jazz2love

  Clay About Time from John Clay Label: ClayTone Music Release Date: January 23, 2026 Artist Website: www.johnclaymusic.com Jazz drummer and leader John Clay offers uplifting interpretations of a handful of daydreamy-themed jazz standards on his recording About Time , including "Alice In Wonderland," written by  Sammy Fain and Bob Hilliard, and "You Must Believe in Spring" from Michel Legrand.  Both are elegantly arranged and smoothly designed, bringing out the genteel demeanor of Clay's band.  The creamy suppleness of Matt Garrison's saxophone and the billowy solo of trumpet player Shunzo Ohno give Wayne Shorter's composition "Rio" a sultry flicker, while the pair indulge in exotic textures along "Dubai," penned by Billy Drummond.  The splashing tremors of Clay's drumming and the rustling beats of bassist Sean Conly support Enrique Haneine's frolicking keys through the track.  The relaxing, after-hours vibe sewn through Fred ...

  New Release:  Spooky Jazz Vol. 3 from Hannah Gill Label:  Turtle Bay Records Release Date:  August 22, 2025 Website:  https://www.hannahgillmusic.com Whimsical and sweetly pulsating, vocalist Hannah Gill dishes up a classic jazz cuisine with Halloween themed hor d'oeuvres whipped up in a swinging blues-pop palette on her 2025 release Spooky Jazz Vol. 3 .  Opening with the bluesy rockabilly grooves of "Spider in the Web," Gill spins a gossamer-like sheath around the listener, toying and teasing with her bewitching vocals.  Moving into the chic swagger of "Old Devil Moon," she basks in the swinging rhythm, and continues with a smooth burlesque resonance purring along "The Richest Guy in the Graveyard," cracking into a ragtime flair on the outro.  She has fun with these tunes, wrapping her vocals around the trotting stride of Gordon Webster's keys and the staggered beats of Philip Ambuel's bass and Ben Zweig's drums.  Rounding out her band i...

  Oblivity from Shawn Purcell  Label:  Origin Records Release Date: September 19, 2025 Website: www.shawnpurcell.com As a composer, arranger, leader, and guitarist, Shawn Purcell original works layer instruments, forming a massive conglomerate that quakes, rattles, simmers, thrusts, roars, and reels on his 2025 project Oblivity.   Performing alongside tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, trombonist Ben Patterson, keyboardist Chris Ziemba, acoustic bass player Jeff Reed, drummer/percussionist Steve Fidyk, and vocalist Darden Purcell, his material jumps out at listeners, calling for their undivided attention.  Indeed, he achieves this feat by utilizing the whirling motion of the horns, the heady throbs of the bass and drums, the cascading doodles engineered by the keys, and Purcell's own percolating strings.  From hardcore bop to soulful blues, swing, and smooth jazz interludes, Purcell's music isn't compacted with signature traits but rather he travels across a ...

  Dream Dancing: Celebrating Zoot Sims at 100 from The Scott Silbert Quartet Label:  Self-Released Release Date:  November 7, 2025 Website: https://www.scottsilbertmusic.com From the press release, "The Scott Silbert Quartet marks the centennial of one of jazz’s most beloved voices, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims (1925–1985), with a heartfelt tribute recording, Dream Dancing . Released in 2025 to coincide with Sims’ 100th birthday on October 29, the album captures the warmth, humor, and effortless swing that made Sims a cornerstone of the jazz tradition."  Sparsely layered with Silbert on tenor and soprano saxophone, Amy Shook (of 3D Jazz Trio fame) on bass, Robert Redd on piano, and Chuck Redd on drums, the band fuses bop, swing, torchlight blues, and straight-ahead jazz into an easy listening package. The hynotic sway of Silbert's saxophone is bolstered by the brushed strokes of Chuck Redd's drumming, wrapped in the soft kayaking strums of Shook's bass, and the spr...

  The Road to Trantor from Carl Schultz Label: Origin Records Release Date: November 21, 2025 Website:  https://carlschultzmusic.com Like a smooth, quenching claret, The Road to Trantor is saxophonist Carl Schultz's vision of something that audiences will find aurally scrumptious.  He refers to his creation of all original material as "a soundtrack to a science fiction movie that only exists in my head."  The compilation is more comparable to classic 1950's ballroom dance meets whimsical 2020's symbiotic parlance. The rapport among the musicians sizzles and tranquilizes, schmoozing freely in a social club-style setting.  There is a capricious flare in the playing, a sleek chirping nestled in sophisticated banter that recalls of jazz masters like Oscar Peterson and Charlie Parker.  Led by Schultz on saxophone and flute, his ensemble consists of Adam Benjamin on piano and Rhodes, Tim Wendel on guitar, Zack Teran on bass, and Alwyn Robinson on drums. Their me...

