jazz2love

Album: Vortex Artist: Kenny Shanker Label: Wise Cat Records Website: www.kennyshanker.com   and www.wisecatrecords.com Saxophonist Kenny Shanker is back with his third release Vortex and his first outing on Wise Cat Records.   From the bustling, urban-like activity of the title track to the leisurely wandering stroll of “Lulu’s Back in Town” and the waltzing cantor of “Winter Song,” Shanker’s playing describes images that listeners can easily envision, each relatable to real world scenes. The bowing and refracting of Yoshi Waki’s bass along “Winter Song” adds another element alongside Shanker’s pendulum-swinging saxophone toots, while the frenzied pace of his saxophone fomenting “Hunter” is joined by the rustling movements of Mike Eckroth’s keys and Daisuke Abe’s frothy guitar riffs.   “Rumble” lowers the tempo to a cruising gait, and “Nightfall” slows the pace to an introspective musing as Shanker’s saxophone imbues a nocturnal shimmer over the melodic soundscap...

Album:  Beautiful Things Artist:  Kenny Shanker Label: Wise Cat Records Website:  kennyshanker.com Beautiful Things, Kenny Shanker's second release on Wise Cat Records, is an amalgam of jazz standards and original tunes penned by Shanker, each sharing the common denominator of being inspired by beauty and imprinting that quality in his music.  A composer and alto-saxophonist by trade, Shanker fuses elements of bebop, straight-ahead jazz, and swing into the music. The laid-back rhythm of "Cool Mint" acts as a perch for Shanker's spirited flights on the saxophone, complimented by the twinkling notes of Mike Eckroth's keys and the gentle flares of Daisuke Abe's guitar.  Shanker indulges in bouts of freestyle flails along “Prestissimo,” alternating with Bill Mobley's trumpet toots.  The pair display an impressive repartee that wraps listeners around their whirling flourishes.  It's like being swept up by a cushion of clouds, the way an amusement park ride...

Album:  Beautiful Things Artist:  Kenny Shanker Label: Wise Cat Records Website:  https://www.kennyshanker.com In the vane of a true bop artist, saxophonist Kenny Shanker explores his assets, the nimbleness of his raptures, the sharpness in his playing to accelerate or slow down the dialogue, and the clarity of his movements.  The program on his new CD Beautiful Thing s features both his originals and covers of jazz classics, applying his instinct for layering voices and entangling sequences. The torchlight countenance of "It Never Entered My Mind," penned by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, features Shanker's saxophone toots forming a weave of dreamy patterns layered in the creamy passages of Daisuke Abe's guitar and the smoldering embers of Mike Eckroth's piano keys.  Brian Fishler's rustling drum strikes produce a steady base for "Mirth" as Shanker's sax soars and billows with wild abandonment, withdrawing when Bill Mobley's trumpet takes...