British vocalist Debbie Winter has released an EP of six original songs inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper. Working closely with pianist Aidan Shepherd, the songs are evocative, haunting and harmonically rich. She’s a poetic lyricist with an intellectual edge and the songs communicate an atmospheric sense of waiting, tension and introspection; themes frequently found in Hopper’s paintings. Inspired by Miles Davis, her voice is horn like with a remarkable range and she glides effortlessly through a series complex arrangements. Her band consists of Aidan Shepherd who trained at Leeds University. He has co-written and arranged...

Guitarist Randy Stephens, who lives just south of Nashville TN., has caught the attention of magazines such as ‘Guitar International’ and from others in the guitar community. When asked about Randy’s decision to give back portions of sales from his latest CD release ‘American Guitar’ Randy’s said, “I knew I wanted to participate in a charity with the earnings from my CD I just wasn’t sure which one, then I stumbled upon ‘Sweet Relief’ they help musicians with mounting medical bills. Having experienced parotid gland cancer and being a musician without medical insurance back in 2005 gave me something I could relate and knew this charity was...

Blues for Breakfast, the hot new jazz CD from sultry pianist/vocalist Kathy Sanborn, releases March 8, 2011 through popular vendors such as Barnes&Noble and Amazon.com.  Blues for Breakfast treats you to a sumptuous feast of lively, memorable tunes and sensual, heartfelt ballads. The album also features GRAMMY® nominee Scott Petito's distinctive bass, Chris Carey's sizzling drums, and Wayne Ricci's soulful trumpet.

For ten years, saxophonist/pianist and GRAMMY-winning composer/arranger Gordon Goodwin has been driving a train that won't stop. He first assembled his Big Phat Band in 2000 – an ironic starting point for an 18-piece big band, given that the fleeting neo-swing craze of the late 1990s was just winding down. But Goodwin and his crew have always been the real deal, and have always been in it for the long haul. In the decade since their ambitious beginnings, the Big Phat Band has burned up stages and studios with an eclectic, intelligent and high-energy brand of music that marries the best elements of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, John Barry and other big-band and orchestral jazz giants of the past 70 years."There's a significant segment of the population – and some are just high school kids – who inherited an appreciation for this music from their parents or their grandparents," says Goodwin. "They don't necessarily consider themselves jazz fans, but they find this music to be accessible without being highbrow or elitist. The inspiration behind this record is very simple, and very much in line with that of our previous records. We make music that sounds good to us, and it does seem to resonate with a lot of people."

Centuries ago, long before the advent of radio or recording technology, chamber music was the music for the masses – the music in which people from nearly every segment of society could find meaning and relevance. A decade into the 21st century, Esperanza Spalding – the bassist, vocalist and composer who first appeared on the jazz scene in 2008 – takes a contemporary approach to this once universal form of entertainment with Chamber Music Society, her August 17, 2010, release on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group.Backed by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and pianist Leo Genovese – and inspired by the classical training of her younger years – Esperanza creates a modern chamber music group that combines the spontaneity and intrigue of improvisation with sweet and angular string trio arrangements. The result is a sound that weaves the innovative elements of jazz, folk and world music into the enduring foundations of classical music.