jazz2love

Album:  Hollywood Christmas Artist:  Richard Williams Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://www.richardmusic.com/   https://www.facebook.com/RichardWillliamsMusic/ Composer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Williams rings in the holiday season with his latest release Hollywood Christmas , a 22-track recording comprised of classic Christmas singalong tunes using a palette of big band, swing jazz and orchestral ambiences.  In the vane of Gene Autry, Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, and The Carpenters, Williams revisits traditional holiday music and celebrates its perennial luster. Partly driven by his Mormon faith, Williams exercises his arranging chops by putting his own touch-ups on a handful of well-known and beloved Christmas-themed songs.  Williams sets the cheerful tone of the album with the opening number, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” The song features the sauve voicing of Alex Stiles, a young vocalist whose style and vocal quality i...

Album:  If I Knew Then Artist:  Naama Gheber Website:  https://www.naamagheber.com Vocalist Naama Gheber illuminates a cache of swing era standards on her sophomore release If I Knew Then with her alluring timbres and smooth, tranquilizing glide.  Gheber's revamping of classic tunes like Cole Porter's jazz ballad "Dream Dancing," Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf and Joel Herron's reflective serenade "I'm A Fool To Want You," and the title track written by Dick Jurgens and Eddy Howard, induces a succor effect on listeners.  She demonstrates a poise and elegance in her delivery that produces an intimacy with her audience, which heightens the listening experience. Her interpretation of Cole Porter's 1941 spellbinding melody "Dream Dancing" is adorned in shimmery percussive trimmings that wind around her charismatic vocal stride as she muses about a phantom partner, "So say you love me, dear / And let me make my career Dream dancing, dream d...

Album:  Jazzy Italian Artist:  Vanessa Racci Label: Zoho Music Website:  https://vanessaracci.com Jazz singer and lyricist Vanessa Racci displays a perkiness relatable to vocalist Allyson Briggs, an iridescent resonance reminiscent of Sarah Brightman, the soulful melodicism characteristic of R&B's Marilyn McCoo, and a vocal elasticity that vibrates with the fiery boldness of vintage pop star Brenda Lee.  Racci's vocals are modelesque while being flexible, easily fitting in with jazz, pop, R&B/soul, and musical theater melodies.  Her sophomore release Jazzy Italian shines the spotlight on contributions that Italian songwriters and performers have contributed to the cabaret jazz landscape with tunes like "Volare," penned by Domenico Modugno, Franco Migliacci, and Dean Martin, and "I’m a Fool To Want You," sung by Italian-American crooner Frank Sinatra, who co-wrote the song with Jack Wolf and Joel Herron.  From tender serenades like "A Sunday Kin...

Single:  I'm A Fool To Want You Artist:  Naama Gheber Websites:  https://www.naamagheber.com https://www.amazon.com/music/player/albums/B09TTQZJHB?ref=sr_1_5&keywords=naama+gheber&crid=NLFDCMC2YBMC&sprefix=naama+gheber%2Caps%2C501&qid=1654127877&sr=8-5 Jazz vocalist Naama Gheber is accompanied by pianist Ben Paterson on her interpretation of the classic tune "I'm A Fool To Want You," written by Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, and Joel Herron.  The tenderness in her voicing accentuates the haunting lilt in her timbres as she intones, "Can it be I need you / This must be wrong / It's so wrong / But right or wrong / I can't get along / Without you."  Her vocals linger on the lyric "without you," intimating a vulnerability that tugs on the heartstrings of her listeners.  Her sensitivity to express and share human wounds is piercing, demonstrating an elegance in her phrasing that epitomizes a feminine touch.  Her rendition evokes a...

Album:  Mad Romance And Love Artist:  Maurice Frank Label:  Jumo Music Website:  www.mauricefrank.com Blues crooner Maurice Frank performs a stimulating rendition of swinging jazz numbers on his latest release Mad Romance And Love .  His contemporary interpretation of such nostalgic tunes as Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer's memorable "How Little We Know" and  Billy Strayhorn and John Latouche's lounging melody " Day Dream" are captured in his soothing vocalese.  The lyrics are cradled in his register as though they were precious gems, needed to be handled with care.  His affection for these songs is palpable. His performance of Robert Wright and George Forrest's showtune "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" rekindles a famous favorite from the Great American Songbook, possessing the sultry swagger of Michael Feinstein and the dreamy resonance of Paul Anka.  His refreshing interpretation of "In My Life," penned by the Beatles, revitalizes...

Album:  Sway Artist:  Patrick Barnett Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.patrickbarnitt.com Sway , the new full length recording from vocalist Patrick Barnitt celebrates swing music with tunes from the Great American Songbook and classic pop/rock archives.  Supported by the Paul McDonald Big Band, Barnitt not only brings back memories of the swing era from the 1950's and '60s but he takes swing music into the 21st century.  Ballads like "The Truth" and "Quando Quando Quando" are canvassed in glistening keys that produce a romantic coloring.  Both tracks  feature Laura Pursell on harmony vocals whose warm timbres imbue the songs with a feminine lilt.  The shooting horns in "The Truth" garnish the tune in fiery trimmings splayed along elegant swells.  The silky strings lining "Quando Quando Quando" are contoured by rolls of breathy guitar silhouettes that frame Pursell and Barnitt's vocals snugly. The record features an original co...

Album:  Howlin' at the Moon Artist:  Carmela Rappazzo Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://www.carmelarappazzo.com Showing a penchant for songs meant for intimate settings, vocalist Carmela Rappazzo creates an atmosphere where she is singing privately to the listener on her new recording Howlin' at the Moon .  Track after track, the songs project the impression that she is holding a private conversation with each individual listening.  The warmth emanating from her vocals is calming, and the storytelling-bent in her delivery gives the tracks a poetic stride. The tempos range from slow simmers like "Haunted" to jazzy rompers like the title track, embellished in bop-enriched trimmings.  The swinging rhythm of "Rush of Heat" brings audiences back to the days when marquee magnets like Frank Sinatra and Lena Horne headlined at music halls.  The recording changes to a contemporary pop shading through "State of Grace" as Rappazzo's fluid vocals...