jazz2love

  Album:  Two Piece Artist:  Jonivan Jones Label:  Buffalo Music/Jonivan Jones Music Release Date:  March 28, 2024 Website:  https://www.jonivanjonesmusic.com Jonivan Jones's offering Two Piece is a rootsy Ozark mountain blues cook-out, roasted in Americana anecdotes and barbed in country folk nostalgia.  The singer-songwriter-guitarist is joined by upright bass player Mike West, whose whistling strokes shroud the tracks in a willowy, outdoorsy ambience.  Mastered by James Plotkin of Plotkinworks, Jones pours his heart and soul into his creation, giving the songs an authenticity reminiscent of the pastoral folkscapes of Woody Guthrie and the musky, rustic palette of John Prine.  Jones's songwriting straddles the line of traditional folk and experimental blues, dipping into the psychedelic zone of prismatic colors resonating in his guitar reverberations dancing across "Drifter's Suit."  The raspy texture of Jones's vocals are kilted in f...

  Album:  Dziesmu Kamoliņš/Garland of Songs Artist:   Arta Jēkabsone Label:   Self-Released Website:   https://artajekabsone.com https://artajekabsone.com/soundspictures   Vocalist, arranger, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Arta Jēkabsone's newest endeavor, Dziesmu Kamoliņš/Garland of Songs , is a collection of 11 original arrangements of traditional Latvian folk songs interspersed with original compositions inspired by them.   For the recording, she embraces the past while ensconced steep in the present.   F olkloric melodies are intertwined with modern imagery and balmy aesthetics, rooted in blissful soul, uplifting blues, and pensive psalms.   Reflections of Celtic, Baroque, Alpine, and Baltic folk cultures vibrate throughout the tracks, wrapping the listener in a montage of sprightly cantors and soothing ballads.   Her vocals soar elegantly across “Dievin, Tavu Gaisuminu!,” supported by a bopping groove that interweaves a rhythm ...

Album:  Within Us Artist:  Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge Label:  Summit Records Website:  https://www.chuckowen.com Composer-bandleader Chuck Owen builds vibrant landscapes with his 19-piece orchestra The Jazz Surge.  Their latest recording Within Us is a compilation of nostalgic swing and big band energy merging with modern practices and creative phrasing.  Owen's compositions and arrangements are steep in traditional jazz parlences while exercising a playful character that integrates influences of contemporary and classic American folk/roots music, blues-infused rhapsodies, and ambient torchlight. The melodic paradigms of the opener "Chelsea Shuffle" are modelesque while maintaining a spontaneous playfulness.  Vibraphonist Warren Wolf adds dimension to the spiraling woodwinds and brass instruments.  The mood turns solemn in "Trail of the Ancients" displaying a Celtic lilt in Sara Caswell's violin.  The track coalesces folksy textures with ...

Album:  Rise Up Artist:  Scott Ramminger Label:  Arbor Lane Music Website:  www.scottramminger.com Chicago blues with a bit of Tennessee-mountain honky tonk is the concoction that vocalist-saxophonist-songwriter Scott Ramminger puts together on his fifth solo recording Rise Up .  The compilation is a meeting of guitarist Albert Collins' gritty blues with tunesmith Bonnie Raitt's roots rock.  The tracks show similarities in their foundation while also offering plenty of moments to exercise one's inner spirit to gripe about life and to express appreciation for what's so lovely about life. The title track brandishes a grinding Hammond B3 organ played by Wes Lanich sitting on top of the grooving beats of bassist Paul Langosch and drummer Emre Kartari.  Ramminger's soaring sax sketches sonic squawks above the gravelly sounds of Lanich's organ and the flared yowls of Shane Theriot's guitar.  Expanding on the dialogue, "Daisy" is a sweet ditty about ...