jazz2love

  New Release:  Life Got in the Way from Heather McKay Label:  Self-Released Release Date:  September 26, 2025 Website:  www.heathermckaymusic.com Guitarist-composer Heather McKay's latest offering, Life Got In The Way , is a collection of Latin jazz compositions written over the past twenty years.  Each piece is inspired by a place, a person, or a moment in McKay's life that affected her profoundly.  The arrangements flow without being restrained by conventional time signatures.  The varying rhythms cause the instruments to sound disjointed like in "Boo," as the musicians move in harmony with one another, exchanging complementing remarks and lively responses at their own time signature.  The soothing atmosphere of "Narraguagus Bay" is spiked by McKay's searing guitar riffs, giving the track depth and character, and singed by Peter Fraize's churning sax as it moves through the melodic progression.  The samba groove underlining "The Playg...

Album:  Jazz Passion & Satin Latin Artist:  Jimbo Ross Label:  Bodacious Records Website:  Bodaciousrecords.com/about-jimbo-ross Facebook.com/jimboross Jazz Passion & Satin Latin , the latest edition to violist Jimbo Ross's catalog takes audiences back to his jazz roots with selections from the Great American Songbook, jazz standards, and a few original compositions.  Partaking on this adventure with Ross are guitarist Joe Gaeta, pianist Stuart Elster, bassist Peter Marshall, and drummer Ron Wagner. The band recorded the 13 tracks at the Sonic Boom Room studio using minimal overdubbing and no track-stacking over a four-day period.  The press release supplies, "Ross plays a modified copy of a classic viola, reproduced on a 3-D printer, and dually upgraded with a 5th string to extend the upper range of the instrument, and an electronic pickup to allow it to be heard alongside the other instruments." Ross's viola is well pronounced on each track while ...

Album:  Not Quite Yet Artist:  Paul Marinaro Website:  www.paulmarinaro.com In the vane of great jazz vocalists like Engelbert Humperdinck, Johnny Mathis and Tom Jones, singer-songwriter Paul Marinaro charms and captivates his audience on his latest release Not Quite Yet .  The collection presents Marinaro's emotive voicing as he performs a handful of jazz standards and pop/rock covers. The album opens with a swinging Mel Tormé standard “Born to be Blue,” trimmed in brisk bopping beats with Marinaro's vocal strolls giving the track a persuasive character.  Turning sensual and dreamy on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa-nova gem “Someone to Light Up My Life," about the quest for new love after a breakup, Marinaro's vocals have a mesmerizing sway that continue through "Make Me Rainbows," from the 1967 Dick Van Dyke film Fitzwilly , composed by John Williams with lyrics by Alan and the late Marilyn Bergman, and contoured in a smooth rhythmic pulse. His treatment of D...

Album:  Transitions Artist:  Yaron Gershovsky Label:  Dorron Music Website:  http://www.yaronmusic.com A compilation of original music and cover tunes, Transitions , the latest CD from pianist/keyboardist, arranger, composer, and producer Yaron Gershovsky, delves into a wide range of jazz-imbued styles from hard bop to samba, swing, easy listening, and stride piano.  His arrangements are upbeat and well-tailored for the jazz connoisseur palate. Opening with the revving grooves of "Northern Light," Gershovsky's jaunty keys bask in the hard bop flurries amassed by Boris Kozlov on upright bass and Cliff Almond on drums.  Switching to a smooth jazz climate in the title track, Gershovsky's sleek key strokes are scaffold by the floating sensations of David Mann's alto flute as the coasting beats of drummer Clint de Ganon and electric bassist Will Lee prop lolling swells along the melodic progressions. The ambient emanations traverse blissfully across the track ex...

Album:  White Sails Blue Skies Artist:  Tanya Dennis Label:  PaLoma Records Website: https://tanyadennis.com Starlight and moonbeams are some of the images that singer-songwriter-violinist-guitarist Tanya Dennis' music on her 2021 release White Sails Blue Skies conjures up in the listener's mind.  Brimming with romantic ambiences throughout the recording, Dennis resonates a wise, old soul in her voicing that audiences instantly trust and discern her genuine nature. Having written seven of the ten tracks on the release, Dennis's arrangements are spellbinding. Densely populated in atmospheric ethers, the music puts listeners in a reflective mood as Dennis's vocals caress the dreamy swells of "Desolation Sound" with a soothing touch, transitioning into the island sway of "Indigo," penned by her good friend and Hall of Fame songwriter Kostas, as her creamy vocal texture is spangled in Hendrik Meurkens's buoyant harmonica twirls. Dwelling in the drea...

Album:  Wide Awake Artist:  Adam Glaser Trio Label: Self-Released Website:  www.adamglaser.com An assortment of standards like Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's timeless tune "My Romance" and Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox's classic pop song "I Got A Name" move alongside originals inspired by masters like Igor Stravinsky and Robert Schumann on Adam Glaser Trio's latest release Wide Awake . Led by pianist Adam Glaser, the trio is rounded out by Pete Coco on bass and Chris Smith on drums. The trio string together a collection of varying tempos from waltzes to sambas. Latin flavors are sprinkles throughout the recording, sprucing up the orchestral components and offering a gentle sprint in the rhythmic patterns.  "If You Don't Mind" is a prime sample of the trio's use of Glaser's Latin-tinged keys, which enliven the rhythmic beat to a warm samba.  The waltzing strokes of Glaser's keys along "November" bring out the glisten...

Album:  Five Play Live from the Firehouse Stage Artist:  Five Play Label:  Diva Jazz Orchestra Ltd. Website:  www.divajazz.com/about/five-play   Exploring the vast palette of straight-ahead jazz from swing, bop, samba, torchlight blues, and burlesque/Vaudeville-style minstrels, Five Play shares their expansive repertoire on their live recording from the Firehouse Stage, a club located in Johnson City, New York.  A quintet comprised of the rhythm section and two horn soloists from the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Five Play amasses a bright and uplifting collection of cover tunes and originals that celebrate the jazz mode of expression. "Just Squeeze Me," a Duke Ellington customized piece, is a fine sample of the quintet's ability to interpret the burlesque dialogue as reedist Jami Dauber and brass player Janelle Reichman strut and stroll across the sensual swells of the melodic progressions generated by pianist Tomoko Ohno, bassist Noriko Ueda, and...

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...

Album:  Love's Tango Artist:  June Bisantz & Alexander Nakhimovsky Label:  EH2U Websites:  https://www.junebisantz.com                   http://alexnakhimovsky.com Love's Tango' s repertoire is comprised of original jazz-inspired, Latin-induced melodies co-written by June Bisantz and Alexander Nakhimovsky.  From silky bossa nova arias to jamboree-style sambas, a compelling tango, and a steamy Rachmaninoff-influenced prelude, the recording revels in the joys of life, finding pleasure in the simple luxury of being surrounded by upbeat music. The romantic lure of the swirling strings woven swiftly along "Prelude To a Wish" is the recording's moment to pay homage to the classical composer Rachmaninoff.  Performed by Brunilda Myftaraj on violin, Lu San on viola and Kathy Schiano on cello, the tune is a garden bed of delightful sprigs, glimmering with an elegance that piques the ...