jazz2love

Album:  Islands Artist:  Dan Bonsanti and 14 Jazz Orchestra Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://www.14jazzorchestra.com/new-release---islands.html Islands , the 2023 release from composer and arranger Dan Bonsanti and his band, the 14 Jazz Orchestra, is a collection of swinging, big band jazz arrangements with 11 straight-ahead jazz tunes that merge big band bubbles with adult contemporary easiness, nuanced in jazz-imbued elegance.  Textured in jaunty keys liaised with smooth horns and cruising rhythmic beats, the recording fills the listener with pleasurable sensations that last from start to finish. A feel good recording,  Bonsanti and his orchestra attain a state of enjoyment achieved by the likes of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Guy Lombardo Big Band.  The warm aesthetics emanating from the horns along "Part of Me" bathe the listener in cozy atmospherics, then traverse into a bossa nova shimmy across "Carmencita," written by Mike Levine, B...

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...

Album: The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful Artist: The Jeff Benedict Big Big Band Label: Groovy Panda Records Website: marooncreekmusic.com The Jeff Benedict Big Big Band are ringing in 2021 with their second offering The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful.   Produced by the band's leader Jeff Benedict, the recording is a lively assortment of original compositions by Benedict interspersed with five of his arrangements of American standards.  Benedict builds on the Big Band harmonies of Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk and modernizes the format for present generations.  He creates a contemporary montage relatable to the vigorous churning and robust surges of Rich Willey's Boptism Big Band, the One O'Clock Lab Band, and Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra. The recording opens with one of Benedict's original numbers "Moonscape," a sizzling arrangement featuring the billowing puffs and swerving doodles of trombonist Paul and tenor saxophon...

Album:  Yazz Band Artist:  Greg Yasinitsky Label:  Yazz Recordings Website:  www.gregyasinitsky.com                 www.karigaffney.com The big band orchestra led by saxophonist Greg Yasinitsky celebrates the art of composing original works by employing the tools of bebop, blues, swing, and harmonic forms that make the assembly of horns blaze during poignant intervals.  Yasinitsky's latest effort Yazz Band features him accompanied by his orchestra.  Inside the recording, the musicians exhibit the exuberance of free-thinking players; yet, the tracks are much more refined than an ad-hoc jam session.  The collection is an example of American jazz, showing influences that marked decades of jazz from the 1930's to the 21st century.   For listeners who have experienced the music of big bands from previous decades, Yasinitsky's compositions will evoke those fond memories, p...