June Bisantz & Alex Nakhimovsky – Loves Tango

June Bisantz & Alex Nakhimovsky have recorded, performed and toured together since 2005 including Japan, South Korea and the United States. Love’s Tango is their 3rd recording project together and first writing collaboration. It is both traditional and contemporary in concept. The music is Latin/Brazilian in feel and romantic in style, with classical overtones. The CD features three bossa novas, two sambas, a Rachmaninoff-inspired string quartet interlude and one unique tango, from which the project gets its name. Although definitions of the Tango vary widely, it is universally agreed that the tango is subtle yet passionate, difficult to master yet easy to love – a nuanced, choreographed conversation in which one dances the music, not the steps. Love’s Tango explores the many ways we experience love – romantically, exuberantly, nostalgically and philosophically. Together they embody the latin rhythms, classical ideas and jazz improvisation that characterizes all things Tango. June Bisantz June  Bisantz, musician, educator and visual artist, has co-written and produced several collections of original vocal jazz, all of which have received national and international recognition. She has toured internationally and has performed and recorded with distinguished jazz musicians including Steve Swallow, Bob Moses, Paul Brown, Lew Soloff, Jerry Neiwood, Mike Stern & Will Lee. Reviews and articles about her work (see below) have appeared in prestigious publications including People Magazine, USA Today, Downbeat, JazzQuad.Ru, Jazziz Magazine, Jazz Podium Magazine, Jazz USA, the New York Times, New York Newsday & the Boston Globe. Ms. Bisantz, Emeritus Professor of Art at Eastern Connecticut State University, has exhibited her visual art work in galleries, museums and public space throughout the United Sates. Alex Nakhimovsky Jazz/classical pianist Alex Nakhimovsky enjoys a versatile career as a performer, recording artist, producer, composer and educator.  His musical accomplishments as a Jazz and Classical artist include musical direction, arranging, solo and ensemble performances. He has toured throughout the United States, Russia, Japan and Israel, performing with jazz legends Benny...

Madeline Peyroux – Secular Hymns

Recorded at the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England,Madeleine Peyroux‘s eighth studio album, 2016’s Secular Hymns, finds the vocalist/guitarist delivering a stripped-down, largely acoustic set of warm, eclectic cover tunes. Backing Peyroux this time out are guitarist/vocalist Jon Herington and bassist/vocalist Barak Mori, both highly sought-after New York-based musicians with deep jazz, blues, and rock credits. While technically a studio album, Secular Hymns was recorded as if a live concert, a choice inspired by Peyroux‘s 2015 performance at the venue. The result is an album that’s a 180-degree turn from her previous effort, 2013’s ambitious homage to Ray Charles, The Blue Room. Where that album framed Peyroux‘s earthy vocals in organ, electric guitar, horns, and a lush orchestra, Secular Hymns feels like you are sitting in the front row of an intimate Peyroux concert. Here, Peyroux eases into the session, kicking things off with a supple, harmonized, Western swing-tinged take on John Greer & the Rhythm Rockers‘ 1951 side “Got You on My Mind.” She then struts through Tom Waits‘ “Tango Till They’re Sore,” imbuing the song with a wry sensuality that’s equal parts Billie Holiday and Marlene Dietrich. Despite the acoustic, minimalist nature of the production, Peyroux still manages to defy expectations, offering up a delicately swaggering take on Allen Toussaint‘s “Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)” and transforming Linton Kwesi Johnson‘s reggae anthem “More Time” into a something that sounds improbably like Eartha Kitt doing a cabaret homage to Bob Marley. Thankfully, it works, as do other selections including her more traditional readings of songs like the swinging Sister Rosetta Tharpe number “Shout Sister Shout” and her folky, sad-eyed version ofTownes Van Zandt‘s “The Highway Kind.” Particular effective is her bittersweet take on Stephen Foster‘s parlor song “Hard Times Come Again No More.” A poignant rumination on life’s...

Dena DeRose “We Won’t Forget You”

It’s no small thing to be called “The most creative and compelling singer-pianist since Shirley Horn,” but that’s how Joel Siegel, Washington City Paper, described Dena DeRose. It is with great pleasure that HighNote Records welcomes Dena to their roster with her label debut recording “We Won’t Forget You… An Homage To Shirley Horn” which features the understated, swinging side of the late, great Horn. As this year would have been Ms. Horn’s 80th birthday, it seems only appropriate for DeRose, also a triple threat vocalist, pianist, and arranger, to pay tribute to one of her major idols. Joining her trio of 15+ years — Martin Wind, bass and Matt Wilson, drums — are trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander and baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan. Boasting an imaginative set list of some lesser recorded gems and varied use of the instrumental colors available, Dena DeRose’s first release on HighNote is jazz singing and playing of the highest order. With this being her 11th recording, Dena’s performance credits range from appearances at NYC’s Blue Note, Smoke, and Jazz Standard, The Kennedy Center Jazz Club (D.C.), The Jazz Showcase (Chicago), The Widderbar (Zurich), The Pitt Inn and Body and Soul (Tokyo), among others. Major jazz festival performances world-wide include The Red Sea (Israel), San Francisco, Monterey, The North Sea and The Hague (Holland), Santiago (Chile), and has been a returning artist many times on The Jazz Cruise. THE DENA DeROSE TRIO: Dena DeRose, vocals, piano & B3 organ • Martin Wind, bass • Matt Wilson, drums With special guests: Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone • Jeremy Pelt, trumpet • Gary Smulyan, baritone saxophone TRACKS: You Stepped Out of a Dream • Sunday in New York • Quietly There • A Time For Love • Don’t Be on the Outside • You Won’t Forget Me • I Just Found Out About Love...

