jazz2love

Album:  Blues for Ochún Artist:  Benjamin Lapidus Label:  Tresero Productions Website:  https://benjaminlapidus.com Blues for Ochún from multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Lapidus explores the fusion of jazz-inspired grooves with Latin rhythms and tribal spirituals soaked in Aftro-Cuban accents.  Comprised of an assortment of duos, trios, and quartets, Lapidus takes listeners across uplifting vistas and exotic soundscapes. The chanting sonorous of vocalist Jadele McPherson echoes hypnotically across the title track and the subsequent track "3 for Ochún," stoking the soothing swells formed by Lapidus' guitar strings.   Lapidus tells in the liner notes that the two tracks "are meant to be heard one after the other, as one long piece."  He goes on to describe, "In 1997, I first traveled to the shrine of Cuba's patron saint La Virgin de la Caridad del Cobre, who is syncretized with the orisha, [the] Yoruba ancestry/spirit [of] Ochún." "Cachita" ...

Album:  Jazz It Up Artists:  Bob Arthurs and Steve Lamattina Label:  Blue Griffin Recording, Inc. Website:  www.bobarthursmusic.com Jazz It Up , the latest CD from the collaboration of trumpet player Bob Arthurs and guitarist Steve LaMattina is a vessel for Ukranian folk songs, interpreted using European blues and American jazz conjugations.  The endeavor proves to be a mellow outing sewing together moments of quiet contemplation and episodic anecdotes. The seeds of appreciation for traditional Ukranian melodies are planted, displaying their vitality and intrinsic ability to speak to global societies.  Fundamental sounding, the tunes resonate with people of diverse cultures.  For instance, "Walking Around the Garden" permeates a bluesy French persuasive, reminiscent of the culture's nightclub atmosphere with smooth vocals and a sparsely layered melody containing a slow-simmering guitar strum and the occasional flare of the trumpet.  The bluesy...