Guitarist Nick Colionne is without a doubt one of the most dynamic and skilled artists of his generation. Although he is looked upon as a smooth jazz musician, Nick shou…
A radio DJ for 18 years who finally succumbed to the beckoning of his own heart and soul to jump into the "mix" with the other smooth jazz artists who are prospering (es…
14 Apr
Promises Made by Millenium Promise Jazz Project feat. Kirk Whalum
Monday, 14 April 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
As can always be expected from the illustrious saxman from Memphis, Kirk Whalum, along with other artists performing under the pseudonym, The Millennium Promise Jazz Pro…
In a word, wow! Newcomer Douye brings such a freshness, so much silky smoothness to our world of smooth jazz that she produced a beaming smile to my lips the moment I he…
Saxophonist Curtis Haywood explodes onto the smooth jazz scene as a solo act with both the amazing talent and arsenal of material that can easily expect to be placed in …
Here’s one of the cleanest, controlled and soulfully smooth albums you’ve heard in a while from an artist with whom I’ve just become acquainted, and happily so. Duane Ca…
Kloud 9 has a real handle on smooth. Their hooks are contagious, the lead vocals are, as usual, rich and crisp, and the backing vocals are super-tight with strong…
Althea Rene instantly became one of my favorite artists when I first heard her In the Moment album, a rich, happy, rhythmic, and sexy offering a couple of years…
There are voices in jazz that are so distinctively seductive and powerful that "incomparable" does no real service in describing these gems. The ever-popular and magneti…
NuGroove Records has unleashed the new album Heat from smooth jazz designer Michael Lington. Lington’s saxophone playing is smoking with soft wafting fumes that e…
03 Apr
When Katie Smiles by Kim Pensyl
Thursday, 03 April 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Kim Pensyl's love of music began early in Columbus, Ohio during the 60s and 70s, when he studied composition, arranging, engineering and performing at the Ohio State Univer…
As one of the up and coming stars of the 21st century, trumpeter Lin Roundtree has honed his skills with some of the most prominent artists in the smooth jazz arena. Dur…
Guitarist Jim Adkins is an artist who has an uncanny ability to continuously hit the smooth jazz mark on a consistent basis. As an award winning musician and songwriter, he…
Sweet. That is precisely what Al Williams III’s latest record Heart Song is like working with three producers this time around who also played on the recording, k…
Airborne always finds a new way to put the listener on an aircraft and fly them over exquisite landscapes that feel aurally entrancing and sensually relaxing. The group’…
This second release from Vibes Alive, according to vibist and composer Dirk Richter, is about "going back to the basics of creating tasty music where rhythm and tonality ar…
Like a jigsaw puzzle made up of oddly shaped pieces that when brought together reveal a complete picture, so too do the pieces that shape Paul "Shilts" Weimar’s life, he…
DeNate has the smooth soul padding of 70s hitmaker Patty Austin, the hip dance grooves of 80s R&B songstress Pebbles and the attractive heated coils of George Benson. Co…
01 Mar
Lets Connect by Jessie Allen Cooper
Saturday, 01 March 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Composer/saxophonist Jessie Allen Cooper has a few releases under his belt, mostly of the meditative, serene variety. This latest, heralded as "The First Smooth Jazz Jam…
29 Feb
The Spirit of Jazz by Norman Weeks and Groove Tyme
Friday, 29 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Judging from what artist/release information I was able to dig up on this one, this appears to be pianist Norman Weeks’ first solo album. While he’s composed other tunes…
Winds of Change the 6th CD from Airborne, the multi-cultural contemporary jazz group from New Haven CT USA. Airborne the "Musical Peacemakers" of contemporary jazz are focu…
27 Feb
From The Heart by Mike Levine
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Pianist Mike Levine’s steps forward with his debut release From the Heart with about as much might and soul as any in the business. His effervescent style is bo…
Darryl Alexander is an artist who makes smooth jazz that is satiny smooooooooth. On his new CD This Way, he has written a collection of twelve dreamy, lush and …
The ugly truth about smooth jazz is that you either feel it or you don’t. Those artists who have tried to craft smooth jazz recordings without the heart and soul of the …
Gifted guitarist Nick Colionne’s latest release on the Koch Records label is entitled No Limits. It’s ample proof that one of smooth jazz’s premier road warrior…
20 Feb
Friday Afternoon by david wells
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
I’ve said here before that there aren’t that many great trumpeters in smooth jazz. Oh, there are the obvious icons and frontrunners like Chris Botti, Rick Braun and Greg…
16 Feb
Sax for Stax by Gerald Albright
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
You know, if you had to pick a jazz artist to do justice to the hits of Stax Records’ past, you probably could come up with a few. But none with more earthiness, vigor, …
