jazz2love

Album:  Beatin' The Odds Artist:  Leigh Pilzer's Seven Pointed Star Label: Strange Woman Records Website: leighpilzer.com Label Website: strangewomanrecords.com The current project of saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator Leigh Pilzer is creating a library of compositions and arrangements for her septet, Leigh Pilzer’s Seven Pointed Star. The group’s debut recording, Beatin' The Odds , released in March, 2024, includes eight of Pilzer’s original compositions and one by long-time DIVA colleague, bassist Amy Shook.  That one being the title track, a bebop jazz romp garnished in the flashing bellows of the saxophone flares moored by the pulsating thrums of Shook's bass and the stocky beats of drummer Sherrie Maricle, the leader of DIVA. The press release sites Pilzer's words about the recording, “the music on this recording was written between September 2017 and October 2023, a period that included life-changing events both personal (a cancer diagnosis) and uni...

Album: 9 to 5 Artist: 3D Jazz Trio Label: DIVA Jazz Website:  https://3divasjazztrio.com 3D Jazz Trio's original creations and reimagined arrangements are filled with nimble improvisations in union with finely groomed motifs.  The trio of pianist Jackie Warren, acoustic bassist Amy Shook and drummer Sherrie Maricle are a ball of kinetic energy that radiate merriment and an indefatigable zest for life.  Their latest recording 9 to 5 takes its title from Dolly Parton's popular hit song, and contains a collection of original creations by the trio alongside reimagined arrangements.  The trio tweak Parton's hit tune, applying a funky sprint in the rhythmic pattern, as the pumping action of Maricle's drum beats and Shook's bass lines are dotted by Warren's sprinkling keys playing the main motifs and branching out into sizzling improvisations.  The trio interweave the idioms of swing, bebop, straight-ahead jazz, blues, and funk, and add Latin flavors like samba, salsa...

Album:  Jump Children Artist:  Scott Silbert Big Band Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.scottsilbertmusic.com A large serving of big band swing and sizzling boogie woogie sweeps listeners off their feet on the Scott Silbert Big Band's 2022 release Jump Children .  A connoisseur of both good time breeds, saxophonist Silbert offers uplifting moods trenched in atmospheres that surge with merriment.  Dr. Sherrie Maricle, the dynamic drummer for the DIVA Jazz Orchestra described the recording perfectly, "Every track on Jump Children brings an immediate urge to snap, clap, tap, and smile from ear to ear.  All you have to do is press play to be transported to happiness." From the bubbling beats of Ken Kimery's drums and the flapping toots of the saxophones along "Annie Laurie" to the pensive strut of Tony Nalker's keys and the smooth bass pumps performed by the 3D Jazz Trio's Amy Shook on "Dusk," Silbert moves nimbly across the stratosphere of b...

Album:  Christmas in 3D Artist:  3D Jazz Trio Label:  DIVA Jazz Website:  www.3divasjazztrio.com The 3D Jazz Trio swing, samba, shimmy, scoot, and sprint through a selection of holiday favorites on their new recording Christmas in 3D .  Comprised of Jackie Warren on piano, Sherrie Maricle on drums, and Amy Shook on bass and fiddle, 3D Jazz Trio's kinetic rapport brings the party to their listeners with Maricle's signature drum splashing, Warren's nimble fingers articulating each curve in the tracks, and Shook's melodic sensibilities for fun-loving bop. The 3 Divas Jazz Trio show a luster in their playing that enlivens the holiday spirit.  Their smooth shuffling coasting along "Silent Night"  infuses a cool jazz swagger with a bourbon-brewed cheerfulness.  The soft tone of Warren's doodles on the piano articulate a clarion shimmer across "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," as Shook's subtle bass notes finesse the track to a buttery sheen...