the cozy companionship demonstrated in the instrumentation.  His track "Balm" overflows with a cozy companionship quality, buoyed by the conversational interplay his sax holds with Jon Cowherd's piano keys as Ike Sturm's bass pulls sustain a reflective am...

  New Release:  Wes 101 from Kristen Bromley Label:  Kristen R. Bromley Music Release Date:  April 18, 2025 Website: www.kristenbromley.com Wes 101 is jazz guitarist-composer Kristen Bromley's fifth installment as a leader and frontwoman. The compilation includes seven originals by Bromley, showcasing her standing as a motivating force in the jazz blues forum.  Her work is a tribute to the legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, applying a modern perspective to his manipulation of octaves. The dynamic quivers in her playing nestles a soft penmanship along her ballad "Cherished Moments," projecting a Latin-imbued aura, ruminating tenderly and reverently, sharing a kindred spirit with Montgomery's timeless nougat "Mistly."   Moving into a swinging constellation of gyrating keys from Melanie Shore's organ, and a steady surge of bopping knolls by David Ian Baker on bass and Matt Coleman on drums, “Swing It for the Maestro” is an adaptation of Montgomery...

  Wake Up Call from Rick Roe Label: Cold Plunge Records Release Date:  December 19, 2025 Websites: https://www.gregghilljazz.com https://www.roejazz.com Pianist, leader and arranger Rick Roe, while in the company of Nate Winn on drums, Robert Hurst on bass, and Marcus Elliot on tenor and soprano saxophones, has cultivated a nouveau straight-ahead jazz style on his newest addition Wake Up Call:  The Music of Gregg Hill .  Roe and company make alternations to jazz composer Gregg Hill's compositions that set these tracks along a path of spiraling aerials and stimulating improvisations.  The main course of the album is the window brightening hues of "Sunspiration," escalated by the swinging fluctuations throttling the title track, and then rolling into the stargazing harmonies of "Wide River."   The bopping beats of "The Return of Mr. Pea" propel Roe's jutting keys and Elliot's zigzagging tenor into a nouveau stratosphere.  For the dessert, Winn...