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DIANA PANTON – BLUE

DIANA PANTON – BLUE
Have you ever had one of those moments where you were just settling into you chair, just about all set to start listening to music. You’ve hit the play button on your CD player, but you’re still a moment or two from being truly situated and focused. All of a sudden, the first words and notes are sung and played, and you jerk your head up, stop what you’re doing, and shoot your eyes straight to the space between your speakers — because what you just heard is recorded so well and the vocals so pure and lifelike that you forget finishing settling in and just stop and listen.… Read...

CARMEN LUNDY – FADE TO BLACK...

CARMEN LUNDY – FADE TO BLACK
“Fade To Black,” the 16th album from the multi-talented and multi-faceted Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Carmen Lundy, is a stunning and provocative song cycle created during the turbulent and often isolating times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Featuring 11 tracks all written by Carmen, “Fade To Black” explores such themes as the rethinking of our personal values, loss, a woman’s right to vote and choice, the invasive culture of modern technology, commitment – both to oneself and to one’s partner, and police brutality.… Read...

JUDITH OWEN – COME ON & GET IT...

JUDITH OWEN – COME ON & GET IT
After a celebrated career, which has seen her release a number of critically acclaimed albums, tour the world and receive praise from the likes of Annie Lennox and Jamie Cullum, Judith Owen – powerhouse British vocalist, pianist and songwriter – has reached her creative happy place with brand new album, ‘Come On & Get It’ This next iteration of Owen finds her right back at the beginning of her journey into life as a musician as a six-year-old music-loving kid, with her headphones on, singing along to the jazz records she’d discovered via her parent’s record collection in her bedroom.… Read...

AMOS LEE – MY IDEAL (A TRIBUTE TO CHET BAKER SINGS)...

AMOS LEE – MY IDEAL (A TRIBUTE TO CHET BAKER SINGS)
Pop singers turning their attention towards the classic American Popular Songbook has long been a thing, but it’s not something you’d readily expect from singer/songwriter Amos Lee who has made his name with his rustic, countryfied folk and earthy R&B. Nonetheless, Lee embraces the standards album with his warmly delivered 2022 homage My Ideal: A Tribute to Chet Baker Sings. A longtime, if somewhat quiet fan of the iconic trumpeter/vocalist, Lee particularly gravitated to Baker‘s lyrical jazz recordings while in lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic.… Read...
Brazilian Music Spotlight MINAS – BEATLES IN BOSSA
MINAS – BEATLES IN BOSSA Minas is a world music duet comprised of Orlando Haddad and Patricia King. Minas reflects a perfect musical marriage with a stage presence and chemistry that only a lifetime can produce. Drawing on the passionate styles of Brazilian and American roots music, the two create a fresh and innovative sound. With a catalog of 8 recordings released on their label Bluezul and a collection of over 100 songs, they have been building their reputation.… Read...
Recent Jazz Vocal Discovery JO HARROP – SONGS FOR LATE HOURS
JO HARROP – SONGS FOR LATE HOURS Durham-born Jo Harrop now London resident is a jazz singer who has a refined mellow sound evoking the greats such as Anita O’Day, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn & Billie Holliday and has graced many prestigious stages and studios around the UK & Europe, including the Royal Albert Hall, The Sage, The 606 club, Jazz Cafe, Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Hideaway, Zedel, to name a few.… Read...
Classic Jazz Vocal Album Spotlight KARRIN ALLYSON – WILD FOR YOU
KARRIN ALLYSON – WILD FOR YOU It’s always a blast hearing the way a child of the ’70s will interpret the classics from that era, and the two-time Grammy nominee picks plenty of gems, some mega-popular, others more obscure, to sink her stylized jazzy teeth into. Although she’s most celebrated for her interpretations of Gershwin, bossa nova, Monk, and Coltrane, in her liner notes Allyson reminds listeners that she has scattered various similar covers throughout her extensive catalog.… Read...
Other Releases of Interest THE COWSILLS – RHYTHM OF THE WORLD
THE COWSILLS – RHYTHM OF THE WORLD Long before the Jacksons and Osmonds, the Cowsills were the original musical family.  Hailing from Rhode Island, the band of six siblings and their mother, hit the charts in the late Sixties with songs like “The Rain, the Park and Other Things,” “We Can Fly,” and “Hair.”  They were even the inspiration for the hit TV show, The Partridge Family.  After a long hiatus, the band is back with an excellent new album called Rhythm of the World.… Read...