jazz2love

Album:  I Am Soul Artist:  Sofia Rubina Website:  https://www.sofiarubina.eu/ https://sofiarubina.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-soul Bridging the lanes of cool jazz, smooth blues, R&B/soul, and sonic pop, I Am Soul from Estonian vocalist Sofia Rubina is a pleasing synthesis.  Her command of the vocal melody is reminiscent of Joss Stone, and her natural fit into the melodic grooves is emblematic of jazz music's treasures like Dianne Reeves and Jane Monheit. The album is a collection of eleven tracks with six songs written or co-written by Rubina and the others are covers of works by L. Spenser Smith and Testament, George Duke, Chick Corea and Neville Potter, Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin.  Rubina collaborates with Evgeny Lebedev, an award-winning pianist and graduate of Berklee College, on the recording.  Also joining Rubina are Anton Revnyuk on bass and Ignat Kravtsov on drums, along with a string quartet featured on several tunes. The bluesy texture of her v...

Album:  The Rings of Saturn Artist:  Joanne Tatham Label:  Cafe Pacific Records Website:  https://www.joannetatham.com Vocalist Joanne Tatham celebrates the gorgeous sounds of cabaret blues on her CD The Rings of Saturn.  As one Washington Post reviewer praises her shimmering vibrato, her voice is touted for being "reminiscent of the pop balladeers of the late '50s and early '60s," liken to such crooners as Shirley Bassey and Dinah Washington. Some may feel her time has passed with the mid-20th century while others embrace Tatham's steadfast affection for everlasting music. A compilation of jazz standards, pop favorites, and original numbers, Tatham embraces the jazz cabaret syllabus of the mid-20th century on her recording, opening with Nina Simone's perennial tune "Love Me or Leave Me."  Rather than delivering the song in a Nina Simone-esque voicing, Tatham inscribes the melody with her own individual imprint and nuances, making the song sound...