When a percussionist can add a bit of swirl and funk (but lightly) to a classic like “Naima” that serves the song in a surprisingly new and pretty way, it’s true instinct. Drummer Michele Bazzani has a sixth sense, providing a voice that belongs in the foreground. Largely influenced by the Afro-Latin vibe, Bazzani’s drums... Continue Reading →
Betty Bryant has a long career of gracing the air with beautiful music. With a voice that’s powerful when it needs to be, at turns delicate, forlorn, and brazen, by all accounts she is the quintessential professional, a quiet giant of vocal jazz. What lends a unique authenticity is that she describes her sound as... Continue Reading →
Without a list of CDs or even EPs yet to share, how are we to know what will become of a new artist on the scene? Bassist Rayah Thomas, based near Raleigh, NC, has all the right ingredients: a great musical education, experience with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Summer Jazz Academy and the Essentially... Continue Reading →
A new CD radiates with rich chords and subtly resolving dissonances that paint a living, breathing musical portrait of how great music should feel. Pianist/leader Eric Stern’s new CD Familiar Colors has tracks that are smart and cool, pulling emotions from the ether that hit deep. “To Light the Way” has the feel of a... Continue Reading →
Leader/guitarist Tyler Cooney’s first full-length studio album Modern Ideal is melodic, accomplished, and highly listenable. Easy on the breeze is “Country Sumthin” where spare, uncomplicated guitar playing has a perfectly light touch to bring the tune on its journey. Cooney’s solo is accompanied with a collaborative warmth from Tim Firth’s gentle brushes and Nick Quigley’s... Continue Reading →
You’ve never heard “Bohemian Rhapsody” like this: A quick and bouncy work that elicits instant smiles thanks to the spirit of Django and those who followed in his footsteps (release date: July 14), now re-envisioned by the “gypsy jazz/swing superband” Hot Pants de France from southern California. Formed by Sam Kaufmann (former session guitarist for... Continue Reading →
The voice that can bring it all in the flirty “Candy” from her CD Classic can also belt out in love and gratitude in “Praise the Lord” and then tell her heart’s desire in the classic “More” and “I Took a Trip on a Train,” both from the 2018 album Never Let Me Go. What... Continue Reading →
The gratification of a hook-drenched melody will never leave you high and dry. That is what you’ll find in Atlantic Groove Society’s newest venture (Feb. 2022), “Past and Present.” The album creates a warm, expansive feeling in ten memorable tracks. While the horn (from leader Alexander Hartgers) soars and sings, guitar, drums, keys, bass and... Continue Reading →
A steady beat by piano and darkly colored dissonances collide with an ethereal voice, twinned by cello and grounded by luscious bass. This is the title track of Jacopo Ferrazza’s new CD Fantasia, where the music takes off like a bird in flight with a sudden fugue of horns, piano and notes too high to... Continue Reading →
Debbie Burke - jazz author 
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