jazz2love

Album:  Something Here Inside Artist:  Benji Kaplan Label: Wise Cat Records Website:  https://www.benjikaplan.com/home A blending of soulful flamenco, ambient jazz, balmy meditations, and breezy torchlight musings, guitarist Benji Kaplan performs solo on his latest release Something Here Inside .  Inspired to be a painter by his mother, Kaplan applied his skills using the hues of the rainbow spectrum to the sounds of the music spectrum.  The pastoral textures, twirling patterns, and tranquil moods he projects convey a message to  listeners that he shares without inhibition. Using a swing jazz palette fringed in swathes of Latin accents on "Anything Goes," Kaplan brings a freshness to Cole Porter's track, viewing the classic melody with a contemporary set of eyes.  The gliding strokes of his fingers have a lulling effect on listeners along "Easy To Love" and  rather uniquely, he pervades a soothing, Hawaiian-like caress along "But Not For Me."...

Album:  Dearly Beloved Artist:  Naama Gheber Label:  Cellar Live Websites:  https://www.naamagheber.com https://cellarlive.com/collections/all/products/naama-gheber-dearly-beloved The dreamy sonorous of vocalist Naama Gheber wrap listeners in downy atmospherics on her debut release Dearly Beloved from Cellar Live music label.  This introductory endeavor establishes Gheber as a torch song vocalist endowed with a sultry persuasion.  Her flare for swing demonstrates the melodicism of this vocal style, exposing it to contemporary generations. The caressing glide of her vocals imbue her delivery of "Since I Fell For You" with a penetrative lure, and spark a jazz noir flicker in the bluesy lamentation of "Get Out of Town."  Her performance of the heavenly serenade "What's New" amplifies the elating sensations, which move into a perky, swinging, sashaying disposition along "Just Squeeze Me" and "Sometimes I'm Happy."  She closes the r...

Single:  Old Mother Hubbard Artist:  Naama Gheber Release Date:  April 22, 2022 Websites:  https://www.naamagheber.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/1KObvUW72IGgUzVi9oe60n A veritable newcomer to swing, vocalist Naama Gheber demonstrates a keen instinct for cabaret blues and ragtime jazz.  Her melodic sensibilities are reminiscent of vintage Café Society's staples like Bessie Smith and Connie Haines.  Her forthcoming recording If I Knew Then , due out on November 4, 2022, is led by her single "Old Mother Hubbard" due to be released on April 22, 2022. "Old Mother Hubbard," an old nursery rhyme from the 19th century, was tweaked by Ella Fitzgerald in the 1940's.  Resurfaced rarely since then, Gheber exhumed the tune from the coffers of the past and polished it with her glimmering timbres.  Her adaptation of the melody gives the track a 21st century luster, laden with a natural fluidity and zesty, swinging rhythmic pulse.  Her smooth versing s...

Album:  The View From The Top Artist:  Gemma Farrell Quintet Label:  Self-Released Website:  http://gemmafarrellmusic.com Gemma Farrell Quintet's second endeavor, The View From The Top , is a modern jazz-leaning recording filled with easy listening scores that complement people's lifestyles.  Based in Australia, saxophonist Gemma Farrell leads her quintet through original works composed by her, showcasing a penchant for hard bop hydraulics, straight-ahead jazz motifs, and improvised spins.  Supported by Sam Hadlow on trombone, Dan Garner on guitar, Kate Pass on bass, and Ryan Daunt on drums, the Gemma Farrell Quintet create a pleasant listening experience. The harmonious communication formed by Farrell and her crew on "Every Year" is reminiscent of luminary voices familiar to audiences like David Brubeck and Thelonious Monk.  The meandering tweets of Farrell's sax infuse bends and curves which keep the track advancing, acting as a thickening agent that...

Album:  Veneta Artist:  Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Fusion Label: Self-Released Website:  https://www.meflamencofusion.com Elements of flamenco dance, folkloric jazz, and chamber music come together in Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Fusion's newly self-released Veneta .  From festive ambiences to contemplative moods and requiem-like hymms, the recording speaks to audiences on many levels.  Led by guitarist Miguel Espinoza, Veneta celebrates life and puts a positive slant on all of its experiences. The rippling beats of the percussion set the foundation for the title track as Espinoza's guitar strings nestle beside the soaring yowls of  Dianne Betkowski's cello and then circle around the undulating billows of Lynn Baker's saxophone.  The multiple tiers in the track is a sonic feast for the listener.  The melodic sensibilities of the quintet bathe the listener in soothing effects along the wavy riffs of "Cayendo," producing an arrangement rife with balmy ae...

Album:  It's Alright With Me Artist:  Liz Terrell Label: Westmont Records Website: www.lizterrell.com The rich sonorous of Liz Terrell's vocals make listeners turn their heads in her direction.  Her 2022 release It's Alright With Me is a compilation of classic pop and jazz standards that she treats with her distinctive stylizing. A stylizing that audiences will relate to the soulful inflections of Thelma Houston and the arresting luster of torchlight crooner Nina Simone, augmented by a dreamy, bluesy vocalese that lingers in the mind long after the recording comes to a close. Her treatment of Cole Porter's trademark melody "Night and Day" highlights the swing jazz elements of the track, turning the balladry verses into a simmering burner with bopping traction.  Her phrasing adjusts to the soars and inclines along the chord movements, as though knowing when to emphasize a lyric and when to let her resonance drift off.  Her vocal inflections certainly heighten ...

Album:  DIVA Swings Broadway Artist: The DIVA Jazz Orchestra Label: DIVA Jazz Website:  https://divajazz.com/ The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, a 15-piece all female ensemble, is comprised of versatile musicians seasoned in reed, woodwind and brass instruments as well as rhythmic and percussive tools.  The group's latest CD entitled DIVA Swings Broadway is an assortment of covers showcasing nostalgic Broadway musicals personalized by these innovative musicians.  Led by drummer Sherrie Maricle, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra are torchbearers of swing jazz and big band romps.  Bursting with merriment from start to finish, the recording leaves elation and mirth in its wake. Noriko Ueda's bass solo opening George and Ira Gershwin's ageless tune "The Man I Love" sets the momentum along a course of rolling crests and ebbs through the melodic progressions.  Horns take flight intermittently, catapulted by the knolls crafted by the bass line.  Turning reflective, the languid ...