Susan Frances

Singer-songwriter-pianist Daniela Schachter conjures up a Bordeaux-flavored jazz on her third release Purple Butterfly with songs befitting for wine room ambiences and social gatherings. The Sicilian-born, New York-based artist possesses a vocal adroitness akin to Diana Krall with a melodic voicing in her piano playing that pervades a loose gait and torchlight feel. Singing most … Read More “Daniela Schachter: Purple Butterfly”

It has taken cool jazz singer/pianist Bonnie Lowdermilk a little more than a decade to resurface after releasing her debut CD This Heart Of Mine with the Fred Hersch Trio to deliver her follow-up album Up To Now. With all arrangements made by Lowdermilk, the album showcases a broad range of standards from the upbeat … Read More “Bonnie Lowdermilk: Up To Now”

Vocalist Anne Walsh has an authentic style of singing that is neither purely jazz or purely pop but rather a fusion of the two. Joined by her husband Thomas Zink who produced and arranged her debut recording Pretty World released by his label A To Zink Music, Walsh’s selection is rooted in American and Brazilian … Read More “Anne Walsh: Pretty World”

Album review of Daniel Smith’s CD, Blue Bassoon

Baptiste Trotignon lives up to the expectations foisted on him as a French pianist. He exhibits control with a gentle touch as he toggles between having a firm hold on the definition of the melodic patterns and moving with romantic caresses through the ruminating phrases. His latest offering, Share, is a compilation of the various … Read More “Baptiste Trotignon: Share“

There is a noir jazz complexion in the music of Jim Gailloreto’s Jazz String Quintet that reverberates of haunting sensations in the harmonies of the instruments as they travel along serpentine-curved passageways. The group’s new CD, American Complex from Origin Classical label, covers an extensive network of movements from the vintage chamber jazz formations of … Read More “Jim Gailloreto’s Jazz String Quintet: American Complex“

There is a consensus about bossa nova music being first introduced to a universal audience through the world premier of the 1959 film “Orpheu Negro,” making the genre turn 50 years old in 2009. To celebrate bossa nova’s 50th Anniversary, saxophonist/flutist Robert Kyle has made Bossalicious, a collective of original tunes penned by him in … Read More “Robert Kyle: Bossalicious“

Pianist Ivan Farmakovsky has an abstract approach to making music that reminds me of Wassily Kadinsky’s method of painting. Farmakovsky sprinkles his compositions in geometrical patterns and profound shapes that keep the music in a state of flux making his latest release Next To The Shadow a rolling film of changing currents from single-note strands … Read More “Ivan Farmakovsky: Next to the Shadow“

Jennifer Lee has a voice that makes it appear she is frolicking through fields of grassy meadows which go on forever as she enjoys the fresh scents of the open air. On her new CD, Quiet Joy from SBE Records, her calming style is filled to the brim with a lolling pitch that provides tranquil … Read More “Jennifer Lee: Quiet Joy“

Guitarist Royce Campbell has a liking for taking chord progressions from familiar standards and improvising new melodies with them. He thinks outside of the box while using material that comes from inside the box. He does so on his sophomore album Roses And Wine from Philology Records, opening with a rollicking jive-inspired tune “Take A … Read More “Royce Campbell Trio: Roses & Wine“

The four piece combo who call themselves The Reese Project create a musical dialogue that is lively and harmoniously wheedled as the roving flutters of flutist Tom Reese are supported by the easy going tapping of drummer Aaron Walker and the fluid spins of guitarist Bobby Brewer and cellist Laurie Reese. The group’s latest effort … Read More “The Reese Project: Eastern Standard Time“

Album review of the David Leonhardt Trio’s CD, Bach To The Blues

Album review of Anna Estrada’s CD, Obsesion

Pianist Pamela Hines exhibits an intuitive nature when it comes to punctuating her notes and making distinctive accents that intensify the mood of her music. Her new CD, This Heart Of Mine is a collection of original tunes and covers that demonstrate her ability to mold expressive vignettes and bridge her vamps and counterpoints into … Read More “Pamela Hines: This Heart of Mine“

Album review of Kelley Suttenfield’s CD, Where Is Love from Rhombus Records

Album review of Massimo Sammi’s CD, First Day

Album review of Ellynne Plotnick’s CD, Life Is Beautiful

Contemporary jazz trumpeter Chris Pasin shows that once you are enamored of bop, you never let it go. After receiving a dual bachelors degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in classical and jazz trumpet performance followed by performing in bands fronted by such arch luminaries as Gunter Schuller, George Russell, Jaki Byard, and … Read More “Chris Pasin: Detour Ahead”