jazz2love

Album:  Sweet Invitation Artist:  Beveley Church Hogan Label:  Café Pacific Records Website:  www.beverleychurchhogan.com Jazz vocalists like the sassy 92 year old Sheila Jordan and the peppy 86 year old Beverley Church Hogan never quite reach their prime.  They go on and on, always resonating an opulence and loftiness in their vocals that is ageless.  Hogan's sophomore effort Sweet Invitation is produced by Mark Winkler and arranged by John Proulx, and sees her imbuing emotion into the lyrics without being melodramatic.  The balance she achieves gives the tracks a genuine human quality that enables audiences to relate to her instantly. Hogan applies the smokey texture of her timbres to a selection of romantic songs from the Great American Songbook like the slow, contemplative stride she uses on "Here's That Rainy Day," penned by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, as the rhumba sway shrouds her vocals in a soft light with the bright flicker of her voi...

Album:  Old Friends Artist:  Mark Winkler and David Benoit Label:  Café Pacific Records Website:  http://markwinklermusic.com http://facebook.com/mark.winkler.10 Blues crooner and lyricist Mark Winkler joins his friend pianist-composer David Benoit to record a nostalgic collection of timeless jazz standards interspersed with original tunes for their latest release Old Friends .  Produced by Barbara Brighton, the recording displays the duo's melodic sensibilities and easy repartee.  Their camaraderie is natural, instinctually carrying each other through the melancholic moods and the counter cheerful ones alike. The meandering reflections portrayed in the title track, written by Paul Simon, are penetrative as Winkler's vocals nuzzle the lyrics, ruminating thoughtfully, "old friends / sat on the park bench like bookends / newspaper blown through the grass... old friends / winter companions / the old men / lost in their overcoats / waiting for the sun / the sou...

Album:  I'm with You Artist:  Mark Winkler Label: Café Pacific Records Website:  http://markwinklermusic.com Vocalist Mark Winkler sings the music of singer-songwriter Bobby Troup on his newest release I'm with You from Café Pacific Records.  American gems like the iconic "Route 66" and the perky romper "Triskaidekaphobia" are reawakened in Winkler's hands as he revamps the swing music of the 1940's and '50s.  From the romantic ambience of "It Happened Once Before" to the lightning-sharp filament powering the title track, Winkler takes the music traditionally played in the lounge rooms of the Las Vegas casinos out in the open. The bend of a lyrical phrase, the extension of a syllable, and the rhythmic fingersnapping timing of a verse are each considered in Winkler's delivery as he moves through Troup's repertoire with complete aplomb.  He refers to Troup as a kindred spirit of his and demonstrates what he means by that in h...