08 Jul
Back To The Funk by Bradley Leighton
Saturday, 08 July 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
At first you enjoy Bradley Leighton’s Back To The Funk, then the songs all start blending together and become indistinguishable from one another. These would be g…
THE FIRST CLUES..."I grew up in one of those stark neighborhoods in New Jersey, the ‘Garden State,’ where developers mowed down everything in sight...
Leon, a jazz guitarist and vocalist debuts his new CD, My Soul Speaks. No stranger to the guitar, at age 5 his grandfather gave him his first guita...
You can be assured that from the day J.J. was put on this earth he was destined to be a lover of music, and more so a lover of the Saxophone. When ...
Born and raised in New York City, Greg Henderson began playing trumpet at the age of 12 in public school. Coming from a musical family, he was surr...
Groovosphere, guitarist Matt Marshak’s third CD heats things up right from the start and keeps it hot throughout. Marshak has written as well as produced all of the …
06 Jun
Love, Death & Customer Service by Lauren Wood
Tuesday, 06 June 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Lauren Wood is one of those people for whom I would stand on the sidelines and cheer until I was hoarse because she is just so likeable. Therefore when you hear this wri…
In some ways, Buffalo, New York is the most unlikely of places to spawn jazz artists and yet over the years there have been some phenomenal musicians who first called Bu…
03 Jun
Givin It Up by George Benson & Al Jarreau
Saturday, 03 June 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Well, no wonder! That was my reaction when I opened this month’s CD review package to find out why the package was so much heavier this time around. Well, lo and …
22 May
Forever, For Always, For Luther (Volume II) by Various Artists
Monday, 22 May 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
In 2004, a group of jazz artists came together and recorded one of the finest tribute albums ever conceived entitled Forever, For Always, For Luther, a release th…
From an outstanding young woman in Calgary, Alberta, Canada comes a phenomenal jazz/R&B CD that is only now starting to receive the accolades it so richly deserves. Joha…
Gigi MacKenzie’s debut solo CD Skylark is a sexy, romantic and intoxicating journey through some of the greatest standards in music from the 1940’s to the present. M…
Do you remember when smooth jazz music was like a good cup of coffee or a bite of dark Belgian chocolate and it made you close your eyes and sigh deeply? In a world of f…
You will listen to a lot of CDs before you hear another one with vocals as pretty as those belonging to Gigi MacKenzie. Her 16-track album Skylark should be cut…
Debuting in 1998 with his album Stay A While, winning four awards for singles on the disc plus the Prism Award for the Best New Artist at the Oasis Smooth Jazz Awa…
Anyone with any knowledge of saxophonist Boney James will immediately recognized the fact that he is the ultimate funkateer. His urban-influenced smooth jazz is c…
30 Apr
Window Shopping by Jack Prybylski
Sunday, 30 April 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Window Shopping is the second and long awaited new release from gifted saxophonist Jack Prybylski. Prybylski hooks up with veteran guitarist and producer Ken Navarro…
28 Apr
Three For All - We Three by Liebman Swallow Nussbaum
Friday, 28 April 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
The potency between these three is good, not spectacular, but good. These three have not worked together before, but you can divide them off into pairings and they have …
Sophisticated, sexy, classy, funky. These are just a few words that describe the latest CD from pianist Alan Hewitt aptly titled Metropolis. If this describes what y…
Jazz guitarist Patrick Yandall’s latest project, Samoa Soul is simply delicious. If you’ve got an appetite for some great smooth jazz with a few other flavors superb…
Peter White’s Playin’ Favorites is a smooth guitar jazz album that is filled with cover songs that soon will be covered by artists wanting to cover Peter White.…
Accidental Beef is the 12th release of Canadian drummer Barry Romberg's Random Access series. The Random Access project has generated a 2005-2006 National Jazz …
15 Apr
Calm In The Storm by Joel Del Rosario
Saturday, 15 April 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Imagine something that's tranquil and soothing, yet also contains some very cool vibes with a layer or two of spice tossed in the mix. This is what you get with the new CD …
Ah, crisp, clear, smooth and effortless. That’s how the vocals of Jill Jenson grab me. From the opening cut, the jazzy & cool "Sunshine Away," she sets out to hold you c…
The fresh air of cool jazz guitar returns on NaradaJazz recording artist Joyce Cooling’s 6th offering, Revolving Door. It just knocks me out how polished she ha…
I Am Ready is the new smooth jazz CD from Swedish saxophonist Greger Hillman. Hillman is leaving the role of sideman to stand on his own with the ten original songs …
06 Apr
Revolving Door by Joyce Cooling
Thursday, 06 April 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Reaching a special musical connectedness, Joyce Cooling and long time pal Jay Wagner are creating eclectic hits across the musical spectrum. Growing up in a musical family …
05 Apr
Revolving Door by Joyce Cooling
Wednesday, 05 April 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
For whatever the reason, Joyce Cooling seldom gets the recognition that she deserves. By any stretch, her music is melodic, soulful and genuinely entertaining, in…