  Murrina from Margherita Fava Label: Self-Released Release Date: October 3, 2025 Website:  https://margheritafava.com Born in the small village of Follina in northeast Italy, Margherita Fava is a pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator based, now, in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Her 2025 release Murrina is an improvised voyage on keys, supported by bass player Brandon Rose, drummer Jonathan Barber, and tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds with Jeff Babko and Taber Cable on synthesizers.  The interaction between the musicians has a conversational amble, laid-back with a natural meandering stride reminiscent of west coast jazz maker Dave Brubaker.  Melodically strewn, shimmery in texture and clamped by a catchy rhythmic beat, Fava's music is easy on the ears, brimming a cool jazz ethos layered in the suave strokes of Rose's bass and seamed by Barber's tight drumming. Comprised of equal measures of improvisation and harmony, Fava achieves a fine balance swathe ...

  Beneath the Sun from  Francesca Prihasti Label: Self-Released Release Date: January 16, 2026 Website:  https://francescaprihasti.com.au Francesca Prihasti is an Indonesian-born, New York–based jazz pianist and composer.  Her 2026 endeavor, Beneath the Sun is packed in tuneful phrases and lyrical improv that flow naturally and smoothly, totally unimpeded. Filled with all original material, there is an openness and clarity in her music that is inviting to listeners.   Many of the musical motifs make a soft impression on the mind, like a soothing balm meant to comfort and put at ease.  Her free flowing musings on the keys are spacious and melodic in tone, exploring the landscape with an uninhibited penmanship.  Declaring her album is "a dedication to my beautiful daughter Marie Francesca Vardanega and son Maximilian Joseph Vardanega," Prihasti traipses across the keyboard with gentle strokes, cradling the notes tenderly and evolving as the journey...

  About Time from John Clay Label: ClayTone Music Release Date: January 23, 2026 Website: www.johnclaymusic.com The compositions that drummer and  bandleader John Clay selected to reimagine for his 2026 project About Time are written by some very recognizable names like Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter.  He also chose works written by some lesser known composers like Billy Drummond, Fred Hersch, and Alan Pasqua.  In essence, Clay has aspired to put together a recording that celebrates the great voices of straight-ahead jazz.  A collaborative effort with his band, which comprises of Shunzo Ohno on trumpet and flugelhorn, Matt Garrison on tenor and soprano saxophones, Enrique Haneine on piano, Sean Conly on bass, and vocalist Ruby Pucillo, Clay takes listeners for a wondrous ride, varying in style, rhythm, texture, and interplay, liken to the multiple facets of a kaleidoscope.  The billowing ruptures of Billy Drummond's "Dubai" contrast the bluesy vocalese and ...

  New Release:  Return of the Light from Joe Elefante's Wheel of Dharma Label:  Self-Released Release Date:  October 25, 2025 Website: www.joeelefantemusic.com A prolific and articulate pianist, saxophonist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, Joe Elefante is joined by his band Wheel of Dharma for Return of the Light.  The offering demonstrates the nimbleness and imaginative narration rooted in their creativity, scrolling improvised musings and layering them in pulsing drumbeats and rustling horns.  The laid-back swells sashaying along "Cromwell" are landscaped in the thrusting beats of Sameer Shankar's bass, underscored by the storytelling strokes of Erena Terakubo's saxophone and Freddy Hendrix's trumpet, as Elefante's keys twinkle fluidly and delicately in the shadows, anchored by David Heilman's shimmery cymbals.  Each track moves the listener into an endless meadow of radiating tones, whittled into luminous scrolls and emoting storytelli...

  Album:  In Lieu of Flowers Artist:   Dave Anderson Label:   LABEL 1 Records Website:  www.daveandersonjazz.com Smooth, cool jazz layered in flowing knolls and blues-infused motifs catacomb in incisions of improvised movements, In Lieu of Flowers from saxophonist/composer/leader Dave Anderson is a pleasurable jaunt.  His crew comprised of Grant Richards on piano, Lorin Cohen on bass, Jimmy Macbride on drums, and himself on saxophone sets out on engulfing the listener in harmonious riffs.   Each track exudes a nocturnal vibe conducive to after-hours respite.   The slow burn of Anderson's saxophone forms glistening cascades of teardrops along "Sanctuary" as Richards's piano solo etches dexterous scrolls across the track, creating a tender, reflective moment.  "Lost City" projects a dreamy vision in the listener's mind brandishing an evocative bass solo played by Cohen, while "One for Wayne," a tribute to Wayne Shorter, is fraught in livel...