Clipper Anderson – “Ballad of the Sad Young Men”

Hidden in the basement of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington is bassist/vocalist Clipper Anderson. Not ringing any bells? That’s because he has been a sideman, buried behind the principals on upwards of 60 recordings while recording as leader on two previous releases: And to All a Goodnight (Origin Records, 2011) and The Road Home (Origin Records, 2012). Anderson follows up this latter recording with Ballad of the Sad Young Men, his first all vocal outing performed in the intimate confines of the piano trio.Clipper Anderson’s voice is more Tony Bennett than Frank Sinatra and way more Tony Bennett than Johnny Hartman, as has been reputed. His voice is not perfect, but possesses a certain uniqueness making it an exceptional vehicle for his broad repertoire. His singing is effortless in the natural way of self-effacing singers who show no tentative self-consciousness, only pure sound and honesty. Anderson shares this trait with labelmate Jeff Baker–Baker Sings Chet (OA2 Records, 2004)–who possesses these same attractive vocal characteristics.Anderson is thoughtful in his song selection by not challenging the listener with one more “My Funny Valentine.” In fact, “It Never Entered My Mind” and “Only The Lonely” are about the most common standards on this disc of a dozen ballads. The title cut and {{Billy Strayhorn’s “Blood Count” are better examples of the deep loam of material from which Anderson draws. Instrumentally, the trio makes the unassuming and competent music necessary to accompany a vocalist, while shifting into virtuosity when called upon to solo. Anderson’s bass possesses a sure internal metronome that swings bolstered by drummer Mark Ivester equally-measured sense of time. Pianist Darin Clendenin is the soul of discretion and taste, whose solos are miniature recitals. Tastefully rendered music. (By: C. Michael Bailey (All About...

Melissa Stylianou

There are about a half dozen positive aspects concerning Silent Movie and that is before taking a look at what may well be one of the finest vocal performances of the year. An eclectic song list including Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” along with some of the more obscure tunes from James Taylor, Paul Simon and a Henry Mancini / Johnny Mercer classic have Silent Movie poised for instant success. Far more than a set of passable covers, phenomenal arrangements combined with Stylianou’s ability to move from vocalist to story teller in such a chameleon like fashion lends the release to an intimate ambiance seldom found in the typical jazz vocal release. Clearly this is not Stylianou’s first rodeo, this is actually the fourth release for the Big Apple native and one where the singer goes for the less is more approach and with a huge payoff! Opening this eclectic song list is the iconic Charlie Chaplin tune “Smile.” While Stylianou’s prodigious vocal talents have been turning heads and have caused Down Beat to refer to her as “an original” what makes her unique is the ability to hear the arrangement that best suits her own voice thus leaving her own indelible mark on a tune without simply knocking off a passable riff on a classic that has been done to death. The difference between a vocalist and a story teller is the innate ability to transcend the song and make the artistic connection with the listener. Granted taste is subject but the blatantly obvious simply goes without saying. “Smile” is dialed back to suit the impeccable phrasing and artistic temperament of Stylianou as she takes ownership of the time tested classic. The James Taylor classic “Something In The Way She Moves” makes a subtle and incredible organic shift into a more contemporary jazz setting with Stylianou’s natural delivery and the...

Judy Wexler

UNDER A PAINTED SKY “Few singers would dare dive into music associated with Johnny Mathis, Carmen McRae, Abbey Lincoln and the 1962 film, The Music Man, on the same album; even fewer would be able to pull it off as vocalist Judy Wexler does on Under A Painted Sky. Wexler possesses a voice for the ages, and puts it to good use on a dozen delicious numbers that cover myriad moods and spotlight the stellar instrumentalists in her band. Wexler’s prior releases — Easy On The Heart (Rhombus, 2005) and Dreams And Shadows (Jazzed Media, 2008) — were elevated by classy arrangements and pianistic underpinnings from pianist Alan Pasqua, and this partnership continues to bear fruit on this project. Pasqua paints pictures of a sunny nature (“Wonderful Wonderful”), crafts spine-tingling settings (“Avec Le Temps”) and directs swinging scenes that delight in every way (“The Great City” and “Whisper Not”), leaving Wexler free to fully explore the possibilities that reside within each one of these gems. Wexler’s vocals are ebullient and enthusiastic on “Wonderful Wonderful,” as the album gets underway, but she isn’t all sunshine and splendor. She deals in flirty and sensual singing on “An Occasional Man,” delivers enthralling vocals of a haunting nature with “Avec Le Temps,” touches on the ups-and-downs in the game of love during “And How I Hoped For Your Love,” and utters a wise warning about getting sucked into the quicksand of New York’s social scene with “The Great City.” While Wexler needs no help selling any of these songs, the instrumentalists add volumes to each piece, as they mirror the moods that are established through the arrangements and vocals. Tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer adds some grit to “The Great City,” Bob Sheppard’s soprano saxophone swoops and soars with a fine balance between grace and gusto on “Till There Was You,” and Walt Fowler’s flugelhorn emphasizes the dream-like state of...