jazz2love

Album:  Small Things Artist:  Jackson Potter Label: Shifting Paradigm Records Website:  jacksonpottermusic.com Small Things , the sophomore project from guitarist-composer Jackson Potter demonstrates his growth as a guitarist, composer, and arranger since moving to New York City in 2021.  His disc features several jazz luminaries, including Alex Ridout on trumpet, Troy Roberts on tenor saxophone, Hamish Smith on bass, and Marcello Cardillo on drums.  Additionally, saxophonist Jaleel Shaw and vocalist Sophia Formella perform on the title track. Potter's offering displays a free-style playing reminiscent of pianist Bill Evans, saxophonist Stan Getz, and guitarist Wes Montgomery.  The environment merges bop, straight-ahead jazz, and fusion into dynamic creations.  Potter is a musician's musician, showing others of his ilk the potential that the guitar offers to work as a contributing element within the jazz combo framework. Illustrating a charismatic play...

Album:  Distance Artist: Kenny Carr Label: Zoozazz Music Website:  www.kennycarrguitar.com Fusion guitarist Kenny Carr revisits several original compositions that he wrote over 25 years ago and revised them with contemporary imagings for his ninth release Distance .  Classically trained, Carr embraces a large swathe of the music spectrum including free jazz, blues, roots rock, and soul funk.  Integrating a vast array of attributes, Carr explores his prowess as an open-minded artist. The gritty roots rock tone of Carr's guitar soaks into every fiber of "Arrival," forming vibrating streaks across the track.  The recording cools to a soothing lather through "Until Then," as Carr's guitar strings radiate bright shimmers across the melodic bed.  Switching to a bluesy tint along "Like Old Times," Carr's guitar shoots beams of light, forming a pattern of glittering flickers, supported by the steady rhythmic pulse of bassist Lincoln Goines and drummer ...

Album:  Higienópolis Artist:  Local Talent Label:  Project Whatever Records Website:  https://www.projectwhatever.com/discography-1 A montage of sound waves that bend, swerve, arch, genuflect, gleam, and blaze, to name a few of the characteristics created by Canadian based jazz trio Local Talent, led by pianist/keyboardist James Hill.  The trio's music demonstrates their versatility as cutting edge musicians as they experiment with the possibilities of their instruments.  Supported by bassist Rich Brown and drummer Ian Wright, the trio test the velosity of their playing and come up with arrangements that are sonically incandescent like entering mind-blowing galaxies for the ears.  Their debut release Higienópolis from Project Whatever Records is a journey through their stirring experiments made together. The title track opens the disc to boiling surges that froth and rumble in a freestyle fashion.  The rattle of Hill's keys are partnered with...

Album:  Vitality Artist:  Matt Skellenger Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.mattskellenger.com The first striking quality about bassist Matt Skellenger's music, which is quickly discerned, is the complementing textures of his music.  On his latest release Vitality , Skellenger sows together wonderfully vibrant textures from the blades of electrically infusd effects to the brassy sounds of the trumpet, the rustic whining of the pedal steel guitar, and the tribal beats of the cajon.  The listener can detect many different and distinct textures, intertwining and co-mingling, reflective of a family made up of many different personalities and natures all working in harmony. The relaxed, ambling rhythm of "Fibre" has a folksy feel in Glenn Taylor's pedal steel guitar combined with the soft billows of  Matt Reid's coronet and Adam Bartczak's trombone.  The lullaby-like strokes of Skellenger's bass produce a gentle rocking paired with Andy Skellenge...

Album Review:  Emergence from Larry Corban Album:  Emergence Artist:  Larry Corban Label:  Nabroc Records Website:  http://larrycorban.com/ Guitarist Larry Corban demonstrates a kindred spirit to those lyrically-inspired bop artists before him, recalling the music of saxophonist Stan Getz and pianist Bud Powell. Dapper and smooth, the music on his latest CD Emergence from Nabroc Records shows the ingenuity of 60's jazz with influences of modern adult pop and fusion.  As a result, Corban's distinctive brand of jazz co-mingles decades of bop, fusion, and cool jazz. The subtle pulse of Harvie S's upright bass strolling comfortably along "Never Let Me Go" is cushioned by Steve Williams's gentle percussive strokes and Corban's sweet sounding notes, all lyrically strewn to exude a lullaby-like glow.  The tempo is quicken to a speedy shuffle across "On the Fly" as Jerry Bergonzi's saxophone emerges, scrolling a sequence of improvised phrases th...