  Album:   Conceptions Artist:   Geoffrey Dean Quartet Label:   Cellar Music Website:  www.geoffreydeanmusic.com Conceptions is the second album from the Geoffrey Dean Quartet featuring leader-pianist Geoffrey Dean, bassist Harish Raghavan, Dr. Eric Binder on drums, and Justin Copeland on trumpet.  The recording is an array of original music using the framework of straight-ahead jazz with each track written individually by Dean, Binder and Copeland.  The group’s multi-dimensional writing styles showcase a diversity of expressions and interplay using jazz principles.   The heavenly furls of Copeland's trumpet swirling leisurely across "Amidst a Dream" recede as Dean's lightly prancing keys take centerstage, held steady by the trotting beats of Binder's drums and Raghavan's bass.   The bold strokes of Copeland's trumpet flares open "Conflagration" into a blossoming meadow of sonic ripples that retract as Dean's nimbly choreographed keys ...

  New Release:  Loving You from Kieran Brown Label:  Cellar Music Release Date:  July 11, 2025 Websites:  Instagram: @kieranbrownmusic Facebook: @Kieran Brown Jazz TikTok: @kieranbrownmusic Jazz vocalist Kieran Brown comes out of the gate as a thoroughbred champion with her debut release Loving You.    Every inch of the recording is honed to perfection from her caressing vocal resonance and nuanced vocalese to the flawless orchestration, producing an atmosphere that is dreamy and sublime.  Featuring an assortment of jazz standards and two original tracks by Brown, the lyrical themes focus on the thoughts, impressions, and emotional development that a young woman experiences through the early stages of life's journey into maturity.  Her engaging duet with singer Nathan Farrell on their rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Loving You" highlights such maturity.  Brown lulls the listener into a tranquil dreamscape, demonstrating the ardor of mus...

Album:  The Silent Wish Artist:  Michelle Nicolle Label:  Self-Released Website:  Michellenicolle.com Facebook.com/jazzsingeraustralia IG: @michellenicollejazz Bandcamp: https://michellenicolle.bandcamp.com/ Relishing a career as a vocalist-composer that has spanned more than 30 years singing with a multi-piece band, Australian based performer Michelle Nicolle strove to leap into unknown vocal territory with her recording The Silent Wish .  Backed by Southern Californian native, guitarist Larry Koonse, Nicolle found the inspiration she was looking for, performing eight standards plus one song from a New Zealand pop band, and one song penned by Nicolle.   The recording is her 11th release and her first release in the USA.  The warm intimacy she emotes in her delivery, the tenderness she applies to the lyrics, the nuanced layers of her timbres, the depth of her vocal inflections all demonstrate her talent and charisma to breathe life into a song. The sou...

Album:  New York Now & Then Artist:  Omer Avital Websites:  https://www.omeravital.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/omeravitalmusic https://music.apple.com/us/artist/omer-avital/7423061 Swing jazz through the ages can be discerned in bassist-leader Omer Avital's 2025 contribution New York Now & Then .  Spirited and fluent in the language of cabaret blues, the music recharges the soul with an uplifting trajectory and animated musings that are aesthetically pleasing to the ear.  Joined by Edo Gur on trumpet and flugelhorn, Yonathan Guedj on alto saxophone, Alexander Levin on tenor saxophone, Evan Amoroso on trombone, and alternating Eviatar Slivnik and Itay Morchi on drums, Avital leads the sextet, with himself on bass, into an assortment of energetic romps, cozy strides and reflective ballads.  Clutching the idyllic idioms of tradtional swing and incorporating modern jazz sensibilities, Avital blends the past with the p...

Album:  Imaginably Artist:   Yuto Mitomi and Yuto Kanazawa Label:   Self-Released Website:  yutomitomi.com   Saxophonist-composer Yuto Mitomi and guitarist Yuto Kanazawa perform one of a kind recording Imaginably .  Pairing the soulful strumming of the guitar with the malleable curves of the saxophone, the duo create a dulcet sojourn that magnetizes the listener to their performance. "Sweet Lorraine" is a warm ballad that displays the duo's impeccable timing and complementing response to each other's assertions.   The title track is a charming tune that spotlights Mitomi's agile dexterity on the saxophone, demonstrating a flexibility in his performance that is admirable.   "Karatachi no Hana" is a serene melody that integrates caressing strokes and wistful flutters, interpolating glinting swells.     The buoyant musings of the saxophone splayed across "Dorelice" are cradled in the tender strums of the guitar, shifting into the languid w...