12 Feb
Sumthin’ Good by Lin Rountree
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Trumpeter Lin Rountree recently revealed in a Jazzreview.com feature article that the kids in his high school class often called him "a sax man" and by the way, he moves…
09 Feb
City Lights by Robert Harris
Saturday, 09 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Robert Harris’ latest album, City Lights, makes you feel like there is no place that you would rather be than with your CD player listening to his songs. The albu…
08 Feb
Share My Love by Frank Unzueta and One World
Friday, 08 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
One World’s latest release Share My Love is to Latin-jazz what The Chieftains music is to Celtic-folk. One World’s album is like an encyclopedia of Latin music th…
06 Feb
Share My Love by Frank Unzueta and One World
Wednesday, 06 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Keyboardist, guitarist, and vocalist Frank Unzueta leads his band One World through a set of a dozen or so original tunes on "Share My Love". Not content to remain in on…
06 Feb
It's A Wonderful Thing by RC & The Groovediggers
Wednesday, 06 February 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Tunes that are as unimposing as a quiet, lazy stream on a bright summer Sunday afternoon grace this collection from RC & The Groovediggers. Guitarist/composer Royce Camp…
Right from the beginning, the smooth and mellow sounds of this trumpeter--unknown to me before listening to this release--emitted a powerful call for my undivided attent…
In this age of collaboration, the Sax Pack Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, and Steve Cole epitomizes what it truly means to put the product before egos, each certainly being a…
In 2006, I reviewed Willie Hill’s Natural Evolution album, which I classified as having a purely soft, mellow, almost ethereal feel about it. It was an album expr…
Gail Jhonson creates a sweet moonlight path with sandbars of traipsing keyboards, dunes of rhythmic grooves and silky effects that light up the skylines of her latest re…
20 Jan
Love and Paragraphs by Chris Standring
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
QwertyWHAT? Wow, I guess if you’re going to come out funky in an ear-catching fashion from your very first track, you may as well give that track a funky "out the…
Well, this might be pretty unoriginal and obvious, but, here goes. What do Chaka Khan, the late James Brown, The Eurythmics, the late Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Lisa …
16 Jan
Laws of Groovity by Patrick Yandall
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Laws of Groovity has all of the punch usually associated with a Patrick Yandall album. The seasoned axeman provides some really spirited jams on this latest pea…
16 Jan
Live in South Africa by Jonathan Butler
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Jonathan Butler is perhaps one of the most intriguing icons in smooth jazz today. His story is such a rich one, full of encouragement for all aspiring and established mu…
13 Jan
NewUrbanJazz.com by Bob Baldwin
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Keyboardist/arranger/vocalist Bob Baldwin has released his latest album NewUrbanJazz.com displaying a "Funk Advisory" warning on the front cover that says this di…
I’m not a big fan of lifting whole quotes or paragraphs from an artist’s profile in my attempts to adequately illustrate his or her musical prowess or competency. Howeve…
27 Jul
Night love by David Wyatt Sr Wyatt
Friday, 27 July 2007
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
David Wyatt Sr. (Quiet Wyatt) A keyboardist that transcends musical categories. Native to California, the thoughtful, down-to-earth musician was born into a musical lega…
Well-known and highly regarded in the northwest part of the States, guitarist Ed Taylor explodes on the smooth jazz scene here with Songs From A Taylor, a taste…
Presenting his third offering as leader, veteran keyboardist and pianist Ray Lyon crafts an album of contemporary music containing a strong smooth jazz flavor with eleme…
Dee Brown, born Demitris Edwards Brown, has released his smooth jazz debut No Time to Waste on DéLaf Records/Nu Groove Records. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Brown h…
06 Jul
Soul Collective by Leighton Bradley
Friday, 06 July 2007
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
You may have never heard the flute played like this until you’ve heard Bradley Leighton‘s twitters and flaps. He plays the flute like it moves with the swiftness of guit…
Jason Peri is one of the more interesting jazz performers and composers on the contemporary scene. He is a skilled performer and his unique jazz compositions are highly …
20 May
Just Around The Corner by Eric Marienthal
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
After two decades of cranking out some of the hottest contemporary jazz on the scene, Eric Marienthal continues to excite the musical senses with tasteful, funky, and th…
Upbeat fusion and sharp, scintillating smooth jazz guitar mark this brainchild of Terry "Toonz" Reynolds, a multi-talented guitarist/composer who penned all of the invit…