The first time I heard Main Gazane's CD entitled Hip Space, I knew beyond the shadow of any doubt that I had hit the mother load of smooth jazz compatibility. A…
17 Mar
Life Less Ordinary by Mindi Abair
Friday, 17 March 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
I’ve been a fan of this high-energy saxophonist since her debut CD. I thought I’d heard the funkiest that this recently married cutie (I guess we were all just a little too…
16 Mar
Natural Evolution by Willie Hill
Thursday, 16 March 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
How’s this for a purely soft, mellow, almost ethereal sound with some solid R&B thrown in for good measure? Yep, that’s what I think we have here. Willie Hill is a multi…
16 Mar
Black Magic: The Cyber Jazz Experience by Ajamu Akinyele
Thursday, 16 March 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Well I don’t know much about the cyber jazz experience, but I do know good jazz when I hear it! Akinyele, a bassist who is native to the San Francisco Bay area, and his …
16 Mar
Night Fever (The Versatile Sessions) by Cornell Dupree
Thursday, 16 March 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
On Night Fever, Cornell Dupree demonstrates a great feel for recapturing the feel and aura of many of the tunes of yesterday. His skillful guitar work shines th…
15 Mar
Time to Suttledown by Jeffery B. Suttles
Wednesday, 15 March 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Oh, this is some good stuff, believe it! This drummer/composer has the definite feel to be the formidable star he should be. He opens with a tested oldie "I’ll Always Lo…
06 Mar
Let's Spend Some Time by Wilton Felder
Monday, 06 March 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
For the devoted fans of saxophonist Wilton Felder, who have often wondered where he disappeared to in recent years, let it be known he has returned with a remarkably new…
Just a year before I came to Earth, guitarist Danny Weiss co-founded the rock band Iron Butterfly in California. Since that moment, Weis has an easily read chronicle, as…
22 Feb
Variations On A Groove by Earnest Walker Jr.
Wednesday, 22 February 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
During the course of daily happenings, thousands upon thousands of albums are recorded on every continent and in practically every nook and cranny of the world. Jazz mus…
20 Feb
Dressed To Chill by Marion Meadows
Monday, 20 February 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
In an ever-evolving world of smooth jazz ideology, one constant companion who has epitomized that style of music has been saxophonist Marion Meadows. Since the onset of …
17 Feb
Don't Look Back by Michael Palermo
Friday, 17 February 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Saxophonist Michael Palermo is a musician who paid some dues long before he decided to become a solo recording artist. He has earned degrees in music education and follo…
As a guitarist, Steve Oliver is an artist that consistently pushes the envelope of creativity with every album he records. His unconventional approach to jazz is often e…
As a professional musician, guitarist Danny Weis has been on the fast track of things to come since 1966. As a founding member of the rock group Iron Butterfly, his pate…
04 Feb
Life Less Ordinary by Mindi Abair
Saturday, 04 February 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
GRP Records has released Mindi Abair’s latest CD entitled Life Less Ordinary, an album that is light years ahead of her second recording Come As You Are. T…
03 Feb
Dressed To Chill by Marion Meadows
Friday, 03 February 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Outstanding and unique as always, sax man Marion Meadows and producer Michael Broening collaborate again to bring contemporary cool full circle. Under the label of Heads…
01 Feb
Dressed To Chill by Marion Meadows
Wednesday, 01 February 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Marion Meadows remains one of the finest saxophone performers in the smooth jazz genre and in this collection he excels. First-rate performances make this recording a fl…
29 Jan
Led By You by Konstantin Klashtorni
Sunday, 29 January 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Led By You’ is the latest project from Konstantin Klashtorni. It follows on the heels of his critically acclaimed debut solo release ‘Downtown’ and promis…
26 Jan
Just Getting Started by Eric Darius
Thursday, 26 January 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
This high-energy young man is just as the CD title states: Just getting started. Truly coming into his own with consistently superior sax work and great compositions, Er…
26 Jan
Pillow Talk by Pieces of a Dream
Thursday, 26 January 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
When I first learned that I would be reviewing this CD, I can’t tell you how honored I felt! Being the proud owner of several Pieces projects, I’m also very happy to see…
Canadian-born, Minnesota-raised pianist, Sean Turner, is a very refreshing and versatile artist. He demonstrates from the opening track, "Just Lucky," that he means busi…
25 Jan
In the Moment by Althea Rene
Wednesday, 25 January 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Well, after getting up off the floor, dusting myself off, and regaining my composure, I found that I was still able to write this review in an intelligible manner.
06 Jan
Keepin’ It Cool by Nick Colionne
Friday, 06 January 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Smooth Jazz guitarist Nick Colionne is emerging as a remarkable Contemporary Jazz artist. Keepin’ It Cool is Colionne’s debut on the Narada Jazz label in which Co…