Album:  Continuation Artist:   Yuto Mitomi Label:   Self-Released Website:  yutomitomi.com   Japanese jazz saxophonist and composer Yuto Mitomi makes his debut as a leader with his release Continuation .  Based in New York, Mitomi blends his musical roots with influences of American bebop, improvisation, swing, and straight-ahead jazz.  Featuring eight original compositions and two jazz standards with his arrangements, the album showcases Mitomi's fluency in the jazz framework, leading his band mates Takahiro Izumikawa on keyboards, Moto Fukushima on six string bass, and Kazuhiro Odagiri on drums. The recording's title is inspired by Mitomi's continuous journey from being a pupil of Japan's folk and pop music to becoming a participant on the Manhattan jazz circuit, discovering contemporary perspectives from modern musicians, shaping his artistic leaning and contributing to the world music market.  Mitomi displays a sympatico with his band mates th...

Album:  Live at the Pump House Celebrating Wayne Shorter Artist: Dan Moretti & Brazilia Label:  Roots Grooves Records Artist Website:   https://danmoretti.com/ Tenor and soprano saxophonist Dan Moretti is joined by jazz quartet Brazilia to celebrate the music of Wayne Shorter on their recording Live at the Pump House Celebrating Wayne Shorter released by Roots Grooves Records.  Their interpretation of an assortment of works penned by Shorter showcase the vibrancy and lively interaction that Shorter's compositions offer musicians. Brazilia's lineup includes: Latin Jazz Grammy winner Oscar Stagnaro from Peru on bass, Maxim Lubarsky from Ukraine on piano, Ernesto Diaz from Columbia on percussion, and Steve Langone from Boston on drums. Together, they tweak Shorter's material with fresh energy and a flare for rhythmic timing. The smoothness of Lubarsky's keys invigorate "Night Dreamer" while Moretti's tenor sears a stream of nimble ripples across "Sp...

Album:  Epicycle Artist:  Yuto Mitomi Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://yutomitomi.com   The improvised prose penned by saxophonist-composer Yuto Mitomi gives his new recording Epicycle character and depth, keeping the dynamics of the tracks fluctuating and shapeshifting.  The title of the recording "refers to a geometric model used to explain the variations in speed and direction of the apparent motion of the Moon, Sun, and planets," states Mitomi's electronic press kit, giving the listener a vision of his motivation. The arrangements are created by seaming polyrhythms, harmonic forms and melodic patterns, making tangential musings that wrap around one another then return to a middle ground where all the musicians come together.  Joining Mitomi on this expedition are Takahiro Izumikawa on piano, Moto Fukushima on six-string electric bass, and Keita Ogawa on drums and percussion. The improvised flutter and flare of Mitomi's sax emotes an organic...

Album:  Self-Titled Artist:  Joe Elefante's Wheel of Dharma Label: Self-Released Website: https://www.joeelefantemusic.com SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/o3mTyKuYxndfss2j7 YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@joeelefantemusic The theme of jazz pianist Joe Elefante's Wheel of Dharma's 2025 recording is personal as well as meaningful on a broad scale that touches families far and wide.  After losing his wife to cancer in 2024, Elefante set out to revive his passion to make music, fueling his drive to create and share his material as never before.  His offering is a tribute to his wife's memory and a celebration of his dedication to his craft. Joining Elefante are old friends, Freddie Hendrix on trumpet and David Heilman on drums.  Their friendship stretches back over 25 years to their college days, when they first met and began their musical journey together.  Rounding out the ensemble are Erena Terakubo on saxophone and Sameer Shankar on bass.  ...

Album:  Try This Artist:  Bill Moio Label: ITI Records Website:  billmoio.com Jazz guitarist Bill Moio’s second album as a leader, Try This , demonstrates his command of the blues/soul milieu as well as his prowess as an eloquent songwriter.  His gift is honing melodic musings into smooth ambiences that incite the mind to drift across pleasing stratospheres.  Featuring a complementing array of musicians that includes George Whitty on keyboards, Wayne Bergeron on trumpet, Andy Martin on trombone, Eric Marienthal on saxophone, Tommy Brechtlein on drums, and Jimmy Haslip and Mel Brown intermittently on bass, Moio proves himself to be a meaningful connoisseur of the blues, jazz, soul fusion.  His arrangements flow seamlessly, radiating sensitivity and grace across the melodic movements, making a likeable impression on the listener. The Latin-tinged swagger in Moio's guitar chords rippling across "Arroz Con Pollo" is heaven to the ears, enhanced by the animated ...