jazz2love

Album:  It's Hard To Say Goodbye Artist:  Enrico Granafei Label:  CAP Records Website:  www.enricogranafei.com http://Facebook..com/enrico.granafei]Facebook.com/enrico.granafei YouTube channel: Youtube.com/@johnmeixner1809 IG: @granafei Jazzbeat.com/project/enrico-granafei It's Hard To Say Goodbye , the fourth US release from harmonica virtuoso, classical guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and composer Enrico Granafei, is a compilation of Latin-infused jazz rhythms sauté ed in Granafei's soulful playing.  Inspired by harmonica master Toots Thielemans, Granafei illustrates the potency of the reed instrument to helm the melodic direction of arrangements as its wind-imbued texture intensifies the make-up of the scores.  Composing six of the 11 tracks, Granafei's delivery affects the listener profoundly. He titled the album It's Hard To Say Goodbye in memory of three people who were very special to him:  Toots Thielemanns, and two musicians who pla...

Album:  Spheres Artist:  Scott Emmerman Label: Self-Released Website:  scottemmerman.bandcamp.com Power guitar rock seems to be a theme of days gone by but guitarist, composer, and arranger Scott Emmerman revives the custom, infusing trimmings of funky dances grooves gilded in ambient jazz hues and ribbed in soft R&B-encrusted knolls crooning along his latest release Spheres .  A refined outgrowth of power rock, Emmerman's music has an adult contemporary sheen and world class luster. Recorded in the spring of 2023, the recording features Emmerman's long-time friend, collaborator and drummer Marty Zevin.  Eight compositions out of the ten-track CD are originals written by Emmerman.   One of the other two tracks is a profusion of psychedelics, produced by lofty synth effects that create a prismatic glaze across "Judgement Day," a collaboration with Emmerman and Zevin.  The last track is a cover. as Emmerman navigates the hit song for the R&B...

Album:  I Thought About You Artist:  Jan Cronin Label:  Scootermusic Website:  https://jancronin.com Sonically exquisite, singer-songwriter Jan Cronin delivers a panoply of dreamy melodies on her recording I Thought About You from Scootermusic.  Accompanied simply by guitarist Andy Reiss and bassist Jim Ferguson, Cronin hypnotizes the listener with a stream of sparsely layered melodies that showcase the warmth of her resonance and the clarion smoothness of her timbres.  The emotional depth in her delivery penetrates audiences, drawing attention to the lyrics and their meaning. Her rendition of Victor Young and Ned Washington's classic gem "My Foolish Heart" speaks of human sentiment as she muses, "The night like a lovely tune / beware my foolish heart / how white the ever crescent moon / take care my foolish heart / there's a line between love and fascination / that's hard to see."  Ferguson's bass pumps plume like a field of delicate pansies that c...

Album:  In a Big City Artist:  Igor Kogan Label: Self-Released Website:  https://www.koganigormusic.com In a Big City is the debut release from bassist/bandleader Igor Kogan, featuring all original compositions.  Accompanied by Jeremy Lappitt on tenor saxophone, Joshua Aguiar on trumpet and flugelhorn, Marco Apicella on piano, Matthew Baker on drums, and special guest jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton, the recording shuffles between soothing ballads and  traditional jazz motifs, sprinkled in pinches of improvised anecdotes and dashes of whirling horns with a bop-inspired palette. Kogan's bass solo on "Bass Introduction" travels in frenzied patterns that are strangely calming on the listener.  His urgent movements produce a frothy gurgle that projects a softness and easiness through the track.  The recording segues into "New York Blues" showcasing the smooth stylizing of Lappitt's saxophone, Aguiar's trumpet, and Apicella's piano, tethered to a reclining ...

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...