jazz2love

Album:  Jazz Republic: Taiwan, the United States, and the Freedom of Swing Artist:  Alexis Cole Label:  Tiger Turn Music Websites:  Alexiscole.com Facebook.com/alexiscolefanpage Instagram.com/alexiscole Youtube.com/alexiscole JazzVoice.com Singer-arranger Alexis Cole not only has an attractive voice, she sings songs in a manner that makes them last in the listener's head long after the track has finished.  It is not unusual to find one's self singing the lyrics after the Cole recording has ended.  That is the indelible trait of Alexis Cole's voice. Her 2024 release Jazz Republic: Taiwan, the United States, and the Freedom of Swing shows her accompanied by the Taiwan Jazz Orchestra, directed by Cheng-Yu Jimmy Lee.  The selection of jazz standards and classic pop novelties are some American favorites like Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" and "I've Grown Accustomed To His Face," a spin on Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner's "I've Grown Acc...

Album:  My America 2:  Destinations Artist:  Jim Self Websites:  bassethoundmusic.com facebook.com/JimSelfMusic The second installment to tuba player Jim Self's 2002 recording My America , which featured iconic melodies reflective of America's early songwriters like Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel A. Ward's perennial "America the Beautiful" and Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King's country classic "Tennessee Waltz," changes course on his recording My America 2:  Destinations .  His second installment in his America series concentrates on iconic melodies descriptive of America's states and cities, of which Self had lived or worked like the luxurious and bucolic destinations of Kansas City and Georgia.  The recording is a collaboration between Self and arranger Kim Scharnberg, who offer the ensemble of musicians ample space for soloists to play stirring improvisations and demonstrate their fluency in the jazz language. The album starts off with Scharnber...

Album:  Taking A Chance On Love Artist:  Linda Purl Label:  Reaching Records Website:  https://www.lindapurl.com/product/taking-a-chance-on-love/ Night club singers have a long history of singing the blues, and just as equally for singing about romance, Linda Purl indulges in the latter theme on her latest release Taking A Chance On Love from Reaching Records.  From the swing-infused "Pure Imagination" to the bossa nova swells of "Wave" to the consoling atmosphere portrayed by the piano ballad driving "Too Late Now," Purl charms her audience with caressing vocal strokes and a delicate touch in her delivery of the lyrics. Channeling the penetrative voicing of a magnetic narrator, Purl's treatment of Billy Joel's mollifying sonnet "Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)" projects a loving sentiment that is palpable as she soothes, "Goodnight my angel / time to close your eyes / and save these questions for another day / I think I now what yo...